VITAL STATISTICS Date of Birth February 6, 1976 RPGamer Hire Date October 14, 2009 RPGamer Position News Director Location Toronto, ON, Canada Bumper Sticker I love my Napoleonic complex Hobbies 1) Singing and Folk Dance 2) Reading 3) Working on my Frankencomputer Favorite Stuff 1) Antonia's Line (Movie) 2) Bones (TV) 3) Jennifer Roberson, Martha Wells, Lois McMaster Bujold, Patricia Briggs (Authors) Favorite RPGs 1) The PC Classics (See bio) 2) Baldur's Gate Series 3) Suikoden Series (Except 4!) 4) Final Fantasy 9 and 12 5) Personas 3 and 4

Taking a break between random encounters.

   Long ago in the 1980's, a little Southern California desert girl with scrunchies in her hair opened up a game called The Bard's Tale for her Apple IIGS. She was instantly hooked, and became a lifelong RPGamer. That girl (hereafter known as me) spent the next 10 years in a haze of classic PC RPGs... Dungeon Keeper! Wizardry! Might and Magic! Ultima! Gaming led to my love of tinkering with computers, as I built my own 386, learned to hex edit character files, and once blew up my system with a bad extended memory edit while trying to get a pesky game to run. It was a solitary hobby back then, especially since I didn't know any other young women who liked computers or games.

   In the mid-1990's I left the SoCal heat and got a degree in Sociology/Anthropology at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Luckily, these years coincided with an RPG drought, so I was largely game-free until Baldur's Gate I came out my senior year. Somehow I managed to graduate despite it, but I became addicted to the idea that I could actually role-play a character and make decisions in my games. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, I started to connect with other gamers, and I also watched more women join the gaming community, though we were still regarded as a bit of an oddity.

   In the early 2000s I discovered RPGamer, and decided to take the plunge into the world of console gaming. My first two games on my shiny new PlayStation 2 were Final Fantasy X and Suikoden 3. I decided that I love both Western and Japanese RPGs for different reasons, allowing me to bridge the chasm in the RPG community with love and rainbows. I started to notice that nobody looked at me funny anymore when I walked into game stores, and I started seeing and meeting more and more female gamers. It's amazing how much things have changed in just a few decades. Also in the 2000s, I started playing MMORPGs, and met my Canadian husband while playing Dark Age of Camelot. I've been both happily married and happily Canadian for seven years now. Remember, the couple that plays together, stays together!

   Random tidbits about me... I'm a good singer and a wanna-be percussionist. I've sung in everything from church choirs to an 80's metal cover band. I'm a crazy cat lady and call my two kitties my children. I have an extensive collection of dragon plushies, and dabble in papercraft when I have the time. I love talking (my husband would say "ranting") about politics and social issues. Right now I'm working on writing a fantasy novel, as I've had the chance to pursue a long-time dream of being an author.

   I'm excited to be working news for RPGamer. I love following the gaming industry, and I think we've got a great few years coming up for RPGamers. Hang on, it's going to be a fun ride!

   Last Updated: October 15, 2009