Joseph A. McCullough: Abschied bei Osprey

Joseph A. McCullough verlässt Osprey.

Some people, places, and institutions have so much meaning that capturing them with words seems almost impossible. Such is Osprey Publishing to me. For over a decade, and excepting only my wife, Osprey stood as the most important constant in my life. At a time when I had left my country, my family, and my friends behind, Osprey provided employment, purpose, and community. For many years, it felt like a second home, a place where I was completely comfortable and accepted. It provided opportunities I never could have imagined and helped usher me into my next phase of life.

As 2020 came to a close, I bid goodbye to this incredible publisher.

Now, before I go further, let me be clear – I still plan to have a close relationship with Osprey Games. There is more Frostgrave and Oathmarkstill to come. Later this year, they will publish Stargrave and The Silver Bayonet. I hope and expect for them to publish these games for a long time to come and am in constant conversation about how to make these games better.

But, after over 14 years, my time as a salaried employee has come to an end. This was completely my decision and was not the result of any ill will toward the company. I just felt it was time for me to move on and take on some new challenges. I wanted more creative freedom, a chance to completely map my own road as a writer and game designer.

Knowing it is time though, hasn’t made it easy. During this period of heightened stress, I have had days (and sleepless nights) where I have questioned the sanity of leaving a steady job. I have also struggled with letting go of something that has been so much a part of my life. I have so many incredible memories of my time with the company, and I suspect I’ll write a lot more about it over the coming years. For now, here are a few memories that lept to mind:

• Having lunch with a pair of ex-SAS soldiers, both of whom played important roles in the Iranian Embassy Siege.
• Snowball fights on the lawn in front of the office.
• Digging through the mess in the ‘Marketing Cupboard,’ which was like digging through the history of the company.
• Walking alone through the back rooms of the National Army Museum.
• Seeing Phil Smith laugh so hard he turned purple.
• Watching Peter Dennis paint on our stand at Salute.
• Getting to play Black Powder with Rick Priestly in John Stallard’s game room before the game was released!
• Leading the Osprey Games office in a spontaneous rendition of ‘Lord of the Dance’.
• Filming a zombie video…
• Old West wargaming with Henry Hyde in the Gettysburg meeting room.
• GenCon with Christian, Phil, Duncan, and Brent.
• Shouting matches amongst the Marketing Department in the middle of the office.
• The ‘Coca-Cola Time’ dance.
• –    Sitting in a hotel room, during Adepticon, signing 500 copies of Frostgrave, eating a burger, getting high on marker fumes, watching UNC play in the Final Four.
• Watching Phil get stopped by German police… (for jay-walking!)
• The announcement that Osprey’s best-selling book of the year was Frostgrave.
• Every Christmas party.

These were all moments, but really, my biggest memory is a general feeling of warmth, camaraderie, laughter, and a love of the books.

I hope that those I leave behind carry on Osprey’s traditions of great books, but also its tradition of being a wonderful place to work.

Quelle: The Renaissance Troll Blog