Have a The Awakened eBook, want a digital autograph? If the answer to these questions are yes, go to:
Authorgraphs
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Week in Review 12/28/13 Edition
Got my copies of Bluffside for Castles and Crusades and it looks great.
Received the 3rd short for The Awakened II and another great, moving story.
We have postponed Fall of Man on Kickstarter because we read that KS's that start in December tend to do less monetarily.
Received a few images of Tony Szczudlo's upcoming cover for TPK Games and it looks awesome.
Expanded Races: Amber Dwarves is now on sale for C&C art RPGNow, go check it out.
Working on even more goodies for 2014, very excited about it all.
May go to MegaCon 2014 for a day, we will see how it goes.
Playing in my first online Pathfinder game run by THE Jim Butler today, woo hoo.
Have a great New Year and will talk to you all after 2013 leaves and 2014 is upon us.
Received the 3rd short for The Awakened II and another great, moving story.
We have postponed Fall of Man on Kickstarter because we read that KS's that start in December tend to do less monetarily.
Received a few images of Tony Szczudlo's upcoming cover for TPK Games and it looks awesome.
Expanded Races: Amber Dwarves is now on sale for C&C art RPGNow, go check it out.
Working on even more goodies for 2014, very excited about it all.
May go to MegaCon 2014 for a day, we will see how it goes.
Playing in my first online Pathfinder game run by THE Jim Butler today, woo hoo.
Have a great New Year and will talk to you all after 2013 leaves and 2014 is upon us.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Week in Review 12/8/13 Edition.
Big week here, we have a week or so until we start the Kickstarter for Fall of Man.
We received both covers back from Rick and they look great. The limited edition will have glow in the dark ink, so that is AWESOME.
The Awakened is on Amazon and Good Reads and has a few reviews at each location, if you want to order the Kindle version or pre-order the paperback version go here, the Nook version go here.
I have received some roughs for the short stories for The Awakened II and that and the Fall of Man Kickstarter will be taking up all my time until it is over in mid-January.
2014 is going to rock.
We received both covers back from Rick and they look great. The limited edition will have glow in the dark ink, so that is AWESOME.
The Awakened is on Amazon and Good Reads and has a few reviews at each location, if you want to order the Kindle version or pre-order the paperback version go here, the Nook version go here.
I have received some roughs for the short stories for The Awakened II and that and the Fall of Man Kickstarter will be taking up all my time until it is over in mid-January.
2014 is going to rock.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
A Gift of Giving-Jeremy Tangman
A fellow gamer and game designer Jeremy Tangman just got diagnosed with Poly
Neuropothy Syndrome, it is a nerve disease and it is slowly breaking
him down, he could use some help. While I do not know Jeremy well we
have talked and swapped gaming material what I do know is nerve damage.
About 5 years ago I was diagnosed with Cubital and Carpal Tunnel in
both arms and had to have surgery. I was miserable and in pain on a
constant basis. The Cubital Tunnel is now in my other arm, while it is
not as bad as my previous time it may get to be, so I understand a small
piece of what Jeremy is going through. Here is the difference, I am
having mine handled through work, and have had no out of pocket expenses
but I have seen what these items cost and it is asinine. I just
finished paying off a hospital bill from 2 years ago for my son (and
that was just for the part insurance did not pay).
So what I am asking is to stop and before you buy that lunch, or that new eBook (even mine) go over to Jeremy's GoFundMe page and donate a little instead. Even $5 can add up, and it will make you feel good knowing you are helping a cause with a face that can reach out to you.
If there is anything you want in our store I will even offer you 10% off the current sale we are having if you donated, just email me and we will work it out.
Go help a fellow gamer, a fellow human out.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO HIS PAGE
So what I am asking is to stop and before you buy that lunch, or that new eBook (even mine) go over to Jeremy's GoFundMe page and donate a little instead. Even $5 can add up, and it will make you feel good knowing you are helping a cause with a face that can reach out to you.
If there is anything you want in our store I will even offer you 10% off the current sale we are having if you donated, just email me and we will work it out.
Go help a fellow gamer, a fellow human out.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO HIS PAGE
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Week in review 11/11/13
Go check it out! I talk about Kickstarters, The Awakened, Fall of Man.
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
This was the news...Fall of Man goodness
Greenwood and Byers join Fall of Man RPG
As of the end of Necronomicon, Samurai Sheepdog is proud to announce that Ed Greenwood and Richard Lee Byers will both join our exceptional list of contributors to the upcoming Fall of Man role playing game, the current team consists of Doug Herring, Ken Shannon, Hal Greenberg, Darren Pearce, Clinton Boomer, Warren Bailey, Chris Lites, Frank Frey.
Fall of Man is gothic fantasy setting on a ruined Earth.
In Fall of Man you play survivors of the event that shattered and changed two worlds. One is our world of science and reason, Earth, and the other is a world of fantasy and magic, Gothos. You will play one of the many types of new characters available from the Asphalt Samurai to the mighty spell casting Wizard. You might be a human or mutant, an elf or perhaps a dwarf. One thing is for certain. Life on Earth is a precarious thing and death can come quickly.
What you need to know:
Fall of Man will be able to be played as a system unto itself based which will be familiar to any d20, Pathfinder or D&D player. However, it is also designed to work as a multi-system setting able to be played fully in Pathfinder, Castles and Crusades, 13th Age, and others. Follow us on Fall of Man on Facebook and the Samurai Sheepdog web site and join us when it Kickstarts in late 2013!
Samurai Sheepdog is the Mystic Eye Games team (Doug Herring, Hal Greenberg, Ken Shannon) reformed and renamed to be better suited for creating wonderful games, books, graphic novels and more. http://samuraisheepdog.com
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian-born fantasy writer and the original creator of the Forgotten Realms game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for Dragon magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold the rights to the setting to TSR, the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, in 1986. He has written many Forgotten Realms novels, as well as numerous articles and D&D game supplement books.
Richard Lee Byers is the author of forty fantasy and horror novels including many set in the Forgotten Realms and other RPG universes. His recent books include Blind God's Bluff (the first in a new urban fantasy series), The Impostor #2: The Blood Machine (the latest installment in a post-apocalyptic superhero series), and The Plague Knight and Other Stories (a collection of heroic fantasy stories.) He is a fencing, poker, and gaming enthusiast and writes "Astrojive" (a monthly opinion column) for the science fiction news site Airlock Alpha.
Fall of Man © and ™ Samurai Sheepdog 2002
As of the end of Necronomicon, Samurai Sheepdog is proud to announce that Ed Greenwood and Richard Lee Byers will both join our exceptional list of contributors to the upcoming Fall of Man role playing game, the current team consists of Doug Herring, Ken Shannon, Hal Greenberg, Darren Pearce, Clinton Boomer, Warren Bailey, Chris Lites, Frank Frey.
Fall of Man is gothic fantasy setting on a ruined Earth.
In Fall of Man you play survivors of the event that shattered and changed two worlds. One is our world of science and reason, Earth, and the other is a world of fantasy and magic, Gothos. You will play one of the many types of new characters available from the Asphalt Samurai to the mighty spell casting Wizard. You might be a human or mutant, an elf or perhaps a dwarf. One thing is for certain. Life on Earth is a precarious thing and death can come quickly.
What you need to know:
Fall of Man will be able to be played as a system unto itself based which will be familiar to any d20, Pathfinder or D&D player. However, it is also designed to work as a multi-system setting able to be played fully in Pathfinder, Castles and Crusades, 13th Age, and others. Follow us on Fall of Man on Facebook and the Samurai Sheepdog web site and join us when it Kickstarts in late 2013!
Samurai Sheepdog is the Mystic Eye Games team (Doug Herring, Hal Greenberg, Ken Shannon) reformed and renamed to be better suited for creating wonderful games, books, graphic novels and more. http://samuraisheepdog.com
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian-born fantasy writer and the original creator of the Forgotten Realms game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for Dragon magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold the rights to the setting to TSR, the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, in 1986. He has written many Forgotten Realms novels, as well as numerous articles and D&D game supplement books.
Richard Lee Byers is the author of forty fantasy and horror novels including many set in the Forgotten Realms and other RPG universes. His recent books include Blind God's Bluff (the first in a new urban fantasy series), The Impostor #2: The Blood Machine (the latest installment in a post-apocalyptic superhero series), and The Plague Knight and Other Stories (a collection of heroic fantasy stories.) He is a fencing, poker, and gaming enthusiast and writes "Astrojive" (a monthly opinion column) for the science fiction news site Airlock Alpha.
Fall of Man © and ™ Samurai Sheepdog 2002
Week in Review 10/21/13-Vague edition
I need to hold some stuff back so there will be some vague posting here.
Let's see:
The Awakened book I PDF should be out any day with the other eBook's soon after and the printed books should arrive in the warehouse in November ( I hope), remember I am not the publisher on this one so just getting updates from him.
The Awakened book II has been ordered, cover is ordered and it is moving along swimmingly.
The Awakened RPG is being discussed and I think the setting will be a pleasant difference to most settings. We also have this tweak of the logo from Jhoneil:
Let's see:
The Awakened book I PDF should be out any day with the other eBook's soon after and the printed books should arrive in the warehouse in November ( I hope), remember I am not the publisher on this one so just getting updates from him.
The Awakened book II has been ordered, cover is ordered and it is moving along swimmingly.
The Awakened RPG is being discussed and I think the setting will be a pleasant difference to most settings. We also have this tweak of the logo from Jhoneil:
Board games are moving along at different paces, so many more pieces to get set in motion.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon meeting #2 is happening tomorrow, if there is anything to show I will post it.
Fall of Man is looking great, and we have added more veterans to the ranks, official PR blurb to be released tomorrow. The art looks great so far, the writing is so unique and the ideas and twists keep coming. The more we discuss it the more excited I am to get this launched in December.
I am doing a side project with Christina Stiles, Expanded Races for C&C, we should here more about it at the end of the week. She just started her own line for C&C and it is about Kobolds, it can be found here: Fantasy Races Unlocked: Kobolds.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Blog Update
I will continue to do my blog posts here for weekly updates and such BUT I will be posting more often but smaller posts over at our companies blog for me Hal Greenberg-Blog.
Go check it out here!
Go check it out here!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Week in Review 10/13/13
Let's see....
The Awakened eBook should be here in the next 2 weeks with the print copy to follow a few weeks behind!
The Awakened II and the RPG are getting bantered about.
Fall of Man will have a December Kickstarter, it will be a massive tome, 300+ pages. Lot's of surprises and some real talent has been added to round out this project.
Next meeting for Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is next week.
Boardgames are moving ahead.
I have been asked to be a stretch goal by TPK games on their upcoming Kickstarter, it looks real cool and hope I get to work with Brian and his team.
Christina Stiles and I are teaming up to start a series of cool C&C secondary races, we are focusing on dwarves first. I am working on this with Bluffside contributor Brian Boonstra and stat and C&C guru Peter Schroeder. If these do well we will keep doing these small PDF's, so if you like this idea, show this project some love when it gets released and we can keep going.
The Awakened eBook should be here in the next 2 weeks with the print copy to follow a few weeks behind!
The Awakened II and the RPG are getting bantered about.
Fall of Man will have a December Kickstarter, it will be a massive tome, 300+ pages. Lot's of surprises and some real talent has been added to round out this project.
Next meeting for Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is next week.
Boardgames are moving ahead.
I have been asked to be a stretch goal by TPK games on their upcoming Kickstarter, it looks real cool and hope I get to work with Brian and his team.
Christina Stiles and I are teaming up to start a series of cool C&C secondary races, we are focusing on dwarves first. I am working on this with Bluffside contributor Brian Boonstra and stat and C&C guru Peter Schroeder. If these do well we will keep doing these small PDF's, so if you like this idea, show this project some love when it gets released and we can keep going.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Week in Review 10/6/13
The Awakened is done! They are adding the Kickstarter backer names to this edition and it goes to print. I hope to see the eBook in people's hands by 3rd-4th week of October and the print book a few weeks after, please when you are finished review it on Amazon and Good Read, B&N.com etc...
This is the last 7-10 days for the Bluffside pre-order, we are less than $1500 away from getting it in hardback-it deserves it, so if you are a fan of Castles & Crusades, go check it out. please.
I am working on the general setting and book II for The Awakened as we speak, and once book I is officially released I will be getting the teams on track so both book II and the ROG will be available for sale in 2014.
Fall of Man Kickstarter looks like it will be a December/January launch, some real life issues popped up for the team, we are getting on track but we need to make sure it is good not rushed.
The boardgames are being worked on as well for some 2014 releases, so that is exciting.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is being tweaked and drawn as we speak, more information on that Kickstarter when we have more to give.
Tony Szczudlo will be at his first gaming convention in over 10+ years, so if you are around Lake Geneva on the last week in March, go check out Gary Con!
This is the last 7-10 days for the Bluffside pre-order, we are less than $1500 away from getting it in hardback-it deserves it, so if you are a fan of Castles & Crusades, go check it out. please.
I am working on the general setting and book II for The Awakened as we speak, and once book I is officially released I will be getting the teams on track so both book II and the ROG will be available for sale in 2014.
Fall of Man Kickstarter looks like it will be a December/January launch, some real life issues popped up for the team, we are getting on track but we need to make sure it is good not rushed.
The boardgames are being worked on as well for some 2014 releases, so that is exciting.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is being tweaked and drawn as we speak, more information on that Kickstarter when we have more to give.
Tony Szczudlo will be at his first gaming convention in over 10+ years, so if you are around Lake Geneva on the last week in March, go check out Gary Con!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Week in Review 9/28/13
The Awakened galley proof cut off was yesterday, so we are in the final stages of its production, hoping to see eBook in October and print copies Oct/Nov!!!!!
Cover and stories for The Awakened II are underway.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is getting reworked with my new collaborator and illustrator Stan! Brown
King of Thieves is still being tweaked and playtested.
Two more weeks for Bluffside for C&C pre-orders
Necronomicon is 3 weeks away now. If you are going drop me a line.
We are working on quotes for Fall of Man print run to start getting the Kickstarter in line, hope to have it launched by end of the year.
Cover and stories for The Awakened II are underway.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is getting reworked with my new collaborator and illustrator Stan! Brown
King of Thieves is still being tweaked and playtested.
Two more weeks for Bluffside for C&C pre-orders
Necronomicon is 3 weeks away now. If you are going drop me a line.
We are working on quotes for Fall of Man print run to start getting the Kickstarter in line, hope to have it launched by end of the year.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Weekend Update 9/22/13
We are continually working on the web site in trying to make it as cleaned and informative as possible. Samurai Sheepdog
The Awakened book I will be completely laid out an edited very soon and I'm looking forward to it and assuming it will begin an October release.
Fall of man that is 80% done and we have people ready to go to complete it and all of the additional books once are Kickstarter funds. Right now we're working on budgets and size of the books in order to determine what we need to do to make this project successful.
The rest of the projects are coming along at different stages with different people as well, nothing new to report.
The only thing a little different is my health I am having some issues and going to the doctor to determine what level and seriousness my issues are currently at.
The Awakened book I will be completely laid out an edited very soon and I'm looking forward to it and assuming it will begin an October release.
Fall of man that is 80% done and we have people ready to go to complete it and all of the additional books once are Kickstarter funds. Right now we're working on budgets and size of the books in order to determine what we need to do to make this project successful.
The rest of the projects are coming along at different stages with different people as well, nothing new to report.
The only thing a little different is my health I am having some issues and going to the doctor to determine what level and seriousness my issues are currently at.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Bluffside Available for Pre-Order and Weekly Update
Big news is Bluffside for C&C is ready for pre-order, book is done so you get the PDF version within 72 hours of purchase!
Fall of Man moving ahead!
The Awakened book I is due back end of this month so I am assuming eBook by mid-October and print by end of October.
All the boardgames are looking good.
Our Samurai Sheepdog website should be up by the end of the week, so that is nice.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is stopped for a bit but hopefully moving ahead faster once we get some details in order.
Fall of Man moving ahead!
The Awakened book I is due back end of this month so I am assuming eBook by mid-October and print by end of October.
All the boardgames are looking good.
Our Samurai Sheepdog website should be up by the end of the week, so that is nice.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is stopped for a bit but hopefully moving ahead faster once we get some details in order.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Week in Review 9/8/13
Moving forward on some items:
Bluffside for C&C
The Awakened
The Awakened II
Fall of Man
a Samurai Sheepdog website
Other things are set at a no change mode.
Just trying to remember what I am missing and at the same time try not to hurt my arms/wrists.
On a personal note, my nerve damage that I had surgery for a few years ago may be rearing its head again, which is odd, since I now use special mice (home and work) as well as purposely not be on the computer at home as much as I would of been pre-surgery.
Not a good sign...
Bluffside for C&C
The Awakened
The Awakened II
Fall of Man
a Samurai Sheepdog website
Other things are set at a no change mode.
Just trying to remember what I am missing and at the same time try not to hurt my arms/wrists.
On a personal note, my nerve damage that I had surgery for a few years ago may be rearing its head again, which is odd, since I now use special mice (home and work) as well as purposely not be on the computer at home as much as I would of been pre-surgery.
Not a good sign...
Saturday, September 7, 2013
The Big Picture
With all these projects and the freelance jobs I currently have I decided we really need to have a full web presence, not just a FB page for Samurai Sheepdog.
That will be the next project I undertake, find someone skilled in web design, that is reasonable in price to get our look and feel down pat.
Due to so many projects and varied at that, I am thinking we do something like:
RPGs
Boardgames
Books/Anthologies/Shorts-Fiction
in addition to the
About Us/Contact Us
Purchase
Links
Media
Home
So that will be a side projects as we go.
Oh and Tony S may have a really nice, big deal coming up, so as soon as it is official look here and on his FB page for updates.
That will be the next project I undertake, find someone skilled in web design, that is reasonable in price to get our look and feel down pat.
Due to so many projects and varied at that, I am thinking we do something like:
RPGs
Boardgames
Books/Anthologies/Shorts-Fiction
in addition to the
About Us/Contact Us
Purchase
Links
Media
Home
So that will be a side projects as we go.
Oh and Tony S may have a really nice, big deal coming up, so as soon as it is official look here and on his FB page for updates.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Necronomicon October 18-20th, 2013
Necronomicon-Tampa, FL
Florida's Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Convention
October 18-20, 2013 - Embassy Suites USF - Tampa
The "Back To Tampa" Tour!
http://www.stonehill.org/necro.htm
I will be on some panels, stop by and say hi!!!!
October 18-20, 2013 - Embassy Suites USF - Tampa
The "Back To Tampa" Tour!
http://www.stonehill.org/necro.htm
I will be on some panels, stop by and say hi!!!!
Happy Labor Day Update
Still working slowly on my children's book.
Bluffside should have some official information on the Troll Lord's site soon.
Fall of Man is starting to go into an excel sheet to figure costs etc.... still looking for an October (ish) Kickstarter.
King of Thieves and The Edge boardgames and always being tweaked and looked at, both should be 2014 Kickstarters.
The Awakned anthology is in final proofs for layout and I am hoping to have it in your hands soon.
The Awakened II is being worked on, cover and stories and we are actively discussing the RPG setting for it as well.
It looks like Samurai Sheepdog is looking to release 3-4 big projects a year, exciting news for us.
Had a great phone meeting with Darrin Drader, well when his phone did not cut us off.
Tony Sczcudlo is working on some stuff for me and other companies, if you have a project, drop me a line and let's see if we can keep him busy.
Necronomicon is coming up in Tampa again and I will be on a few panels.
Check it out if you will be around.
And lastly for your enjoyment, my samurai sheepdog as Yoda and a gangta' and a superhero.
Bluffside should have some official information on the Troll Lord's site soon.
Fall of Man is starting to go into an excel sheet to figure costs etc.... still looking for an October (ish) Kickstarter.
King of Thieves and The Edge boardgames and always being tweaked and looked at, both should be 2014 Kickstarters.
The Awakned anthology is in final proofs for layout and I am hoping to have it in your hands soon.
The Awakened II is being worked on, cover and stories and we are actively discussing the RPG setting for it as well.
It looks like Samurai Sheepdog is looking to release 3-4 big projects a year, exciting news for us.
Had a great phone meeting with Darrin Drader, well when his phone did not cut us off.
Tony Sczcudlo is working on some stuff for me and other companies, if you have a project, drop me a line and let's see if we can keep him busy.
Necronomicon is coming up in Tampa again and I will be on a few panels.
Check it out if you will be around.
And lastly for your enjoyment, my samurai sheepdog as Yoda and a gangta' and a superhero.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Project Updates-with links!
Had a great meeting with my business partners and we are moving along...
Fall of Man RPG Kickstarter should launch third quarter of 2013
We have a neat space co-op board game for first quarter of 2014
King of Thieves for mid-year 2014
The Awakened RPG and book II of the anthology for last half of 2014
I personally have Sam the Hanukkah Dragon, which is written now I am working with the artist on the art, that will be a side project and will be ready when it is ready.
Have some other things I am working on and for with other people and those will happen when they happen.
Bluffside for C&C will be available for pre-order soon on the Troll Lord website soon.
And Dark Quest books seems to be trying to wrap up the backer surveys by the end of the month and I am hoping to have all the bookplates to him by mid-September, I think we have 3 more sigs to get.
I am currently working as Tony Sczcudlo's agent for new projects so if you would like a very talented and well known artist drop me an email and let's talk before he gets booked.
We have 2 PDF's available for C&C right now, one is free over at RPGNow.com
Fall of Man RPG Kickstarter should launch third quarter of 2013
We have a neat space co-op board game for first quarter of 2014
King of Thieves for mid-year 2014
The Awakened RPG and book II of the anthology for last half of 2014
I personally have Sam the Hanukkah Dragon, which is written now I am working with the artist on the art, that will be a side project and will be ready when it is ready.
Have some other things I am working on and for with other people and those will happen when they happen.
Bluffside for C&C will be available for pre-order soon on the Troll Lord website soon.
And Dark Quest books seems to be trying to wrap up the backer surveys by the end of the month and I am hoping to have all the bookplates to him by mid-September, I think we have 3 more sigs to get.
I am currently working as Tony Sczcudlo's agent for new projects so if you would like a very talented and well known artist drop me an email and let's talk before he gets booked.
Monday, August 19, 2013
GenCon Recap
Let me preface this by saying sorry that we missed a few events/seminars I had plans on going but we had some issues with the hotel and just getting older. I need to specifically say sorry to Matt Forbeck who I had 3 events to see him and missed all 3. I know you had family with you or I would of tried to meet outside of those.
Also if I missed you in the update I apologize, so many great things happened it was not intentional, trust me.
OK, now that the disclaimer is done, onto the recap--
Wednesday: Got in around 11AM, went to the hall and mingled a bit and got our passes from the Troll Lord team. Mingled, walked and had some nice impromptu meets with Angus Abranson, and Stan! (Brown), Ed Bourelle to name a few. We went around and saw a lot of the booths, and as the feet got a rest towards the end of the day we saw the booth The Troll and Toad booth take a tumble, it was bad on the equipment but nobody got injured.
What we missed: The Diana Jones Awards.
Thursday: Got over to the con around 8AM, hung at the TLG booth for a bit even answered some early bird questions about C&C, and then we started our move, my friend Brian picked up the new Firefly RPG and had Margaret Weiss sign it, she was pleasant as always. When we got there we saw a sad Chris Pramas outside with a bunch of boxes so like a superhero (Mutants and Masterminds reference) swept in and carried a few boxes in. Met with Simon at Pelgrane Press to discuss our current projects and 13th Age as well as Erik Mona from Paizo and Steve C at the Trolls booth. Signed a copy of Bluffside for C&C for a very nice and loyal C&C customer. Met up with Derrick L and spoke to him for a bit about C&C and the future of Samurai Sheepdog and TLG. Spoke to Ken Whitman as well and said hi to Larry Elmore.
Had some discussions about Bluffside and some other projects with the boys over at TLG and went well, have to ask the Troll Lord if the feeling was mutual. Said hi to Monte Cook, who I have not seen or worked with in about 10 years, it was great to see him again.
Went to a seminar about screenwriting led by Daniel G and was impressed.
What we missed: Mayfair Event
Friday: The Awakened signing and breakfast, all the authors at GenCon (less Erik Scott de Bie who had a seminar) showed and we spent 3 hours signing laughing and just having a blast, we decided it will be an annual GenCon event, with less signing and more laughing. Ed Greenwood, Colin McComb, Jaleigh Johnson, Clinton Boomer and myself. We also had Kevin Glusing a Kickstarter pledger and upcoming writer for the setting join us as well. I hope Kevin had as good of a time as we did. Colin was a blast to sit next to, it felt like we had been friends for years, we swapped some embarrassing stories so I won't let mine slip if he keeps his mouth shut. I bought a Wayne Reynolds limited edition book and he was there and resigned it and goblinized mine, he is so mellow and great, he is someone I would like to work with in the future.
We went to a great seminar about novel outlines and Erik Scott de Bie and Brandon Sanderson were both great (as well as the other panelists).
What we missed: Two panels (one with Matt Forbeck-see above for apology)
Saturday: We wrapped up GenCon (leaving on Sunday AM), with congratulating the ENnie winners, stopping by a few companies and individuals and talked shop amongst those spoken to: Brian Berg, Stan!, Jason Engle, Angus Abanson, Bruce Cordell (who took a selfie with me-LOL), and finally was able to say hi in person to Shanna Germain (so pleasant, always smiling). We playtested D7D Next and i got to catch up to Mike Mearls so that was an extra treat.
We ended the trip with a dinner at Shula's with the Troll Lord team, Bill Webb, Joesph Goodman, and Aldo Ghiozzi-it was a great way to end the trip.
Thank you Indy, GenCon and everyone there for letting me have such a great time. See ya next year.
Also if I missed you in the update I apologize, so many great things happened it was not intentional, trust me.
OK, now that the disclaimer is done, onto the recap--
Wednesday: Got in around 11AM, went to the hall and mingled a bit and got our passes from the Troll Lord team. Mingled, walked and had some nice impromptu meets with Angus Abranson, and Stan! (Brown), Ed Bourelle to name a few. We went around and saw a lot of the booths, and as the feet got a rest towards the end of the day we saw the booth The Troll and Toad booth take a tumble, it was bad on the equipment but nobody got injured.
What we missed: The Diana Jones Awards.
Thursday: Got over to the con around 8AM, hung at the TLG booth for a bit even answered some early bird questions about C&C, and then we started our move, my friend Brian picked up the new Firefly RPG and had Margaret Weiss sign it, she was pleasant as always. When we got there we saw a sad Chris Pramas outside with a bunch of boxes so like a superhero (Mutants and Masterminds reference) swept in and carried a few boxes in. Met with Simon at Pelgrane Press to discuss our current projects and 13th Age as well as Erik Mona from Paizo and Steve C at the Trolls booth. Signed a copy of Bluffside for C&C for a very nice and loyal C&C customer. Met up with Derrick L and spoke to him for a bit about C&C and the future of Samurai Sheepdog and TLG. Spoke to Ken Whitman as well and said hi to Larry Elmore.
Had some discussions about Bluffside and some other projects with the boys over at TLG and went well, have to ask the Troll Lord if the feeling was mutual. Said hi to Monte Cook, who I have not seen or worked with in about 10 years, it was great to see him again.
Went to a seminar about screenwriting led by Daniel G and was impressed.
What we missed: Mayfair Event
Friday: The Awakened signing and breakfast, all the authors at GenCon (less Erik Scott de Bie who had a seminar) showed and we spent 3 hours signing laughing and just having a blast, we decided it will be an annual GenCon event, with less signing and more laughing. Ed Greenwood, Colin McComb, Jaleigh Johnson, Clinton Boomer and myself. We also had Kevin Glusing a Kickstarter pledger and upcoming writer for the setting join us as well. I hope Kevin had as good of a time as we did. Colin was a blast to sit next to, it felt like we had been friends for years, we swapped some embarrassing stories so I won't let mine slip if he keeps his mouth shut. I bought a Wayne Reynolds limited edition book and he was there and resigned it and goblinized mine, he is so mellow and great, he is someone I would like to work with in the future.
We went to a great seminar about novel outlines and Erik Scott de Bie and Brandon Sanderson were both great (as well as the other panelists).
What we missed: Two panels (one with Matt Forbeck-see above for apology)
Saturday: We wrapped up GenCon (leaving on Sunday AM), with congratulating the ENnie winners, stopping by a few companies and individuals and talked shop amongst those spoken to: Brian Berg, Stan!, Jason Engle, Angus Abanson, Bruce Cordell (who took a selfie with me-LOL), and finally was able to say hi in person to Shanna Germain (so pleasant, always smiling). We playtested D7D Next and i got to catch up to Mike Mearls so that was an extra treat.
We ended the trip with a dinner at Shula's with the Troll Lord team, Bill Webb, Joesph Goodman, and Aldo Ghiozzi-it was a great way to end the trip.
Thank you Indy, GenCon and everyone there for letting me have such a great time. See ya next year.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
GenCon Schedule
Here is my tentative schedule:
Wednesday-fly in, go to GenCon and hang out during set up. Dinner with a fraternity buddy and the DJA at 9PM.
Thursday- Brunch with CMG Mark, writing seminars and the Mayfair event.
Friday- The Awakened signing breakfast, meetings with Pinnacle Games and others, and some seminars.
Saturday-Walk around hall with Tony Sczcudlo and have lunch meeting with Jeff Easley.
Sunday-AM wrap up and leave for airport around 10AM to fly all day back home.
I know a lot more will happen but that is a brief rundown, I hope to see you there!
Wednesday-fly in, go to GenCon and hang out during set up. Dinner with a fraternity buddy and the DJA at 9PM.
Thursday- Brunch with CMG Mark, writing seminars and the Mayfair event.
Friday- The Awakened signing breakfast, meetings with Pinnacle Games and others, and some seminars.
Saturday-Walk around hall with Tony Sczcudlo and have lunch meeting with Jeff Easley.
Sunday-AM wrap up and leave for airport around 10AM to fly all day back home.
I know a lot more will happen but that is a brief rundown, I hope to see you there!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Gen Con Week-Woo Hoo!
This is an interesting week for me, I was not asked to be on any panels, I do not have a booth.
I...am ...free!
Sort of, this year we are planning a lot of stuff so I am havong a lot of working meals with people.
I am looking forward to it and can't wait, I am even going to a few writing seminars, which should be fun.
I will be around the Troll Lords booth some of the time, but mostly walking around, saying hi to new and old friends, and hopefully get some good plans started for 2014!
Hope to see you there!!!!
I...am ...free!
Sort of, this year we are planning a lot of stuff so I am havong a lot of working meals with people.
I am looking forward to it and can't wait, I am even going to a few writing seminars, which should be fun.
I will be around the Troll Lords booth some of the time, but mostly walking around, saying hi to new and old friends, and hopefully get some good plans started for 2014!
Hope to see you there!!!!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Week(s) in Review 7/29/13
It has been an odd few weeks I have been working on projects BUT have nothing to show for it but delays ( I think)
Bluffside for C&C...my gut says it will not be ready for GenCon.
The Awakened in print, my gut says it will not be ready for GenCon.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is slowly getting some work on it, edits done just waiting for some art.
King of Thieves-playtesting done, more of that and some work on getting it ready for Kickstarter.
Boardgame #2, slow, we both seem to have other projects so it gets moved around.
I am looking forward to GenCon even if my two books are not available.
I am waiting to start on the Awakened II with the authors until they get a rough version of book I, it will help them place their characters.
I am hoping to ger a rough sketch of the cover for The Awakened II this week.
The bookplates for The Awakened are back in the USA and are moving all around the country as we speak. All the stories and art are turned in and I received, edited and turned in Darren's bonus story to Neal as well, it is a great read!
Bluffside for C&C...my gut says it will not be ready for GenCon.
The Awakened in print, my gut says it will not be ready for GenCon.
Sam the Hanukkah Dragon is slowly getting some work on it, edits done just waiting for some art.
King of Thieves-playtesting done, more of that and some work on getting it ready for Kickstarter.
Boardgame #2, slow, we both seem to have other projects so it gets moved around.
I am looking forward to GenCon even if my two books are not available.
I am waiting to start on the Awakened II with the authors until they get a rough version of book I, it will help them place their characters.
I am hoping to ger a rough sketch of the cover for The Awakened II this week.
The bookplates for The Awakened are back in the USA and are moving all around the country as we speak. All the stories and art are turned in and I received, edited and turned in Darren's bonus story to Neal as well, it is a great read!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Publishing, the bad with some advice.
Being a publisher can be rewarding but there are some things that come with it that are downright bad.
With great power comes great responsibility. You are the boss (or one of the bosses), you need to make sure contracts are done, and then fulfilled. Monies, work product, printing, editing, playtesting, PR, art and much more.
There is a lot of work attached to making a product. The hours get long and keeping that in mind the pay gets lower per hour, if you even get paid. During my years of publishing during the d20 era I never saw a dime. To be fair, I did get some things at no charge like costs to go to cons etc…. but I never received any money for any of the work I did. I loved doing it so I was not angry but when monies stopped coming in from devious distributors and my credit cards were used and no reimbursement came in my overall income for publishing 30+ books was a negative of more than $10,000. This is not to scare you but to make sure you clearly know what you are getting into when it is all on the line.
Few things that can make publishing sting less:
Publish in PDF, it is a less expensive market to get into and it is a set channel of distribution and you can track actual sales.
Print on Demand, again no financial costs to print and the quality is so high right now they are doing print on demand card games!
Do as much of the work as you can yourself that keeps costs down and hopefully will let you see some profits sooner.
Kickstart it if it is a big project, you have all the power if you already have the funds to pay artists/writers and to print the book before it is completed, it is a financial and emotional stress reliever.
Ask for help, you will be surprised how freely advice can be obtained, names of good printers, names of good writers, artists etc….
Market yourself, get a name and a logo and start making yourself known.
Next, the ugly.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Week in Review 6/26/13
Let's see...hope to have the anthology announcement this week.
Finished the side project, have no idea when that will be up.
King of Thieves boardgame is getting a boardgame hero to wear the logo and an upcoming con! Also we have some of the game art here and working on samples to show people.
Boardgame #2 is getting a meeting to discuss plans for it.
Going to get to do some fiction writing this weekend.
Bluffside for C&C is moving ahead.
Fall of Man, looking good, some great ideas, we are thinking an October Kickstarter launch.
Sam the Hanukkah may move to a December launch, when something like this is so art dependent, we need to have a moving target for a launch.
Samurai Sheepdog will be getting a little free C&C adventure up soon on RPGNow.com, a fun little two hour one shot/con adventure.
Finished the side project, have no idea when that will be up.
King of Thieves boardgame is getting a boardgame hero to wear the logo and an upcoming con! Also we have some of the game art here and working on samples to show people.
Boardgame #2 is getting a meeting to discuss plans for it.
Going to get to do some fiction writing this weekend.
Bluffside for C&C is moving ahead.
Fall of Man, looking good, some great ideas, we are thinking an October Kickstarter launch.
Sam the Hanukkah may move to a December launch, when something like this is so art dependent, we need to have a moving target for a launch.
Samurai Sheepdog will be getting a little free C&C adventure up soon on RPGNow.com, a fun little two hour one shot/con adventure.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Week in Review 6/18/13
Congrats to all those who won Origin Awards this year!
And hope all who attended had fun.
Package arrived in England today with the bookplates, for The Awakened, that is the longest trek after it gets back here.
Confirmed our backer exclusive (for 6 mos) story will be ready in a few weeks!
More Awakened info soon ™.
More art incoming for King of Thieves.
More discussions about the Fall of Man RPG Kickstarter.
I might of gotten the very talented Tony Szczudlo his first non Hal gig-I am working as a liaison/agent for him.
And hope all who attended had fun.
Package arrived in England today with the bookplates, for The Awakened, that is the longest trek after it gets back here.
Confirmed our backer exclusive (for 6 mos) story will be ready in a few weeks!
More Awakened info soon ™.
More art incoming for King of Thieves.
More discussions about the Fall of Man RPG Kickstarter.
I might of gotten the very talented Tony Szczudlo his first non Hal gig-I am working as a liaison/agent for him.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Publishing-Is it an advantage?
OK, so now I talk about publishing, it is rewarding and crappy all in one!
The good:
You get to make the calls (good or bad), you want double the art in your book, go ahead it is your book, want no art and make a statement, it is up to you. The thing you need to remember is every decision has consequences. Sales may not be high with the lack of art or sales will need to be huge due to the budget of all the art, so really think about those decisions more excel sheets, less cool factor.
Now saying that sometimes you need a cool factor--Thunderhead Games made a name for itself for a few reasons, one of them was we were the first to hire Monte Cook after he left WotC during the d20 bubble, now it was for a prestige class but we were first. You know who got Todd Lockwood as well, yup, this guy. That was worth it for both because of the PR we got as well as some instant street cred. Would I do it again, if need be. Maybe.
With PDF self-publishing being at the up and front now it is a huge boon to make stuff fast and inexpensively and the biggest advantage--more variation, because the entrance is inexpensive, the more likely people will be willing to write and develop that odd book, which if it was print only, you may not of ever seen the stuff available.
A great example is SGG, they have so much stuff, it is small brilliant pieces of work, these works most likely would never have seen the light of day if the PDF market was not around. To have missed out on these would truly be a shame.
So it is great to be your own boss and get done what you want to and also work with whom you want to but remember if you are paying people you will need to make some money. So keep it all in mind, you will need a healthy balance in order to be successful and able to keep making those games you want.
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your products coming out and getting praise for the great cover you had done etc....
Next Publishing: The bad.
The good:
You get to make the calls (good or bad), you want double the art in your book, go ahead it is your book, want no art and make a statement, it is up to you. The thing you need to remember is every decision has consequences. Sales may not be high with the lack of art or sales will need to be huge due to the budget of all the art, so really think about those decisions more excel sheets, less cool factor.
Now saying that sometimes you need a cool factor--Thunderhead Games made a name for itself for a few reasons, one of them was we were the first to hire Monte Cook after he left WotC during the d20 bubble, now it was for a prestige class but we were first. You know who got Todd Lockwood as well, yup, this guy. That was worth it for both because of the PR we got as well as some instant street cred. Would I do it again, if need be. Maybe.
With PDF self-publishing being at the up and front now it is a huge boon to make stuff fast and inexpensively and the biggest advantage--more variation, because the entrance is inexpensive, the more likely people will be willing to write and develop that odd book, which if it was print only, you may not of ever seen the stuff available.
A great example is SGG, they have so much stuff, it is small brilliant pieces of work, these works most likely would never have seen the light of day if the PDF market was not around. To have missed out on these would truly be a shame.
So it is great to be your own boss and get done what you want to and also work with whom you want to but remember if you are paying people you will need to make some money. So keep it all in mind, you will need a healthy balance in order to be successful and able to keep making those games you want.
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your products coming out and getting praise for the great cover you had done etc....
Next Publishing: The bad.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Week in Review 6/10/13
Well it isn't con crud but I am sick, so that myth about cons may be true.
OK, onto the interesting stuff!
Salty Bay Con was busy, for a first year con I was impressed lots of games and excitement abound, if you live in the Tampa Bay, FL area and like RPG's, boardgames come check it out. I really liked the idea where they had some games to borrow and play, it let people experience new games at no cost and brought in new fans for those lines, brilliant.
The Awakened did well, and we reveal soon more items for that setting. I am hoping the publisher, once the funds are in will get the eBook together ASAP and send it out for the print run, I am hoping to surprise backers by having it ready earlier than the stated delivery date!
Fall of Man is moving along and I met Frank Frey who wrote Twilight 2000 and I am going to put the line manager in touch with him because I think he would be a great resource for that line.
The boardgames and Sam the Hannukah Dragon have no real movement this week from my view, but I know stuff is being worked on in the background.
I am slowly working on a project with Jim Pinto, but now the KS and the con is over I am going to try and focus on it before other stuff get closer-timing is everything!
I will also write another piece about publishing soon, I promise.
OK, onto the interesting stuff!
Salty Bay Con was busy, for a first year con I was impressed lots of games and excitement abound, if you live in the Tampa Bay, FL area and like RPG's, boardgames come check it out. I really liked the idea where they had some games to borrow and play, it let people experience new games at no cost and brought in new fans for those lines, brilliant.
The Awakened did well, and we reveal soon more items for that setting. I am hoping the publisher, once the funds are in will get the eBook together ASAP and send it out for the print run, I am hoping to surprise backers by having it ready earlier than the stated delivery date!
Fall of Man is moving along and I met Frank Frey who wrote Twilight 2000 and I am going to put the line manager in touch with him because I think he would be a great resource for that line.
The boardgames and Sam the Hannukah Dragon have no real movement this week from my view, but I know stuff is being worked on in the background.
I am slowly working on a project with Jim Pinto, but now the KS and the con is over I am going to try and focus on it before other stuff get closer-timing is everything!
I will also write another piece about publishing soon, I promise.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Week in Review 6/3/13
Less than 5 days left in the Awakened Kickstarter-CLICK HERE TO PLEDGE
Fall of Man RPG announced and will be a Kickstarter soon, had a long meeting about it Sunday.
CLICK HERE FOR FACEBOOK PAGE
No updates on either boardgame
No updates on Sam the Hanukkah Dragon
Bluffside for C&C is at the editor for a GenCon release.
Fall of Man RPG announced and will be a Kickstarter soon, had a long meeting about it Sunday.
CLICK HERE FOR FACEBOOK PAGE
No updates on either boardgame
No updates on Sam the Hanukkah Dragon
Bluffside for C&C is at the editor for a GenCon release.
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