Bye Snow

I’m off to Hollywood for a couple of days on a very-short-notice trip. I’m looking forward to trading my parka for a polo for a while. You all behave yourselves while I’m–

Ah, who’m I kidding?

A Practical Guide to Monsters

A copy of A Practical Guide to Monsters showed up on my doorstep the other day. It’s a fun book for kids, essentially a Monster Manual without any D&D stats, with witty writing and wonderful artwork. It’s a handsome and durable hardcover book that kids should love.

Nina Hess, my kind and insightful editor for my Knights of the Silver Dragon series, wrote the book. She chose an interesting voice: that of Zendric, the wizard mentor I created for that same series.

I get a small sense of cognitive dissonance reading a book written by a character I created. It’s as if we’re narrowing in on a narrative paradox. To cross that Rubicon, all that has to happen is for Zendric to start writing about me.

Michigan Bluegrass

One of my former college roommates, Dr. Mike Harmeling, plays banjo in a bluegrass band called Horton Creek. One of our mutual friends sent me the band’s latest CD a few months back, and it’s great stuff. I’m not huge into bluegrass, but it sounds fun all the way through. It also brings me right back to the days of hanging out with Mike in the house on State Street in Ann Arbor, while he picked his banjo and talked about his other hobby, refurbishing classic tractors.

Snow Day Redux

We’re snowed in here again at Casa Forbeck today. The snow stopped last night, but the road teams didn’t seem to think they could get the roads clear in time for school, so Ann and the kids got a second impromptu day off in a row.
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Gen Con Again for Sure

I’ve just confirmed that once again I’ll be an Industry Insider Guest of Honor at this year’s Gen Con. At the moment, this is the only convention on my schedule for the year. Unfortunately, Wizard World Chicago is the exact same weekend as Origins this year, forcing a choice between the two. Also, I’m still up in the air about GTS, Comic-Con, and the Austin GDC–but I’m always open for invitations to other exotic locales.

Thundersnow!

I’m home today (like always, since I work here) with the wife and kids, enjoying another snow day. We’re supposed to have at least a foot of snow over the course of these 24 hours, including possible thundersnow.

Does that sound like a northern hero’s name or what? I saw lightning here during a snowstorm earlier in the year, flashing in the sky out back of my house. It seems so unnatural–this collision of distinct forms of weather–but there it is, happening anyhow.

What a wild world.

Good News, Breathing Easier

A while back (9/29/2006, to be exact), I wrote about a family friend, Steve Shea, whose wife Sallie had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease, for which the only hope is a transplant.

They got the call today, and with any luck Sallie will be breathing easier by tomorrow. It’s major surgery, of course, so good vibes sent her way would be appreciated.

It’s a tragedy for someone else, of course, who once owned the lungs, but it’s a stellar example of how even in death we can find hope for life. I always keep the organ donor box on my driver’s license checked, and I hope you do too.