The inspiration for this writing journey began in sunny, southern British Columbia almost 45 years ago. As a classical, pencil-and-paper Dungeon Master forever in demand, my D&D game continues in Japan with new player characters eager to improvise and develop their own stories. New players are millennials who add a real freshness to D&D with their inclination towards modern society themes and the use of contemporary language. Together with our 1980s-era, old-school, Canadian players championing this effort, all kinds of amazing adventures playing out over the years have found their way into this book.

I hope you'll have as much fun with Genoivieve as I have had, developing her character and writing about the world through her experience. It happens in a setting where women are generally suppressed but blatant misogyny, racism and homophobia are not widespread prejudices. In particular, as I applaud women for generally reading more, Genoivieve makes a case for an increased female readership in a genre that has historically been male-oriented.

The content of this contemporary high fantasy fusion is influenced by JRR Tolkien, Gary Gygax, RA Salvatore, Robert E Howard and a tiny dollop of Charles Dickens, so if you're familiar with the celebrated masterpieces from any of these ground-breaking authors, we already have something in common. Eternal gratitude goes to all my veteran players for their suggestions and support, and to my darling soulmate Yoko, without whom the endless nights spent proofreading might have been overwhelming!

Apart from writing and conducting my ongoing RPG, I'm an avid vintage record collecter of various genres and play music every day, often quite loud!  Other major hobby passions include visual astronomy, freediving and photography.  I can really get mired into anything involving optics.  Although age and the Pandemic have naturally caused some skills to decline, the silver lining is that I did find more time to write!  Therefore stay tuned for more in the future!

With My Very Best Wishes and Sincere Thanks,

MARTIN WERNER ZANDER