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Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise was a wonderful first guide to write, giving me an amazing opportunity to work with seasoned authors like Bryan Stratton and David Hodgson. Their patience and willingness to work with “the new guy” truly made all of the difference in my taking on the mantle of strategy guide author. The Product Management and Editing teams were likewise great to work with. In addition to being a lot of fun, co-authoring Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise really gave me the experience I needed to tackle my first guide alone.

As of September 18th, at around 4:00 PM PST, I had officially turned in the last portion of my first solo project, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. In roughly two and half weeks, I managed to write the entire guide, compile screenshots, and label all of the maps. Try as I might, I don’t think I can fully convey the sense of accomplishment that comes along with being able to say that. Despite the tight deadline and long hours, I had a lot of fun putting this one together. The game was a blast, offering me a nice change of pace from the tactical first-person shooters that tend to serve as the staple in my gaming diet. It had truly been a while since I played a good platformer.

As my second completed guide for Prima Games, I have to say I’m feeling more and more confident. Naturally, I still have a lot to learn, but if you had told me a few months ago that I’d have one book out on shelves and another rolling to print by this stage, I wouldn’t have believed you. Thanks a bunch to my Copy Editor, my Editor, Product Manager, and everyone else at Prima for helping me conclude my second project. Most of all, thanks to my wife and kids for their patience.