I was introduced to games through my job as a graphic designer for Incan Monkey God Studios, a company that wrote and designed strategy guides. One of the early games I worked on was Asheron's Call. I fell in love with the game and the people who played it as I worked on the guide. Dragonstar, my Allegiance (guild) moved to World of Warcraft and I moved there as well. I'm still playing there today.

I regularly play table-top, or pencil-and-paper, games in a variety of systems as well, such as Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, HERO, Fuzion, Chaosium's BRP, etc. I love storytelling and these games give me a terrific outlet to try out new character ideas and, if I'm game mastering, to try out some world building. I've dabbled with writing my own stuff, and I love it, but I despair of trying to sell my writing … so, I write for fun and not profit. One of my greatest support systems over these past decades is an email support group, WRITERS.

My first submission is in the Diablo III world. It was the way I felt when I began the Nightmare level of Diablo III. I know it's brief, but I'm trying out the system here and learning how to use it.

As for stand alone games...and yes, I play Diablo III as a solo game...I played a variety of them. And, then there came Dragon Age and it's beautiful world full of interesting characters.

My first DA story is up. It's going to be a nice long AU. My take on the world without the constraints of game design. It begins before Ostagar and will weave through all the origins, the trials of raising armies of all the races, and the battles through the Archdemon. There will likely not be as many hoops for our group of heroes to jump through. There will be character deaths.

Some motivations for me to write this story:

1) It's a beautiful world. I just wanted to play in it from a story standpoint without worrying about leveling or other mechanics.

2) I want to take characters in different directions, sometimes. Investigate how they might have made different decisions and alliances. For example, the idea of Sereda Aeducan wanting to become a warden is actually in the game, so I wanted to give her an avenue to pursue it. Or, I think Loghain's no-nonsense level head needs to be considered in the decisions he makes. I mean, after listening to many of the nobility in Ferelden during my many playthroughs, Loghain begins to sound pretty logical.

3) Many of the writers here have mentioned that Duncan comes off as a bad commander. In the game, I would have to agree even though I thought it was pretty gutsy of a game company to kill off someone you'd become sympathetic to *right off the bat*! So, what if he weren't a bad commander and had re-established Soldier's Peak? (The DLC was a nice perk for BioWare and increased interest for continuing the game, but it chopped out a good storyline.)

Others may come to me as the story progresses...such as: Why does Orlais have to be the only trouble maker?

My plan is to update every Sunday. I've enjoyed "Victory at Ostagar" every Sunday for a LONG time...so, this is in homage to Arsinoe de Blassenville and the huge gap in my life that I must fill with something DA. :)

October 6, 2013

This week Loghain is brought in. I never could see the relationship between Loghain and Rendon being anything except contentious. I hope you enjoy the break I make with canon concerning Loghain.

October 20, 2013

One of my favorite Star Trek franchises was the Voyager series. Kate Mulgrew was one of the reasons I enjoyed the show. Imagine my surprise when I first met Flemeth in DA:O! Just a hint this week about Flemeth, but you can expect more.

December 13, 2013

I put this at the bottom of Chapter 16, but it bears repeating here: I'd like to thank some of the invaluable resources I've used so far in writing this: Warden's Vigil RPG Community has a lovely spreadsheet of estimated distances/days of travel that I've used as a reference; of course, no DA fanfic writer could possibly get by without Dragon Age Wiki; many thanks to Arsinoe de Blassenville's Plot Mabari Puppies, which have and will peak their cute little noses out from time to time in WHWH; Maker bless Two Steps From Hell (Invincible album), Nox Arcana (multiple albums), and Audiomachine (Chronicles) for giving me wonderful music to write by. (Thanks to the D&D friend who introduced this music to me!)

Finally, thanks to BioWare and David Gaider for the wonderful world that they own and allow us to play in!

January 12, 2014

Happy New Year! I have a movie soundtrack to add to the list of music I listen to while writing: The Fountain. I was under the weather one day, listless to anything but watching TV. I’d seen Hugh Jackman on a talk show and scanned Netflix for his movies. I ran across this “artsy” movie which made no sense to me, but I was unable to stop watching it! It was more like a piece of art to be felt rather than a detailed story. Anyway, the wonderful soundtrack is a go-to for me.

February 12, 2014

Almost Valentine's Day! Thanks to spot-on comments in reviews, I've updated Chapter 24 (Alistair's title advancement) and Chapter 25 (Faren slipping into first person). Faren's PoV is so much fun to write, his thoughts just slip in from time to time. ;)

May 18, 2014

Okay, I couldn't stay away ... the idea for a new story burbled to the surface and demanded to be written! :) I was good with my Sunday schedule for What Have We Here, but I suspect there may be some weeks I may have to skip with this one. Anyway, it's a pretty dark Thedas. Just giving fair warning to those that prefer lighter tales. Ironically, I usually prefer lighter tales. LOL! Therefore, my definition of "dark" may not match yours. ;)

August 7, 2016

Goodness, it's been a while since I updated this! Ah, life and its twists and turns. I finished What Could Go Wrong and have started a new tale: Alistair Hawke. It's fun to take canon and play with it!

April 6, 2020

Greetings! As I mentioned in an AN, I stopped posting for quite a while ... but I didn't stop writing! I finished Alistair Hawke and I'm working on the world of Inquisition treatment for What Have We Here. I'm also working on a new tale that I'll start up after I finish WHWH ... I think working on both stories at the same time would make me crazy ... but, who knows ... I may start that one up soon. It's working title is A Cousland's Duty. What can I say ... I like Cousland stories. :) I hope everyone is staying safe and reading the many, many wonderful AUs of our favorite game franchise!