Just found you folks this week. I started turning pens 17 months ago, found my lathe & beginners kit under the Christmas tree. Now no tree in VT is safe.
Welcome Thomas! I'm here in sunny southern California. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.
Below are links to two threads/articles that have lots of information on pen turning. The first one is a very basic overview of the many aspects of getting into turning pens. http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42446