FedEx just dropped off my author’s copies of The Queen of Death, the third and final book in my Lost Mark Trilogy, set in Eberron. The cover looks much better in person than it does on the product page.
I’m looking forward to having this in stores and hearing what people think of it. Endings are the most important part of a story, especially in something as large and sprawling as a trilogy like this. I hope you all enjoy it.
Wizards of the Coast has posted a product page for The Queen of Death.This, the final novel in my Lost Mark trilogy set in Eberron, is due out October 10. If you can’t wait that long to get started though, click over to that product page and download a PDF of the first chapter for free!
In the meantime, here’s a shot of the cover to whet your appetite.
Brian L. Bird asks of concepts for new games:
Define stunningly good?
Also what is your take on the future of roleplaying games?
Stunningly good games break molds, form new categories, and are strong enough to inspire others to sign on, either as employees or investors. Such ideas are rare, of course, and it’s hard to recognize them when they come along. The idea for Magic: The Gathering wasn’t an obvious hit, for instance, not when Peter Adkison decided to publish it, but it clearly had the potential to break out and become a major success. Other games have seemed to have the same kind of chances but never took off, for any number of reasons.
As for RPGs as we know them, I believe this is a mature market with a number of solidly established major players which have already staked out the best ground. New successes in RPGs aren’t impossible, but they’ll never amount to more than a small fraction of Dungeons & Dragons. If you have aspirations of being a large and wealthy publisher as a newcomer, this is a cement-like row to hoe.
Fortunately, other business models for RPGs have cropped up beyond the traditional three-tier system (publisher-distributor-retailer). Ron Edwards and the crew at the Forge led the charge of the low-budget, high-quality RPG, for instance, and RPGNow.com brought PDF publishing to the gaming industry in earnest. While these games might never have the kind of colossal sales that provide a full-time living for their creators, publishers, and assorted staff, they allow for their own kinds of success. These venutres can prove more profitable than traditional publishers in many cases.
RPGs will never die. I don’t think we’ll ever have a hit on the level of D&D again–or even Vampire–but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of room for innovation. If something does break out like that, chances are that most of us wouldn’t recognize it as an RPG, but as a gaming omnivore myself, that’s fine by me.
Wizards of the Coast has posted photos of some of the authors who signed novels at their booth at this summer’s Gen Con. Alphabetically, I’m the first one, it seems, and I look tired. Since this is the morning after the Diana Jones Award party, perhaps that’s no surprise.
You may notice that Bob Salvatore is so busy signing that he didn’t have the time to look up at the camera. My fellow Eberron authors and I saw the Power of Salvatore first-hand after our first group signing. While we had a few people venture into Authors’ Alley to meet us and have us sign their books, the line for Bob’s signing had already started before we sat down. By the time we left, it stretched down the width of the exhibit hall.
I’ve known Bob for several years. Troy Denning introduced us at a TSR Freelancers’ Party, the spiritual predecessor of the Diana Jones Award party. Bob’s a great guy, and I’m thrilled to see him continue to be such a phenomenal success.
The tale of August 11, 2006, continues.
Here’s my story for August 10, 2006, and I’m sticking to it.
This is what I get for not checking on Amazon regularly. Originally–at least as far as I recall, The Dragons Revealed–was due out on August 29. Now it’s listed as having been released on August 8.
So, if you’re interested in reading the final chapter in the Knights of the Silver Dragon series, you could have been doing so already for almost three weeks! Get yourself to a bookstore and snatch up every copy you can find–if it’s not already too late.
I’m told that a major chain or two may not be carrying the book because the line has been ended. If that’s so, I recommend ordering the book through your friendly local bookseller or your favorite online outlet.
I’m looking forward to hearing what people think of this book and it’s immediate predecessor, Prophecy of the Dragons. They represent a huge shake-up in the city of Curston, and a major turning point in the heroes’ lives. I had a blast writing them too.
I met T. Rob Brown of MidwestGamingNews.com at Gen Con after one of my seminars, and we chatted about pursuing getting published in games. Afterward, he asked me a few questions via e-mail, and he just posted the results today.
If you’re interested in a private d20 adventure designed by one of the most talented experts in the field, you still have a chance to step up and sponsor Wolfgang Baur‘s first Open Design project, “Steam & Brass.” As Wolf writes, the adventure has firmed up well and now:
– Includes one new monster (the steam golem) and two 3.5 updates (flayed man, possessor)
– Features clockwork magic, elite kobolds, and the Mouse King
– Designed for 12th, 8th, and 6th levels
– Roughly 64 pages long
– Color player handouts and professional maps
– Two mysteries and strong tactical combat, plus zombie angels.
Each of the original patrons got to request certain things they’d like to see in the adventure, long before we knew what it would be about. “Zombie angels”? That’s me, all the way.
As I mentioned a while back, the fine people at Rockford Memorial Hospital asked to feature our family in an advertorial they placed in the Midwestern edition of US News & World Report. The ad ran in the July 17 issue, I believe. For those of you who don’t live around here or missed that issue, though, the hospital has granted me permission to post a PDF of the ad here.
It’s just a glimpse into what the whole experience was like, but I thought you might enjoy it. If you read the article, you’ll notice they had 25 medical professionals in the delivery room for the quads’ birth. As the team rolled my wife into the room, one of the nurses brought me a chair and said, “If you feel yourself starting to feel faint, sit down. You see all of these people? None of them are here for you.”
And that’s just the way I wanted it.