Day of the Daemon Approaches

I’m on the comp list for the Black Library, which means they regularly send me boxes of their new books. This week, I got a couple cool surprises.

First, Cardinal Crimson by Will McDermott, the latest in the Necromunda series. I met Will at Gen Con a few years back and recommended him to the BL team, so I get a contact buzz of pride from that.

Second, I received a copy of Day of the Daemon by Aaron Rosenberg. Aaron’s been a pal for years, and I introduced him to the BL team too. Better yet, my friend Max Bertolini created the book’s fantastic cover. That’s a great combination for a great book!

Human Head Gets Back to Normal

As reported by ICv2.com, Human Head Studios will publish its first full-fledged roleplaying game this summer: Normal, Texas. I did some preliminary concept work on this line back when I was with the company, but after I left Jason Blair took it the other 99 yards down the field for the touchdown. The preview edition that showed up at conventions last summer looked great, but it only whetted the appetite for the real thing, which we should see at this year’s Gen Con Indy.

In the meantime, we’ll have to content ourselves with playing Villainy, Jason’s first card game. It looks great, and I can’t wait to play it. Sadly, though, I left my copy in the Playmates Toys booth at GTS in my mad dash to find my luggage before my flight left. (Some helpful GAMA staff had locked my bags in a closet for me on my departure day, but they’d gone to lunch when I needed to go. I found someone to open the closet, but there were a few harrowing moments of dull panic before that.) So, I’m still aching to play, and hopefully I’ll get my chance soon!

Death Match: The First Chapter

The Black Library has a spanking-new site, and on it they have new pages for all of my Blood Bowl novels, including Blood Bowl, Dead Ball, and Death Match, which is due out this month. On the new Death Match page (and on each of the other pages), you can download the first chapter of the book for free.

According to Amazon.co.uk, Death Match hit shelves on April 3. Here in the States, we have to bide our time until April 25.

If you can wait that long, and you’re in the area, be sure to stop by the Rockford, Illinois, Barnes & Noble on April 28. I’ll be there from 3 to 5 PM, signing Death Match and all my other books too.

GAMA Seminar Notes

Since a few people have asked about the seminars I held at this year’s GAMA Trade Show, I’ve posted the notes from them in my Downloads section. “Seven Habits of Effective Freelancers” is for beginning freelancers, while “Advanced Freelancing” is just what it says.

They’re incomplete, of course, since they’re just my speaking notes. I used these for the first twenty minutes or so of each seminar and then took questions for the rest of the hour. If you find them useful–or entertaining–drop me a note to let me know.

Concinnity Indeed

I had a great time at Concinnity this weekend. My hosts treated me like royalty, and the attendees who showed up to my panels were clever and interesting and asked good questions. On Saturday, I sat on a panel with James Lowder and E.E. Knight. Jim and Eric made everything easy and pleasant, and afterward I grabbed dinner with Jim at the Water Street Brewery, an old favorite for us both.

I came back and played in a demo of Obsidian, a dark future roleplaying game published by the Apophis Consortium. Matt M. McElroy (of Flames Rising and Twilight Games) ran it, and we all had a fine time. I also hung out with Monica Valentinelli (freelancer for Flames Rising, Eden Studios, and others), Mike Holmes (of Universalis fame, I believe), Travis Legge (of Aegis Studios and the Contagion roleplaying game), Matt Wilson (of Primetime Adventures) and his wife Meredith, Derek Stoelting (of Eden Studios and Flames Rising), Travis Marg (the gracious and helpful convention chair), Sara (of Flames Rising), and many others.

“Concinnity,” by the way, is a perfect word for what game designers should always strive: “Harmony in the arrangement or interarrangement of parts with respect to a whole.”

P.S. Here’s a shot of me and Mr. McElroy that Monica took back at Gen Con 2004.

Bertolini Wins!

Max Bertolini created the covers for each of my Blood Bowl novels, and we’ve put together a promotional comic for a new line of toys (REVs) from Playmates, too, which should hit shelves in June. He’s a fantastic artist and a pleasure to work with.

In late February, one of his pieces won an art contest sponsored by BioRob 2006, the first International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, held in Pisa, Italy. The conference attendees voted on the award, and Max took it home for his wonderful work. Congratulations, Max!

Gaming as Culture

I just got a note from Patrick Williams about Gaming As Culture: Social Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games, a new book that he edited (along with Sean Hendricks and Keith Winkler) that treats fantasy roleplaying games as serious works worthy of study. It’s wonderful to see this relatively new field of entertainment get some respect from the halls of higher learning, and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to read it.

And that’s not just because it includes an article by the well-educated Michelle Nephew, my friend and one of the owners of Atlas Games. See the table of contents and back cover copy after the break.

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