Joyce Evans: Educator and Author
Here at DMXzone we are working hard to get articles from some of the best authors around, and are pleased to say that we'll be getting some brand new material from renowned educator and author Joyce Evans in the very near future.
Joyce has been training, educating and authoring as well as web designing for the last 10 years. She's spoken at conferences such as Macromedia MAX2003 and TODCON, and has authored numerous books including Macromedia Studio MX bible, Dreamweaver MX Complete Course and Web Design Complete Course. We've got details about her latest publication – Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 Zero to Hero here.
At Joyce's personal web site you can see how passionate she is about supporting Web developers - check out the tutorials and reviews of Dreamweaver, Fireworks and other Web design related books and products.
To provide some background for our readers, we've got an interview with Joyce so you can see how she went from HTML Zero to Dreamweaver and Fireworks Heroine!
DMX: What's been the worst project you've worked upon
JE: I also have to say one of my books fell into this category. The book turned out fine but the process was horrible. I won't mention which one :-) As an author it can be very frustrating when a books guidelines are more important then the content. Authors have restraints, we have to write within the publisher specifications, timelines and editing process.
This one project was like pulling teeth the entire time. In the end, I got a book I wouldn't be embarrassed to put my name on.
DMX: From where do you draw your inspiration?
JE: Everywhere :-) Recently I got an ad in my email that just struck me. I stopped what I was doing and immediately sketched out an idea. I also get inspired by sites such as Zen Garden, Project Seven and Eric Meyer on CSS.
DMX: And if you weren't in computing what alternative career might you consider?
JE: Real Estate investing (not a Realtor). Actually I do this part time now but in the past I did teach creative financing classes for new Real Estate investors. Another area I dabble in is an extremely affordable health Insurance benefit package that I've found for self-employed people. Anything I'd do would most likely revolve around sales. In my "before the Web" life, I was primarily into sales.
DMX: Being personally based 'somewhere off the coast of France' as one of our more unkind South African contacts put it; weather is a constant pre-occupation in my part of the world.I understand you live in Florida - how do you suffer that burden <g>?
JE: It's tough, after all it sometimes gets down to 60 degrees in the winter and I freeze to death LOL. I absolutely love sunshine and being close to the water.
DMX: Thanks Joyce and look forward to hearing more off you!
Ian Blackham
Following a degree in Chemistry and a doctorate in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Ian spent several years wrestling with acronyms in industrial R&D (SEM with a side order of EDS, AFM and TEM augmented with a topping of XPS and SIMS and yet more SEM and TEM).
Feeling that he needed a career with more terminology but less high voltages, Ian became a technical/commissioning editor with Wrox Press working on books as diverse as Beg VB Application Development and Professional Java Security. After Wrox's dissolution and a few short term assignments Ian became content manager at DMXzone.
Ian is a refugee from the industrial Black Country having slipped across the border to live in Birmingham. In his spare time he helps out with the website of a local history society, tries to makes sure he does what his wife Kate says, and worries that the little 'un Noah is already more grown up than he is.