Let’s Play: The Annotated Guide to She’s Got Game, Part 2

A while back, my extraordinarily talented friend Kellye Garrett got the idea of annotating her debut book, sharing the notes on her website, and then giving the book away when she finished. I thought the idea was brilliant, but I decided to publish four more books and have a baby and, well, time got away from me.

 

Fast forward two years. The Gamer Girl series is very near and dear to my heart (click here to see how it was inspired by how I met my husband). With Against the Rules coming out in two weeks, I thought it would be fun to share annotations from She’s Got Game. My intent is to do the next two books between now and the end of the year, then give all three away to one or more readers who hopefully don’t mind that some jerk wrote all over their books. View Chapters 1- 10 here.

 

Part IV: Chicago

Page 97: Not sure where Gwen got her love of Chicago-style pizza. I’m NY-style all the way. But I do love the city of Chicago. My friends have a massive conference there every year for Halloween (with games, of course). I rarely make it, but it’s a great time.

 

Page 103: I stole Cody’s job from my best friend (who is the inspiration for the main character in America’s Next Reality Star). I’ve always loved hearing about her work.

 

Page 106: “Most people don’t use their tongues to say thank you.”

 

This line is a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Because I’m a huge nerd, I’ve got a Buffy reference in each of my books somewhere.

 

Chapter 14

Page 122: I don’t want to get into spoilers, but this scene is based on a friend’s real life experience on a date. We were on a game-playing/writing retreat while I finished this rough draft, and I was stuck looking for conflict. Without knowing that, he told me this story, and it was absolutely perfect for Gwen.

 

Page 125: I know a lot of readers had an issue with Gwen’s behavior in these pages. The intent was to show her vulnerability and insecurities after her mother left.

 

Chapter 15

Page 129: The Buffy game mentioned here is a real game released for the 20th Anniversary. I actually have three games: Buffy Legendary, Buffy the Vampire Slayer the Board Game, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Board Game. All are at least partially cooperative.

(Incidentally, Legendary is awesome – I’ve played the regular Marvel version, Firefly Encounters, and Buffy. Very different games based around the same concept, and highly recommended.)


Page 133: Tara is a good friend of mine, but this character wound up resembling a defense attorney I worked with several years ago (also named Tara).

 

Page 134: The real Kerry is an environmental scientist living in Upstate New York and one of my closest friends. She’s a force to be reckoned with in social deduction, but an excellent partner in cooperative games.

 

Page 134: Rude Guy is based on absolutely no one. I was running out of names when I added this scene (late in the process), so I simply didn’t give him one.

 

Page 135: The pity rule is real. I was informed of it during a game of Catan where I spent so long without getting a single resource card that I pulled out my phone and started reading a book.

 

Part V: Boston

Page 147: The bar restaurant here was originally the Bull & Finch Pub. A few years ago, it was remodeled inside to match the bar seen on Cheers (despite there being a Cheers replica bar already, a few miles away in Fanueil Hall).

 

Chapter 19

Page 157: Up up down down left right left right b a select start. I haven’t used that code since I was 13, but I can still recite it. This is called the Konami Code, and it was used in multiple games.

 

Page 164: The game Gwen buys is called OrganATTACK!, and it’s based on The Awkward Yeti. Lots of fun.

Chapter 22:

Page 194: I was pregnant when I wrote this scene, and it taps a lot into my fears about becoming a mother.

 

Page 198: Bill was one of my first gaming friends. He taught me how to play dozens of games (probably including Settlers, although I don’t remember). Greg was the Chief Judge of Mindgames before me.

 

There also a couple of bonus annotations in the About the Author, which I’ll leave for the winner of my giveaway to find. The giveaway is going to be done through my newsletter, so be sure to subscribe if you want your chance to win.

 

Thanks for joining me! Be sure to check out She’s Got Game and Against the Rules if you haven’t yet. The books are available through Northshire Books in Saratoga, NY and at your favorite online retailer.

SGG: Amazon I Apple I Barnes & Noble I Google Play I Kobo

ATR: Amazon I Apple iTunes I Barnes & Noble I Google Play I Kobo

 

And if you happen to be a fan of cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend you check out Hollywood Homicide and Hollywood Ending.

Posted in Blog.