I don’t write for the money …
But I love it when the check comes in.
Ask anyone working in the publishing business and they will tell you that making the jump from part to full-time freelancer is not a decision to be made lightly. When even those with regular novel gigs keep their day jobs, you get a sense of how great the gap is. Still, I suspect that each one of us, in our secret (or not so secret) heart of hearts still yearns for title of full-time freelancer.

In case you were worried, Harley isn’t making the jump any time soon.

The upside to being unknown, broke and ugly, is that every sale – and I mean every – feels like a giant step forward. It’s like the first time you kissed the girl. Archangels trumpet from on high, the stoplights all turn green, the cop lets you off with a warning for skateboarding.

The soft cover edition of Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor campaign setting isn’t due out for a few months, but that didn’t stop the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons from paying Harley’s rent for the month of December. (And remember, I live within avalanche distance of Aspen.)

Part-time or full-time, that’s pretty fun.

And in other news …
I spent last night doing setting work (inking and coloring a 2 ft. by 3 ft. map for a campaign setting that is due for release at the next GenCon) and I realized the reason that I love doing d20 work: the opportunity to draw.

Silly, but there it is. I’m not professional grade by any standard, but the mere act of preparing maps of professional cartographers is a joy, and something that’s lost when I write straight fiction.

You may recall that before the setting gig came along I expressed a desire to step away from d20 work and get back to writing more. That’s still the case, but I hope I have the opportunity to the occasional d20 job on the side. I spent my childhood doodling on graph paper and I'd hate to give it up now. :)


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