I’ve been stunned watching the sales rank for The Marvel Encyclopedia climbing on Amazon for the past month. The book came out in the spring, of course, but it’s the kind of thing that makes the perfect holiday gift.

At first I was thrilled when it cracked the top 500 back on November 17. I don’t think any book I’ve written had managed that before. But then it kept going. Lifehacker recommended it on Black Friday in combination with an Amazon coupon that knocked 30% off all printed books, and the sales went nuts.

On the 28th, it slipped into the top 200, and it was one of the top selling books in both the Reference and Graphic Novels categories. Yesterday, it smashed its way into the Top 100 Books on Amazon, and you could have knocked me over with a sharp, “Ho, ho, ho!”

This morning, it skyrocketed even farther up the charts. As I write this, it stands as the #1 book in Comics & Graphic Novels, #1 in Reference, and #5 in Books.

All. Books.

That’s just insane!

Thanks to every one of you who bought the book. Thanks also to Alastair Dougall (my editor) and Rob Perry (the layout artist), who worked closely with me on the book and fashioned it into the fantastic and beautiful treasure it is. Thanks as well to Mike Deodato, Jr., whose incredible artwork graces the cover. I should also thank the folks who wrote the original edition back in 2006. I updated the book heavily for both the 2009 and 2014 editions, but it stands on the shoulders of their work. They include Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Tom Brevoort, Michael Teitelbaum, Daniel Wallace, and Andrew Darling. Thanks also to Ralph Macchio for his fantastic foreword and, of course, especially to Stan Lee for his introduction–as well as for creating much of what we know as the Marvel universe.

To be clear, I’m not bragging (well, not much) about the book’s success. It’s clearly riding the cape of Marvel’s incredible triumphs, both in comic shops and in movie theaters, and the amazing stories the writers and artists there have told over the past 75 years. My job here was to not screw it all up, and I’m happy to see it so entirely unscrewed.

Also, the runaway success of the book won’t make me rich. While I’m thrilled about it, I wrote the book as work-for-hire without a royalty, as often happens with such volumes. I was paid well and have no complaints about the deal. I’d get a little bit if you purchase it through this affiliate link, but no pressure at all. I’m just tickled to see the book getting into so many readers’ hands.

Of course, it doesn’t end here. If you think it might look good under your tree, or in the hands of someone else who might love it, please go check out The Marvel Encyclopedia. You’ll put a smile on their face–and mine too.

This Saturday, December 6, I’ll be part of the lineup of local authors gathered at the Beloit Public Library from 11 AM to 3 PM. All sorts of other writers will be there as well, including the illustrious Jerry Peterson. If we’re lucky, local creatives like Aaron Wilson, Jessica Fox-Wilson, Tom Warren, and Kimberly Vogel will join us, along with a few other surprises.

I don’t normally haul stock of books with me to things like this, but if you have something in particular you want from me, let me know and I’ll see if I can dig up a spare copy to bring along. Either way, I’ll be there for a good chunk of the day, so come on down and keep me company and bask in the bounty of books.

Earlier this year, the folks at Outland Entertainment licensed my Shotguns & Sorceryâ„¢ setting from me for use as a tabletop roleplaying game. They’ve been hard at work since then, getting everything ready for a Kickstarter drive to fund the game’s publication. That Kickstarter launches tomorrow, November 18, at noon Central Time.

You can see a mockup of the cover here, of course, but better yet, you can go preview the Kickstarter right now. When you do, there’s a “Remind Me” button in the upper left. Click on that, and you’ll get a reminder email from Kickstarter the moment the drive launches.

Over there, you might notice that this standalone game will use the Cypher Systemâ„¢ engine from Monte Cook Games. Monte and his team developed this system for use with the best-selling, award-winning games Numenera and The Strange. It’s a great system, perfect for use with the Shotguns & Sorcery setting.

On top of that wonderful news, Outland lined up superstar designer Robert Schwalb to handle the crunchy bits of the game conversion while I concentrate on the background material. Add in the phenomenal artwork of Jeremy Mohler–Outland’s founder and CEO–and that’s one bang-up team.

So go check it out and let the Outlanders know what you think. And please help spread the word far and wide. I’m hoping for big things from this game, and I’m thrilled to have you along for the ride.

When I don’t update the blog here for a while, it’s because everything’s gone sideways, and I’m too busy to manage it. I just realized I haven’t written anything here since September, and that’s possibly a record since I launched this site back in 2003.

Much of that’s due to notable health issues in my family that I can’t discuss here. (Well, I could and maybe will at some time, but not quite yet.) But it’s also because of an overwhelming number of secret projects that I’ll be trumpeting from a mountaintop near you as soon as the time is right. Or at least from this blog. And Twitter and Facebook and all the usual suspects. Stay tuned.

One thing I’ve not announced here yet, though–and should have–is that I’ll be a guest of honor this weekend at What-Khan, down in Rockford, Illinois. It’s a brand-new gaming convention rising from the ashes of the classic show Rock-Con, which was held there for decades. Barring any disasters, I should be around on Saturday afternoon at least, playing D&D with my kids and enjoying the show. Stop by and join me if you can!

If you’re in Madison, Wisconsin, rather than Rockford, Illinois, you should also check out Gamehole Con, a great new show sponsored by many of the local gaming stores, including my pals at I’m Board! Games and Family Fun. They have a lot of great guests, including my pals Ed Greenwood, Doug Niles, Lester Smith, Frank Mentzer, Chris Perkins, Jolly Blackburn, Chris Clark, and Tom Lommel (the Dungeon Bastard).

I was hoping to get there myself on Friday, but I was called out of town until then. (I’m writing this from a hotel room in beautiful downtown Rochester, Minnesota.) Either way, it’s already on my schedule for next year.

tl;dr: More news soon. Play games this weekend!

My pal John Kovalic does many great things. He illustrates games like Apples to Apples and Munchkin. He draws the Dork Tower comic strip. He even plays a mean game of Fiasco. He dotes on his terribly dotable wife and daughter. And he does his best to help those in need.

Case in point, John’s riding his bike for 60 miles on Sunday to help get farm-fresh food to needy families around Madison. He did the same thing last year and raised $4,000. This time around, he set his goal at $5,000, and he blew straight past it. He’s now well over $11,000, and the drive doesn’t end until Sunday.

As an act of gratitude, John assembled a package of ebooks to give to those who back the drive. It features a stack of wonderful comics by him and his regular co-conspirators, and he’s giving away Munchkin artwork to some of the backers as well. On top of that, he asked some of his friends to help him show his appreciation to all those chipping in–and John has amazing friends.

I’m tossing in a free ebook of Dangerous Games: How to Play for everyone who donates, plus John asked me to write him a limerick. (Nothing like leaning on my Irish heritage for a good cause!) But he also lined up several other heavyweight authors to write limericks too, including:

• Neil Gaiman
• Pat Rothfuss
• Chuck Wendig
• Brian Keene
• Anton Strout
• C. Robert Cargill
• Andrew Hackard

Better yet, John (and possibly some of his artist friends) are going to illustrate each of the limericks. And to top it all off, the Doubleclicks have vowed to set Pat’s limerick to music!

So, head on over to John’s blog and check out the full roundup of glorious, fun things you can get. (He’s adding new things often, so the list may grow.) Then check out his Bike the Barns pledge page and give what you can. And make John bike like the wind!

Yesterday, Magic: The Gathering: The Complete Collection came out from IDW. This collects all of the Magic: The Gathering comics published by IDW over the past few years, including twelve I wrote and another five by Jason Ciaramella. Artist Martin Cóccolo did a fantastic job with the the bulk of the pencils and inks for the entire run, and J. Edwin Stevens breathed life into my issues with his amazing colors.

The book also features the original, stunning covers by some of the top artists in the industry, including Alex Horley, Dan Scott, Aleksi Briclot, Carl Kopinski, Christopher Moeler, Chris Rahn, and Ryan Pancoast. It also shows many of the variant covers by artists like Tyler Walpole and Menton3.

It’s a heavy book, weighing in at 3.5 pounds. It’s taller and wider than the original comics, and it’s printed on top-quality paper that shows off every bit of the excellent art. The cover features a gold-foil logo and embossed icons from the game. It’s a thing of true beauty that would grace any shelf.

I hear the writing’s not too bad either.

Go grab it from your local comic shop or your favorite bookseller, and enjoy the Magic.