1. you wake up; 2. you realize it's still the weekend; 3. your hubby takes the nearly 15-month old baby out of the room so you can sleep in; 4. you've been invited over to a friend's house; 5. her amazing daughter makes German waffles and thick-sliced maple bacon for you; 6. you watch her amazing younger brother take the brunch dishes away and wash them; 7. you touch a dolphin and your son thinks you're so brave; 8. your hubby tells you your son said, "magnet" today; 9. your hubby holds the napping baby so you can get complete a promise; 10. you snuggle into bed and hear the soft snoring of your son and hubby.
Raina cooks up a serious feast.
Almost ready to eat!
Beauties: Raina and Lady K.
Of all the amazing people I know, I can't think of one who (at this moment, anyway!) has a trike in their living room and their husband rides it around that house. Welcome to The General and Lady K's abode.
Serious fun!
After Kaemon Ze was done triking with Dad, he brought over this book for me to read to him. :)
Seriously tuckered out after all that playing!
Thank you Lady K and Raina! We are so blessed from knowing you and your family!
Kaemon Ze playing with the musical instruments his Angela and his John gave him for Christmas. When he first saw the photos of Sofia, he kissed all of the ones of just her. In this video, I wanted to see if he'd do it again. :) Filmed on Christmas morning, 2009.
It's Friday, day five and the last of my interview series with author Jonny Nexus. His book, "Game Night," is the story of six gods who sit down to spend an evening roleplaying. Really badly. But it's really funny.
As you know by now, this blog is part of a international Blog Tour to promote Game Night. More accurately, it's promoting the fact that Mr. Nexus is posting weekly installments of his book online - for get this - FREE! As mentioned in previous posts, I'mgiving away an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Game Night to one lucky reader!For a chance to win your very own copy, here's all you need to do: write a comment to this post - or any of the other interviews with Jonny Nexus - no later than Sunday, January 24, 12noon Pacific Standard Time. OneL U C K Yreader will be randomlyselected to receive their own autographed copy.
Of course you don't have to wait to find out if you won a free copy of this "gut-bustingly, rib-tearingly, bed-wettingly hilarious" book.. you can click here to begin reading free weekly installments of the book - but even better, you can order your own copyNOW from Amazon.com! -- Part Five of my interview with Jonny Nexus -- Thus far renown author Jonny Nexus and have I enjoyed three "house specials" - each. Two-for-One Watermelon Blitzes. It's exactly one too many for myself. Not sure about Jonny. But judging from our most recent outburst of uncontrollable laughter, I'd say he's about on par with me. Which means it would be best to wrap up this interview before one of us spews another Watermelon Blitz out another nostril.
JG: As you know, I’m a new mom. I’d like to challenge you to write a children’s book. What do you think? Dunno. Am I still allowed to swear?
In all seriousness, I think writing children's books is hard. I couldn't imagine writing a book for young children; I don't recall ever having any ideas for that sort of thing. It has occurred to me that it might be fun to write something that's basically a modern day version of the Famous Five / Secret Seven books I used to devour as a kid.
But that would be a long way in the future.
I tell him that his name is superbly cool and that it bears an entire series - "Can you just see it?" I implore. "The Adventures of Jonny Nexus." Jonny nods bobs his head back and forth. It looks like maybe he might be considering it.
JG: Jonny, it's been a pleasure to meet you after all these years. I do hope you'll keep me in mind for another interview when your next book comes out."
Jonny is all smiles. As we hug goodbye, I spot my sandals under the table. I grab them by the straps and make my way back to my villa. I feel a little guilty leaving behind that last full glass of sweet heaven, but seeing how I'm using the walls to assist my equilibrium, I know it's for the best.
Later that evening, with my husband and son, I meet up with Jonny and his lovely wife at the resort's restaurant. I feel remarkably refreshed after a short nap. Jonny is still all smiles. I smile sheepishly at his wife and warn her about the "house special." She laughs and confides that Jonny told her he couldn't help but finish the drink I left behind. I am relieved that she has a sense of humour about it and laugh too. Then, I caught this scene at the bar. Holy melons! No wonder it's called a "Blitz!"
Watch as Jonny reads some reviews from Amazon.com!
To read the first installment of Game Night, just click on this link (and remember to bookmark it!)
If you want to contact Jonny, then just drop him a line at gamenight (at) jonnynexus dot com or you can follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.
JoyGirl is a free-lance writer to travels to exotic locales to interview interesting people and has the nerve to call it "work." If you would like to send JoyGirl and her wee family to some fabulous location to interview someone famous, please let her know.
It's Thursday, day four of my interview series with author Jonny Nexus. His book is called "Game Night," the story of six gods who sit down to spend an evening roleplaying. Really badly.
As you know by now, this blog has been selected to be a part of the National Blog Tour to promote the book, Game Night. More accurately, it's promoting the fact that Mr. Nexus is posting weekly installments of his book online - for get this - FREE! You may also know by now that I'mgiving away an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Game Night to one lucky reader!For a chance to win your very own copy, read yesterday's post.Actually, you may wish to start from the beginning so this interview will (hopefully) make some sense and not seem entirely like flub.
Of course you don't have to wait to find out if you won a free copy of this "gut-bustingly, rib-tearingly, bed-wettingly hilarious" book.. you can click here to begin reading free weekly installments of the book - but even better, you can order your own copyNOW from Amazon.com! -- Part Four of my interview with Jonny Nexus -- I'm amazed to see our waiter back so quickly - and with the drinks.
JoyGirl: Ummm... We only ordered two cocktails. I'm staring at four very delectable looking drinks. I take a sip of one as the waiter unloads all of them from his tray. Even if they are not ours, I want to taste! Delicious. And very strong. Yum! The waiter assures me this is the house special: two-for-one vodka watermelon blitz. Jonny takes a sip, and I can tell from his smile he's pleased. These are so delicious and strong, I'm thinking "if I drink two of these, there's a good chance I will be blitzed!"
I offer a toast to Jonny's success. We drink to that and settle into our chairs. Without a word, and before I know it, we've finished off the first drink. "Must be the heat," I say, to no one in particular, and reach for the second. I take a sip and make a mental promise: I will finish this interview before I finish this drink. As soon as I said that, I regretted it and take another sip out of defiance. I sit up straight, toss my hair out of my eyes, and pick up the book.
JG: One last quote from the book, “Hill let out a low whistle. ‘So this is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with an argument over punctuation.”
I have to tell you Jonny, there’s a lot of Monty Python in that one sentence.
Jonny just started his second drink when the waiter re-appeared. "Good, no?" "Si!" I said, enthusiastically. The waiter looked at Jonny and asked, "Another round?" It was more of a statement than a inquiry. Before I could say "Gracias, no." Jonny tells the man to, and I quote, "bring it on." Wow. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain I seem to recall an interview where Jonny was asked if he had ever taken drugs. He replied that he hadn't but, "once had a bloody strong cup of coffee in Milan. For ten minutes I could have ruled the world, but then I came down and I was just a programmer again." I smile and do a quick mental calculation that, at this pace, I may just be sober in time for our dinner reservations later tonight. This happens to be the first time we've met in person and Jonny wants to meet my husband and son. I've been wanting to meet his wife for years.
There might be, but to be honest I couldn't claim to be a huge Monty Python fan. It's not that I don't like them, more that I just haven't seen a huge amount of their stuff – really only the films. Perhaps because they were a bit before my time. (The first thing I recall having a big impact on me was “The Young Ones”).
JG: Wait, wait, wait! I blurt. What do you mean, "A bit before my time?" You've got to be near my age and I adore Monty Python! Well, I guess I've only seen some of their films. [hiccup] Oh my. Excuse me. That said, “Life of Brian” is one of my favourite films.
JG: No way! My husband and I literally just watched that film last week! How synchronistic is that?. [hiccup] Oh. I seem to have the hiccups. Sorry. Do continue.
I'm fairing well on my promise to finish the interview before I finish my drink - but my drink is dangerously low and - oh my - here comes our waiter with - holy smokes - four more drinks. Miguel, our waiter who is, curiously, just now wearing a name tag, places the drinks on the table. While I was looking in amazement at all the alcohol before us, the waiter whisked away our nearly-empty glasses.
...when it comes to later works, I think that humanity is divided into two camps: those who will tell you that Fawlty Towers is brilliant; and those who either died before it was made or have never seen a television. (And if you have access to a good-quality medium, you could doubtless move the dead into the “brilliant” camp). I'm so distracted by the quandary of having my glass taken away, that stupid promise, and all this alcohol that I barely caught what Jonny was saying. Faulty towers? Uh-ho... mental note: look up "faulty towers" on Wikipedia. I smile supportively, hoping he doesn't notice the light's out on that one. I'm still wondering if it "counts" that my drink was taken from me before I finished and decide it doesn't. I raise glass number three and salute Jonny. We down half the glass in one go. Damn these are so good!
But if you think Game Night bears comparison to recognised comedy geniuses you'll have no complaints from me! (And I might perhaps quote you twice).
JG: Jonny, you can quote me as often as you like! By the way, did you see that photo of the dude who had Stephen Hawkin's face tattooed on his leg with a quote from - and you'll love this - Life of Brian?
Errrm... no.
JG: It reads, "He's not the messiah. He's a very naughty boy." Isn't that great?
I don't wait for an answer. I pull out my iPhone and show him the photo.
That's AWESOME! I giggled and a snort slipped out. Oh that's embarrassing. At least my hiccups seem to have gone away. I straighten my back and the pleats in my skirt. I'm hoping to God that I'll remember my villa number. Oh Lordy. I continue.
JG: Soooo..... what's next on the horizon for you? I'm currently working on a time travel comedy, which I should be finished in the first half of this year. Unfortunately, I'm not really at a point where I can give out any further information, but I'm trying to write it with the same style of humour as Game Night – so if you liked Game Night, I'm hoping you'll really like this. I burst out laughing. Really hard. I didn't mean to... and in looking over my notes as I type this up and still don't know what was so bloody funny. My laughter is infectious, apparently, because as soon as I start to laugh, Jonny spews a bit of the watermelon drink through his nose and erupts in a very hard, deep laughter. I'm beside myself. I can't breathe. There's no sound coming from my mouth... I'm in that moment of silent laughter and then, with some air, I'm laughing so hard I'm holding my stomach. Breathe! I have to breathe! The wait staff looks over and smile... a little too knowingly, I think in retrospect. At some point I realize that I still have one more question to ask. I have got to get a handle on this! Okay, one more question. I CAN DO THIS. But, where are my sandals?
-- End of Part Four of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
One day left! Please join me tomorrow to see if I really can pull it together and get that last question out.
To read the first installment of Game Night, just click on this link (and remember to bookmark it!)
If you want to contact Jonny, then just drop him a line at gamenight (at) jonnynexus dot com or you can follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.
Photo credit: Stephen Hawking tattoo: Jack Newton, 23, of Brighton, decided to have his right leg decorated with the theoretical physicist's face after reading his best-selling book A Brief History of Time - even though he didn't understand a word of it. Tattoo artist: Stewart Francis. Photo credit: Kent News.
It's Wednesday, day three of my interview series with author Jonny Nexus. His book is called "Game Night" the story of six gods who sit down to spend an evening roleplaying. Really badly.
As mentioned in a previous post, I'mgiving away an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Game Night to one lucky reader!For a chance to win your very own copy, here's all you need to do: write a comment to this post - or any of the other interviews with Jonny Nexus - no later than Sunday, January 24, 12noon Pacific Standard Time. OneL U C K Yreader will be randomlyselected to receive their own autographed copy. Of course you don't have to wait until January 24th to find out if you won a free copy of this "gut-bustingly, rib-tearingly, bed-wettingly hilarious" book.. you can click here to begin reading free weekly installments of the book - but even better, you can order your own copyNOW from Amazon.com! To read the first two installments, please scroll down- it'll help explain how it is that I'm inbeautiful sunny warmCosta Rica, with my family in tow, conducting this interview.
-- Part Three of my interview with Jonny Nexus -- I wasn't really surprised to learn that Johnny is a huge fan of writer Douglas Adams (you know, the guy who wrote the five part trilogy known throughout the universe as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I'm a fan of his work too... which is so weird because I'm not much of a sci-fi fan. I only like the "Next Generation" series of Star Trek (with regards to the original series I simply c a n n o t suspend my disbelief). Though in full disclosure, I should mention that I've actually attended a Star Trek convention, wearing [gasp] a tricorder lapel pin. Having admited that, I cannot stand Dr. Who (I'm talking about the the original series - I would not conceive to attempt to watch the new series, as much as I abhor the old). So, it's weird that I can have such a strong appreciation for some sci-fi authors. But -- not to the extent of the guy I knew from high school who (honestly) had the green ball guy from Hitcher's Guide tatooted on his ass. I'm not that kind of fan. I wonder if he regrets that now that he's 40?
Well anyway, I'm not about to unleash those thoughts on Jonny - he's enough of a geek that I'm sure he'll rake me over the coals for not liking Dr. Who. But the memory of the Adams fan from high school reminds me that I want to ask Jonny about his characters - a motley crew of insecure gods.
JoyGirl:It's particularly amusing to me that the gods in your book are fallible, cocktail swilling deities with insecurities. I put down the remainder of my cheeseburger and pick up my copy of the book. I read aloud,
Soon he will have to head to his conference and face Mr. Six Days and his tales of his oh-so-clever realm.
The AllFather wonders what tales he will have to tell of in reply?
He watches the Warrior as he tries, and fails, to think of something to say. Beside him, The Dealer continues to sulk.
The answer to the question of how many tales he will have to tell is depressingly obvious: not many.
An image appears in his mind of Mr. Six Days, wine glass in hand, surrounded by a retinue of early model nature spirit gods hanging onto his every word.
Jonny is smiling, obviously pleased that I've chosen this selection to read. JG:Man, I LOVE that! This is not the usual exchange one thinks of when the word “God” comes to mind -- that the deities in your novel are more human-like echoes the pervasive idea that humans are created in the image of God. No wonder we bugger things up so well! I know in roleplaying, each player is essentially the god of the character they’re playing. The character is unwittingly being guided by forces beyond his immediate control. Do you think that is the case with us? Do you think we have free will?
I can tell I thrown Jonny a curve ball. His smile diminishes, and he breaks his eye contact with me to look out into the surf. He's taking in the children playing in the water... perhaps he's considering how much of his own belief system to reveal to the world? I cannot read his face. His reply starts slow...
Well to a certain extent, I first need to say why I chose to write about gods.
It wasn't because I wanted to write about gods. I wanted to write about players in a roleplaying game, and my initial idea was to simply write up a conventional roleplaying game with a narrative that was split between a bunch of guys sitting around their gaming table on early 21st century Earth, and their characters in the roleplaying game world. But I very quickly realised that the narrative of the characters would lack truth. Put simply, it wouldn't be happening. Those characters wouldn't be real, and the reader wouldn't care about them. The only thing that would be real would be the guys at the gaming table.
Then I had the idea of making it gods playing with mortals, with the gods' dreaming creating reality in the mortal realm. Now, both narratives would be true. What happened to the mortals in the game would be real. So it's from this start that their often human-like nature comes, given that they are players in a game.
As to whether we in our reality have free will, well I'd like to think so – but I once read a Stephen Hawking book that appeared to be claiming that the universe (including time) is like a static four-dimensional sculpture, and what we perceive as the passage of time is simply the result of seeing a series of three-dimensional slices through that four-dimensional sculpture. In other words, the future's happened, we just haven't seen it yet. So maybe we don't have free will. (But in that case, neither would any gods).
It hasn't escaped my notice that he hasn't actually told me if he believes in free will, but I decide not to press him on this answer. Like Jonny, my ego wants to believe we are the masters of our destiny, but I do not know for certain.
I mention to Jonny that I once read that time is not horizontally linear, like we're taught in school (beginning - middle - end), but it's actually more like a vertical line, with (as an example) reams and reams of paper filling up the entire space. Each piece of paper represents a life time - a life time of God experiencing God in the form of being human and experiencing every possible way of being (rich, poor, old, young, king, serf, murderer, murdered, etc.) Given that paradigm, it's pure free will. God experiencing all the possibilities of life in the third dimension. The vertical line assumes it's all happening now; the past and future are simply intangible memories or visions in our human mind.
Jonny seemed to be mulling this over in his mind and was about to say something when the waiter arrived at our table to inquire of our needs and take away our luncheon dishes. I ask Jonny if he'd care to join me for a cocktail, he smiles and nods. I take the liberty to order the house special. I don't actually know what the house special is, but I like to be surprised. -- End of Part Three of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
Please join me tomorrow as we discover [gasp!] how the world ends, are served some very strong cocktails, and find out what Jonny's up to next!
To read the first installment of Game Night, just click on this link (and remember to bookmark it!)
If you want to contact Jonny, then just drop him a line at gamenight (at) jonnynexus dot com or you can follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed. Photo credit: Nubula: A Perfect Storm of Turbulent Gases in the Omega/Swan Nebula (M17). Source:NASA, ESA and J. Hester (ASU)
It's Tuesday, day two of my interview series with author Jonny Nexus. To read Monday's installment, please scroll down - it'll help explain how it is that I'm in Costa Rica conducting this interview.
-- Part Two of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
We're sitting in an outdoor cafe so near the beach, I'm tempted to slide my feet out of my strappy sandals and dip my toes in the sand. I somehow manage to resist this terribly tempting urge and glance up to see Jonny Nexus looking at me with a pleasant smile on his face. He's waiting patiently for my next question. A bit flustered, I take a sip of my latte - then I remembered that I had already finished it. Great. That was smooth.
Right then our waiter arrives asking if we're ready to order our lunch. I'm thankful for this interruption so I can gather my thoughts. Jonny is ordering a fruit salad and green tea. No wonder he's so fit. I know I should do the same, but ordering fruit and salads in countries south of the United States has always landed me in the loo and I've got several pre-paid tour vouchers to explore Costa Rica after the interview -- too much to risk. No. I stick with the usual American fanfare. I order the "Cheeseburge in Paradise" with fries, and diet coke. I think the waiter was not surprised.
JoyGirl:I think one of the things that I like so much about this book is the metaphysical aspect to it. It has a sense of familiarity to it, like the film, "The Matrix." Game Night cracks open that same door and subtly, with tremendous humour, invites the reader to ponder, "what is free will?" "What's real; what's illusion?" "What is it all about?" "What is my purpose?" -- Did you intend for the book to have this depth, or am I just reading way too much into it?
I'm rather delighted that I managed to stop rambling and finally ask the man a question. It's a lot to take in. Jonny draws in a breath. Probably trying to figure out how to wrangle in the essence of my questions. Damn. I should use notes next time.
I think like most things in life, the truth is probably somewhere in between. When I write humour I'm generally not thinking of any particular message – the exception being when I'm writing in an area of humour so black that it might come across as quite seriously offensive, in which case I'll try to position it such that it's making a positive point.
He's looking at his fruit salad, which has just arrived and seems to consider what he's said for a moment. He leans in, and in a more hushed thoughtful tone, he continues.
(That sounds awfully cynical put like that. What I mean more is that if you are making jokes very close to the line, then you really ought to make very sure that you're on the good guys' side of the line firing at the people / events / things over on the bad side. I don't cynically think of a message so that I can make some sick jokes. It's just that the closer to touchy areas I get, the more likely I am to consider the message my humour is giving.)
I'm nodding my head and looking for mayonnaise. I don't see any. I dip a french fry into something that looks more or less like ketchup. It's good.
In the case of Game Night, where I was writing about a fantasy world, I didn't generally think about overall message or depth; I was just trying to make people laugh. But equally, humour needs to be built on truth for it to work; and for truth you need depth, reality, detail.
So in that sense, I was trying to make it seem like a real and believable world.
I'm in the middle of chewing a bite of cheeseburger when he finishes. I smile that awkward smile one gives when their mouth is full. Jonny pops a grape into his mouth while I finish my bite.
JG: There are many levels to this book, if one chooses to see that. Kinda like watching a Disney film that's supposedly for kids, but it's peppered with so much pop culture references you know it's really been written for you to enjoy while your kid sits beside you. The five characters of the story meet (and are) different types of species. Each of the five characters is distinctly different and views their world through the filters of their own paradigms. Your book could be a study in tolerance, or, in the case of The Warrior, the lack thereof. The Warrior's personality is like fingernails running the length of a chalkboard. He seems to reside at the bottom (bottom bottom) of Maslow's Hierarchy; he's all brute, ego, and primal. I find myself NOT tolerating him, at all. I just want to smack him. Of course that is exactly how he is with pretty much everyone around him. It's not a pretty mirror. He's very effective at dishing out his own form of diplomacy; the Warrior has no conscience. When you conceptualized these characters, I imagine that the Warrior is the ‘necessary’ evil or at least the idiot extreme, needed to balance out the whole. Is that true?
Don't know. In a sense, with the possible exception of the Lady, none of the gods is supposed to be the good one. Each one has aspects to their personality and roleplaying style that at times can be quite disruptive to the game.
My friend Gregor Hutton (an RPG designer and writer) actually said that he felt sorry for the Warrior, because he knew what sort of game he wanted to play, and the others were spitefully ganging up to ruin his fun by not letting him play the game he wanted to play. (Although I personally would put the Warrior down as the worst player).
JG: I hadn't thought to look at it that way, but I can see that perspective. The Warrior needs to find some like-minded god-buddies and he'd have a blast.
But the reason why the Warrior is there is the same as the reasons why the Jester, the Dealer and the Sleeper are there – each represents a type/style of play that I've witnessed.
With his fingers, he starts clicking off the characters of his book.
The Dealer is the “method roleplayer,” who wants to act/play his mortal as realistically as possible with no compromise or concession whatsoever made to the fact that it is actually a game, with a plot, and people trying to have fun.
The Jester is the guy who just wants the opportunity to crack jokes, and who'll never pass over an opportunity to make a gag, no matter how damaging it is to the game.
The Sleeper is the guy who isn't actually into the game at all, and is just there because his friends are.
And The Warrior is what is known in roleplaying circles as the “power-crazed munchkin.” He wants to use the game to dominate the other players, something he does by coming up with the most powerful character he can and then playing it ruthlessly, rudely, and with an unhealthy dose of gamesmanship (if not plain damn cheating).
-- End of Part Two of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
Please join me tomorrow when we talk about"fallible, cocktail swilling deities with insecurities" and I attempt to nail the down the author about his personal beliefs on the topic of free will. Am I successful? Come back tomorrow to find out!
To read the first installment of Game Night, just click on this link (and remember to bookmark it!)
If you want to contact Jonny, then just drop him a line at gamenight (at) jonnynexus dot com or you can follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.
On November 16th, Jonny Nexus began a project to publish the entire text of his award-nominated roleplaying novel in 26 free weekly installments. How cool is that?
I'm pleased to announce that this blog is a part of a world-wide Blog Tour for "Game Night,” a book written by Jonny Nexus.
As part of this promotion, I'mgiving away an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Game Night to one lucky reader! For a chance to win your very own copy, check back each day this week for more details. Yes, it's an unabashed tease to get you to come back.
I had the opportunity to interview Jonny Nexus recently. Below is the first part of a series of that interview. Picture this if you will: me with my well-read, but highlighter-free copy of Game Night at my elbow, sitting at an outdoor cafe, somewhere WARM this time of year... perhaps Costa Rica, taking in the sounds and smell of the surf. My guest is none other than Jonny Nexus, renown author of the hilarious and acclaimed aforementioned book at elbow. Of course this gorgeous setting is occurring solely in my mind. I'm in the Great Pacific Northwest; Jonny is in Great Britain. Both cloudy, wet, cold. Forgive me my desire to interview in a warm and exotic locale, family in tow, tax write-off in hand. The questions I've asked and the answers Jonny has given are unaltered, but I did take some liberties in and around the interview.
-- Part One of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
Jonny arrives, looks svelte and lean as ever. His vegan diet would no doubt do my own body good, but seriously, I admire cheese too much. I'm finishing up my non-fat latte (as a vegan I'd have to switch to soy lattes, and I'm not up for that just yet); it's nearly noon and we will be ordering lunch soon.
Jonny smiles warmly, extends his hand and apologizes for being late. In truth, he's not late, I'm early. I ducked out of the beach-level hotel room, blowing good-bye kisses, just as my husband started to change the diaper of our 14-month-old son. Timing, I've learned in these past 14 months, is everything.
JoyGirl:Congratulations on the publication of your first novel, Jonny.
Thank you.
As he removes his sunglasses I detect a small, shy smile on his face. A hint of embarrassment? I find myself somewhat surprised by this display of humility, after all the press junkets he's done and the ENnie award nomination he received.
JG: I've admired your writing for years, dating back to "Critical Miss" - the webzine for dysfunctional roleplayers. I'm not a roleplayer (not do I foresee being one in the future), but that's what makes the way you write so approachable; everyone can have a raucous good time, not just roleplayers.
Well it was a hope of mine when writing Game Night that it be something that both roleplayers and non-roleplayers could enjoy, and it's good to hear that this has been the case for you, and with Critical Miss as well.
Jonny shifts in his seat, looks out at the surfers riding the waves, and continues.
I think it helps that at its heart, roleplaying is a very simply concept to grasp. The GM says, “This is the situation, what do you want to do?” The players reply by saying what it is they want to do. The GM then tells them what actually happened. (And the players then attempt to argue why what they wanted should have happened exactly as they wanted it, and why the GM is wrong / misguided / unfair / an idiot to have suggested any alternative eventuality).
JG: When I read "Game Night" I kept snickering and laughing out loud. So much so that my husband was nipping at the bit to have a go at your novel. When he did, he laughed out loud even more than I... and at one point he was laughing so hard he was crying, literally tears streaming down his face, gasping for air. I don't know how you take hearing things like that, but to me, that's a tremendous compliment to your skill as a writer.
I'll take it as a tremendous complement, thanks! (And once this interview is up, I'll put that bit up on my website's quotes page). It is very good to hear that people like the book. Game Night's actually sold in quite reasonable numbers given that it's published by a small-press publisher (and given that books in general don't sell nearly as many copies as people think). But it's not sold in huge numbers, and so it's the quality of response it's getting (i.e. as opposed to the quantity) that gives me hope that I am actually a half-decent writer, and that I'm not deluded when I dare to think that I might actually be able to give this writing thing a half-decent go.
JG: I really enjoy your out-of-the-box way of thinking and too, the way you have with putting hilarious situations into words.
In chapter 20,
"So," said Yann,"what was heaven like? My people have many theories." "Boring." "Boring?" "Yes. The magazine selection was poor and there were not enough of them. And they hadn't got any new ones in since last time." It was at times like this that Tallenna was glad to be an agnostic, that is one who accepted the existence of the gods but did not particularly feel that any of them were worthy of her worship. Yann though looked more troubled at this revelation. "Magazines?"
Then without skipping a beat, you get all metaphysical on us in the very next paragraph when the AllFather thinks, "After all, he can only guide his players to the extent they are prepared to be guided." Then, a few pages later, we're back to something that sounds very much like lizard porn: "Behind him on the screen two lizards were doing something that looked pretty damn disgusting."
No (or yeah?), that really is lizard porn.
:-)
I'd like to think that as a writer I'm never afraid to descend to the gutter in search of a good gag, and if I can start my dive to the gutter from a lofty height, then all the better.
-- End of Part One of my interview with Jonny Nexus --
Please join me tomorrow when I ask the author about "the idiot extreme" -- and we order lunch!
To read the first installment of Game Night, just click on this link (and remember to bookmark it!)
If you want to contact Jonny, then just drop him a line at gamenight (at) jonnynexus dot com or you can follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.
Water. Glorious, beautiful, life sustaining, life giving water. Go to YouTube to watch the entire film. Gardeners: the bit about gardening may be of great interest to you. May your appreciation for water expand exponentially!
Dinner is served! Karen, tell Joe that Zatarain's Seasoned Shrimp Fry is the best tasting/looking I've used to date (it's the box I gave him to try). Yum!
Raina cooks up a serious feast.
Almost ready to eat!
Beauties: Raina and Lady K.
Of all the amazing people I know, I can't think of one who (at this moment, anyway!) has a trike in their living room and their husband rides it around that house. Welcome to The General and Lady K's abode. 
Serious fun!
After Kaemon Ze was done triking with Dad, he brought over this book for me to read to him. :)
Seriously tuckered out after all that playing!
JoyGirl:
