An Announcement
Posted by: dr_writer <dr_writer@...>
Greetings, folks....
For those of you I haven't spoken with before, let me introduce myself. My name is Scott Fields. I'm currently the chairman of the Adventures Committee under the auspices of Adventures for Christ. I've been with the group going on six years, and have the pleasure of working with some great people toward a great goal: seeing the Second Edition of the world's finest Christian RPG become a reality. I've been fortunate to have a hand in a number of projects toward that end; some are still in the developing stages, some are reaching their long-anticipated conclusion.
It's one of the latter that brings me to this announcement. We've waited a good while to make it public news, in large part because of the wisdom and foresight of Joe Revesz, who didn't want to build early expectations that would fade and fail later. He was right (as usual). However, the outcome's finally close enough, I think, to let the buzzard fly the coop.
Some years ago, I decided to check out D&D after hearing all my life about its perils (I had to know what the hullaballoo was over, didn't I?). Sure enough, it didn't take me long to discover the dangers--but I discovered some other interesting stuff along the way as well, mostly in the way the game was marketed. I thought DragonRaid might be able to use some of the same approaches to revivify its image and expand its horizons. The format that fascinated me the most was the novels of fantasy fiction based on the different worlds D&D inhabited (Dragonlance, the Forgotten Realms, etc.). I thought if ever there was a world that could benefit from that kind of treatment, it was EdenAgain. What better way to explore Talania and all its spiritual riches than through the magic wardrobe of fiction?
It's been a long adventure, with plenty of obstacles and stumblings (including a period of four years when the book collected dust while I was under the impression that DR had folded), but I'm delighted to announce at last that the manuscript for Book I of DragonRaid: The Awakening is complete, well revised, and ready for submission. It's entitled "Dream Sender," and is the first of a three-book cycle that will (hopefully) introduce DragonRaid to an entirely new audience.
I've been blessed with an enormous amount of encouragement along the way, chiefly from our fearless leader Joe Revesz, who's been offering feedback and guidance almost from the start. The second draft has been distributed among the rest of the members of the AFC, and though not all of them have had the chance to read it yet, it's generated great enthusiasm among those who have (I'd like to thank Jack Ray in particular for his extremely helpful comments). The greatest honor, however, came from the creator of DR, Dick Wulf, who said he loved it and gave it his full endorsement.
I bring all this up here for two reasons. The first has to do with timing and my own selfishness: some of the great discussions that have been perking up recently on this list have to do with subjects I deal with in the book, and I wanted to have the proper context for putting in my own two cents. (There are also questions and conversations that've come up in the past that I've had to remain silent on, such as Liberated Land holidays and such . . . but no longer!)
The second reason is that this particular dragon raid is now entering entirely new territory and what could be the toughest stage so far. We've done a good deal of research on how to proceed, but there are still some difficult decisions to be made. One is whether to stick to a Christian publisher for this, or to seek the possiblity of release under the "inspirational" branch of a regular publishing house. Another is whether we should seek an agent or go directly to those houses we feel might be the best fit for this project. There's arguments for and against all these things.
These are important questions, because we're hoping whoever picks this up will catch the larger vision of DR and what we're hoping to do here. We'd like to see the door opened to the sort of multi-author franchise fiction that's been so successful for other RPG's over the years--and, in the best case scenario, maybe even a publisher that will want to produce both the books AND the Second Edition of the game itself. Bold aspirations, but it never hurts to dream . . . and who knows but that God might be standing by to bring DR to world in a whole new way?
That's why I'd like to ask you all to pray for the success of this endeavor, whatever "success" may ultimately mean in God's plans for it. If it's going to go anywhere, it'll be by His hand and no other.
I'm open to answering questions some of you might have about this (though I reserve the right to keep some secrets--I hate the idea of giving away too much!). Thanks for your attention, and thanks in advance for your prayers.
All things in the OverLord,
Scott
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