But I'm not a geek...  I'm not a gamer...

SO ... you've never fought a troll. Never hefted a boffer sword. Never rolled a natural 20 ... That's OK. 

Maybe you don't know much about D&D, Tolkien, Harry Potter, the SCA, LARPs, World of Warcraft ... That's OK too.

Or perhaps you have a friend, spouse, child, grandchild or student who's into this stuff, and you're really, really trying but you don't get the appeal.... Fear not. Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is your gentle guide into these worlds.

OR: I am a fantasy freak but no one gets me...I'm terribly misunderstood...

You really love fantasy and gaming, but no one else in your life understands it.

You're in luck! Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks will help explain and demystify your fantasy passions and gaming geek-outs. It also debunks common stereotypes about gamers, the fandom community and other fantasy subcultures.

Here are other reasons why you should care about this book:

>Gaming is huge: Fantasy gaming---from Dungeons & Dragons to computer games to medieval reenactment societies---were on the fringes in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (when the author used to play D&D). Now, gaming is huge. A whopping 65 percent of American households, and 97 percent of children ages twelve to seventeen, now play some kind of video game. In 2008 MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) generated $1.5 billion worldwide subscription revenues, a figure that’s expected to balloon to at least $2.5 billion by 2012. World of Warcraft has 11.5 million subscribers and that figure is climbing. Think of how many millions play Rock Band or own a Wii.

>Fantasy and science fiction are huge: Think of the popularity of Star Trek, or Lost, or the way Battlestar Gallactica became a cult hit as friends gathered to watch the show. You know how huge Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars is. Online shows like "The Guild" and "Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog" are also huge hits. All of these shows have devoted followings and I will be targeting them in my promotion.

>The author’s personal story: In the moving introductory chapters to Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, I recount my own story of how a fantasy game, Dungeons & Dragons, “saved” me from having to deal with a traumatic event---my mother suffering a brain aneurysm. Right-brain damage caused crippling left-side paralysis, massive changes in behavior and personality, and dangerous bouts of epilepsy. She was 38; I was 12. In the book, other gamers share similar stories of needing to “escape” from difficult personal or family troubles.

>A cultural shift: What has happened in the culture in the past decade is that “geek” and “nerd” subcultures have become acceptable. We’ve become a nation of specialists: film nerds, wine geeks, mountain bike geeks, audio gear freaks. In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, I talk about how, in a major cultural shift, it’s now hip to declare one’s geek interests, and this makes role-playing and computer games much more acceptable.

>Why play these games? The term "World of Warcraft widow" exists for a reason. Spouses and parents often feel left out; they don’t understand why their loved ones play Warcraft 10, 20, 30 hours a week. People worry if these games are harmful, addictive, educational, or something in between. In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, we demystify the games, and let the players explain, in their own words, what these games mean to them. The answers --- community, heroism, fellowship -- - are surprising, especially from soldiers in Iraq and disabled folk stuck at home. My book explores the reasons why these "escapist" activities are popular and what meaning a game or fantasy experience  has in their lives. I think there's a deep hunger for answers about all the time people are spending online and my book helps quell fears while also asking hard questions.

>The important role of fantasy play: It’s not just online gaming: the world is filled with fantasy escapism. As I traveled from Atlanta to Azeroth (the virtual setting for World of Warcraft); my backyard of Boston to Burgundy, France; Milwaukee to Middle-earth, I visited movie fans, game players, castle builders, Tolkien scholars and armor-wearing sword-fighters, all of whom spoke frankly about their own obsessions. Some argue that society lacks rites of passage, or offers the average Joe no chance to feel heroic or defeat evil. In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, we see players, readers and audience members who participate in fantasy entertainment to feel part of something bigger than themselves.

>Gaming is not all mindless: Some activities can be educational, and offer a community. In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, we visit a medieval reenactment group called the Society for Creative Anachronism, which is built around chivalric ideals; it actually teaches its members concepts like honor, valor, courtesy, and service. These groups and games have roots in epics, sagas and legends --- and might serve a similar function by teaching us how to be heroic. They also put on quite a show, staging battles between upwards of thousands of armed and armored fighters. Online games offer new ways to socialize and to feel part of a community. For the disabled, online games can be a lifesaver.

>Are these games dangerous? Old school paper-and-pencil gaming (like D&D) used to be associated with devil worship; that’s been long-since debunked and the games seems antiquated quaint today. Now, parents, teachers and mental health professionals are worried about online games and their power to suck in kids (and adults). But are online games such a harmful way to spend one’s time? In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, I talk to some who have taken the games too far, into addiction; but most players have a healthily integrated gaming into their everyday lives.

>How I got my geek back: Wanting to be "cool," I had left gaming behind when I went off to college. But Dungeons & Dragons haunted me. Turning 40, I rediscovered my old gaming gear, and was surprised when I got sucked into the Lord of the Rings movies when they came out in 2001 to 2003. I wanted to find out why I was attracted to D&D then, and as an adult why I was drawn to Tolkien again. Could I make peace with my geeky past?