Humble Beginnings

In Which the Humble Beginnings of the Group Are Described

Nothing was much of anything that first night. The lake was just a wide river, the veranda was just a screened-in porch, and the cigars were Swisher Sweets. Even the two friends smoking on that porch weren’t much—a would-be novelist and a would-be poet. They critiqued each others’ works and smoked and dreamed of being more than would-bes.

“We should name our little society,” Rob King said. “Something about poetry. Something like ‘Rhyme or Reason’…”

“Sounds like a game show,” Lester Smith replied. “How about if we call ourselves the Alliterates?”

From then on, they did. The name referred to the poetic technique of repeating the beginning sounds of words. Of course, it was also a joke. By naming themselves Alliterates, these two would-be writers were acknowledging that, despite their high aspirations, they were just one vowel away from illiteracy.

For the first half of 1993, Lester and Rob met every Monday night at Rob’s riverside home in Wisconsin. Both young men worked as designers and editors for TSR, creators of Dungeons & Dragons. The two Alliterates spent the evenings talking about their writing projects and smoking cheap cigars. When Lester’s family at last joined him in Wisconsin, however, those meetings ended.

It took two years for the Alliterates idea to reemerge.

In 1995, Rob began to meet with another writing luminary, Dave Gross, editor of Polyhedron Newszine and, later, Dragon Magazine. Dave had introduced Rob to beer brewing, and Rob had introduced Dave to bread baking. Once a month, they held a “Beer and Bread” day—brewing beer, baking bread, and sometimes throwing a party to serve their creations.

Something else brewed on those days. With four novels under his belt, Rob was planning to launch a freelance career. Wanting to stay in touch with his writer friends, Rob enlisted Dave in resurrecting the idea of the Alliterates. They compiled a list of local writers, including New York Times best-selling authors and some of the best known writers of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels.

Dave and Rob toured restaurants, looking for a home for the Alliterates. They wanted a place that offered beer from around the world, fine food, and the opportunity to smoke cigars.

They found such a place—Jake Sweeney’s Restaurant in Lake Geneva. The spot even had a private room with a fireplace. The Alliterates had found their first home.