While poking around for links on Western Hero, I spotted this tidbit on the website of fellow Black Library author James Swallow. It’s under the notes for his weird western novel Ghost Town, published back in 2001:
* Forbeck Pass, one of the towns Doc Harper mentions, is a nod to Matt Forbeck, whose Western Hero was a useful resource book.
It’s wild to see how interconnected everything is.
Those of you familiar with Deadlands, the roleplaying game I helped Shane Hensley produce at Pinnacle, might remember the main hero in many of the books: an undead gunslinger by the name of Ronan Lynch. Before he hit the big time, Ronan was the name of my character in the first Deadlands game I ever played. Before that, though, Ronan Lynch appeared as a reporter in Deadwood in two other western RPGs I wrote: Western Hero and Outlaw.
Before even that, Ronan Lynch was one of my best pals at the University of Michigan. As an Irish exchange student, he wrote some of the funniest essays I’ve ever read, published regularly in The Michigan Daily. We shared many a pint of Guinness in those days, including one in the shadow of the St. James’s Gate Brewery.
A while back, Ronan left for the University of Texas, pursuing a doctorate, and we lost track of each other. Just a few weeks ago, we finally got back in touch. He’s gone in and out of investigative journalism, speaking truth to power wherever he goes, and suffering the consequences for it. In the meantime, he’s written a novel or two (yet to be published), works on other books, and writes songs for and sings in a roots reggae band (based in Dublin and Berlin) called Sealion. I just ordered the band’s first CD, Spirit Live, and can’t wait to listen to the full thing.
Wizards of the Coast just started its annual open call for fiction submissions for its upcoming speculative fiction imprint. You have until January 1, but if you have a manuscript that would fit, I suggest getting on it sooner than later. If they accept your submission, which includes the first three chapters of your book, they’ll want the whole thing within ten business days. Unless you can write that fast, stick with works you’ve already completed instead. Good luck!
The Dead Gentlemen just posted a report of their incredible experiences at this summer’s Gen Con. Their early cuts of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising were packed and got several standing ovations. I can’t wait to see the final cut.
They kindly name-check me as one of their friends too, although they misspell my last name. That’s the nature of conventions, of course. You know the people–you love hanging out with them–but things like spellings can slip your mind a month later. Even names. On Gen Con Sunday, for instance, I ended up calling Matt Shimkus (Rogar the Barbarian in The Gamers) Brian as I said good-bye. I know better and corrected myself, but such slips are too easy to make when working through the con fog.
They have a Flickr stream with pictures from the convention set up. You can spot me in a few of them, as well as a lot of other industry folk–if you know who you’re looking for.
I had a fantastic time with the crew, hanging out with them and getting to know them all better. This is a truly talented group of people, and I wish them all the best in bringing Dorkness Rising to screens of all sizes soon.
My friend Lori Ann Curley just revamped the website for her corporate face, Delazan Enterprises. If you’re looking for a excellent editor or indexer, you don’t have to go farther. Plus, she lives in Wisconsin too. What’s not to love?
In more upbeat news, Playmates Toys has launched a website for R.E.V.s, the toy line I helped develop for the company earlier this year. The site includes some great pictures of the toys, plus the upcoming TV commercial. Woot!
As posted at MarvelBattleDice.com, Playmates has decided to cancel its Battle Dice game line. I’ve known about this for some time but been unable to say anything publicly until Playmates made its official announcement. It’s always sad when a game line goes away, but just because we won’t see any more Battle Dice supplements doesn’t mean we can’t keep playing with the figures and dice we have.
For those of us who prefer to keep playing, there are other, nonofficial sites out there. The best I know of is PopDice.com, run by the mighty Malakai. If you hear of others, be sure to let me know.
BoardgameNews.com has an excellent article on the boardgame I’m most looking forward to this fall: Battlelore from Days of Wonder. Take Richard Borg‘s excellent Command & Colors system (from gems like Battle Cry and Memoir ’44) put a fantasy twist on it, and give it the high-quality Days of Wonder treatment. And out just in time for the holidays.
My friends at Raven Software (now a division of Activision) are hard at work on the new Marvel: Ultimate Alliance videogame. I saw a preview of this at Comic-Con, and it’s stunning stuff, up to Raven’s usual high standards. I somehow ended up with a fistful of invitations to the game’s VIP site. If anyone out there is interested in joining up for free, drop me a line.
The Alliterates site has a fresh, new look, courtesy of our webmaestro Lester Smith. Stop by and check it out. It looks great, although most of us haven’t had much of a chance to tinker with our sections yet. Look for more content there soon.