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J. Leigh has always had an interest in technology; as an author she uses Facebook and other social media to promote the world she created called Way Walkers. She has been writing almost from the moment she put pen to paper.

Her series, Way Walkers is a long-time love affair that began over fifteen years ago.  She has recently found another medium to spread the word about Way Walker; the RPG (role-playing-game) platform.  Way Walkers is being hosted by COG  using the code ChoiceScript as a basis for her text base games.

I recently caught up with J. Leigh for a brief interview as she is in the midst of developing the second phase of her RPG venture and Way Walkers:

Q: What lead you to explore making an RPG book out of Way Walker World/Book?

J Leigh: Well to be honest, it was more like it found me.  I’d read the old ‘choose your owns’ as a kid and enjoyed them, but moved onto thicker novels once I got older.  The interactive aspect of them was interesting, but also quite limiting, and to be honest, simplistic.  When I began seeing the newer versions on the web, they were a fun diversion, but my mind immediately grasped upon what more they could be as well–so I contacted the publisher when I saw they were looking for writes.  However, I didn’t immediately jump into adapting Way Walkers for the ‘text-based game’ format, as I felt it would be crazy to try and whittle down the vastness of such a detailed novel world into a quick, 45 minute read.  As I was working on a simpler storyline for the publisher though, I was suddenly struck by one of the cruxes of the Way Walkers series: the line ‘freewill shall choose between the paths fate has laid.’  It was in that moment I realized, goodness, if I could adapt that already existent philosophy from my series and make the jump into an actual interactive novel…then wow, what fun could I have!  So, to sum-up it wasn’t something I directly sought-out, rather it was something that just happened to fall perfectly into place.

Q: Now that you have done it, is it something you hope to continue to do?

J Leigh: If it does well, yeah sure, why not? (Laughs…) I mean, it does come down to having a following who likes it and seeing the series do well– but yeah, if people want to see more, I’m certainly happy to pursue it.  Granted, I’d like to get the traditional novels I’ve written published as well, but there is a certain sense of fun inherent in writing these interactive stories.  That and I’m honestly invested in the characters of Way Walkers: University, and would like to see their story told and expanded upon–and with some luck, to develop other Way Walkers interactive plotlines I’ve already begun to muse on getting that one written as well.

Way Walkers RPG released August 31^st 2012.  RPG can be downloaded via android or iPhone in their respective markets as well as Google Play. You can find further information about Ms. Leigh and her use of social media here:

http://www.facebook.com/WayWalkers 

http://www.choiceofgames.com/forum/discussions and the CoG forums–just look for the Way Walker topics.