I find writing bios to be rough. I’ve written several drafts, and I don’t like any of them.
Ryan Macklin, however, finds them to be highly entertaining, as long as they aren’t his own…
Athena. Freya. Hera. The goddesses of old inspire devotion and grant power. Today they’re myth, but we have a new goddess to revere: Amanda Valentine, goddess of editing.
Many writers, including everyone at Evil Hat Productions, would march with her to the ends of the earth if it meant she’d work over our manuscript. Her eye for prose, for flow, for content, for context, and for rules understanding are top notch.
I’ve seen her work on the Dresden Files RPG, Smallville RPG, and other projects here and there, and she’s amazing; she truly grants power to these works. And I have high expectations for the upcoming Marvel RPG, expectations I know she’ll meet and exceed.
Oh, and Amanda, don’t you dare edit this for content. I want you to feel ridiculous when you post this on your site. 😀
– Ryan F. Macklin From The Internet
Mission accomplished, Mr. Macklin! Although I also feel incredibly flattered.
A few mundane non-work details I’ll add:
- I’m married to the talented Clark Valentine who has written for several of the books I’ve worked on.
- We have two geeklings—a girl and a boy barreling into their teens.
- I read a lot—particularly books with a bit of romance and fantasy.
- I have a weakness for costume dramas—especially the BBC miniseries that last 4 or more hours.
- I’m a sporadic and slightly obsessive crafter—beaded jewelry, cross stitch, weaving on a triangle loom, or whatever else captures my attention at any given moment.
- I enjoy a wide variety of games—RPGs, board games, computer games, etc.
- For 10 years I taught freshman Rhetoric & Composition at Penn State. Before that I taught 7th, 8th, and 10th grade literature and grammar. Yes, the urge to take a red pen to the world around me is occasionally overwhelming.
- In my copious spare time, I write spoilerific reviews of books aimed at tweens so the adults in their lives can keep up with what kids these days are reading.
Umm, yeah. I think that’ll do it.
