Interview:
Interview with fantasy novelist and Alliance LARP founder Michael A. Ventrella - Part 1

Author and experienced LARP organizer Michael A. Ventrella offers insight into the world of running a LARP. Ventrella has more experience with organizational difficulties than most—he was one of the key players in the controversial NERO/Alliance LARP split. The disagreement is primarily over rights, territory and contracts. Ventrella has since moved past this legal battle to co-invest in Faire Play, a Pennsylvania-based medieval faire-style ground perfect for Alliance LARP. The camp is also rented out to other LARPs and organizations.

Having authored multiple rule books for his game system, Ventrella decided to author a novel called Arch Enemies set in Ashbury, the fantasy setting of Alliance LARP. When he isn’t working on a world of fancy and fantasy, Ventrella runs a successful legal business in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. He also appears at many East Coast conventions and authors his blog—there, readers can find his interviews with other authors of interest.

Alltern8.com contributor Tara M. Clapper questioned Mr. Ventrella about the success of Alliance LARP, the split with NERO, Arch Enemies and future publications and projects.

Tara M. Clapper: Why did you choose to put all of the legal information about the NERO/Alliance LARP split on the Alliance Web site?

Michael A. Ventrella: Because there was a lot of misinformation out there. Joe Valenti, who owns NERO International, posted all sorts of lies about what the suit was about and what had happened, and I wanted to get the truth out there. And I thought it was important to tell the entire story from the beginning and not just deal with the lawsuit.

TMC: Being a lawyer probably came in handy. Were you a lawyer prior to the legal activities with NERO?

MAV: Yes, in fact I was already a lawyer when we started NERO. (I'm older than I look, apparently).

TMC: Putting your legal expertise aside, where did you learn all of the successful business strategies employed in promoting and expanding your LARP, especially after such a potentially detrimental controversy?