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The fine people at Del Rey have posted a cover for my upcoming hardcover, coffee-table book Orcs. It looks pretty sharp, and I’m told the shield on the cover will have an embossed texture and that a couple holes will appear where arrows have gone through it. Orcs should be on shelves by November 4, just in time for the year-end holidays.

Tyler Tinsley writes to ask:

I just listened to a recording of a freelancing seminar you had at GAMA. I just wanted to say thanks. While I have been sending games to companies for a few years, I just got my first gig as a freelance game designer and hearing your words have helped.

I want to start going to the big game conventions to pitch games to publishers in person. My funds are limited, so I wanted to know what con is the best to pitch to a wide range of publishers, and what is the best way to set up meetings? I make a wide range of games so any publishers will do.

I’m glad you liked the podcast. Congratulations on landing your first freelance game design gig.

There are three that are worthwhile for hobby games: GAMA Trade Show (GTS), Origins, and Gen Con.

GTS just ended this week, but you could make plans for next year. It’s a trade show, so there’s less competition with players to get a publisher’s attention. However, some of the publishers have so many business meetings that they don’t have time for freelancers who drop by the booth. Of course, that’s true of just about any show, so the thing to do is schedule as many meetings as you can ahead of time.

Origins is a good show, and it’s less busy than Gen Con. However, not as many publishers attend. Those that do, though, should have time for you. It also has the best networking hang-out: the Big Bar on 2 at the Hyatt.

Gen Con is my favorite show, bar none. It’s the biggest and busiest in the country, though, and many publishers are there to sell games rather than talk to freelancers. Again, scheduling meetings ahead of time can really help here.

Of course, if you’re trying to work on mass-market games, there are other shows to attend, like the New York Toy Fair or the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. And if you prefer European-style board games, nothing beats Spiel, the largest gaming convention in the world, held in Essen, Germany, every fall.

To set up any meeting, start well ahead of time, as a busy publisher’s schedule fills up fast at most conventions. First, hit the website of the company you’d like to pitch your game to, and read their submissions guidelines. Then contact the publisher or editor and request a meeting at the convention you plan on attending.

Good luck!

James Mishler reports that Bob Bledsaw, founder of the Judges Guild, died in the morning of Saturday, April 19. He passed away in his home in Decatur, Illinois, after a battle with cancer. The Judges Guild site has an excellent obituary.

I never met Bob, but I loved his work. He published the first-ever third-party adventures for Dungeons & Dragons, and his City State of the Invincible Overlord is one of the all-time classic D&D campaigns. He will be sorely missed.

My latest post at Storytellers Unplugged is up, and it’s the opening day of the GAMA Trade Show, which I’m still not at. How do the two intersect in my head? Read the post to find out.

Sadly, I am not going to make it to the GAMA Trade Show next week. I love the convention and encourage anyone interested in making or selling tabletop games to attend. It’s a wonderful experience, and I’ll miss being there—as well as the too-rare chance to see so many good friends.
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If you noticed it’s been quiet around here, that’s because I just spent the last week in Stockholm, working on a new video game for Avalanche Studios. I can’t say much more about the game than that at the moment, but I’m having a ball working on it, and most of that has to do with the hospitality and creativity of the excellent people at Avalanche.

I spent a week in Sweden, and I was out with a different group of people every night. Much of that has to do with the fact that some of my earliest writing gigs were for Target Games, working on the various Mutant Chronicles games, and the people who were part of that now-defunct company have formed many new companies of their own in a kind of creative diaspora.

I’ll try to post more on this later, but right now my body is running seven hours ahead of schedule. That was only compounded by the fact that Sweden (and most everyone else outside of the US) still does their Daylights Savings Time the old way, so I had to “Spring forward” for a second time this year this morning.

Still, I had such a wonderful time that the only thing I can complain about is how tired it made me. That’s not bad at all.

Sterling has a full listing for the Lost Worlds: Egyptians book I’m working on right now. It currently lists a different name for the author, but that should change soon I believe.

I’m having fun working on the book. Researching a subject and then writing all about it reminds me of writing papers in school. This time, though, I’m doing it for pay rather than a grade—and the end result will be much longer and read by many more people.

Do you have a favorite element of ancient Egypt you think I just have to include in a book like this? I’m open to all sorts of suggestions, especially if they make for fun reading.

My latest essay is up at Storytellers Unplugged. It’s all about the different sorts of writing I do and how that makes me a different and hopefully better writer.

While we’re at it, here’s the Amazon listing for the book I’m writing right now: Lost Worlds: Egyptians. More about that after I, um, finish it.

The guys at Kenzer and Co. took some photos of Gary Gygax’s funeral. They caught me in a few of them. In the second, I’m talking with Brian Jelke and Chris Clark, and in the third, that’s me between Brian and Monte Cook.

Some folks reported from ENWorld videotaped the ceremony and the gathering afterward too, with the family’s kind permission, of course. I haven’t heard yet about how they hope to share it, but I’ll let you know when I do.

Patch Products, a top mass-market game publisher here in Beloit, is hiring. They’re looking for a Product Designer (someone to design games) and a Job Sourcing Agent (someone to find all the components for a game at the best quality and price).

I’ve not worked with Patch in the past, other than to playtest some of their upcoming games. However, I know a number of people in the company, and they’re all great folks. They give back to the community in many ways, and they’re so family friendly they actually have an excellent day care facility in their office building. If you’re looking for these kinds of jobs, be sure to check them out—and let me know if you land one.

Just handling a little housekeeping around here. I don’t know if anyone but me noticed, but the link to the Downloads (now Freebies) page was broken. I fixed that and revised the About page and put up a new photo there. I also put a new photo in the header. That’s me in Monteverde, Costa Rica, last summer, crossing a suspension bridge in a cloud forest.

Do you like that, or do you prefer the old illustration of me as a pirate? That came from the Doomtown CCG from way back when, courtesy of artist Lissane Lake. It’s a fun shot, and I have the original and its brother illustration hanging here in my office, but I wonder if it’s better to have something slightly more professional.

On Saturday afternoon, Don Perrin and I drove up to Lake Geneva for Gary Gygax’s funeral. The visitation had started at 11 AM, but we left after I got back from Marty’s last indoor soccer game. The funeral wasn’t scheduled until 2 PM, and we got there well before 1:30 PM, so we had time to spare.

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On Saturday, Marty and I caught The Spiderwick Chronicles film, based on the books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Tony and Holly are both tabletop gaming refugees, and I got to meet them and sit on a panel with them at the 2006 Comic-Con.

Marty and I both enjoyed the film. I haven’t read the books yet, but we have an autographed copy of Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide, complete with a sketch from Tony. The movie only whetted my appetite for the books, which I hope to pick up soon. It had fun characters, good action, and some excellent moments of suspense, plus a cool ending.

On Sunday, I moved out of my old office and brought everything into the house. Don Perrin and Dan Schooff showed up and gave me a hand. I couldn’t have managed it without their help.

Now, of course, I’m surrounded by boxes. Eyeing all of it, it’s clear most of it can’t stay. There may be a pallet headed for eBay or Hobby Hearse in the near future. I’ll let you know when.

Sadly, I can’t talk about it yet, but I finished writing a book late last night. It should be out later this year, and as soon as I can I’ll tell you all about it.

I hate being a tease about such things, but I’m just thrilled to have topped that particular peak and had to share.

Back to the Blood Bowl comic scripts now. Woot!