SEG-CISR said:
Congrats Lord... Whoever you are!
I'm just the guy who built AARland, but don't tell anyone.
Thanks Renns for the honour, and especially for the backhistory. Due to many circumstances, some fortunate and others not so, my reading and writing time spent on these forums has been drastically reduced. But that doesn't mean I don't maintain a presence. If anything, I'm trying to make myself more visible, albeit slowly but surely.
I've been with the AAR forums since the beginning, when EU1 was the only game in town, and seen it grow into what it is today. Through it all the imagination and quality of the work has never ceased to amaze me, and it's no small surprise I champion and cajole the various authors to hone their talents and see where it takes them in the professional world.
Most of what you see here is my doing (it's not a lack of humility on my part, it's just fact), all done with the idea of creating a sense of community. After all, mutual support as writers is what feeds us and keeps us going. It was just as important in the early days as it is these days. Perhaps even more so these days because of the vast selection of games to choose from. Many ideas you see here were born out of the old 'beer and wings' days with MrT--the libraries, the Solarium, the various showcases and other ideas that have come and gone. We closed many pubs on many nights brainstorming.
My last AAR was written some years ago, which is why so many of you probably only know me as the italicized name in the Moderator list. You will find most of my work in the EUI and EUII forums, along with an aborted AAR in the CK forum. However, it's the seven
Free Company books that bring me the most satisfaction--AARs written in collaboration with up to 30 authors at a time. Massive tomes, these.
These days I spend much of my time writing for the small and big press. To date I have some 15+ sales under my belt. These are primarily fantasy, SF and historical fiction. The Dalacroy stories that Renns refers to can be read on-line (check my sig) and has been my most successful series. In fact, I was just informed that a publisher wants me to write my first Dalacroy novel for (hopefully) a Christmas release. You heard it here first.
So thanks to everyone who acknowledged my selection, and a special thanks to you oldtimers who said I provided some kind of influence, whether it was with your desire to write, or listening to my rambling feedback.
I'll admit there's still an AAR or two in me (as a couple of you know
). It's just a matter of when and what venue.
Cheers,
LD