A Shared-World Education

A while back, Jeremy Jones wrote to ask me a few questions about shared-world writing. I thought you might enjoy the results of our conversation, which transpired over a slew of e-mails.

Helping Out

I’m going to be lending a hand at the Democratic HQ here in Beloit on this Saturday and on Election Day for as much as I can. I’ve done this just about every election cycle I’ve been in Wisconsin since I was able to walk, even the year the quads were born. If anyone in the area would like to …

Happy Halloween!

A happy All Hallows’ Eve to you all. We’re celebrating tonight with the traditional trick or treating. The quads plan to dress up at Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. My wife will be the Wicked Witch of the West. Our eldest will be a wizard of a different kind: Harry Potter. Me, I’ll hand out …

New Dark Conspiracy Fiction

No, I’m not talking about the upcoming elections. Dark Conspiracy is a roleplaying game my fellow Alliterate and long-time pal Lester Smith created for GDW way back in 1991. It’s set in a dark and cynical future in which megacorps and monsters conspire to suck the life (literally and metaphorically) from humanity. A new company called the Gamers’ Conglomerate landed …

Cathy’s Book Debuts Well

According to ICv2.com, the ARG (alternate reality game) in hardcover Cathy’s Book hit stores well last month, with orders for 125,000 copies. That’s a fantastic number for this experimental book. I worked on the Beast (the first big ARG game) with the book’s authors, Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman (and Jordan’s been a friend for years). I’m thrilled to see …

Stan!’s Doodles

Besides being a solid game designer, a wonderful writer, and great friend (and fellow Alliterate) Stan! is also a talented cartoonist. He’s just started up a new site called Doodle-a-Day. You can probably guess what it’s all about. Check it out.

No Loyal Knight Rocks

I just finished No Loyal Knight, the debut novel by my pal John Wick (of Wicked Dead Brewing Company fame, among many other feats of game design and narration). I had hoped to buy it at Gen Con, but John had sold out by the time I made it back to his booth late on the last day of the …

Games Day 2006 Photos

Games Workshop has posted coverage of its Games Day Chicago 2006 event. On the Black Library page, you can see a few photos of Mike Lee and I sitting and signing our novels for the attendees. Of course, Mike spotted the camera and mugged well for it. I, on the other hand, seem to have missed it and have a …

The Amazon Got Me… Thinking

I just signed up for Amazon.com‘s AmazonConnect, a service that gives authors some space on the Amazon site in which to plug themselves and their wares. This means I now have a page there, plus a plog (a promotional weblog). I also received a kind letter from Tyler Hill, the AmazonConnect project manager, telling me how happy it made him …

Back to Origins

I haven’t been to Origins (the second-largest adventure games convention in the USA, after Gen Con) for a while. Two years ago, I had a deadline for a Blood Bowl novel that I couldn’t get around. Last year, I had to choose between Origins and Comic-Con International. I hadn’t been to Comic-Con for a number of years, so San Diego …