By definition as people, we are shaped by what we have experienced, or do we simply choose our experience and change as we choose?

 

I was born in 1976 in Winchester Hospital, and spent most of my early life living in Andover only seventeen miles away. I finished school with ten GCSE's and went on to college to study five A-levels in Communication Studies, English, History. Performing Arts and Sociology. Then in late 1996 I went to Winchester to King Alfreds College to start my degree in Drama, Theatre and Television. I finished in 1999, passing with Upper Second Honours(2:1).

 

My big hobby is live roleplaying, I was introduced to it in 1996. I have been running roleplaying games since I was fourteen, starting with the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. Gradually my adventures with my group of players grew into my own gameworld and then game system, as we became unhappy with the rules. Alarae RPG was the product of this and one day I plan to get it published. I started live roleplaying just before my degree, the Gathering 96 being my first event. However things didn't really start in a big way until January 1997, when I played Durith at an LRP event for the first time.

 

Since then things kind of mushroomed. I spent 1997 finding my feet as a Guildleader and Staff Non Playing Character for the Lorien Trust, then spent 1998 using that knowledge to try to do the best job I could for the players who wanted to get involved. In the meantime, in 1997 I performed in two more plays - Melvyn Bragg's The Hired Man in Andover at Winton, and Willy Russell's BreezeBlock Park in Winchester. In 1998 I also played a small role in Sophocles Oedipus Rex.

 

In 1999 Most of my effort became dedicated to finishing my degree, and producing a video on live roleplaying called Characters in Crisis. It explores some of the misconceptions of live roleplaying games, and also goes on to talk about some of the difficulties people have with playing a character for days on end. I also produced my University final thesis on this topic which appears elsewhere on this website. I also met Karen, fell in love and started to spend even more time going back and forth to Derby.

 

The Year 2000 saw me spend a huge amount of time writing my first novel, and working with the Lorien Trust on Plot, Research, and Campaign, ending with the Aegyptian Gathering of 1100. I moved in with Karen, and settled down in Derby. The end of this year saw me finally get rid of my character Durith, and start work with a fresh team at the top of the LT to begin the events of 2001.

 

In 2001 I was accepted to the Graduate Teacher Training Programme and appointed Web Page Manager at the Long Eaton School. It also saw a great deal of changes within the Lorien Trust. Given a brief this year to work on historical issues, and background consistency within the gameworld, I began developing a great deal of historical documentation, and delving into the records of previous events back to Gathering 1092. This work finally culminating in the release of the Lorien Trust Worldbook at the Gathering 1101.

 

Outside of roleplaying, I have tried to keep a few other interests. I directed Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man in 1996, and wrote and directed Bantu for the Long Eaton School in 2001. In 2002 I left the Lorien Trust, and also left Derby, moving to Houghton Regis, near Dunstable. In late 2002 I started lecturing in Media Studies at Amersham and Wycombe College, and in 2003 I started lecturing in Video Production and Science Fiction and Fantasy Wrting at BCUC in Wycombe.

 

Now in 2007, I still play live roleplaying games and am looking for publishers to accept my writings. I have completed my first novel, and am halfway through writing the second. I have a masters degree in Creative Writing at Luton University. in which I evaluated my own work. I continue to write books, make films, and compose music, as well as trying to encourage others. After all, if we don't dream, there would be no creativity or imagination.

 

So if any of these hobbies interest you, or for some obscure reason I do, then please read on, get in touch, or whatever you prefer. I always like to here from people who share interests with me.