Yitzi is the mastermind behind the games. He designed his first when he was just ten years old and has continued creating games since then, sometimes even in his dreams! His background in computer programming has been a huge asset, allowing him to create the websites that present his projects. As his friends began requesting further advancements of his ideas, they picked up such popularity that others joined his team.

His drive to see people enjoy his creations resulted in him founding Grinning Demon Games. He is often found in local gaming stores continuing the development of game components. When he is not growing the business, he enjoys spending time with his wife and copy editor, Angela, and their dog, Spencer.

You can email him directly at Yitzi@GrinningDemonGames.com.

Clint brings his 40+ years of table top role-playing game experience across many genres and types of systems to the Grinning Demon Games team. He combines that experience with the mathematical rigor of 20+ years as an electronics designer with his BSEE from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign to ensure that the mechanics of the game work together and are consistent.

When he can escape his four cats, he can be found at local gaming stores and has been a regular at DieCon and Archon for decades.

You can email him directly at Clint@GrinningDemonGames.com.

Travis was born in 1994 in Missouri. His parents emphasized the ability to read at a young age, which allowed an early love of great stories. He spent much time in the works of Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, and C. S. Lewis. In the woods near his house, he would imagine stories of dragons and heroes. Despite this, he hated most of his English classes in school. Travis found the selections that classes focused on to be pretentious and uninteresting. He also disagreed with many of his teachers’ insistence of there being a single, correct approach to literary criticism.

Another childhood favorite was tabletop games. After starting his first job in high school as a clerk and meat cutter at a local deli, he spent an embarrassing percentage of his income on amassing a collection of board games to rival his book collection. Outside of these activities, he spent his time taking his bike on tours of parks and playing guitar in his youth group’s worship band. This youth group was also attended by Sarah Abrahamson, who would later become his wife. It was also during this time that Travis made his first abysmal attempts at following his dream of being a writer. Initial attempts at poetry and short stories discouraged him from continued writing. Travis first started playing role-playing games during his freshman year at Jefferson College with his board gaming friends from high school. He loved the freeing nature of the format, being able to share stories in his head, making a vast world that felt real, and tinkering with rules to make them fit his vision along with having an outlet for his showmanship tendencies. It also made him pick up the pen again to write short stories that took place in his crafted world.

After earning his Associate’s, Travis transferred to Webster University to study business. Scheduling conflicts caused a lull in his tabletop gaming. In spare time between classes, he would hang out at local game stores. It was at an open game day at GameNite that Travis came across Yitzi and his group of playtesters working on Soulshards. Travis was eager to have a regular group again and was intrigued by helping a local startup. Travis became increasingly involved in the development process before being integrated into the core development team. He revised the mythos, origin, and species of the Soulshards universe. Then Sarah finally convinced Travis to retry his dream of being a novelist.

Travis finished his Bachelor’s in 2019, and on March 14, 2020, he married Sarah. Just in time, too. Mere days after their wedding, the country locked down from COVID-19. The wedding would be known to his family as “the last hoorah.” Currently, Travis is finishing the first novel for the Soulshards universe. Along with assisting in the development of GDG’s other projects. When not working on these, Travis enjoys biking through beautiful locations, painting, photography, and of course, reading.

You can email him directly at Travis@GrinningDemonGames.com.

Angela first tried her hand at sewing in junior high and began spending her class time sketching costumes and formalwear. While majoring in Fashion Design with a minor in Retail Merchandising at Lindenwood University, she was awarded Best Mini Collection and the Lectra Corporation Fashion Design Award. She graduated summa cum laude and eventually put her enthusiasm for historical costuming and correcting grammar to use for her husband Yitzi’s passion projects.

Her last decade in the financial industry has allowed the freedom to pursue personal projects, such as freelance designing as ::rAve Clothing:: for organizations such as St. Louis Osuwa Taiko and working alongside seamstresses of the St. Louis Muny, making and donating quality face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her designs have appeared on the runways of Lindenwood University, St. Louis’s RAW, and Style in the Loop.

Jim grew up with a fondness for horror, science fiction, and fantasy flavored with the southern tang of his native Memphis. His debut novella, Of Blood and the Moon, was published in 2009 and was the first runner-up for the Darrell Award. Other publications include stories published in anthologies Cover of Darkness and When the Shadow Sees the Sun, as well as a novella titled A Night at Death’s Door. His novel The Beast Within begins as a bittersweet love story between a woman and a beast, which continues in Crossroads, published by Inkstained Succubus Press. The trilogy was completed with Heart of the Beast, published as a compendium by Pro Se Press.

Jim was introduced to the world of Dungeons and Dragons in the early ’80s and has had a strong love for tabletop RPGs ever since. Whether D&D or The Whitewolf game systems, the aspect of using your imagination to weave stories from your mind helping him take his vast imagination to new worlds and wonders has always been a fun pasttime. He is now proud to be taking that love to a new level by freelance writing game modules for the game Soulshards RPG for Grinning Demon Games.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature and philosophy from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a creative writing minor. He was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta Honors Society and was awarded the 2019 Non-Traditional Student Award. He is a member of the Literary Underworld and the Eville Writers and is the biggest Godzilla fan in the western hemisphere. He is married to author Elizabeth Donald, and their family lives in a haunted house in Illinois.

See his works at JimmyGillentine.com.