When I was a little wyrmling, I had dreams of being a veterinarian. Partly because I liked to know what was toxic before I ate it, but that's besides the point. Unfortunately, I have since realized that I'm a bit squishy when it comes to medical horror, and ended up keeping that sort of violence in literature. A love of books lead to a love of writing, and there are few finer places to write than a quirky downtown cafe. The one I loved best in college was a mom-and-pop shop with local artwork on rotation on the walls, crack-level tasty coffee, fun weekly specials and a memorable mascot. I love food, and I love bringing that quiet joy of discovering your own fantastical worlds, or bringing a group of friends together over a tray of cookies and a game of Apples to Apples. Or do both and play Dungeons & Dragons.

     Over the years, I've kept meticulous notes on coffee recipes, cookies, pastries, snacks and a few fun cocktails, and my dream is to make my own safe haven, a place where you can sip your dirty chai latte and catch up on your word count, meet up with a friend for coffee and a game of chess, bring your adventuring party together in a room that does actually feel like a dungeon, or attend a Labyrinth-style masquerade ball to find the Pike Trickfoot, Gomez Addams, or Willow Rosenberg of your dreams.

     Hey, some of us have strange dreams. That's why Crispin Glover has a cult following, and there's nothing wrong with that.

     In the meantime, as I navigate my way through the mountaintops and pitfalls of life, I keep this dream alive, and I want to share it with you. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter, and sign up for the Dungeon's Quarterly Magazine. And hey, if you want to help out, you can even submit an article for the next one! Let's get a taste of that feeling of home you get when you walk into Comic Con and see a multitude of nerds and dorks and geeks who are all wearing their love of fandom on their sleeves, and try to craft a safe haven where you can feel like that every week at your favorite gaming dungeon/cafe/I wish there was one of these in my town because we need more of them, kind of place.

      Where you can order an Earl Grey, hot, in your Picard cosplay on a Tuesday, just because you want to.