Good Cause: Fighting For Gwen

My friends Ryan Macklin and Jess Banks have teamed up to launch a fundraiser for Elizabeth Sampat‘s family. Elizabeth’s daughter Gwen is autistic, and as Jess says:

Her family has had to pull her out of the public school where she’s been going since they moved to California because of its stubborn refusal to follow the Individualized Education Program (IEP) that outlines Gwen’s difficulties, goals, and the school’s obligations to help her function at her fullest capacity. IEPs are legal documents, and the school has broken the law time and time again by refusing to provide the support Gwen needs to learn and participate.

A few of my kids have required help at school over the years – my son Ken is hard of hearing and wears two hearing aids, for instance – but we’ve been fortunate to live in a school district that understands their needs, respects the law, and works hard to make attending school a success for them. Young Gwen, it seems, has not been so lucky.

To help the Sampats with their mounting legal bills to fight for the services her daughter needs, deserves, and is required to be given by law, Jess and Ryan set up a fund and asked a bunch of their friends to chip in some stories they could sell on a subscription basis. Fortunately, they know a lot of incredible writers, including folks like  Kenneth Hite, Josh Robern, David Niall Wilson, Cam Banks, Steven Savile, and more.

I’m going to chip in a tale for the cause myself. I have no idea what it’ll be about or when I’ll find the time to write it, but I’ll come up with that. It’s important for Gwen, for the rest of her family, and to me.

So far, the fund has already raised over $5,000. If this kind of project or cause interests you, I encourage you to check it out.

Marvel RPG PDF Out Today

My pals at Margaret Weis Productions have their new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game ready to hit stores on February 28 –coincidentally the same day my novel Carpathia comes out in the US – but DriveThruRPG is selling the PDF edition starting today. It’s already skyrocketed to the top of their Hottest Items chart. At only $12.99, I can see why.

I worked as part of the original design concept team on this game. That means I chipped in ideas with the rest of the Illuminati that developer Cam Banks assembled to help create the game. That included Rob Donoghue, Will Hindmarch, Phillipe-Antoine Menard, and Jesse Scoble, as well as Cam himself. I was often dubbed Black Bolt. I didn’t say much, but when I did, people listened.

Add on the rest of the crew who actually wrote, developed, and edited the book, and wow, it was an all-star team. I had a great time with them, and I think it shows in the final product. If you’re a Marvel fan, go pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.

Shotguns & Sorcery Cracks $4k

Over the weekend, the Shotguns & Sorcery drive on Kickstarter cracked $4,000! We took off like a rocket over the first few days and busted through the first goal in less than two days. Now, though, we’re in the middle stretch, during which most Kickstarters settle into a long, slow burn.

Usually that all changes in the last week or so of the campaign, when people realize they’re running out of time to join in and the pledge graph hockey-sticks up. I went with a slightly shorter campaign this time around, so that’s less than two weeks off now, and I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m stumping around the internet, looking for ways to get out the word about this project.

If you have idea or a venue you’d like to share, let me know. I’m open for interviews, guest blogs, shameless plugging, etc.

My next traditionally published novel, Carpathia, ships at the end of the month – either February 28 or March 1, depending on where you are and what format you prefer – and the next issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic I’m writing for IDW should be out around then too. Those should both give me lots of chances to plug Shotguns & Sorcery, and I plan on taking as much advantage of that as I can.

Meanwhile, if you can help spread the word, please do. Hand out copies of “Goblintown Justice” to anyone who can read. And if you like it, don’t be shy about posting a review of it, either on your own site or at Amazon or any of the other retailers who carry it. It all helps.

So far, I’m thrilled to see how well this grand experiment is going, and I have all my backers to blame for that.

More Carpathia Reviews

With the release of Carpathia only eight days off, more and more reviews for it have cropped up. Here’s a summary of those that I’ve seen over the past week or so.

At the Opinionator, David Marshall enjoyed the book. He writes:

Forbeck imparts a pleasingly relentless quality to the narrative as the humans slowly realise they may just have been demoted in the food chain… Carpathia is a stripped-down thrill ride as humans and vampires are set on a collision course thanks to the accident of an iceberg. It’s well worth picking up.

Meanwhile, at the Founding Fields, we have a double feature, with Bane of Kings and Djinn24 tag-teaming the book. Bane of Kings writes:

Carpathia is fantastic. A page-turner that will keep you hooked right the way through the novel. Not to be missed.

While Djinn24 says:

This book has it all, a touch of romance, horror, adventure with a bunch of vampires which equals one kick-ass page turning story.

Finally, at Love Vampires, there’s a lot of affection for Carpathia. The reviewer there writes:

Carpathia is fast-paced, easy reading and, whether you pity the vampires or not, there is plenty of dramatic entertainment and exciting action here

We Did It!

The Shotguns & Sorcery Kickstarter drive already smashed through its first goal of $3,000! Many thanks to all of the backers who chipped in to make that happen. We managed it in just under 32 hours, less than half as long as it took for the first 12 for ’12 Kickstarter drive.

So! This means I have another novel to write come April, the first in the Shotguns & Sorcery trilogy. WOOOOT!

Now, of course, just because we smashed through this first goal doesn’t mean we’re done. The drive still has another 25 days to go. If we hit a total of $8,000, that unlocks Book 2, and racking up $12,000 unlocks Book 3 as well.

That’s a long way past $3,000, of course, but I’m confident we can make that happen if we just stick to it. If you already joined the drive, don’t be shy about letting other people know about it. And if you haven’t, consider joining the rest of us for something truly fun.

My deepest gratitude once again to everyone who pitched in, either with a pledge or by helping get the word out – or both. I’m humbled to see so many great and generous people have my back and get behind this crazy project of mine. Thanks!

Shotguns & Sorcery Kickstarter Launched!

This morning, I pushed the “Launch” button on my Kickstarter drive for my next 12 for ’12 trilogy. It’s based in a new fantasy setting I call Shotguns & Sorcery, and well, I’ll let the video here tell you more about it.

 

If that tweaks your interest, head on over to the Kickstarter page to learn more and to back it with a pledge. Remember, because this is a Kickstarter, no one gets charged anything until the end of the drive on March 11, and only then if we hit our funding goal first, so it’s risk-free.

Also, if you’d be so kind as to tell people about the project, I’d appreciate it. Getting the word out is always the hardest part of any such project, and I’ll happily accept all the help I can get. Thanks!

New Shotguns & Sorcery Logo

My pal Jim Pinto, who also designed the 12 for ’12 logo, just came up with a fantastic logo for Shotguns & Sorcery as well. It’s reminiscent of both a tavern sign and a shotgun case, which makes it perfect for the books. Look for this to appear on novels – and a Kickstarter video – near you soon.

Jim was a pleasure to work with, by the way, and I recommend him wholeheartedly for any of your graphic design needs.

Goblintown Justice Out Now!

This morning, I published my first short story ebook, “Goblintown Justice.” This is also the first story for my Shotguns & Sorcery setting, and it first appeared in Carnage & Consequences, the Gen Con Writers Symposium anthology edited by Marc Tassin. (It’s actually the second story I wrote for it. The first will appear in Robin D. Laws’s anthology The New Hero 2, due out later this year.)

You can now get “Goblintown Justice” for free through DriveThruFiction (ePub and Kindle/Mobi) and Smashwords (just about every known format). (The DTF version is the prettier of the two, so grab that first if you want the ePub or Kindle versions. To get ebooks into so many formats – which is wonderful – Smashwords requires me to strip out the nicer formatting for its versions.)

The story also available for the Kindle for 99¢ through Amazon. (I’d have it there for free too, but Amazon doesn’t allow me to list it for less than 99¢.) It should be available for the Nook soon too, once Barnes & Noble approves it is out for the Nook for 99¢ now too, and Smashwords should hopefully have it for iBooks and other online stores within a few days.

Shotguns & Sorcery is, of course, the setting for my second trilogy of 12 for ’12 novels. I’m hoping to launch the Kickstarter for that set next week, so read, enjoy, and stay tuned!

Magic #1 Reviews

Magic: The Gathering #1 came out on Wednesday, and the reviews are streaming in. Most people seem to like it a lot. Here are details from a few of the kinder reviews.

CNN’s Geek Out! made the book its pick of the week.

If you’re looking for something new this week, or just want to dip your toe in and see what the hell all these “Magic” players are always on about, think about giving “Magic: The Gathering #1” a shot.

MTV Geek says the book “Deals a Winning Hand.” 

[F]ull of plenty of propulsive action and a forward, breakneck pace that doesn’t pause for long before jumping to the next set piece… What will distinguish M:TG is its ability to make Dack an engaging lead, and luckily, Matt Forbeck does just that.

At Civilian Reader, Stefan enjoyed the book too. 

Forbeck gives us a good introduction to the series and world(s), and despite being entirely unfamiliar with the franchise, I felt quite at home.

Kitty’s Pryde gives the book 4 out of 5 stars.

The script is solid. Good pacing and with a sense of fun… [M]akes for good reading.

At Muliversity Comics, Walter Richardson gives it 7 out of 10.

[T]he first issue of Magic: The Gathering is a pretty good read. Writer Matt Forbeck gives us all the information we need while still keeping things exciting… It’s fun, exciting, and flat-out looks great. My accolades to the entire team for proving my expectations quite wrong.

If you go out and grab or download it, I hope you enjoy it too.