Project 16:49 in the News

Tonight, look for an interview with my wife Ann on Channel 15 News out of Madison, Wisconsin. They came out to our house this afternoon to ask her about Project 16:49 and the benefit concert being held for it this weekend. Ann and Ruben Burgos (the director of Sixteen Forty-Nine) also appeared on WCLO AM radio this morning, and you can listen to a recording of the show online.

The TV interview took place in my office while I chatted in the kitchen with the three homeless teens who are the subject of Ruben’s documentary. If/once that shows up online, I’ll post a link to it. That way you can learn more about Ann’s work and see where I work at the same time. If you get Madison TV stations, though, be sure to tune in tonight. And if you’re around this weekend, be sure to join us at the benefit for some great music and food for an excellent cause.

Update: Turns out the full TV piece will air in mid-February, near to the time that Sixteen Forty-Nine will appear at the Beloit International Film Festival. There may still be a mention of the benefit concert tonight.

The Gen Con Writers’ Symposium at Tor.com

I just posted information about the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium over at Tor.com. Stop on by over there and check it out. If you’re an aspiring writer, it’s an excellent education.

If you’re a seasoned pro who’d like to take part, Jean Rabe is the lady to contact. While it might seem like they already have a full slate, I had a couple of good friends (Tobias Buckell and Maurice Broaddus) join up last year only a few weeks before the show, and Jean somehow managed to wedge them in. I’m sure she’d appreciate more notice than that, though, so if you’d like to join us, don’t be shy.

Conduit 2 Coming in March

The latest computer game I worked on – Conduit 2, a first-person shoot exclusively for the Wii – is due to hit stores March 22. The team at High Voltage called me in to help them out with this just before the original game in the series – The Conduit – hit shelves. They had a lot of wonderful ideas for sequels to the game and had laid the groundwork for them in The Conduit, but they needed someone to mold what they had into a cohesive story they could build the next game around. That’s where I came in.

It’s also where I left. Once I’d finished that work, one of High Voltage’s crack development teams took over and got cooking on the project. They created the levels, graphics, gameplay, and so on to breathe life into the story and turn it from an intriguing tale into full-on fun.

When they got to the point that they needed a writer again, I was already working with them on another (still unannounced) project, so they went hunting for someone else who could write the dialog and help polish the game to a fire-bathed finish. For that they landed my pal Jason Blair, who from all reports did a fantastic job.

SEGA has released several trailers for the game. Most of them concentrate on the game’s amazing technical achievements. Here’s one of the early ones, which teases the viewer with a bit of the story.

Bookgasm on Vegas Knights

Over at Bookgasm, Alan Cranis reviews Vegas Knights. While he doesn’t like it as much as the last reviewer, he still has a number of excellent things to say about it.

Forbeck has a fine ear for dialogue and is generally convincing in his characterizations. His portrayal of the glitz and excess of Vegas is equally strong, even when portraying fictional casinos and resorts… [T]he action sequences are imaginative and expertly presented.

Hopefully you’ll agree and wind up liking the book even more.

First Vegas Knights Review: 5 Stars

Last week Angry Robot sent out a number of advanced reader copies (ARCs) of Vegas Knights to reviewers. Over at Good Reads, Tony Lane wins the derby for being the first such reviewer to post his opinion on the book. Tony gives the book five stars and writes:

I recently read and enjoyed Amortals but was surprised to find this book arguably better. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes modern fast paced fiction… At times the story flies by at the pace of a CSI recap scene, and it is not easy to put this book down… I have no doubt that I’ll be reading this book again, which is the best thing I can ever say about a book.

This weekend, I posted a details page for Vegas Knights. The book appears on shelves in the UK and becomes available for ebook readers worldwide on March 3. The print edition hits North America on March 29.

The Gen Con Writers’ Symposium

The Gen Con Writers’ Symposium just launched a spanking-new website for this year’s events. I’ll be taking part in it again this year, helping out with four slots. Tossing this on top of my guest of honor seminars and my other duties/events makes for a busy Gen Con weekend, but that’s how I love it.

My Gen Con Writers’ Symposium schedule.

August 4

2 PM: Roleplaying Games Make Better Writers

3PM: Writing RPG Short Stories and Novels

August 5

3 PM: Swords and Sorcery

4 PM: Pick Our Brains: Matt Forbeck and Tobias Buckell

I hope to see you there!

Vegas Knights Cover Released

My fine publishers at Angry Robot sent me the final cover to Vegas Knights today, which you can see right here. It looks much like the preview covers sent out earlier with just a few tiny tweaks.

Many publishers don’t give the author much of a chance to give feedback about the cover at all, but Angry Robot has been excellent about this. We went through a number of rounds of concepts before settling on this one and then letting the cover designers over at Spring London go nuts with it. I love it.

The book is due out in March in the UK and April in the US. Can’t wait for you to read it!

Apex Books Reviews Amortals

At Apex Books, Jennifer Brozek–a fine writer whose The Little Finance Book That Could sits on my to-read shelf right now–gives Amortals a sweet review, after which she goes on to interview me about the book. The conversation ranges from the themes behind the book to the kind of music I listened to while writing it. Jenn gives Amortals a strong four out of five Alien Heads and writes:

Forbeck’s ability to world-build on the fly is excellent, his writing is immersive, and his pacing is crisp. Amortals is a good read all the way around.

Speaking for Star Trek: Tim Russ!

Yesterday, I arc-welded the final rivet into the great spaceship of fun that is Star Wars vs. Star Trek. I lined up a writer for the Star Trek foreword for the book: Tim Russ!

Most Star Trek fans remember Tim as Tuvok, the Vulcan chief of security on Star Trek: Voyager, but he actually played a number of Star Trek roles. He was a mercenary on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a Klingon on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and a Starfleet lieutenant on the Enterprise-B in Star Trek Generations. Because of that, he’s tied with five other actors for appearing in the highest number of Star Trek seasons (10), and he’s shared screen time with six different Starfleet captains, more than any other actor.

Tim was a Trekkie before he became a Trek actor, and he’s continued on with that after the end of the shows. He even directed and starred in the most ambitious Star Trek fan film to date: Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.

Tim devotes a lot of his time to directing and singing these days, but he’s also acted in a stunning number of shows, including ER, CSI, Without a Trace, General Hospital, and even Hannah Montana. He also appeared in Live Free or Die Hard and voiced a character for Dragon Age: Origins. Most recently, he’s had recurring roles as Frank the doorman on Samantha Who? and (the role my kids know him for) Principal Franklin on iCarly.

So, it’s Tuvok vs. Boba Fett. Who’d win?