Coming Out of the Box

If you liked this project,
you'll love 2017's project.

Completing Castle Meatgrinder, a large wargaming project from start to as-near-to-finished-as-any-wargame-project-ever-gets, was the least of my 2016 successes. Over the course of last year, my fire adopted a number of new irons, and by the time the Holiday season rolled around it was all I could do to keep them all in the air and not get burned.  So 2017 is going to see a few changes around here.

Long story short, Jeffro Johnson - one of the first bloggers that I really connected with - has asked me to write a bi-weekly column for the Castalia House blog.  In addition to that, one of my favorite authors, Schuyler Hernstrom, has asked me to collaborate on set of war game rules.  I eagerly agreed to both of these, and the natural result of these new project is my coming out of the box.

Oddly enough, neither man asked Warren Abox to participate.  You see, I spent 2016 moonlighting as a writer and a literary critic over at another couple of blogs, and it was under that name - my real name - that they came to know me.  Of course, my decision to enter the literature lists was a direct result of my contact with him via our shared online war gaming circles, but I tried to maintain some separation between my nom de guerre and my nom de moi.  I even went so far as to publish a handful of guest posts at the Castalia House blog under both of my monikers, without letting the blog editors in on the secret.  They are now!

Over the last six months, it has grown more difficult to maintain that separation. For one thing, I just don't have the time nor the energy to maintain two profiles at the same time.  For another, my reading and war gaming are not really two separate hobbies, but two of the many struts that support hides covering the geeky little teepee in which my heart dwells.  With the advent of the blog series and the (as yet under wraps) fantasy wargame, it's time to ditch the anonymity and bring these two hobbies closer together in my online work.

You're a reader here, so your primary concern is probably, "what does all this mean for the blog?"

Rest assured, it's not going anywhere.  It may slow down a bit as my focus shifts.  More of my nerdery will wind up pasted at Seagull Rising, and my 2017 War In A Box Project will be documented over at the Castalia House blog.

I have no intention of shuttering this site completely.  Anything of a purely wargaming nature will wind up posted here.  The bulk of my painted miniatures and most of my actual play posts will appear here.  All the brainy stuff, the literary analysis, and likely even the RPG related posts, are going to be moving over to Seagull Rising.  This means that War In A Box will maintain its typical tight focus on wargaming that you've come to expect over the years.  If you want to learn more about me, and about my writing, then you're of course welcome to check in on Seagull Rising from time to time.

On Wednesday, I'll be kicking off a big wargaming project over at the Castalia House blog that you won't want to miss.  Don't worry, I'll post a quick link here to remind you, so you won't miss it.

Oh, and lest I forget!  Thank you for painting and pushing lead with me, even if only vicariously, for the last five and a half years.  It's been a lot of fun, and I look forward to continuing the enjoyment for years to come.