Review Fix chats with “A Dragon Walks Into a Bar†authors Jef Aldrich and Jon Taylor, who discuss the book and why it’s an enjoyable read.
About the Book:
A Dragon Walks Into a Bar is a collection of over 300 RPG jokes and puns that are perfect for laughing out loud with your gaming compatriots. You’ll find hilarious cracks like:
Review Fix: When did you know a career in writing was for you?
Jef: I’ve always wanted to entertain people. Nothing makes me happier than leading people through a joke or anecdote. When podcasting came into prominence as an accessible hobby, I jumped on the chance to get into people’s ears and entertain. Our show has a bit of a literary bent to it, so it wasn’t long before we were both talking about branching into something a little more permanent, and that meant writing. So I’m a latecomer to writing, but I love it.
Jon: I used to write all the time when I was younger. Poems, short stories, and I had at least a few aborted attempts at writing a novel. I got my degree in Literature but sadly life got in the way after college and I needed to focus on working over writing. It was nice to get back into the habit and really flex those creative muscles again.
Review Fix: What did you read as a kid?
Jef: I read anything not nailed down as a child. A favorite story my parents tell is how they had to keep the milk off the table or I’d become distracted reading the ingredients. My favorite books as a kid were anything epic, especially if it was tinged with some humor. Douglas Adams, Frank Dixon, Lloyd Alexander, and James Herriot were my favorite childhood authors.
Jon: I was always into anything with fantasy and magic and loved mythology as well. At some point I also got way into horror stories so I would read a bunch of R.L. Stine and monster folklore. Lots of books about ghosts.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration behind “A Dragon Walks into a Bar”?
Jef: Throughout our professional time as game-adjacent commenters, we’ve become a little bit known for being the satirists on the sidelines of the RPG industry. When we were approached about turning our humor style into a book, we leapt at the opportunity. We hit the ground running, working out how to integrate the unusual quirks of the hobby with the expectations of a joke book.
Jon: We really wanted to bring our brand of humor to the table and having that shine through with all the tables and sidebars, especially.
Review Fix: How do you want this book to be remembered?
Jon: As the first joke book to win the title of best all time seller?
Jef: This book is small and friendly. We just want it to be in the hands of people who like jokes and games. If people remember it the way they remember the joke books their parents bought them from Scholastic catalogs when they were in 4th grade, we’ll be thrilled.
Jon: Yeah, that’s probably better.
Review Fix: What are your goals for the book?
Jef: My personal goal for this book was to see if I can write a book at all. I mean, you never really know until you try, right? As as someone with childhood and adult ADHD, the process of writing consistently and on deadline presented an interesting challenge. Hopefully the book also spawns a new round of good one-liners and gags about our favorite literary genre. That would be great.
Jon: If I can make people snort laugh and shake their heads at a ridiculous pun,then all my goals have been achieved.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Jef: Now that we’ve seen the process firsthand, Jon and I are already talking about what we’d like to write next. Our show helps us a lot here too. System Mastery may be a joke vehicle, but it also works as an archival tool, documenting weird games and the weird history behind them, so that’s a concept. Game design and gameplay advice are both things we’d like to get involved in as well.
Jon: Once you spend as much time as we have delving into a subject as strange and rich as the history of RPGs, you can’t help but want to tell people about it. It’s a rich well of subject matter just waiting to take shape.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Jef: The story of role playing games in modern history is fascinating and fun. There’s surprising highs and horrible lows to be found out there, and so many more games than you ever thought there could have been. It’s a great source of inspiration and ideas, and I hope more people look into the past and present of weird gaming, out there beyond Dungeons & Dragons.
Jon: Honestly, I’m just thrilled that role playing in general has gotten to be as big as it has over the past few years. For a hobby that has spent most of its time either being unheard of or ridiculed as nerdy; having it come into the mainstream such that it can support an entire joke book about the hobby is amazing. I just want more people to get into it.
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