Steffie de Vaan is a Gold ENNIE Award winning author and game designer. She developed books such as 5E: Legendlore, V5: Fall of London, and Scion: Whispers in Darkness. She has written for many other games including Ravenloft: Mist Hunters, Changeling the Lost, Exalted, and Call of Cthulhu. She published two acclaimed indie RPG books: 2 Women | 12 Games, and City of Blood. She’ll come on your panel if you ask.
Most of my published work is of the urban horror genre, but I draw from fantasy and science fiction as much as traditional horror. I also like writing all three genres to explore stories in new settings: magic merging with technology on Mars, or revolutionaries fighting the kyriarchy in a fantasy world. My work contains a lot of bleakness, but never loses hope. I think the arc of humanity does bend towards justice, so long as good people rise to fight hatred and bigotry. I write both role playing books, and short stories for magazines or fiction anthologies.
What to expect hiring me as an author:
- Diversity. I’m an intersectional feminist, and my work contains LGBTQ+ and people of colour. In fact, it contains a lot of them.
- Many voices. Whether you want flowery prose, snark, or just as much content pushed into the available wordcount as possible, I can strike the right tone for your book.
- Clean copy. I deliver a clean first draft and come in at my assigned word count.
- Kept deadlines. I very rarely miss a deadline, and if I do I will discuss it with you beforehand.
- Good Communication. I’ll keep you updated about my work, and alert you early if any problems arise.
What to expect hiring me as a developer:
- You get all the benefits of my clean copy and communication skills.
- Author feedback. I think it’s crucial to guide authors, especially new ones, and give them feedback to help grow in their profession.
- Diversity. I will count how many LGBTQ+ and people of colour are in the book, and make sure they’re fairly represented.
- Mechanical prowess. I can’t pretend to know every single RPG system on the market, but I pick up quick and ensure written mechanics match your system.
Midnight Muse 