Four Kids, Four Years Ago

Four years ago today, my wife Ann did the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. (Just one more reason why she’s my hero.) She gave birth to four children all at once.

Patrick, Nicholas, Kenneth, and Helen came into the world fighting for every breath. Three of them had to be intubated to get them any air at all. Born 11 weeks early, Patrick was the largest at two pounds, eleven ounces–he came out yelling–while silent Helen barely budged the scales at a frail pound and a half.

At the time, the kids’ doctor only gave each of them a 70% chance to live. Even if they survived, there’d be risks of blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, and a full list of other ailments. Ann had done the best she could, with the help of the staff at Rockford Memorial hospital, to keep those kids in as long as she could, but tiny Helen’s placenta had started to break down. They all had to be born then to make sure she wouldn’t die.

The days, weeks, months, and years since then have shot right by in a sleep-deprived blur. Today, the kids are all happy and healthy and–believe it or not–four rambunctious years old. And I’m the luckiest dad I know to be able to call them and their big brother Marty my own.

Happy birthday, Pat, Nick, Ken, and Helen! Here’s to many more.

Prophecy Chapter for Free

You can now read the first chapter of Prophecy of the Dragons, my upcoming Knights of the Silver Dragon novel, for free! This is a sequel to Secret of the Spiritkeeper, my first mass-market novel, which came in August of 2004.

If you liked that book, you’ll love this one. But don’t take my word for it. Go read that free first chapter. It’s short and goes down easy. If it leaves you wanting more, you need only wait until the book hits shelves on June 13.

Kovalic up for Harveys!

I just discovered that my pal John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame is up for not one but two Harvey Awards! John’s work is nominated for Best Cartoonist and for the Special Award for Humor in Comics. Woot!

This is an honor well deserved. John puts all he has into his work, and it’s some of the funniest, most human material you may ever find in any comics. If you’re a comics professional, check out John’s material and place your votes. If not, you owe it to yourself to discover all about John anyway. You’ll love it.

Scott Kurtz’s PvP, another of my daily reads, also got a nod for Best Online Comics Work. I’ve only met Scott once, but his strip makes me laugh every day. Be sure to track it down too!

Villainy on the Rise

While leaving the GAMA Trade Show in March, I managed to forget to pack my copies of Villainy (a new, multi-deck card game from Human Head Studios), which designer Jason Blair had kindly slapped into my waiting hands during the show. Jason, refusing to allow me to get away with such a disastrous mistake, shipped out new copies of each of the three decks, which landed at my house last week. Now I’m itching to have a go at establishing who’s the most villainous member of my house.

I’m betting on my kids.

Gen Con Notice Up

Gen Con has posted a page with the “Industry Insider Guests of Honor,” among which I apparently rank. Just scroll on down past James Ernest’s shining face to spot my entry.

I’ll be helping out with some seminars at the show, although the schedule for those hasn’t been set yet. I’ll be sure to post here when I know more.

Clothes Make the Game

EDOC Laundry is a company that tells a story through its clothing. This forms an Alternate Reality Game, much like you might find from 4orty 2wo Entertainment, which created the Beast (on which I did a bit of work). Sound strange? Not if you realize (as you would from this interview on ARGN.com) that the mind behind EDOC is none other than Dawne Weisman. (Dawne’s husband is Jordan Weisman of 4orty 2wo, WizKids, and FASA fame.)

It’s a wild idea, to form a story-driven game through clothing, and Dawne’s been working hard at it for a couple years–including a lot of development time before the line launched in March of this year. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Update: ARGN has a new article about the EDOC, posted just days ago.

Hite on the Future of RPGs

Ken Hite’s latest “Out of the Box” column is up at GamingReport.com. “Out of the Box” is always on my must-read list, but this time around Ken knocks it out of the park. His cogitations upon the future of RPG publishers shine with the kind of clarity that makes you wonder why you never saw that great big ball of fire hanging there in the sky before.

Ice Bear Dawns on Shelves

Dawn of the Ice Bear, the last in the Age of Conan: Marauders trilogy by Jeff Mariotte hit shelves yesterday. In a bit of fantastic timing, my editor’s copy showed up the same day. Jeff did a fine job with this series, and I hope that Conan fans everywhere will give it a shot. These books differ from the others in that they’re shorter and feature young adult heroes, but they’re packed with every bit of adventure you’d expect from both Hyboria and Jeff.

Next up, look for Richard Knaak‘s excellent “A Soldier’s Quest” trilogy. The God in the Moon should be available in July, and I just received a copy of the cover for the second volume, The Eye of Charon, which is due out in September. Richard does a bang-up job with these, and the endings of each always rock.