Who Is Ravensmyth Corporation?

Despite the word "Corporation" after our name, we're no sprawling monolithic mega-corporation verged on buying out Disney (although that would admittedly be a lot of fun -- sort of Dogbert-esque, you know).

Ravensmyth (the developers of Brothers Grinn) consists of two tag-team authors, gainfully employed elsewhere in the so-called "Real World," spending whatever time and cash they can scrape together to ultimately develop their own series of projects. The most ambitious project, and the centerpiece of their efforts, is the detailing of the fictitious land/culture of Andestrea and its surrounding territories, expressed through a series of fantasy novels, shorter tales, art, music, audio-dramas, and whatever other mediums seem viable.

(Note that the maniacally unforgettable tours offered by "Smiley's Last Resort" are rooted within this world.)

But you know the old story. Unless you happen to be J. K. Rowling (of "Harry Potter" fame) or whoever else is the entertainment industry's next "sure thing," chances are pretty slim that a big publisher will spend the time to effectively market you -- especially if you want to maintain a large degree of creative control over your work. Within a free-market enterprise, publishers are the gatekeepers to what actually hits the shelves.

At least, they were until the Internet came around. A publisher's assumptions are fueled by what readers actually purchase, and the 'Net permits authors to become their own publishers -- offering the potential to market and distribute creative ventures straight to the readers without interference from a middleman. Our hope is that two guys with talent and just enough money to develop their own quality web sites can also build enough reader support to become successful, all while retaining control over their own creative output.

Yes, it's daring. Even Stephen King is having trouble. And sure, we're based in New Jersey.

But we have a dream -- a dream where work fails or succeeds based upon quality alone, a dream where a piddly little tech writer and a community journalist can build their own success from scratch, a dream where the owners and publishers sitting in their white-washed offices in their tall pointy skyscrapers constructed by sprawling monolithic corporations are left scratching their heads and thinking, "Should I have another martini with my lunch, or should I wait until the drive home?"

We hope that you've become intrigued enough by our odd and somewhat manic-regressive humor at www.BrothersGrinn.com that you'll check out our fantasy-oriented works as they become available.

(Don't worry, we promise to show our "more serious" side. If we can find it in our closet.)

Our official site will be situated at Elandra.com. Upon "official" release, the Elandra site will include a wide range of art, text, maps, music, commentary, messaging, and other supplementary materials geared to support our readers and our creations, as well as offering reviews of and interviews with other creative folk of interest.

We're hoping that the interactivity permitted between writer and reader by the Internet will benefit all of us. Our goal is to not just provide paper-book stories but tangible experiences. (Nice catch-phrase, huh? We dreamt it up over late-night Godzilla movies and cappucino hits.)

If you like what you see, keep us in mind, and pass along our URL. After all, we'd hate to be journalists and tech writers all our lives. Give us a hand.

If you're weepy after this poignant tale, have a tissue. They're cheap.

If you're a fellow artist with some ideas on how to make this work for everyone, or if you just feel chatty, please drop us a line. Little guys need to stick together -- especially if they're also penniless.

And if you'd like to taunt us a bit for our sheer melodrama, well, be our guest. We are never adverse to sharing deep and meaningful suggestions from people with the folks on our mailing list.