I’ve been doing some article writing for The Crusader, a magazine dedicated to Castles & Crusades. I’ve got articles in Issues 17 & 18 now, with one on the way for 19. I’m really liking the 1st-edition feel of this game, and I’ll be running it at ConCarolinas. The Troll Lords, makers of C&C, are going into a fourth printing of their players’ handbook. I think that is very cool. I like seeing a gaming company making its way in the world. These are just some very cool folks, and I’ve been a fan of theirs since I first encountered their d20 adventures.
Check out Castles & Crusades. Check out the Troll Lords at www.trolllord.com
Rogue Mage is in the editing stage. All of the chapters are in, except for one that is 90% complete. The game is taking longer than I expected to complete, but it is getting there.
I recently had an adventure published in Troll Lord Games’ Crusader Magazine, issue 17 (”Tyman’s Taunting Tower”). I came a little late to Castles & Crusades, having mostly worked on standard d20, but I like the system a great deal. I have material contributed to issue 18, as well. That should be out in a few weeks.
I’ll be attending ConCarolinas (www.concarolinas.org) at the end of May as a gaming guest. If you are in the Charlotte area, that weekend, come by and play. I’ll be on some panels and running two sessions of Castles & Crusades (Friday and Saturday evening). I’m looking forward to it. Last year, I worked on the con committee as the guest director and served on a lot of the writing and gaming panels. I had a blast. This year, I want to spend more time gaming and chatting with friends I don’t get to see as much since I moved. Plus, I’ll get to see writers Faith Hunter, David B. Coe, and Misty Massey again. Great folks!
There are a few sites I wanted to point out for those interested in writing. They apply mostly to fiction, a market I’m still trying to break into, but can aid the nonfiction writer, too. I’ve recently discovered Mur Lafferty’s “I Should Be Writing” podcast. Mur discusses the things she’s come across in her own trials and tibulations toward fiction writing, and she interviews successful authors for their input. I came late to the show, so I’m starting at the beginning. I’m loving the show. You can find the podcasts at www.ishouldbewriting.com.
I’m also a big fan of www.magicalwords.net, where authors Faith Hunter, David B. Coe, Misty Massey, and C.E. Murphy discuss topics to help newbie writers and answer questions. They are very good about responding, so it’s a great place to hang out.
I’m also a serious fan of Holly Lisle’s. Holly’s done a tremendous amount of work over the years to pay forward. I love her work, and I love her generous attitude to those trying to learn the craft. Holly produces some great products about writing for writers. Some of these are books, and some are online courses. You can find information about these works at www.hollylisle.com.
I’m sure there are many more out there, and I’ll try to comment on them as I come across them. These are my favorites at the moment.
I want to send out a hearty congratulations to Neil Spicer on winning the Paizo RPG Superstar 2009 contest (http://paizo.com/rpgsuperstar)!!! Neil is a gamer friend I met at Above Board Games in Fort Mill, SC. He’s a great GM and a very good writer. I’m very happy for him, and I can’t wait to see the published adventure he will be contracted to do for Paizo. He and I will both be attending ConCarolinas (www.concarolinas.org) in May as gaming guests.
Gee, I haven’t used this blog much. For those who are coming here, here is what I’ve been up to:
1) I took a new job in August of 2008, and I’m still dealing with the last of a move to a new city. This move has taken about 7+ months to complete. Argh! I’m renting in one place, and I’m still paying for my house (thanks to the bad market) in another city. I’ve still got mucho books to move to where I am now.
2) I’m still working on the Rogue Mage game, an rpg based on the works of Faith Hunter’s fantasy fiction (www.faithhunter.net). The game is in edit. I was hoping to have the Quickstart Guide ready for ConCarolinas at the end of May, but it’s not looking like that is going to happen. There have been so many life issues for those involved in the game’s production that it is taking a long time to complete. Also, this is my first attempt to translate fiction to gaming. It’s not an easy process.
3) I’ve been wanting to get back into game freelancing, so I sent a piece to Crusader Magazine’s editor, Jim Ward. He accepted in for the April Fool’s issue, so I hope to see that in print for Castles & Crusades soon. I need to finish something for my Misfit Studios friend, Steven Trustrum, for Mutants & Masterminds’ Superlink, too. That’s one of the next things on my plate.
4) I’ve had no luck shopping my romance novel around. I may give up on it. Not sure yet. I think there is one more market, possibly two, I would like to try before shelving it. On a side note, I’ve not had great experiences with agents.
5) Learning a new job. Yeah, it’s been 7 months now, but I work in a college system, and it takes a good year to see the whole process…and then it begins all over again. I’m loving it, though!
I’ve sent the Rogue Mage playtesting files to a few groups. I have a fellow interested in running the game at Con Carolinas this May 30-June 1st, so I hope that happens. Not sure if the book will make it to the con or not. I don’t want to rush it if it isn’t ready. I’ve sent some of it to my layout person, my bud Steven Trustrum of Misfit Studios, who will be handling the pdf sales of the Rogue Mage Quickstart Guide.
This April 5th, I playtested the first game of Rogue Mage (a role-playing game I’m writing with Faith Hunter and Raven Blackwee and based on Faith’s fantasy novels) at Above Board Games in Fort Mill, SC. I had 6 players in attendance, and three of them were new players. After the game, they seemed interested in the game and asked if there would be another session, so we may have some converts.
We gave away signed copies of the Bloodring novel and each participant received two of the d20 marble dice we purchased especially for the game. 
Here is a piece of sample art from the game, an earth neomage named Reasha Zhane:
