Over on Storytellers Unplugged, my pal Rich Dansky recently posted “Young Industry My Sweet Patootie, You Goldurn Whippersnappers.” It’s an excellent essay on the challenges of writing for video games and why it continues to be hard to do well even after decades of such games on the market. The excuse, of course, is that video games are a relatively …

Cinerati asked a number of creatives: “Was there a particular book (or television show, or film) that you read (or watched) as a child that inspired you into your current career?” Check out the responses from Susan Palwick, Richard Scott Nokes, Dale Launer, David Chute, and me.

I received a couple notices this evening that Brian Thomsen passed away of a heart attack on Saturday. I knew Brian from his days as the head of the fiction division at TSR, and although I never had the pleasure of working with him, many of my friends did. I just saw Brian at this past Gen Con, only a …

My free monthly essay on writing just went up on Storytellers Unplugged today. This time around, I discuss the cyclical nature of freelancing and the “Season of the Pitch.”

My friend Anthony Gallela recently announced that he is stepping down as the executive director of GAMA to join Bucephalus Games as its full time VP of Sales and Marketing. It looks like company president Dan Tibble‘s new venture is taking off, so it’s time for Anthony to jump on that rocket for the ride and hold on with both …

Christian Lindke of Cinerati asked me and a few other hardy souls,“How do you think media tie-in novels affect the genre of sf/f?” Stop on by to see what succinct things Aaron Rosenberg, Susan Palwick, and I had to say.

My friends at FlamesRising.com are looking for writers and artists to contribute monsters for this year’s run up to Halloween. I chipped in a fun one, which you can look for on their site next month. You can also find bits from E.E. Knight, Jess Hartley, Jason Morningstar, Monica Valentinelli, Rich Dansky, Gregor Hutton, Alana Abbott, Jared Sorenson, Jason Blair, …

My short story “Prometheus Unwound” first appeared in The Book of All Flesh, edited by Jim Lowder and published by Eden Studios, and it won the Origins Award for Best Game-Related Short Work of 2001. Flying Pen Press and editor Fred Poutre recently reprinted it in a new collection of game-designer written stories called Of Dice and Pen. This features …

I’ve joined Twitter, and I’m using it as a sort of sideblog on this site. See the box at the top of the first sidebar for a sample or follow me directly if you like.

My friends at ACD have asked me to come up to Madison, Wisconsin, for their open house for retailers later this week. I’ll be there this Thursday, September 11, starting at 2 PM. If you’re a games retailer anywhere nearby, you should stop by and say hi. I’ll be happy to scribble my name all over anything you like, within …