Best Christmas Ever!

Coolest book EVER!

Many many moons ago, when we were just starting to date, the amazing woman who would become my wife learned that for pretty much my entire life all I wanted was a genuine Solid Leather Authentic Bomber Jacket complete with the removable fleece lining. I had never owned one because traditionally the real leather classic design jackets ran somewhere between $300-$500 and I had never had that sort of money. So one Christmas Day, I opened a large package and found the EXACT jacket that I had always dreamed of owning. She had somehow found the jacket on a massive sale and purchased it for me. To this day, it remains the greatest Christmas Gift I have ever received. Although for the record I still deny crying when I opened the package.

(As a side note I can add this. Several years ago, the zippers busted on both the jacket and the fleece lining inside so I couldn't zip up the jacket which made it impractical in really cold weather. Once we moved to VA, I actually found a talented tailor who repaired both zippers just this last week so it was kind of like getting my cool jacket for Christmas all over again.)

Okay, now for some background information. I have been lucky enough to become friends with some amazing and talented people who have become household names in the worlds of Fantasy Fiction and Fantasy Artwork. I could name drop names that would boggle the minds of most people who follow such things and proudly claim them as true friends whom I have known for the better part of three decades. I am a modest man (Waiting for lightning bolt to strike me dead for lies.) so I will limit the names to just one,

Larry Elmore is one of the greatest Fantasy Artists of all times. If you ever read books like the Dragonlance Series or played games like Dungeons and Dragons, you have seen his art work a 1000 times. He is beloved by millions around the world.

A while back, Larry announced that he was going to use Kickstarter to do the art book that he had ALWAYS dreamed of doing, but could never do because none of his publishers ever felt that the book would sell. Using Kickstarter, he asked his fans for contributions to help him make this dream come true.

(Now at this point, I could spend pages on amusing stories stemming from this venture. Like how Larry seriously felt like not a lot of people would contribute so he set his goals very low and how the donations blew past those goals on the first day or so. Or how as more and more fans donated more and more funds, he had to scramble and brainstorm to come up with new rewards to give to people.)

Okay so you are prolly wondering what all this has to do with Xmas right? Well, back when Larry was starting his KS campaign, I really wanted to contribute as much as could, not just because I wanted the book but because I wanted to help my friend achieve his dream. Problem was, times were tough and money was short. I was feeling really down so my wife assured me that she had made a tiny contribution of $25.00 just so I could say that I had helped. I was sad that I couldn't do more but at least I felt that I had helped Larry.

Now fast forward to Christmas Day, 2013. After opening a bunch of cool presents, I open my last package and what do I see? The full sized, hard bound copy of the book that Larry Elmore had always dreamed of making. Signed by my friend and even has our names in the dedication in the back. Needless to say, I was beyond blissed out by my wonderful wife's gift.

Now having said that, I am also mildly annoyed at my buddy, Larry Elmore. Several times I have apologized to him over not being able to contribute more money to his dream book. Every single time, he has assured me that he understands and that he appreciated the tiny contribution we had made. See for over a year, my friend has been lying to me AND probably snickering behind his rather substantial beard. ANNOYING! LOL

Still, my minor annoyance is easily offset by the fact that, once again, my amazing wife has managed to totally blow my mind when it comes to gifts AND managed to give me a gift that I didn't think I would ever get. Just shows I married the right woman. Not that I actually needed any real proof of course.

Brew long and Prosper