Author Ethan Gilsdorf has been on a gamer’s quintessential quest for meaning. He’s been a cemetery groundskeeper, a movie projectionist and a bookstore manager. After some time in Paris, Gilsdorf settled near Boston. His writing on pop culture, travel and the arts has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times and Boston Globe, among other respected publications.

To further his quest for self-discovery, Gilsdorf authored Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.

In the book, the author searches his own past and explores his reasons for turning to fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Gilsdorf’s mixed feelings about escapism and gaming bring the reader on an honest journey into various realms: table top gaming, LARP, wizard rock, large conventions and even Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

Alltern8.com correspondent Tara Clapper spoke to Ethan Gilsdorf about his exploration of geek culture and his own past.

Tara Clapper: Did you ever scare yourself by delving back into the past?

Ethan Gilsdorf: Continually….it certainly gave me pause. I had put these realms aside. Over the years I had attempted to get back into a lot of these things and it was a fear--I was worried I was going to get sucked into a fantasy adventure.