Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - March 2014 | Page 25

From Role-Play to Best-Seller? - p2

From Role-Play
to Best-Seller?

Verona Lorgsval (a.k.a. Victoria
Osborne), hits the bookshelves!

By Daeden Jessop

Just about everyone who role-plays in the
Gorean community inside Second Life, at one
point or another, hears the name, Verona
Lorgsval. Most know exactly who this brilliant
and well versed woman is, and all who know
who she is and what she does, have the utmost
respect and admira on for her knowledge,
skills and accomplishments.
At the top of that list is yours truly. I have
worked with, role-played alongside of and
learned from this amazing story-teller for most
of my 7 (almost 8) years in Second Life and it is
my extreme honor and privilege to be able to
interview her and bring to you, her amazing
news.
DA E D E N: We're thrilled to have this
opportunity to speak with you Verona, please,
tell our readers a bit about yourself, the real
woman behind the screen.
VERONA: Well I have a degree in Crea ve
Wri ng from the University of Washington and
I live in the Pacific Northwest. Ever since I was a
child I had wanted to be a professional writer,
and not just any kind of writer but a fantasy
writer. I had come to the sad realiza on that I
am a nerd at a young age. In addi on to loving
to write I am also a professional gamer. I playtested D&D with Gary Gygax in 1973. In the
nine es I became the first Magic the gathering
woman pro tour player and I also worked with

Wizards of the Coast to help keep their D20
small presses consistent. Through all of this I
have been a nurse and a financial counselor for
a large hospital. But my heart always yearned
to be a writer. Last month my first novel, "The
Student Librarian," was released, published by
Kodell Group Publishing.
DAEDEN: Wow, I'd always known you were
“all that” but I never realized just how much of
“all that” to credit you with. Verona, you've
been in Second Life for some me. As I recall
you used to publish the longest running weekly
SL news publica on. That is quite a feat if you
ask me! Tell us a bit about what you've done
here in the past, your accomplishments in SL?
VERONA: The Voice of Gor. I ran that
newspaper for nearly three years. It became
one of the most read papers in Second Life and
the largest paper. Many people have asked me,
why Gor? It certainly isn't because I agree with
John Norman's portrayal of women. I just
found the greatest diversity of personali es,
and some gorgeous builds all over Gor. The fact
that what happened on one sim could impact
what happened on another sim. I wanted to
create a paper that would let everyone know, in
character, what was going on in other ci es.
I just kept at it, and was available and learned to
delegate. I had a business partner to help me
out. Willow Jenipe joined me at the paper
when it was s ll in Vonda. Together we helped
to create a more cohesive and unified Gor.
Even people outside of Gor were reading the
paper just to see what was happening. The
Voice of Gor got John Norman's a en on and I
communicated with him about it. I finally got
burned out, and one of my editors took it over
so The Voice of Gor has never truly stopped.
Nu Vibez Magazine - February 2014 - 25