An Open Letter Post.
To Whom It May Concern:
I have been scribbling stories for far longer than I can
accurately calculate. My imagination has been jammed into the over-drive
position for perhaps an even greater number of years. And, in all that time; I
have enjoyed every story, every awkwardly constructed game or moment of
pretending. Not because I think or feel that it makes me special, superior or
needed by others. I have cherished all those endlessly connected tiny moments
because woven throughout them are series of smiles, giggles, grins and heart-warming
shared sincerity.
In recent years, I can humbly attest and/or admit that my
own skill with which I apply to my beloved past-time hasn't been anything that can
realistically approach the level of a professional. On the topic of telling
stories I can concede that my own are anything but worthy of high praise or comparison
to the likes that end up on best-seller lists. Nor can I claim that my work on
role-playing games or programming projects is anything more than idle efforts
of fancy or hobby/enthusiast interest.
All that being said, one of the greatest gifts I have received and
a constant source of joy for me is when I see a string of traffic visiting my
blog that displays even a single view of one of my stories in order of the
episodes/chapters/segments released. It is rare that I ever hear a word of
feedback, an opinion or admiration. Even so, when I notice a pattern of traffic
that highlights someone even looking at the released parts of a story I am
filled with a wave of accomplishment.
I can recall those first days of toiling to create a
fictional setting that other might enjoy. It is nothing short of poetic irony
that that self-same setting was the seed for so many stories; so much time
spent enjoying entertaining others and produced a creation that I am still tinkering
on to this day. Recently I realized that the fictional setting I had developed
and used for a game focused landscape had become the backdrop for me to place
short stories and novellas. Seeing the game that had given birth to that rich environment
collecting dust made me realize it was something I couldn't leave laying idle.
It was worth refining and reviving.
For me, the process of creating a story or working on a game
is a labor of love. I do such things not for gain or to pursue the approval of
others. I do them because they are worth doing and I have a story or something
in me worth sharing. And as I look back there were simply too many memories,
laughs as well as smiles that were experienced in the company of others over
one of these creations.
So, I’d like reassure any who may have been interested in
the past, still are or might be just starting to become curious; I haven’t
surrendered to silence yet and never will. My work on the science-fiction
role-playing game setting project I refer to as Requiem (or Requiem d20) is
alive and well. In fact, it is currently being analyzed, improved and
redesigned to become the kind of game that I know it can be with the level of
quality it deserves.
There is so much room for improvement within the work that
has already been done on Requiem. Alternatively there is also a lot to
celebrate about it. Even if I find areas where I notice equal degrees of ‘what
was I thinking’ and ‘there is so much promise here.’
The passion has always been there, the flame never really
dies. It is just the focus that might have shifted from time to time. But there
are more tales left in the tank, more ink yet in the silver pen and I am not in
the ground yet. Until that day comes I can’t imagine not getting lost in my own
imagination on a regular basis.
If you have ever enjoyed any of my work before or are just
starting to stumble into it then know that more will come. Requiem isn't going
to be forgotten. You can always ‘rent Earl’s bullets,’ order some Vernian brew
and load your trusty Mark VIII while you get ready to enter a deal with Gideon
Coromaur. I have written so many stories set within Requiem’s New Republic
I can only hope that you keep reading them, playing, sharing
and smiling. Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Matthew C. Gill
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