Q: When did you start reading The Wheel of Time?
A: I started reading the series in the early 90's when I was at university, around '91. Someone had given me book tokens as a birthday present, I bought The Eye of the World, and the rest is history.
Q: How did you find Dragonmount and get involved with the Admin/staff?
A: Wow, that's rather a long process. I'll try to condense it lol. I was a member of an online book club back in 2006. Someone there mentioned WoT related sites which had me following a series of links out of sheer curiosity. I ended up at Dragonmount an hour or so later and immediately registered. I then spent some time on the general boards, eventually taking the plunge into the Social Groups by joining the Wolfkin. I hadn't been there very long when I met Goldeneyes, and through him met Twinflower and Auld Manriva. They jointly kidnapped me and carried me off to the Band of the Red Hand Social Group. That was what really hooked me and where my Staff involvement began.
By early 2007, I was involved with all but a couple of the Social Groups and held Staff positions in all of them, most notably as Corki's second in command at the Band. I was always a sucker for punishment though and I plucked up the courage to join the PSW too, thanks to Winter Mist. I started to role play as a Wolfkin and was very quickly offered the position of Division Leader for the Wolfkin by the then RP Admin, Whitewolf. From there, it was a short jump to becoming Assistant Admin and, much to my dismay, an even shorter one to taking over the reins entirely. Being so busy, I gradually divested myself of the majority of my Social Group involvement and focused on the PSW.
Q: Can you share a bit about yourself?
A: I'm an English language/literature graduate. I've been an avid reader all my life and only became an equally avid computer user within the last 11 years or so. I recently became a Grandmother for the first time and I'll be turning 40 in November. It's hard to believe that I've been reading one series of books for 20 of those years. My other hobbies were rather shoved aside when I discovered the seemingly infinite world of the internet but when I'm offline I like cross stitching, paper crafts and genealogy and when I'm online, I play Runescape and have a dreadful addiction to social media. I also have two insane cats, a Maine Coon and a Scottish Wildcat, both of whom I adore.
Q: You are in charge of the DR PSW role play boards. What is that like?
A: Rewarding and frustrating in equal measure. Rewarding to watch the relationships that grow through writing, both in and out of character, and also to see people develop their techniques as writers. When you follow the actual story arcs that members write, you can see them becoming more confident in their craft, particularly those who arrive with very basic skills. I think our members who have English as their second language are especially awesome. I couldn't write as fluently as they do if I had to write in another language, that's for sure.
On the other hand it can be very frustrating in trying to keep activity going. People often fit their writing in between their offline commitments and their other interests. Writing is fairly time consuming which means that RP threads can get delayed or indefinitely stalled when people's lives get hectic. We also tend to have people joining out of curiosity and when they discover it takes a fair amount of commitment, that can be off putting and they don't stay. Unfortunately, although these things may only apply to one individual, their actions, or lack of action, has a knock on effect for every other person they were writing alongside.
Overall, though, it's a fun position to be in 95% of the time and when it gets rough, I have a great team of Staff to back me up and help out.
Q: What are your favorite RP threads?
A: The main plotline threads are always entertaining, but I actually enjoy those which give insight into individual characters and their lives far more than those directly related to the book events.
"Through the Fire and the Flame", a solo RP written by Quibby, is at the top of my favourites list, closely followed by "A time to hunt...again.", written by Rasheta, Rekinu, and Arinth.
Q: Do you actively RP?
A: Yes, I have 3 active characters in the PSW at present. A Wolfkin, an Accepted in the White Tower, and a Band recruit. There's also a 4th in the works who will hopefully be in The Kin.
Q: What faction would you join in Randland if you had to choose only one?
A: I'd be Wolfkin, just like Perrin. Joining the Wolfkin first out of all the Social Groups and then out of all the RP Groups may have given that away lol.
Q: Who is your favorite character in The Wheel of Time?
A: I have a tough time choosing just one. It'd have to be a tie between Aviendha and Verin, both of whom I've loved reading about through the entire series.
Q: What is the most memorable moment for you in The Wheel of Time?
A: It's most definitely Nynaeve's ride to raise support for Lan as he rides for Tarwin's Gap. The way she dumped him in Saldaea, in a typically Aes Sedai fashion, made me laugh, and the heartfelt response of his countrymen when she "requested" their support made me cry. Any scene that raises such emotion in the reader is epic in my opinion.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A: Simply this. Being a member of Dragonmount will open up a multitude of possibilities and opportunities for anyone willing to put into the experience as much as they take out. Make the most of it, have fun, and cherish the friendships you will unavoidably make.
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