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.

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.

Tie-In Writers Site Up

The brand-new International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (IAMTW) has a brand-new website designed to help promote tie-in fiction and its writers. If you browse through some of the articles on the website, you’ll see my comments peppered through a few of them.

Tie-ins, for those unfamiliar with the term, are works of licensed fiction based on TV, films, games, etc. All of the novels I’ve written for Wizards of the Coast and the Black Library are tie-ins, so I’ve become a charter member of the group. If you’re a tie-in writer too, I encourage you to join us.

Take Jeff Grubb’s Game and Money (For a Good Cause)

My good friend and fellow Alliterate Jeff Grubb is hoping you’ll make him a poorer man on behalf of victims of Hurricane Katrina. If you e-mail Steve Miller, Steve will send you a copy of Jeff’s new roleplaying game Dyvil. Jeff wrote it in 30 minutes and edited it in another 30, so it’s short, sweet, and to the point. Knowing Jeff, it’s a lot of fun too.

For each person who grabs a free copy of Dyvil, Jeff will donate a buck to help Katrina’s survivors, up to $500. You can get all the details from Jeff’s eloquent post on his website. So, do something to help out those who need it, and entertain yourself at the same time–for free.

Katrina Relief Project

In my last rambling post, I mentioned a gaming industry charity project devoted to raising funds to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The website for this effort, known as Beyond the Storm, is up. It’s a bit bare bones at the moment but should have more details soon. If you’re a gaming professional interested in contributing to the effort, do stop by and sign up.