2016 has come to a close and it changed me. There have been the large events in our country and in our world that people have been talking about, and argue about. Yes, I have my own thoughts about those events, but those are not the events that have changed me. 2016 provided opportunities and problems, rewards and punishments, events we all face to one degree or another have given me the opportunity to look back on the year, and on my life, to decide how I want to move forward.Like many people I have talked to and just listened to, there are many things I could be angry about. That emotion has taken the forefront in many conversations. This year I got caught up with being angry because so many people around me were angry. I decided to change my ways and to embrace life.
As an unknown friend who is reading this I am sure you are wondering what does this matter to you. You may be reading my work for the first time, or you may have been following my writing for years, but you are here to read about what is happening with my writing, what has happened over the last twelve months and what I am planning for the next twelve.
Let me first say, "Thank you." Readership of Guild Master Gaming has grown this past year. You, as a reader, are part of a community of people who come back to read more. This year readership went over 11,000 page views in a single month. This also represents people from 127 countries (at least those that are identified because there are regular readers from "Unidentified Region"). Every month people from over 50 countries read, and share my writing. This is humbling to me. I have received support in this growth from groups like Utah Geek Magazine, SaltCon, and Giant Dragons. These groups have given praise, and allowed me to share my writing through their communities.The past year also gave me a chance to expand what I have been doing. I ran a couple of role-playing games and was involved on a panel at SaltCon, and am looking forward to being involved in the activities of 2017. If you are in the area, please come say hello and join in a tabletop game. I had the pleasure of meeting some of you last year.
I also had the opportunity of joining a group of volunteers to go to South Africa. We were there working with young adults in a couple of townships learning about storytelling and writing. I recommend that everyone be involved with helping others. It might cost you some money and time but the rewards are great.
Not everything was rosy though. My sister passed away this year from cancer. They never did identify the type of cancer it was and it was so aggressive she didn't have the chance of treatment. Losing a sibling is hard. Watching my mother go through this experience was even harder. My sister was part of our gaming group which has been active in one form or another for over 30 years. She was a supporter of my writing and the angle I have chosen to take with it. She will be physically missed at the table, but since her family is part of our active group, she will always be present. The lesson of the shortness of life, and how quickly it can be lost or gone has given me endurance to carry on with projects I started, and in starting new ones.
This next year should bring more of what I have been doing and also more of what I have been wanting to do. I mentioned before that I started a project of creating a book of pirates for gaming. The book has gone through my preliminary readers and is now in edits. I have also contracted an artist who has been working on the illustrations. In 2017 a Pathfinder PDF book will be forthcoming. Then I plan on providing additional works for other game systems.Outside of gaming I made myself sit down and write a novel. I completed the first draft during NaNoWriMo. I have started the revision work of the second draft and will be pushing that project forward as well. It is an urban fantasy set in an alternate time.
My goal with creating Guild Master Gaming has been to provide entertainment and support to others who, like me, enjoy tabletop games and the culture we develop around our gaming.
I thank you all again for reading my work.
I am going to do a little self-promotion here. If you like what you are reading, please make comments and share it with your friends. Writing these articles really is for the fun, enjoyment, and learning I get from them and I hope they are the same for others. I don't have any form of sponsorship, but there are ways you can support the bloggers and vloggers out there you enjoy—if they have ads showing up, click on them every so often. It doesn't cost you anything and it pays the creator 10 to 25 cents when you do that. Supporting the community in small ways is a bigger encouragement than you might realize.
If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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