When I was a kid, I didn’t get to have video games. They were “for boys,” according to my mom. I would go to my friends’ houses and watch them play, because they didn’t want to share. Oh, the jealousy I felt! Eventually my brother, who is twelve years older than me, let me play with Mario on his Nintendo at his house when he agreed to babysit me. That’s where my deep-seated love for gaming started.
My brother didn’t stop there. He taught me how to play Magic: The Gathering. Card games were a lot easier to hide from my mom. I wound up having the biggest collection in my middle school. He inspired my love of Dungeons & Dragons (Though I wasn’t allowed to play with his group since they were all adults and it would get really weird for a kid to play with them.)
As an adult, I’ve fully delved into my love of games—console, computer, solo, multiplayer, MMORPGs, and TTRPGs. I love it all. I crave it all. So when Baldur’s Gate 3 came out, I pretty much disappeared from reality. I wound up finishing three entire playthroughs. I started another recently as well, because this game has so many lovely little changes based on the kind of character you play.
What does this have to do with books or writing?
“You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”
Steven King ~ On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
I know that for a lot of writers, that means reading books. It does for me, as well. I find a lot of inspiration when getting lost in words. This applies to games for me as well, though. Playing so much Baldur’s Gate has certainly gotten my gears turning.
I find myself wanting to delve into an epic quest with dramatic characters who wield magic. My imagination has been in overdrive. I can barely sleep, because I want to keep writing. I’ve fell asleep at my keyboard at what was probably 2 AM. When I do sleep, I dream of this story.
Here’s the really exciting part of all this.
The more I thought about this story and these characters, the more I realized where this should all take place and what prompted everything. I’m returning to Telverin. This story is about the long-term ramifications of The Telverin Trilogy. Eya and her adventures are now lore—myth or gospel, depending on which character you ask. My work in progress is called The Purple Scars of Lightning, and I’ve already written 23,000 words in just two weeks. It’s consumed me inside and out.
But enough about me.
Yes, I’ve been playing games a lot, but I’ve also done a great deal of reading some brilliant authors, and meeting them too!
Amy Campbell
As always, I’ve got to recommend Amy Campbell. I’ve been a big fan of hers before I even had the pleasure of becoming her friend. Her Tales of the Outlaw Mages is one of my favorite series. Recently, she released a new book called Dragon Latitudes, which is a steampunk tropical adventure starring dragons! It also takes place in the Outlaw Mages universe, though in a very different region. I had the pleasure of beta reading this one.
T.J. Deschamps
I also love books by T.J. Deschamps. She writes mythology-inspired urban fantasy about middle-aged women. As a 42-year-old woman with a lifelong mythology obsession, I’m absolutely hooked. Over the summer, I read five of her books. Then I got to meet her at the Getting Witchy With It book convention in Salem, MA last month! I highly recommend checking her out.
Speaking of that fabulous author, she’s part of an awesome BookFunnel promotion right now. Do you like fantasy books of any variety? Go check out Witches & Legends. Every book is free with newsletter sign up!
Did you like reading this? Then, you’ll love my books!
You can find all of my published works, even the anthologies I’ve contributed to by clicking the “Learn More” button below!
