Behind the Cover: Daniel Dociu

Daniel Dociu was raised in Cluj, the capital of Transylvania in Romania. After studying art and architecture, he got his Masters in Industrial Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cluj. He moved to the USA in 1990 after spending two years in Athens, and he has lived in the Seattle area since 1991.

 
Crescent Street - © Arena Net

( more pics )

After working as a toy designer for two years, Dociu wisely jumped ship to interactive entertainment. “I’ve been working as an Art Director in the games industry ever since,” says Dociu, “for companies like Squaresoft, Electronic Arts (twice!), and Zipper Interactive. I have done consulting for Microsoft and freelance work for Wizards of the Coast, Digital Anvil as well as a fair share of small developers who have come and gone.”

For the past five years, Daniel Dociu has been with ArenaNet, a fully owned subsidiary of NCSoft, in an art director and lead concept artist role. More recently he's stepped into the Chief Art Director role for NCsoft, overseeing visual development for NCsoft's North American projects, with particular focus on ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2.

http://www.tinfoilgames.com/

Behind the Cover: Daniel Dociu

Daniel Dociu was raised in Cluj, the capital of Transylvania in Romania. After studying art and architecture, he got his Masters in Industrial Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cluj. He moved to the USA in 1990 after spending two years in Athens, and he has lived in the Seattle area since 1991.

 
Crescent Street - © Arena Net

( more pics )

After working as a toy designer for two years, Dociu wisely jumped ship to interactive entertainment. “I’ve been working as an Art Director in the games industry ever since,” says Dociu, “for companies like Squaresoft, Electronic Arts (twice!), and Zipper Interactive. I have done consulting for Microsoft and freelance work for Wizards of the Coast, Digital Anvil as well as a fair share of small developers who have come and gone.”

For the past five years, Daniel Dociu has been with ArenaNet, a fully owned subsidiary of NCSoft, in an art director and lead concept artist role. More recently he's stepped into the Chief Art Director role for NCsoft, overseeing visual development for NCsoft's North American projects, with particular focus on ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2.

http://www.tinfoilgames.com/

Circle of Change by Laney Cairo

This is a coming of age story: Kim is 18 years old and his beau, Dash, is 19 years old, so this is the classical story of love  that feels too much and too strong, of difficulties that seem insurmountable, of the awkwardness to find a place where you can be together, when you are still living with your mother or in a dorm with a roommate. The fact that Kim is a gay teenager out and proud who is struggling to finish the last year of high school to finally reach the dreamland that is the college campus, and that Dash is a strange guy, all long trench and eyeliner, would make this already an interesting book, but there is something more.

Kim is not exactly a gay teenager, he is a transgender female to male; the previous year, when he was still underage, he had a breakdown, but the consequences were not so bad, both his mother than his doctors understood that for Kim was not just an attitude, he was really a man trapped in a woman body, and they took the necessary step. Now Kim frequents a new school and both his friends than his family think at him as a guy. And he looks also as a guy, a pretty boy sure, but a boy nevertheless. And so when Dash meets him, he has no doubt that he is looking and a very pretty boy, one he would be interested to frequent.

Dash is a first year university student with a bit of a rebel behavior, but all in all not a bad life. From a wealthy family that seems to have not problem with him being gay, Dash is also quite handsome and so he has no problem to meet guys. Actually Dash is the perfect teenager dream date, all dark and fashion, what fashion define an emo boy, I believe. He has some bad experiences in the past, he lost his sister to illness, and even if not exactly explained, I believe there were some tensions with his family on his chosen path for the future (both as sexual preferences than professional career); but truth be told, Dash comes out like a very lucky guy, even maybe a little spoiled, his family fears to deny him something since having lost a daughter, now they pour all their love on the remaining child. Knowing that, Dash's first reaction to Kim's revelation that he is transgender is almost expected: Dash is not used to have things don't go as he wants, and he is used to have all simple and ready; probably at first he thinks that it's not worth to complicate his life with Kim. But then Dash is not a bad guy, and after the first shock he is willing to try.

Dash is a nice character, but most of the story turns around Kim. The plot doesn't develop Kim's struggle to be accepted as a man, when the book starts he has already the support he needs, now it's only a question for him to really understand if he has to go on with the change. It's not even something related to the outside world, if we arrive to the bone of the matter, Kim is attracted to men, so probably he would have no problem to find a man that would comply with his request in bed even if he was a woman. Kim decides to change since he is not comfortable with himself, he is not comfortable inside his body. It's not a matter of Kim related to the world, it's a matter of Kim related to himself.

As always Laney Cairo chooses a not simple plot, and deals with it with enough analytical approach to make it real, but also with enough romance attitude to make it appealing; while reading you are aware that this is an important issue, that it was not simple for Kim, and that probably it will be not even in the future, but you are also aware that this is a love story, and it's sweet and romantic, and powerful as only a teenager love story can be.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1967

Amazon Kindle: Circle of Change

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Pluto

Circle of Change by Laney Cairo

This is a coming of age story: Kim is 18 years old and his beau, Dash, is 19 years old, so this is the classical story of love  that feels too much and too strong, of difficulties that seem insurmountable, of the awkwardness to find a place where you can be together, when you are still living with your mother or in a dorm with a roommate. The fact that Kim is a gay teenager out and proud who is struggling to finish the last year of high school to finally reach the dreamland that is the college campus, and that Dash is a strange guy, all long trench and eyeliner, would make this already an interesting book, but there is something more.

Kim is not exactly a gay teenager, he is a transgender female to male; the previous year, when he was still underage, he had a breakdown, but the consequences were not so bad, both his mother than his doctors understood that for Kim was not just an attitude, he was really a man trapped in a woman body, and they took the necessary step. Now Kim frequents a new school and both his friends than his family think at him as a guy. And he looks also as a guy, a pretty boy sure, but a boy nevertheless. And so when Dash meets him, he has no doubt that he is looking and a very pretty boy, one he would be interested to frequent.

Dash is a first year university student with a bit of a rebel behavior, but all in all not a bad life. From a wealthy family that seems to have not problem with him being gay, Dash is also quite handsome and so he has no problem to meet guys. Actually Dash is the perfect teenager dream date, all dark and fashion, what fashion define an emo boy, I believe. He has some bad experiences in the past, he lost his sister to illness, and even if not exactly explained, I believe there were some tensions with his family on his chosen path for the future (both as sexual preferences than professional career); but truth be told, Dash comes out like a very lucky guy, even maybe a little spoiled, his family fears to deny him something since having lost a daughter, now they pour all their love on the remaining child. Knowing that, Dash's first reaction to Kim's revelation that he is transgender is almost expected: Dash is not used to have things don't go as he wants, and he is used to have all simple and ready; probably at first he thinks that it's not worth to complicate his life with Kim. But then Dash is not a bad guy, and after the first shock he is willing to try.

Dash is a nice character, but most of the story turns around Kim. The plot doesn't develop Kim's struggle to be accepted as a man, when the book starts he has already the support he needs, now it's only a question for him to really understand if he has to go on with the change. It's not even something related to the outside world, if we arrive to the bone of the matter, Kim is attracted to men, so probably he would have no problem to find a man that would comply with his request in bed even if he was a woman. Kim decides to change since he is not comfortable with himself, he is not comfortable inside his body. It's not a matter of Kim related to the world, it's a matter of Kim related to himself.

As always Laney Cairo chooses a not simple plot, and deals with it with enough analytical approach to make it real, but also with enough romance attitude to make it appealing; while reading you are aware that this is an important issue, that it was not simple for Kim, and that probably it will be not even in the future, but you are also aware that this is a love story, and it's sweet and romantic, and powerful as only a teenager love story can be.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1967

Amazon Kindle: Circle of Change

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Pluto

Blood & Fire by Mychael Black

This is a novella that mix paranormal with slutty behavior! Jason's character at first appears as a mourning hero, with some dark secret hidden inside, who lost his forever love Chris... this man probably will spend the rest of the book in a widow's weeds... only to end the first day in bed with Kevin, a friend's friend he meets that night. All right, the reader thinks, Kevin is Jason's hero, the man who will help him to forget his pain and face a new life happily ever after... also since they spend an entire night making monkey sex! But the morning after Jason is like, "well, it was nice, but I have to go", and Kevin is like, "good, I have to take a plane, it was good to meet you"... mmm the reader is perplexed.

The second night, Jason goes out with another friend, and this second friend introduce Jason to Tyler (side note: please can I have Jason's friends as mine? Also I'd like to have a private hunting reserve just lied out for me...). But the innocent reader thinks, Jason is a mourning hero, all right he slipped the night before, but now surely he will resist to temptation... and while the reader is thinking, Jason is heading on the back alley with Tyler, and not to smoke!

But the reader is not the only one who is looking Jason, there is also Julian. At this point the reader gives up, and his opinion of Jason is not exactly of one who holds on, so he is not exactly surprise when Julian, after finally have the chance to find Jason alone, and take him to bed, since moment one asks to Jason to be "only mine": yeah, Julian, better to play with open cards till the beginning since if you turn your shoulder, there is the risk that Jason goes home with another man!

All right, sorry if I was a bit silly, but this novella put me in a funny mood, even if probably it was not its purpose. There is also a dark side on it, all the mystery on who is Julian and why he is not affected by the strange gift of Jason to master the fire, even if, truth be told, Julian's character has not so much space to shine. All in all, probably Jason is only searching for the right man, and he adopts the technique to "taste" every possible candidate. Blood & Fire is a nice and enjoyable novella that flows smooth and good.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1152

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Blood & Fire by Mychael Black

This is a novella that mix paranormal with slutty behavior! Jason's character at first appears as a mourning hero, with some dark secret hidden inside, who lost his forever love Chris... this man probably will spend the rest of the book in a widow's weeds... only to end the first day in bed with Kevin, a friend's friend he meets that night. All right, the reader thinks, Kevin is Jason's hero, the man who will help him to forget his pain and face a new life happily ever after... also since they spend an entire night making monkey sex! But the morning after Jason is like, "well, it was nice, but I have to go", and Kevin is like, "good, I have to take a plane, it was good to meet you"... mmm the reader is perplexed.

The second night, Jason goes out with another friend, and this second friend introduce Jason to Tyler (side note: please can I have Jason's friends as mine? Also I'd like to have a private hunting reserve just lied out for me...). But the innocent reader thinks, Jason is a mourning hero, all right he slipped the night before, but now surely he will resist to temptation... and while the reader is thinking, Jason is heading on the back alley with Tyler, and not to smoke!

But the reader is not the only one who is looking Jason, there is also Julian. At this point the reader gives up, and his opinion of Jason is not exactly of one who holds on, so he is not exactly surprise when Julian, after finally have the chance to find Jason alone, and take him to bed, since moment one asks to Jason to be "only mine": yeah, Julian, better to play with open cards till the beginning since if you turn your shoulder, there is the risk that Jason goes home with another man!

All right, sorry if I was a bit silly, but this novella put me in a funny mood, even if probably it was not its purpose. There is also a dark side on it, all the mystery on who is Julian and why he is not affected by the strange gift of Jason to master the fire, even if, truth be told, Julian's character has not so much space to shine. All in all, probably Jason is only searching for the right man, and he adopts the technique to "taste" every possible candidate. Blood & Fire is a nice and enjoyable novella that flows smooth and good.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1152

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle