Read and Play for Pakistan

The fine folks over at DriveThruStuff.com have launched another charity drive, much like the Gamers for Haiti event they ran back in January. This time around, they’re aiming to help the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan by gathering donations for Doctors Without Borders.

They’re running two concurrent drives, actually. For the RPG side, if you chip in $25, you receive a bundle of game PDFs that total up to being worth over $700. If you prefer comics instead, chip in $10, and you receive over $100 worth of comic-book PDFs.

Both packages have some excellent bits in them. I’m proud to see, for instance, that Pinnacle tossed my Deadlands: One Shot comic in the comic book mix. Even if you don’t like everything in the bundle, you’re sure to enjoy some of it. You’re bound to get far more than your money’s worth – and it’s all going to a great cause either way.

SFBooks Reviews Amortals

At the moment, I’m busy making the final revisions on Vegas Knights, my second novel being published by Angry Robot. This morning, though, AR’s head robot Marc Gascoigne sent me some good news.

Antony Jones at SFBooks.com just gave Amortals a five-star review! The money quote:

Amortals is an action-packed sci-fi thriller full of fantastic tech and a great ending. Highly recommended.

The book is due to appear on shelves in the UK in November and the US in January. The ebook should be available worldwide simultaneously with the UK debut. Can’t wait for you to read it!

Vegas Knights Cover Draft

Amazon.com has a draft version of the cover for Vegas Knightsup on its site. It’s not the final copy, but I thought you might like to see it. I’m still giving my friends at Angry Robot feedback on it, so if you have any comments of your own, let me know.

Seeing the cover means the book’s one step closer to being real, which is a complete thrill for me. Now I just have to finish those revisions so we have some words to put between the covers.

RPGs for Kids

The fine folks over at Fear the Boot have a new podcast (Episode 207) aimed at exploring which are the best RPGs to use to introduce kids to the hobby. They have a fine list of selections from people across the hobby, including one from me. If you’d rather read than listen, you can find the list and links to the various games on their site too.

Archon 34 Report

I haven’t done one of these con reports for a while. Usually I’m swamped getting ready for the show, and deluged when I get back. Plus, tweeting while I’m at the show dulls the sharp edge of the need. Still, I enjoy writing them up, if only to remind myself of how lucky I am to be able to attend these shows, and I hope you do too.

I had a fantastic time at Archon 34 last weekend. The folks there were kind enough to fly me down, put me up, and stuff me silly with food and drink, for which I’m always grateful. The staff was helpful and unflappable, and everywhere I looked it seemed like people loved the show.

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My Archon Schedule

I’m heading out for Archon–a great genre fiction and gaming convention in St. Louis–on Friday morning, and I’ll be there through Sunday. I’m a guest of honor there, so my schedule is packed. It looks something like this:

Friday

1:30 PM (Matterhorn): Opening  Ceremonies
2:40 PM (Versailles Hall): Autograph Session
5:00:00 PM (Matterhorn): Reactor 88: Behind The Scenes
9:40:00 PM (Alpine 2): Game Design 101

Saturday
11:10:00 AM (Bern): Game Design, Writing & Illustration
12:20:00 PM (Lugano): Writing Within The World
1:30:00 PM (Bern): Kaffeeklatsch
3:50:00 PM (Versailles Hall): Autograph Session

Sunday
12:20 PM (Bern): Volunteer Pizza Party with the Pros
2:40:00 PM (Bern): Closing Ceremonies

The rest of the time, I’ll be wandering about, chatting with folks, playing games, and having fun. If you’re in the area, come on out and join me and the rest of the guests.

The Tweet Pitch

When you’re trying to sell somebody on an idea for a story or a game, it’s a good idea to see if you can boil it down to something short and snappy, the kind of two- or three-sentence package that tells what the thing’s about and why it’s so cool that the listener must want to know more. This is commonly called an elevator pitch, as in “Pitch me your idea while I’m riding in an elevator with you.”

These days, it seems more appropriate to try for a tweet pitch, something you can express in 140 characters or less. That way you can grab someone’s attention on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever other social network you favor.

By way of example, here’s a tweet pitch (#tweetpitch) for Amortals:

AMORTALS: Secret Service agent’s mind is restored into clone. He must figure out who murdered him this time–and why.

Try it with your own book or game or film – or give it a shot with one of your favorites. Like this:

STAR WARS: Farmboy with magical talent rescues a princess and restores peace to the galaxy by blowing up huge space station.

Archon!

I’ve been asked to be the gaming guest of honor at Archon, a fantastic gaming and genre fiction convention in St. Louis. It’s just two weeks from now, October 1—3, and I’m already itching to hit the road.

Other guests include Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, Kurt Miller, and Vic Milán. If you’re anywhere near the area, come on out and join us for a weekend of fun and games. I hope to see you there!