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!

New Blood Bowl Review

Over at BeastsofWar.com, Sam gives my first Blood Bowl novel 4.5 stars out of 5. He writes:

All in all, it is a very entertaining read, and has remained a firm favourite of mine along with the rest of its series. I would especially recommend it to fans of the game, and to fans of Terry Pratchett’s books, as well as anyone who is just looking for something of a more light-hearted nature to read.

Sadly, the book and the omnibus that contains it are both out of print at the moment. I’ve heard rumbles that the Black Library might bring them back soon as e-books, but nothing’s been confirmed yet. A “new” copy of the book is currently up for sale for $117.03 on Amazon (does anyone pay that much except by mistake?), but you can find used versions for much cheaper than that.

New Amortals Review

Over at Fantasy Literature, reviewer Greg Hersom has read an early copy of Amortals, and he calls it “One helluva sci-fi thriller.” My favorite quote from the piece:

Nonetheless, in the span of few chapters, I went from only slightly interested, to thinking, “Hey, this isn’t half bad,” to being genuinely sucked in. Matt Forbeck does an excellent job creating depth in what is essentially the stated “typical action hero.”

Amortals debuts in November in the UK and Australia, and in January for the rest of the world. Can’t wait for you to read it.

Amortals ARCs Are Go

This morning, I spotted a photo that the overlords at Angry Robot posted late last week. It shows the ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) for Pretty Little Dead Things, Soul Stealers, Damage Time, and my upcoming Amortals.

ARCs are odd little things, usually print-on-demand copies of books made to get the word out about a book before the actual print run hits shelves. Amortals won’t be in stores until November in the UK and January in the US, but here these premade imposters come in September.

This means that certain reviewers – including some members of the Robot Army – should find an early copy of Amortals in their hands soon. I can’t wait until they – and you, especially you – can read it.

Stolze’s Zombie Story Kickstarter

The title pretty much says it all, but if that doesn’t make sense to you, head over to Greg Stolze‘s Kickstarter page for his new fiction project “Zombis Blanc.”

As Greg says:

It’s a 4,000 word piece that is, to the best of my ability, thrill-packed, gore-soaked, medically accurate and historically plausible. It’s set in 1791’s violent slave revolution, the one that eventually makes Haiti into a free nation. It focuses on a pair of despicable Europeans. If anyone deserves a nightmarish pursuit by an angry voudoun boccor, it’s these guys. They get it. You get to watch it.

You might even get to hear it. Donors of $2.00 or more get a podcast, and if you go as far as pledging $15, you get a charming skull woodcut print. That’s alongside a story release under a Creative Commons Noncommercial/Attribution/Share Alike license. Assuming, of course, that the story hits its goal.

If you like zombie tales, go ahead and chip in a buck or two or more, so that Greg will release his story into the wilds of the Internet for us all to enjoy.

Marvel Super Hero Squad Online CCG at PAX

I won’t be at PAX, but a product I worked on will debut there this weekend: the Marvel Super Hero Squad Online CCG. The brilliant people at Lone Shark Games (Mike Selinker, Teeuwynn Woodruff, and James Ernest) and the Amazing Society (Devin Low, et al) did all the heavy lifting on this one, but they brought me in – along with Monte Cook and Andy Collins – to help with writing a bunch of text on the cards.

If you get out to PAX, keep your eye out (possibly near the Gazillion booth) for sample decks and promo cards and sign up to join the game’s first-ever tournament. That’s right. This is an actual cardstock game designed to go along with the online MMO game before the video game version even launches.

If you’re near Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend instead, stop by and hang out with me at Geek.Kon. I won’t have any cards, but we’ll find some fun.

Angry Robot Unleashed!

Today, Angry Robot finally made its long-awaited debut in North America with honest-to-dead-tree books available from the Great White North to the Rio Grande. The first six titles now available in these parts are:

Not so coincidentally, these books are all available as e-books today too. You can get them through most of the regular suspects, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. In some cases, they’re still propagating throughout particular systems, so if you can’t quite find it where you want it, just be patient a little while longer. If you can’t manage that, head over to the screaming-new Angry Robot Store where you can pick up a DRM-free copy of any of their e-books directly from them.

I’ve already read a couple of the titles, and they are excellent, each in their own unique way. Angry Robot will publish my first two original novels – Amortals and Vegas Knights – this winter, and I’m proud to know they’ll be in such fantastic company.

This Weekend: Geek.Kon

This weekend, I’ll be reprising last year’s appearance as a guest at Geek.Kon in Madison, Wisconsin. If you’re anywhere near the area, come on out and say hi! Other guests include Chris Ayres, Bill Bodden, Jim Frenkel, John Kovalic,  Matt McElroy, Aaron Pavao, Raven Software, Eric Vale, Monica Valentinelli, and the Spoony Bards. (Check out the Guest List for all the details.)

Here’s what I’m scheduled for:

Friday, September 3

  • 6 PM: Game Creation

Saturday, September 4

  • 2 PM: Writing Panel
  • 3 PM: Group Autograph Session
  • 4:30 PM: World Building

Otherwise, I’ll be wandering around the dealers’ hall and chatting with folks. Hope to see you there!