James Wyatt: Personal Information

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My life, in résumé form and chock full o'links:

2000 and beyond...

Yes, I was happy as a web designer. But when an opportunity like this comes up, no self-respecting role-player could pass it up. In October '99, Wizards of the Coast listed an open game design position. I actually went to my wife and said, "I don't know what to do... the timing is all wrong." She told me I had to apply, and six weeks later I was offered (and accepted) the position. I started on January 17, 2000, as a member of the D&D Worlds team. My projects have already been pretty varied—a Forgotten Realms sourcebook, a core adventure, and a core sourcebook, with some DragonLance and more Realms in the future. Now that I'm on staff, the editor of Dragon Magazine has not let me off the hook; I'm still writing articles for him as well... and freelancing for donordigital.com (maintaining the Bread for the World site).

9/99 to 1/00: Full-time Web Design—Another Ministry

After 4 months of doing regular contract work for Mal Warwick and Associates (among others), I accepted a full-time position there designing web sites for non-profit organizations like Bread for the World and the American Lung Association of California. My boss and I are spun off a new company, donordigital.com, to focus on the Internet angle for our clients (as opposed to fundraising through direct mail, which is MWA's specialty). It was a great union of my talents and experience from two separate careers—and it allowed me a flexible schedule so I could continue to care for Carter.

7/98 to 9/99: The Freelance Life

Having left Wisconsin and followed Amy to Berkeley, California, I also took the bold and daring leap of faith into full-time freelancing. For a while, I was getting by on little more than Amy's student loans and freelance writing for TSR, Inc., the folks who make the Dungeons & Dragons game. My first game-related publication appeared in the December, 1996 issue of TSR's DRAGON Magazine. Called "Mystics, Miracles, and Meditations," it details new character roles and abilities for the Masque of the Red Death game. (Interestingly, I got my copy of that magazine on the day Carter was born.) You can see a list of all my publications here. Then I got some more regular contract web and multimedia work, while still being a papa while Amy was in classes. A great life.

Learn more about:

8/96 to 6/98: Documentor and Multimedia Guy

I worked for two years at Epic Systems Corporation, located in Madison, Wisconsin. I wrote a massive user's manual for Epic's electronic medical record system, and also carried the responsibility for a CD-ROM-based tutorial kit for that system. I became Epic's online help guru. Most importantly, I did a lot of miscellaneous multimedia work, such as presentations for special occasions, an online marketing piece, and animation to spice up other presentations.

2/94 to 6/9: The Ministry Years

For two and a half years I served as the pastor of the Brilliant and Rush Run United Methodist Churches, in the small southeastern Ohio towns of the same names. I was ordained a deacon in the East Ohio Conference of the UMC in June of 1993.

9/90 to 1/94: Seminary and Beyond

I attended Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, which is where I met Amy. I graduated in 1993, with a M.Div. (Master of Divinity). My thesis there, "'Who Do You Say I Am?': Witnesses to the Life of Jesus," combined a performance of three dramatic monologues (as well as a poetic introduction, two shorter poem-monologues performed by my then-fiancee Amy, and a musical postlude) with a much shorter, less academic, and more readable written thesis.

After graduation, I stayed in New York doing temp work while Amy finished her seminary coursework.

9/86 to 5/90: Those Wild Hippie Years

Yeah, I went to Oberlin. And no, I wasn't a music major, though I probably should've been (and I dated one). I graduated in 1990, with a B.A. in Religion (minor in Greek), with highest honors thanks to my lengthy and ponderous thesis, "The Dynamics of Christian Boundaries in Roman Alexandria." I spent from Christmas 1987 through March 1988 in Thailand. My father, a professor of Thai history at Cornell, was on sabbatical there for the year, so I joined him and my mother there for three months.

8/69 to 8/86: One Long Blur

I grew up in Ithaca, New York.

9/68 to 8/69: Not Even a Blur

I was born on September 7, 1968, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I'm told it's a lot like Ithaca and Madison, but I don't remember Ann Arbor at all. I only lived there 11 months before moving to Ithaca.