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Gaming
Games become very important to the Masters and Mercenaries universe as we move into the spin-off series, Masters and Mercenaries: Reloaded. At this point we’re dealing with the slightly (because this timeline is very, very fluid) younger crowd from the OGs. I suppose I was kind of an X’er writing X’ers when I wrote the first set of M&M books. They’re stalwart and their hobbies seem to include their jobs, sex, and more working. Oh, and burying bodies. But when we get to Reloaded, we find that younger group having a life outside of work and the club, and it’s mostly about games.
So why did I decide to make Hutch and MaeBe such gamers? And not just video game obsessed? They’re into something much more expensive and requiring way more storage. I give you European style board games. Why? Because I write what I know and lord, do I know this.
My husband has always loved games and puzzles. He’s that guy who you want working the puzzle part of the immunity challenge on Survivor. He was an early adopter of video games in all their forms, and let me tell you he can DM his heart out. (Dungeon Master for the uninitiated, and now I wonder why I haven’t used that title…)
Some of his first jobs were at comic book/game stores. I’m still assured on a regular basis that if things go wrong, he has his original Magic: The Gathering sets and we can live off those forever.
My husband has had a few game groups over the years, but after we moved into our current house and he got to set up the game room of his dreams—thanks Elfa—I really liked his group. They were fun and happy and a little younger. One of his regular gamers was a writer like me. Sidney Bristol. If you haven’t read her, you absolutely should. She’s wonderful. She has pink hair and a flair for life, and then suddenly so did MaeBe Vaughn. Mae, like so many other characters, was inspired by the wonderful people in my life. Not based on since they don’t share backstories or real-life histories. Inspired by. I like to take all the joy they bring and put them in a character.
So the joy my husband gets from playing these games seeped into Reloaded. Some of the characters are kind of classic gamers, like Hutch and Mae, and others are not so stereotypical, like Boomer and Deke, but what brings them together is a love for the games they play.
Here’s a little sample of my husband’s happy space. I’m pretty sure the giant dragon head on the wall has been mentioned a couple of times. I don’t play a lot, but I do love Ticket to Ride, Racoon Tycoon, and Dead of Winter.
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