Just a bit of behind-the-scenes on the newly released Rokea, courtesy of Ethan Skemp.

Date:  Thu, 5 Apr 2001 13:18:45 -0400
From:  Ethan Skemp (alphaethan@WHITE-WOLF.COM)
To:  Discussion of White Wolf's World of Darkness (WEREWOLF-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM)
Subject:  Re: JAWS

     
    on 4/5/01 11:48 AM, Bjørn T Bøe at ragabash@ONLINE.NO wrote:

    > At 10:44 05.04.2001 -0500, you wrote:
    >
    >> Matthew McFarland.  And leave your assumptions at the door, 'cause Rokea
    >> aren't what they used to be.  They're actually interesting now.
    >
    > Yeah, I kind of figured (ref. earlier comments made by me on this list
    > about the coming Rokea book, about how I was awaiting it with an open mind
    > because of well, I believe in what Ethan and his crew can accomplish)

    The funny thing is, Matt got his start in Vampire, but Justin didn't have
    anything for him for a bit, so he started bugging me for work. He asked if
    Ananasi was contracted out yet, and when I told him "yes, but the sharks are
    still open", he wasn't super-enthusiastic, but he said any Breed book was
    better than none. He did the research, put some stuff together, and damn if
    Rokea isn't a book I'm really proud to have worked on. (I think he became a
    shark goob in the process, too, which always helps.)

    Matt is *good*, folks. Look for his name on future projects; I'm going to
    continue to use him for as long as he's willing. Check out Rokea and you'll
    see what I mean; if you weren't interested in the weresharks before, you'll
    probably find out that it was just because there'd never been enough detail
    devoted to them. The detail's there now, and it's well-presented.

    (By the by, Matt's also the one who wrote the story for Nights of Prophecy
    in which Baba Yaga gets killed. Almost dismissively. But don't blame him,
    blame Justin for the idea; Matt's just the one who wrote the story and made
    it happen with panache.)

    --
    Ethan Skemp
    WWGS