Jacqueline Andrews - Jacque is my sister's best friend's mother. She helped me plan my trip to Europe from the Eurail pass to the plane tickets to advice on what to bring with me.
Matthew Boersma - A close friend and Nykki (Keim) Boersma's husband, Matt the excellent DM who ran the games in which I played Gregory Hinskeeper, Dayzdark, and Tamolid Songslinger. He also played Naphtali in my Friday night Mage: the Epic Fantasy game. We share an interest in fantasy, philosophy, religion, and gaming. He, his wife, and Matt Crum run Arcana, an awesome MOO.
Nykki (Keim) Boersma - Nykki joined my gaming group when I was a Junior in college. She possesses an almost matchless empathy and compassion. She played Rahab in my Saturday night Mage: the Epic Fantasy game. We share an interest in religion, fantasy, philosophy, and gaming. She, her husband, and Matt Crum run Arcana, an awesome MOO.
Louise Carter - My British correspondent, I first met Louise during my Junior year of college when she attended Manchester for a semester. She played in one of my D&D campaigns that fall and was also in my Shakespeare class, for which we wrote and performed a skit together. She was my host and guide during the England phase of my European adventure. We share a passion for roleplaying and literature.
Stephanie Craig - One of my closest friends throughout college, Steph and I have been through a lot together. A fellow English major, Stephanie is particularly interested in film studies. She was in my college campaigns all four years of college.
Matt Crum - One of the many Matts I have known. Matt was an avid roleplayer in Matt Boersma's and Nykki's campaigns after I had graduated. He let me crash in his dorm room during more visits/gaming sessions than I care to count. He, Nykki, and Matt Crum run Arcana, an awesome MOO.
Robert Cunningham - I have known Robert since the two of us were children. Capable of healing computers simply by touching them, Robert remains the first person I call for tech support. He built my computer from parts and taught me most of what I know about half the software I use.
Joe Devine - Joe is an old friend from high school. He was the first editor of Poetic License, Cathedral's literary magazine. The two of us were also in the band together, and made a Friday ritual out of walking to Hardee's, stopping at a Halmark to buy a MAD and a movie magazine on the way. Joe encouraged my poetic endeavors when I was still writing bad love poetry and the occasional morality narrative.
Tyson Eberhardt - I met Tyson through RPG Survey and GCP, and we've done a *lot* of online gaming together in the last few years. While we've had a few arguments about games and gaming that degenerated into the virtual equivelent of hair-pulling and eye-gouging cat fights, it is mostly because both of us are equally opinionated and stubborn concerning the subject. He has been an indispensible source of feedback while I've been working on Legendary, since he holds my work to extremely high standards, locates flaws that escape everyone else, and has no shortage of imagination and advice. More and more, I consider him one of my closest friends, and he is easily my best online-only friend. Just think twice before clicking any link he gives you. They don't call him "Lord of the Gremlins" and "Minister of Wrongness" for nothing, you know.
Michael Fishman - One of my co-workers at Woodland Country Club. Fishman was the resident smart aleck. When he got a new job, we missed him so much that all of us took up the task of picking on poor Patrice the way Mike would have done. I recall the time we were waiting for a party to arrive, drinking coffee and chatting. The caffeine went to both of our heads, and I think we had a two-hour discussion about poetry, history and life in general.
Adelle Frank - A close friend since my Senior year in college. We both have a habit of making fun of movies while we watch them. Adelle spent a semester in China. At the time, we were dating. I would call her with a phone card every two weeks while she was away until I went to Europe. Differing life goals forced us to part ways, but we still keep in touch. We share an interest in sci-fi, fantasy, philosophy, and religion, as well as the travelbug.
Penny Heddings - A latecomer to my gaming group, Penny joined my Senior year campaign playing one of my NPCs. She recently spent a semester in Equador, writing all of her friends back home long emails detailing her numerous adventures, which included getting hit by a car.
"Hodge" Christopher Hodgson - A co-worker at Woodland Country Club, Hodge's apartment was an ideal distance from our place of work. He hosted great parties, including the Christmas party that actually managed to get me sick drunk for the only time of my life. His poor carpet and my poor head the next afternoon when I went out to buy gifts while hungover. Hodge also played in my testosterone-laced gaming group as the well-endowed half-orc barbarian. A fantastic host and a generally good-humored guy, Hodge and I also shared an interest in fantasy novels.
Leah Hultenschmidt - I met Leah through a friend of Matt's. Leah originally asked Matt and me to help her with her Senior project, which required her to read and edit a book. Matt and I were only too willing to oblige. She did a fantastic job of editing From Quiver to Quarry, even getting as excited by the project as we were. Leah now works at Leisure Books in New York City, where she has the pleasure of reading manuscripts and unsolicited queries.
Iwona - I met Iwona at the Smolna youth hostel in Warsaw, Poland. Two Englishman, Mike and Stuart, somehow managed to convince her to give the three of us a tour of the sights of the city. She told me far more about the monuments we saw than I could find in a book, especially since she could translate the Polish inscriptions on the plaques.
"Lazlore" Jason Edward Neal - When I met Lazlore my Senior year, he was a Freshman. He is one of the few people to have read From Quiver to Quarry in its entirety. He is also a repository for Native American lore and a lover of fantasy fiction.
Matt Lauck - I've known Beaker since I was a Junior in high school. In those days, he was an awkward Freshman in the band. My how he has grown. Beaker is an extraordinary juggler. He often takes the role of social activity organizer, coordinating gatherings of friends throughout Indiana. It is impossible to hang out with him without having a good time.
Kasia - Kasia met Stuart, Michael and me in Krakow, where she gave us a tour of the city. She also highlighted some of the local nightlife. I recall the four of us sitting in a pub after everyone else had left. We were just talking. When the bartender realized we weren't going to buy anything else, he began to wage a very subtle form of psychological warfare on us. He slowly turned up the music. Eventually, we couldn't even understand each other's shouting, and we were forced to leave. Kasia is a poet with much potential even in her second language of English.
Beth Kinderman - I first met Beth in October 2000 as the Spacegirl of RPGSurvey.com, eventually following the link she left under her stories to the gaming portion of her web page. I responded via email to one of her excellent essays on women in gaming. Thus began a relationship that has, over the course of a year, progressed into a romantic relationship. My opinion of her is, arguably, biased, so I'll let you judge for yourself based on her website and the Gamer Chick Planet forum she founded speak for itself.
Joshua King - Josh and I have known each other since the beginning of college. He is one of the few people who played in my AD&D campaigns for all four years of my college career, responsible for such characters as Barlik the Traveller and Riven the Paladin. He has the distinction of introducing me to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Josh never runs out of stories to tell, whether they are his own or someone else's (and sometimes it is very difficult to figure out which ones are which).
Betty Kubala - Betty and her parents invited me to stay with them at their house near Rybnik, Poland. The result was one of the few opportunities I had to be something other than a complete tourist in Europe. She and her friends took me out into the woods to eat kilbasa and drink beer and vodka until I had trouble walking to the car. She speaks English fluently, and married an Englishman not long after my visit. She has since moved to London, and I still occasionally hear from her via email or Christmas card.
Eric Kuszmaul -
Johanna Long
Autumn Mitchell
Matthew Schick
Josh Smart
Craig Thedwell
Nicole Walter
Eric Wilson
Robert Wishin
Brian Zawadzki
Heidi Zawadzki
Jan Zawadzki
