Writing & Reading (in Low Fashion)

I have the one of the greatest jobs around: creating games and books to entertain others. Still, it’s a job, and most of the time it’s serious work. Especially when I’m facing a hard deadline, it can seem like a gig in an office cubicle or driving pizzas somewhere would be easier, if not nearly as much fun. That’s how I felt last week while I was plowing through the first draft of Blood Bowl: Death Match.

Then I got a care package in the mail from my friends at the Black Library. It included six copies of Blood Bowl: Dead Ball and one of the limited-edition Blood Bowl t-shirts!

There’s nothing like holding a copy of a published book in your hands to make it all seem real. Until then, the book is just a collection of thoughts in my head that I’ve done by best to turn into bits and bytes on my computer by means of my well-abused keyboard. When it’s printed and bound, it’s a book–and just the thing I needed to keep me juiced up and rolling on its sequel.

The t-shirt made my day too. I wore mine on the day I wrapped up my first draft of Blood Bowl: Death Match, and I couldn’t have been happier with it. Woot!

Dead Ball Rolling!

If you live in the UK, you can now pick up your copy of Dead Ball, the second in my trilogy of books based on Blood Bowl, the game of fantasy-based football from Games Workshop. In this installment, Dunk and the gang end up getting blown out of the Old World and set sail for the distant isle of Albion to begin their quest for the fabled Far Albion Cup.

While you’re in the store be sure to pick up a copy of Darkblade: Bloodstorm too, by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee. This is the second in the series, and I know Mike’s having a blast writing them with Dan.

If you’re in the US, you’ll have to wait just a bit longer for Dead Ball. I got a few copies in the mail this week, but most stores won’t have them until January. (Amazon.com lists a December 27 release date though.)

Night of the Long Wands

According to GamingReport.com and other sources, Wizards of the Coast laid off 15 good people today. This includes:

Peter Archer
Gary Benion
Leeds Chamberlain
Mike Elliot
Joe Hauck
Cornelius Lee
Michelle Lyons
John Rateliff
Pat Robinett
Katie Roe
Charles Ryan
Tim Thomas
Wendy Wallace
Teeuwyn Woodruff

These are some of the best and brightest people in the company, many of whom have been with the organization for years. Peter ran the book division (which publishes my Eberron trilogy, The Lost Mark). Charles was the brand manager for Dungeons & Dragons, and one of my employees at Pinnacle. Michelle is a crack editor who just moved out to Seattle this year to take the job. Mike headed up the nonlicensed CCG design department. Joe was in charge of the whole nonlicensed CCGs branch. John is a fantastic RPG designer whose work I edited on Decipher’s version of The Lord of the Rings RPG. Teuwynn is a great game designer (RPG and otherwise) who’s been with the company for ages.

Getting laid off is never fun, and having it happen before the holidays makes it that much rougher. Many companies handle layoffs in December, as it helps trim costs just before the end of the fiscal year, but it doesn’t make it any easier for those who are cut.

If you know of anyone else affected by the cuts, drop me a note. I’d love to know which of my friends I should be worrying about and which still have their jobs.

To those of you who were cut, best wishes to you. I hope you can use the holiday season and your severance package to take a deserved (if involuntary) break and come out ready for more in the new year. If I can help in any way, just say the word.

Edit: Added Gary Benion and Teeuwyn Woodruff to the list.

Edit 2: Added Leeds Chamberlain and Pat Robinett

Old Friends Passing Through

Jim Kitchen, an old pal of mine from his days with Games Workshop US, passed through Beloit on Sunday on his way back home from a Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago. I met up with him, his lovely wife, and their son Jack for a quick lunch as a respite from crunching away at Blood Bowl: Dead Ball. Despite the fact that Jim’s been out of the adventure games industry for years, we still manage to keep in touch, although this was the first time we’d sat down across from each other in–well, I can’t recall how long.

Catching up with old friends like that is wonderful fun, even if it always seems too short. It’s like having a short sequel or even just reading the epilog to one of your favorite adventures. Fortunately Jim and family all seem healthy and happy, so this should just be the latest installment in an ongoing series of encounters. 🙂

Death Match Away!

Last night at 2 a.m., I sent off the first draft of Death Match (formerly known as Sudden Death), the final book in my trilogy of novels based on the Blood Bowl board game. I had an absolute blast writing the book, and I got to pull off some amazing scenes that had set-ups running all the way back to the first chapter in the trilogy’s first book.

Leaving these characters and this world behind, possibly forever, has a tinge of the bittersweet about it. However, my editor at the Black Library (the incredible Christian Dunn) tells me that if the sales are there he’d love to see more novels in the series. So, now we just have to wait for those numbers to roll in. Wish me luck! Or, if you want to have a more direct effect, buy the books and recommend them to your friends!

Of course, it’s not really all over until April, when Death Match hits shelves. For me, though, I have to put this all behind me for a while and move on to the next thing. That’s the life of the freelancer, for good and for bad. Fortunately, the next things in my path look like great fun too.

High Stakes Drifter Rides Into Town

As posted on the WizKids website:

November 23, 2005 (SEATTLE) – WizKids Inc., creator of the runaway hit games HeroClix and Pirates of the Spanish Main, is proud to announce the release of High Stakes Drifter, the company’s first collectable card game (CCG)!

“High Stakes Drifter is the fast-paced game of Wild West action,” said Mike Samora, vice president of Sales and Marketing at WizKids®. “The game uses betting-and-bluffing mechanics to simulate a series of challenges with historical personalities like Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp.” The game adds elements of luck to each challenge as well, with a unique kicker chip mechanic that can add a random effect to each showdown.

Each card features vintage photography and a western feel. The game play has been described as a mix between a saloon-style betting-and-bluffing game and a spaghetti western shootout.

High Stakes Drifter is sold in Starter Sets (MSRP $9.99) and Booster Packs (MSRP $2.99), and is available in hobby and specialty game stores.

Founded by 25-year game-industry veteran Jordan Weisman, WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its MechWarrior® and HeroClix CMGs and Pirates and Rocketmen CSGs are among the most successful games on the market today, and the company has sold hundreds of millions of game pieces worldwide. For additional information, visit http://www.wizkidsgames.com.

They also have a fully searchable card gallery up on their website, just to make it easy to complete your collection. So, when you’re out shopping this Black Friday, be sure to pick up some High Stakes Drifter for yourself. Then come on back here and tell me what you think of it. Thanks! And Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Conan Books and Flats

This week, Ginjer Buchanan at Ace Books sent me two of the latest releases in the Age of Conan line I edit with her. (I do my part for Conan Properties, while Ginjer manages the line for Ace.) Courtesy of Gjiner, UPS brought me at book and a flat.

The book is Venom of Luxur, the third and final book in J. Steven York‘s Anok, Heretic of Stygia trilogy. It brings Anok’s tale to a rousing and triumphant close. If you’re interested in the books, you can download the first chapter of each of them and read them for free. The first two books are already out, and Venom hits stores on November 29.

As for the other thing, a “flat” is a promotional copy of the cover of an upcoming book. The publishers print these up in advance of the real thing to show distributors and booksellers what they can expect to see. Ace has done them for all of their Age of Conan titles, and I’ve gotten them for each of my Blood Bowl novels from the Black Library too. I had some for Secret of the Spiritkeeper too, and Nina Hess–my editor at Wizards–just sent me some promotional bookmarks for the Knights of the Silver Dragon line too.

This flat is for Winds of the Wild Sea, the second in the Marauders trilogy. These are young adult (YA) novels set in the Age of Conan and written by Jeff Mariotte, and old friend of mine from IDW and WildStorm fame. Gearing gritty fantasy novels for younger readers isn’t easy, but Jeff does a fine job of it, making the books good for kids from 10 to 100. The first in the series, Ghost in the Wall, is due in stores at the end of January, while Winds of the Wild Sea should be out in March.