BIFF 2009

The Beloit International Film Festival announced its 2009 lineup this week. The festival runs February 19—22, and I’m hoping to make the most of it. I’ve not heard of many of the films on the docket. If any independent film buffs out there could offer some recommendations, I’d appreciate it. I actually managed to see several films in a theater …

Forbidden Mail

A couple weeks ago, I received my first e-mail from a concerned parent about More Forbidden Knowledge. Honestly, with a title like that, I’d have figured on more outrage in my inbox by now, but I’m happy to be wrong on that point. The woman had some real, if misguided, concerns, and I did my best to answer them. You …

Congratulations x2

A quick shout out to two friends of mine who’ve had good news this week. First, to Carl Kluzke, who made it through the first round of Paizo‘s 2009 edition of its RPG Superstar competition. (Think American Idol, but for RPG designers.) The boundary chalk magic item he concocted for this is good fun with a cool twist. Good luck …

Superhero Wishes at Bookgasm

Fellow IAMTW member and comic-book legend Paul Kupperberg recently asked a bunch of us to tell him which superhero we’d like to write a novel about and what kind of story we would tell. Oh, and did we have any horror stories about such books to tell? You can see my answer–along with those of Richard Lee Byers, Greg Cox, …

Finding the Narrative at Storytellers Unplugged

My latest essay, “Finding the Narrative,” is up at Storytellers Unplugged. This time around, I examine the needs of narratives through the lens of the inauguration of President Obama. Please check it out.

Mutant Chronicles on the Big (and Little) Screen

Word is that the Mutant Chronicles movie (for which I wrote the novelization) will finally get a theatrical release this year. Magnet Releasing–a division of Magnolia Pictures–picked up the distribution rights, and it plans to have a limited release of the film on April 24. In advance of that, though, the film will be released on HDNet‘s Ultra VOD service …

Quick Game Reviews Site

If you’re looking for short and sweet reviews of tabletop games of many stripes, check out the new GameCryer.com. It’s the brainchild of Ed Healy, David Moore, and Chris Perrin, but they have a number of reviewers lined up to tear through the shelves of their local game stores and tell you what they think. They summarize their style as …

Gen Con Emerges from Bankruptcy

According to a press release on its website, the bankruptcy court has approved Gen Con‘s reorganization plan, and it’s now emerged from Chapter 11. Woot! I’m thrilled for Peter Adkison, Adrian Swartout, and my other friends at the company. This means that the current team will remain in place and that the show will go on this summer. As part …

Politics, My Dad, and Saying No

My father, who was appointed a Rock County circuit court judge last January, just found out that he’s going to have an easy time with his first actual campaign for the elected seat: He’s running unopposed. This is the kind of election that families of candidates root for. Very low stress. I actually considered running for the school board here …

IGDA Game Design SIG

The IGDA just launched a new Game Design Special Interest Group (SIG), which I joined right away. It focuses on the actual design aspect of games, as opposed to programming, art, writing, and so on. The SIG welcomes people working or studying both video games and tabletop games. It’s young and still finding its footing, of course, but if you …