at the Murkworks

R'ykandar Korra'ti

My lifemate. My partner in marriage, for over fifteen years now. Keenly intelligent, great with electronics and computers, ardently involved in local neighborhood causes as well as state and national ones. Has an artist's eye for landscaping, and an artist's hands, too; she draws regularly, and even does our holiday cards every December. And she sculpts in the unique and striking medium of broken glass. Examples of her art can be found over on her web page; check 'em out.

Paul Johnson

Part of our household for years and years before striking out on his own to Bothell, Paul is a talented web designer, and like Dara, he's an artist. But unlike Dara, Paul has a much more developed presence on the web; if there's something I need to know how to do with a web page, Paul's the first person I generally ask! He's a media geek and an anime fan and gets credit for the very first time I ever swooned over Russell Crowe, because the first Crowe movie in the house was in fact owned by him, a copy of The Quick and the Dead (mmmmm Cort mmmmm).

Rebecca Borgstrom

Shy, reclusive, and devastatingly witty, Rebecca is the author of the gaming system Nobilis as well as the running blog Hitherby Dragons, which you should go read. Right now. She also shares my conviction that Alan Doyle may possibly be the sexiest Newfoundlander on the planet. With the possible exception of Séan McCann.

pern fandom

Tara Lynch

I've known Tara for about, well, forever. I first met her on Two Moons, where she soon joined my tribe the Willowholt; not long after, though, she and I Impressed in the same Clutch on PernMUSH, and wound up being Weyrleader and Weyrwoman together for a bit. She also played Anra, the daughter of my old character F'hlan, as well as my character Mehlani's love interest Devlin.

At least for a while, Tara and I were also in the offline Pern club Segel Weyr together.

local & formerly local

Mimi Noyes

My soul-sister in media, fellow ogler of Russell Crowe, David Boreanaz, Harrison Ford, Pierce Brosnan, Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, David Duchovny, Colin Firth, and other upstanding examples of male cinematic pulchitrude, Mimi is the third big art geek of the Murkworks crowd. She still blames me for getting her involved in MUSHing, but then again, she also still holds the record for Character Best Able to Make My Character Swoon. Meems and I share a passionate affection for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, cartoons, movies, and staying up until wee hours of the night eating unhealthful food. If she were a Powerpuff Girl, she would most definitely be Bubbles.

Meems is also the driving force behind her own mural-painting company, Sun and Moon Murals, through which she paints many fine examples of her art all over walls. Need colorful, detailed mural work? Mimi is your gal.

Vicka Corey

The original Littlest Orc, without whom I would never have learned the word "frob" or that the past tense of "freak out" is in fact "fruck out". Former housemate and ongoing friend, she was the first to make Dara and me feel welcome in Seattle, the one who introduced us to sushi and the marvellous quirkiness that is Twice Upon a Time, and who taught us how to make bamboo flutes.

She loves Tolkien, and because of that when she gave me my first bamboo flute, I named it Yrchannon: "orc gift". Of course, I also still use her other name for it: Tableleg. She never did bring herself to call her parrot Max by his alleged real name ("Hercule Parrot"), but we did for many years call her cat Sparky by a variety of names, including "Bitter Kitty" and "Evil the Cat".

Vicka helped me found the Scattered Tribe on Two Moons, ran one of the most delightful roleplay campaigns in which I have ever participated, and has a wonderful gift for building worlds, characters, and stories in general.

She is the only person I have ever met who actually named her own hair, and after one gets a load of the untamed mass that is Fang, one can definitely understand why. Coming complete with a PhD, she packs a stunning amount of intelligence into a small wiry frame, and I am in full support of her and Dara's theory that the two of them actually used to be the same person and split into two individuals sometime around high school. Her Powerpuff Girl: Buttercup.

I could ramble a great deal more about Vicka, but you might get a better picture of her if you go and check her out for yourself.

Kathryn Tewson

Sometimes she is Kathryn, and sometimes she is Q, but regardless of what name you hang on her, she's a damn cool person. Words cannot express the delight I felt when I discovered that she not only is as much if not more of a music geek than I am (she was training to be an actual opera singer), but did like me fall in mad raving love with Great Big Sea. She understands what I mean when I start ranting about time and key signatures, gave me a dizzyingly satisfying jolt of egoboo when she demanded, "Jesus, Anna, you're a songwriter TOO?!", and was the driving force behind 2001 being the Year That Anna Rediscovered That She is In Fact a Musician. Last but not leasts she knits many wonderful colorful things, and makes gorgeous patterned silk scarves in a style called shibori.

friends from kentucky

I've a number of old friends from my years in Kentucky, most of whom were and still are members of the Lexington Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. These folks are the ones who, along with Dara, first got me involved in science fiction fandom and roleplaying, and who remain a fine bunch of people. Some of them have their own web presences, like Janis Neville and Rod Smith.

friends from two moons mush

Mirya, a.k.a. Spidersilk, Ember, Lhyree, three different members of the Willowholt, and most of all Catie Murphy, is my inspiration for why I'm pursuing professional writing now. She made me do Nanowrimo in 2003 and made me attend my first Writer's Weekend in 2004, and without her, I wouldn't be writing novels now. Kit rocks. And so does her writing.

Sarah Palmero, another former Willowholter in the guise of Jylien and the driving force behind the love interests for my characters Starwing and Oriolle, should also get credit for dragging me off to Writer's Weekend.

And Soula, yet another Willowholter turned writer, deserves warm mention for her excellent character Calmwind, love interest of my Willowholter Wayfound.

Meanwhile, there are also Vale, a.k.a. Kent Jenkins. Elswen. Cloud. Ti, a.k.a. Whisperwolf. Mud. The first player of Savah, a.k.a. Ellan West, founder of Two Moons MUSH. The second player of Savah, a.k.a. Dawn, a.k.a. Janne Torklep. The former player of Tyleet and of Tyleet's daughter Ynderra, a.k.a. Deb Hooker. Gentlerock, a.k.a. Fhen, a.k.a. Alan Hainkel. Traest, TM's current site admin, who has been inordinately helpful to me in mySQL and PHP instruction as well as general clues about Debian Linux, for which I owe him a huge platter of cookies.

Last but not least there is Kaer, who although he hasn't RPed with me in eons, still greeted me on TM with a smile and a hug and a chat, who eventually became a good friend indeed, and who I suspect sometimes still does not realize exactly how indispensible he made himself.

Fellow wizards, tribesmates, and fellow roleplayers in general, these folks are the ones responsible for getting me involved in my very first MUSH and responsible for helping me enjoy it. We're a diverse group of people, and after many years some of us have moved on to other things, but we still have a common love of Elfquest. Thanks, guys!

friends from PernMUSH

I don't play there anymore, but I've got a lot of history connected to PernMUSH, and fondly remember several wonderful people there. Like Kassima, a.k.a. Amanda Hayes, another fellow Nethack-devotee and possessor of a wonderful warped sense of humor that drove her to create with me the silliness that was "Indiana Holl and the Temple of Swoon". Opa, a.k.a. Kathleen Sperling, who used to torment my character Mehlani with her mothering. And Mehlani's actual mother Melora, a.k.a. Amanda Subba Rao, with whom I have had many pleasant interactions both IC and OOC and who earned my everlasting envy by getting to meet the Actual Living Breathing Harrison Ford. For about three seconds, but still! Mehlani's love interest Jorenan must be mentioned, played by the talented Joanna Bare, who also dropped in on SW1 for a bit to give me some lovely RP with Shenner as her character Aidon. Lastly, I must mention the former player of F'laav, Michael Whitson, who gets credit for being one of my earliest sources of instruction in HTML.

friends from CrystalMUSH

I had a lot of fun playing on CrystalMUSH, though I've retired from there in an overall reduction of my time spent MUSHing. Still, I semi-regularly see Gyles from Crystal on my own MUSH; Gyles is the keeper of that game's web page, and also shares my and Sarah's love of Nethack. Moreover, I retain fond memories of (and periodic communications with) the players of Vyana, Dreatha, Bernadette, and Kesya. Jezhrai, a.k.a. Pam Thalner, has a lovely web site and me in her links page (and it should be noted that I knew her as Lighteyes on Two Moons as well).

friends from Star Wars MUSH

Donna O'Kelley, player of Jessalyn Valios and former player of Luke Skywalker; Mike Toles, former player of Luke Skywalker; Dillon, who has also been Lando Calrissian; Grathix, Kairne, and Dane; all three players who have been Leia to my Han Solo; Avy and Sinjon, a.k.a. Anathea and Brian; Jairen Windchaser. And last but not least, Jonathan Webb, a.k.a. Thomas Borreson, who is not only the player of my character Shenner's love interest but who's also become a very dear friend, and who is yet another fellow Nethack addict. But one cannot mention Thomas without also mentioning Cyn Price, his significant other, who played both SW1 and Aether, and who joined me in my raving affection for Great Big Sea when she rushed the stage with me at their concert at Chateau Ste. Michelle in September 2000. All of these folks are incredibly wonderful people, and have contributed to the development of my taste for well-developed, story-driven roleplay--not to mention helped fuel the fire of my Star Wars fandom.

friends from AetherMUSH

AetherMUSH is no more, but I retain fond memories of my closest friends from there. Like Jen Taylor, local to Seattle, who out of the goodness of her heart deliberately decided to recast one of her characters as Harrison Ford just so she could make me swoon, and who happily made that character my character Faanshi's first love interest. The player of Cynara gained my everlasting approval by telling me she liked Elvis music, and the player of Lyranthe, also local to Seattle, has happily helped me ogle the lovely and talented Russell Crowe. Also on the list of those who must be mentioned are the talented players of Geridan (who also played my character Faanshi's second love interest, Mehul), Salmalin, and Tyler, all of whom contributed to my having a great run as Faanshi. Thanks guys!