The New Yorker has a great article by Malcom Gladwell about just why our health-care system in the US is as screwed up as it is. As the father of quadruplets plus one, health insurance and health care occupy a lot of my attention. No matter what side of the issue you stand on, this essay is a feast for thought.
Scion of the Serpent Out Now
In addition to writing novels and designing games, I’m Conan Properties’ guru for the Age of Conan line of novels published by Ace Books.
J. Steven York‘s first Age of Conan novel, Scion of the Serpent, is in stores now. This is the first in Steve’s Stygian trilogy that follows the growth of a young heretic as he infiltrates the cult of Set. Great, pulpy stuff.
Songs of Victory, the last in Loren Coleman’s Cimmerian trilogy came out without me mentioning it. Loren capped off the trilogy with a dark, epic battle ripped straight from Howard. Pick that up too if you can.
Ransom a Game for Katrina
Here’s another way to do something good while getting a great game out of it. Greg Stolze came up with Executive Decision, a live-action game set in the White House, and asked a few of his friends (other gaming geniuses like Dennis Detwiller, Chad Underkoffler, Ron Edwards and D. Vincent Baker) to come up with scenarios for it.
Greg has put the game up at Fundable.org. Once he gets $1,000 donated to the Red Cross for hurricane relief, he’ll release the game as a free PDF for everyone to enjoy. So, chip in some cash to help Katrina victims and give gamers everywhere the gift of a great game. What’s not to love?
Promoting Games
Like lots of people, I think playing games is a great way to spend your free time. If you agree and you’d like to help spread that message, you have a few huge opportunities coming up in November.
On November 5, it’s Worldwide D&D Game Day. Teach people to play Dungeons & Dragons or, if you don’t know how, it’s a great time to learn.
November 20—26 is National Games Week. This covers any kind of nonelectronic game, but it mostly centers on the adventure game industry.
The same week also hosts National Games and Puzzles Week, which is now part of the Million Minute Family Challenge. It’s no coincidence that both are held over the week of Thanksgiving, the perfect time to play games with your family. There’s no better way to entertain those relatives you only see twice a year! 🙂
If you love games, November is the time to show it. And now is the time to prepare for those days. Get to it!
High Stakes Prizes
Over the weekend, WizKids posted pictures of the prizes for High Stakes Drifter tournaments held in November. These are all limited edition kicker chips, which can have incredible affects on the game. It’s great to see WizKids giving High Stakes Drifter the full treatment, including supporting organized play.
Comics for Katrina
Some of the greatest people in the comic book industry have gotten together to auction off some truly amazing pieces to raise money for relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina. They call their effort Inkwell Relief, and they’re auctioning off all sorts of things on eBay, with all net proceeds going to the American Red Cross. If you’ve been looking for a good way and a good excuse to give more money to this cause–and you’re a comics fan–you really can’t beat this. I’ve already put up a few bids myself, although my guess is I’ll get spanked by some fans with deeper pockets than mine.
I already donated some money directly to the Red Cross, though, with a match by the good people at DealMac.com. I also contributed a short story to Beyond the Storm, a gaming-industry effort to raise money with a creator jam book. Unlike most of my work, this is non-fiction, a telling of the “Naked Room Service” story I mentioned a while back–which took place during a GAMA Trade Show in the Big Easy. The book should be out around October 1 in both PDF and POD (print-on-demand, dead-tree) versions. I’m going to buy it myself, and I hope you will too.
Who Did That?
One of the interesting things about raising quadruplets is trying to figure out who did what. For instance, a couple years back, I had to take Nick to the hospital for a gash in his forehead. He got it while we were in another room, and while he had a brother near him when he was bloodied, we’ll never know if Nick was attacked or simply fell into something sharp.
This morning, as I hustled the kids out the door for school, I spotted a pool of fresh vomit on the kitchen floor. We’ve had an illness or two running through the house, and it’s hard to predict who’s not feeling well without some detective work. The first question I had to ask is, “Who did that?”
Fortunately, Helen confessed, and all evidence corroborated her claim. Now she’s home with me while her brothers are off at school. I’m confident we found the right culprit though, and hopefully she’ll feel better soon.
Road to Death on the Road to Print
I just got the galleys (final proofs) of The Road to Death in from Wizards of the Coast. This is the sequel my Eberron novel Marked for Death, the second in The Lost Mark trilogy. So far, it looks great. Mark Sehestedt did a fine job polishing my prose, and he tells me it’s a far better book than the first.
I have to agree with him. I learn more about writing novels with every book. Each presents its own challenges, of course, but it’s amazing how much you pick up as you go along from book to book.
Anyhow, the book is off to the printer early next week, and you should expect to see it in stores in January.
New High Stakes Drifter Preview Up
The latest preview for High Stakes Drifter, my new CCG from WizKids, is up.
Capsule Monsters Coming Soon
I keep forgetting to mention Yu-Gu-Oh! Capsule Monsters, a new collectible figure board game that saw its first public showing at Gen Con Indy. It’s based on Capsule Monsters Coliseum, the videogame for the Playstation 2. You can read an article about it on the excellent ICv2.com.
I didn’t design the game (that honor belongs to Mattel’s Tyler Kenny and friends), but I wrote the rules. Once Tyler and his team finished with the design, they needed someone to come in and turn their notes into a polished rulebook. They gave me a call and had the refined rules back in their hands in a matter of days. Look for the game in stores in time for the holidays.