February 7th, 2009 | by Lucinda Betts |
I have an addiction. It’s terrible. When I go too long (like more than 18 hours) without it, I start Jonesing. I get irritable. I can think only about getting more, getting more now. Dishes go undone. Beds go unmade. Dinner goes uncooked. I loose weight and get that haggard expression.
My addiction is not normal. It’s not martinis or cigarettes. Not even crack. It’s WoW. World of Warcraft.
It’s not new. The game, I mean. My addiction is. At least to this game. See, when I saw the box and the demo, I forbade it from my house. I knew. I knew what would happen to me, and it’s not pretty. But it sneaked in when I thought I was strong enough to handle just one hit. I wasn’t.
I am a gamer addict.
Addictions are well known to have a genetic component. Mine is no different. I got it from my Dad.
When I was a kid, my parents bought my sister and me the TI version of PacMan. It was called MunchMan. (Maybe that’s why I write such steamy scenes in my books?) I would play and get a high score. My dad would see that. He’d play until he beat my score. Then I’d play until I beat his score. This went on for months. And then one day I sat down and flipped the entire set of screens not once, not twice, but three times. I had the highest score anyone could imagine.
My dad stayed up until four in the morning trying to beat that score. He couldn’t. I think he tried a few more times, but he never beat it. When I was in college, I gave him a Nintendo with Sonic Hedgehog. It nearly caused his second wife to divorce him.
And then came Tetris. I played it on the Mac. When I was supposed to be working. I played it like a crack addict smokes her pipe. I had the highest score of anyone I knew. I knew a bunch of graduate students who played. My score blew them away. I went to a wedding and the bride and groom put me at a table with a bunch of graduate students from MIT. One guy there was called The Fong Unit. His friends were in awe of his massive (um) score (again, um). When he asked what my score was, he couldn’t believe it. I’d beaten him by hundreds of thousands.
“What platform?” he asked. His friends craned to hear. Maybe I was playing on a slower machine.
“SE-30,” I said. It was a fast machine, even for geeks at MIT.
The geeks fell at my feet in worship. Of course, maybe it was the champagne at the wedding, now that I think of it.
And then came WoW. I might never leave.
World of Warcraft is worse than MuchMan and Tetris, at least in a addict’s sense. It’s not a game so much as it’s a world. You make a character. You fight bad guys (or good guys if you decide to be a bad guy). You meet up with your friends. Everyone looks sexy. Everyone has nice pets and big (um) swords. The fantasy writer in me loves it. (I wonder if I can write off the time I spend there. Note to self: ask accountant.) Pretty colors. Quests. Drama. Yum.
But here’s the killer. My SO is better than me at the damned game. He’s a Night Elf Hunter with a pet. Her name is Polly. There’s almost no monster he can’t kill.
Me? I’m a Night Elf Druid. I can shift shape (yey!) between tiger, whale (or manatee, but that is so not sexy–of course, neither is a whale, now that I think of it. Maybe it’s a dolphin. Yeah. It’s a dolphin). No matter what I do, he’s a level or sometimes two higher than me. (It turns out that arrows are better for killing than all my magic spells.)
But the names of the Druid’s spell! Moonfire! Starfire! Wrath! Fairie Fire! So cool! “I will slay you with my Wrath!” I say, in elf form. And I do.
Only I die. A lot. Unless I’m with a bunch of sexy rogues. Or warriors. Or hunters. Even the priests are okay. At least they can bring me back from the dead.
So if you see a Night Elf named Esminet in the Ashenvale area, say hi. Or blow me a kiss. (I named her after my heroine from Moon Shadow. I wanted to name her Esmenet, which was my heroine’s actual name, but it was taken. I hope that means someone else named their character after the heroine in my book!)
Okay. I gotta go. I know it’s late and I’ve already played for four hours tonight, but I’ve got just this one last quest. Then I’ll stop. I promise.
******
So for today’s giveaway, I’ve got a copy of SHE. (I love this book!) I also have a copy of THE SUPPLICANT. Leave a comment and I’ll pick a random winner on Wednesday.
SWAK,
Lucinda
I understand this addiction. My husband has the same one. hehehehee. Him and his cousin play on WOW all the time, and my 7 year old would love to catch the sickness too. Good luck on your quest.
by sara hurt · February 8th, 2009 at 12:41 amI haven’t gotten into WoW but I did get sucked into Tetris. We bought the one that was banned by Nientendp because it was made by a different company. We would stay up until 3am during the summer time just playing. It was awesome. I understand where you are coming from. Have fun. Hope you doing this gives us some great books.
by Gina · February 8th, 2009 at 2:21 amI was addicted to the Sims when that game first came out. It was horrible, I’d spend hours cleaning and cooking and shopping and visiting friends in the Sims world, and completely ignored the real world. My Sims house was decorated beautifully, and my real one was a disaster. Then, fortunately, I got pregnant and morning sickness helped me kick my addiction-it’s hard to play on the computer when you’re bent over the toilet for hours, lol. I almost relapsed a few years ago when they released the x-rated version of the Sims, but I held strong and then turned to my new addiction-cheesecake!
by Cheryl McInnis · February 8th, 2009 at 9:10 amOh how well i remember the days of tetris and pac man.. hubby and i would play for hours on the atari.. we had nothing better to do i guess… boy when we scrimped up enough to get that first nintendo we thought we owned the world.. of course now we still own the nintendo 64, a playstation 2 and now a wii .. the kids play constantly..i havent played in years, and im afraid of the wii , cause i know once i fall off the wagon.. i may not get back on it..lol..
by Jolene · February 8th, 2009 at 10:13 amI used to be hooked on Street Fighter II and Punch-Out. Nowadays I playing Brain Age.
by Jane · February 8th, 2009 at 4:19 pmMy kids played it all the time for a long while! Now it’s all Rock Band thank god cos I can play too
by Kate Pearce · February 8th, 2009 at 7:17 pmHi Lucinda! My nieces and nephew have become addicted to that game. I even have it on my computer now. lol. My nephew tried to get me to play it some today. He was having to show me how, but it does seem like it would be fun.
by Amy S. · February 8th, 2009 at 10:45 pmHey Lucinda!
I love this insight and confession!
Funny thing is I have a really good friend who is also an addict to WOW, and now so is her 11 yr old daughter. Who now beats her scores! I think that’s great! So then my daughter comes up with a pen pal group and it’s my friends daughters turn ok, an she does a whole page on WOW and why she loves it, why they should all be playing and why aren’t they playing it mommy??!! lol
I love your books and would love a copy of “SHE”!!!
by Chris Jones · February 8th, 2009 at 11:13 pmBy the way, that’s my addiction and the reason I get,” why those clothes didn’t get washed, why I miss meals and why I ask what it’s dinner time already? lol
Love the blog and thank you so much for the contest!!
**HUGS**
Hey Lucinda!
Idon’t play WOW but I do still play the oldies on my Game boy Advance! I also play my daughters DS, that Brain Age game…well we do it every day trying to beat each other’s scores!
When I was growing up all we had was Pac Man and Centipede and Galaga! I still play them today!
Games are fun no matter how old you get!!
“PLAY ON”!!!
by Chris Jones · February 8th, 2009 at 11:17 pmLOL, Lucinda! I haven’t tried WoW yet, and from the sounds of it, I’d better not! I get easily sucked into games, even silly ones like Freecell and Minesweeper. I have to stay away from the epic ones because I can see how easily they can be all-consuming! And I need to save time for my book addiction
by Fedora · February 9th, 2009 at 2:12 am
My hubby loves WOW, I have never gotten into it though. Not much of a gamer although I always have to play Crash Bandicoot until I get bored. I do have a funny story though, I was volunteering at our local teen center and I was talking about the original mario brothers, the one that only came on the computer back in the ’80s. Anyhoo, i was talking about getting to world 40 something out of 99 and the teen there asked me if I used cheat codes from the internet! Boy did I feel old! LOL. Anyhoo, thank you for the invite and I HOPE I CAN WIN ONE OF YOUR BOOKS!!! I would love to be in this contest!
by Danielle · February 9th, 2009 at 3:02 pmP.S. I do have another addiction, it goes something like this…”Hello my name is Danielle and I am a bookaholic. I have been book free for 1 hour 15 minutes and 33 seconds. Time for another one!
I have an addictive personality, too! WoW looks loads of fun, but I’ve managed to avoid it so far.
But now I really, really want to try it. Haha, I need to lose a few pounds. =P
by Atomic H. · February 9th, 2009 at 3:07 pmOh, someone mentioned Tetris.
I am completely addicted to that game. Tetris on FaceBook. MAN!
by Atomic H. · February 9th, 2009 at 3:08 pmRight now I’m addicted to a game called Rise of Nations. So I completely understand. But, I have to say, Books are my main addiction!! Good Luck!
by Kim · February 9th, 2009 at 3:09 pmOh i would love to be able to win those books !! i all ready have your book Running Wild and i would love to have more of your book cause they are awesome !!! Anyway hope you have a great day/night and i’m gonna hope like H*** i get em !!! LOL !! ~smile~ -Elora-
by Elora · February 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pmI’ve watched my husband play WOW but never tried it. I guess I will have to try!!!
by Dawn · February 9th, 2009 at 4:40 pmMy brother was addicted to WoW. He’d tell about how him and his roommates at college would sit in the same room all play together. I’m not addicted to game per se, but I’m addicted neopets so I know how it is.
by Nicole · February 9th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
That’s cool. My brother and sister in law play WoW ~ anytime they’re home you can bet they’re playing. He got her addicted. They’ve stayed up ALL night and went to work the next day to beat a level. It’s not hurting anyone; keep playing; and keep writing! 
by Lanai · February 9th, 2009 at 5:47 pmNever played WoW but I will now have to look into it
by Leah · February 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pmI have to admit Atari and Nintendo Play Station are as “gamer” as I get. When they did away with the joy stick I was lost. I’m lucky I can text with my thumbs, much less run a game controller thing. hahaha. Love to win your books! Count me in the “drawing”. Thanks, Lucinda! L
by Lisa Powell · February 9th, 2009 at 6:18 pmI’ve been wondering about that game. I’ll have to check it out. I’ve recently gotten hooked on Dragon Wars in MySpace but it’s a bit slow. I’ve been a ClubPogo addict for years. But, getting a bit bored with it. I’ll have to check the game out. Ty
by Deb Green · February 9th, 2009 at 6:43 pmI miss my atari. Pick me Pick me!!!!
by Malificent · February 9th, 2009 at 6:51 pmHi Lucinda! I enjoyed your blog – you are not the first to say WoW is addictive – that is why I am afraid to try it! One of my former students called it the crack of the gaming world! LOL
I would love to be entered in your contest! Maybe I can win some books to read while I get over this horrible crud of a stomach bug I am suffering through!
Take care, and have a great week!!
by Debbie W · February 9th, 2009 at 6:56 pmI know what u mean my husband is a first class addict, first it was just a game for him and his buddys to play on the weekends while they drank a couple of beers and complain about the wives LOL, but then he started inviting them on week days and they would play till 1:00 in the morning or more. He would go to work tired an irritable, then when he came from work instead of resting he would play StarCraft. I would say honey the food is ready, He would respond hold on im on planet Auir fighting the Zerg I hav e to stop them from invading. I would get so angry it even affected our sex life. Tht is when a drew the line when the game was affecting or relationship. So one day while he was playing when i knew he was realy geting into it i turned off the game and fliped out i told him that the game was taking up all his time that he hasn’t given me any attention and the if things stayed the way they were we were going to have to go to marrige councling and that sobred him up. To finish the story my husband got the point and stop playing for a long time. he still play now and again but its not as much as before, so thats how i stop my husband addiction with Star Craft from invading our lives.
by Stephanie · February 9th, 2009 at 7:55 pmMy addiction has always been books when i go whit out reading for to long my mind goes hay wire and i cant even sleep my mine needs the books to think about for it to rest .
by stacey smith · February 9th, 2009 at 10:40 pmI have not heard of the two books that you have to win but if i win im sher thay will be good.
stacey smith
Not my cup of tea, but I used to be addicted to Legend of the Green Dragon
by Virginia Hendricks · February 10th, 2009 at 12:08 amNever played WOW. But, I am a mom to six kids and always looking for a romance book to escape in.
by Elizabeth Mayes · February 10th, 2009 at 12:52 amOooooh, you poor thing. I gave up that WoW drug not too long after Burning Crusade was released. But, yeah, I see where you’re coming from. The game is addicting. After two years though, I really got bored with it. My main character was an Undead Mage (fire…ooh she burned…epic geared big time) but I also had a NE hunter on another server. Both were fun.
I’ve played Star Wars Galaxies since it was released and I also play Warhammer Online. I don’t allow either to dominate my life anymore, LOL.
As long as you’re enjoying it go for it! Nobody likes doing dishes (buy paper plates) and beds only get messed up again at night! Oh, and good grief, don’t be one of those druids that spams moonfire to death…it’s so boring. ROFL!!!
*hugs*
by Liz · February 10th, 2009 at 12:58 amI can say, i don’t have this problem…i live alone. I am addicted to books (the trashier the better), and now knitting is my sickness
by Alison · February 10th, 2009 at 1:13 amI was also one of those Tetris addicts. But now I’m pretty much a book addict.
by Sue A. · February 10th, 2009 at 5:53 amI haven’t read any of your books, but I would love to start.
by Lisa Velez · February 10th, 2009 at 10:09 amomg, am sooooo addicted to WoW. I have a level 80 Warlock, Thelicil, on Shandris. Love the game, and you are right, I am sexy, lol.
Would love to win the contest, love your books and now I see why, lol. We are sisters on WoW!
by Dollie · February 10th, 2009 at 11:41 amI am justifying my addiction with age and a less-than-stellar BMI.
Pathetically, I talked my daughter into picking up Dance-Dance-Revolution saying it would be “fun” for the two of us to do.
I love it. One step at a time and I’m in “Flashdance”. Someone get me a chair and a bucket of water!!!!
Oh, and she’s always begging for a turn.
Long live the Gamers!
by Katherine · February 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pmHey Lucinda, definately add me in, id love to win one of your books
by Sam · February 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pmAaahhh!! I love that you are a gamer!! Growing up, my family always had some sort of platform to play on…Atari, Commodor computers, PCs….then when the Playstation arrived on the scene I became hooked on it. The PS2 and PS3 are both used on a daily basis in my home and it is a common occurance to have to request the games be turned down because it is hard to work over the sound of rapid gun fire!! lol
by Dayle M. · February 10th, 2009 at 11:42 pmI know what you mean. If I ever get started on a game, that’s it, I’m a goner.
My son was just asking me about video games yesterday. I was telling him how as a kid, I would play them day in and day out on the weekends and school breaks. I remember getting up from the floor one day to answer the phone and I couldn’t walk because my legs were so asleep they were like rubber. LOL
Deidre
by Deidre · February 11th, 2009 at 10:21 amalways looking for new reads : )
by Lianhan · February 11th, 2009 at 12:17 pmCongrats to Malificent and Elizabeth M! They won this time!
But keep your eye on my blogs here (the 8th of every month), my newsletter (click on the purple Yahoo button on either my website or my myspace page to join), and my myspace blog. I give away free stuff there all the time!
Best,
by Lucinda Betts · February 12th, 2009 at 9:20 amLucinda
I’m not sure what WOW is. But I thought everyone was talking about books, I am addicted to reading…I get so into a book I will stay up all night just to finish it. At dinner time you can find me standing over the stove or grill cooking while I am reading.
by theresa · February 12th, 2009 at 2:51 pm[...] If you’d like a chance to win some of my books, leave a comment at the Aphrodisia website! [...]
by Lucinda Betts » Blog Archive · February 18th, 2009 at 10:19 amAwesome you and your SO both play. I know so many marriages that have suffered due to this game. I love your blogs they always crack me up.
by Erica · March 7th, 2009 at 10:22 am