My friend Jim Lowder recently appeared on WUWM – Milwaukee’s NPR station – to chat about Family Games: The 100 Best. Listen in to hear him wax philosophic about games for all people and how great they are.
BoardGameGeek.com Wins the DJA!
Last Wednesday at Gen Con, I hosted the annual Diana Jones Award party, during which I was proud to announce that BoardGameGeek.com had won this year’s award. I’d tell you all about it, but fortunately Jeff Tidball recorded the whole thing. Watch the video for all the details.
Congratulations to Derk Solko, Scott Alden, and all the other people who make BoardGameGeek.com such a fantastic oasis on the Internet!
Bless Matt James’s Dice!
Freelancer extraordinaire Matt James went around Gen Con and asked people to bless his dice. Wil Wheaton does the hammiest best job of it, but there are lots of great bits here. I was happy to be included too (at about 1:55), if only so I could make some use of all those years of Catholic School.
Back from Gen Con!
I had a wonderful time at Gen Con this year, packing in as much fun, friends, and games as I could into the five days I spent at “the four best days in gaming.” It started out with the Diana Jones Award party on Wednesday night and wrapped up with a race through the exhibit hall with my son Marty as we tried to jam in as many demos as we could. The many, wonderful, and varied moments between those two posts are still pinging about in my brain.
I hope to have time to do a proper con report in the near future, but while I was gone the toilet in the bathroom over my den overflowed. We have workers in assessing the damage and drying everything out, a process that’s already involved removing about half the ceiling and carpet in the room and raising the blood pressure of our insurance adjuster. Nothing irreplaceable was damaged, and I had my laptop with me on the road, so all my work and data is safe (and I have both automatic onsite and offsite backups set anyhow). Now it’s just a matter of cleanup and repair and figuring out where I can set up shop until it’s all done.
Anyhow, thanks to everyone I met and hung out with at the show, either in seminars or games, meals or bars. You were all wonderful and made my year. I can’t wait to get back to Gen Con again.
Off to Gen Con!
I leave for Gen Con – a.k.a. Gamer Christmas in August – tomorrow morning, ready to take Indy by storm. If you’re going to be there too, be sure to hunt me down and say hi and share some dice or drinks.
I’ve added a couple new details to my schedule. I’m joining Cam Banks for Ryan Macklin’s podcast “This Just In… from Gen Con!” in the Caucus Room at the Westin at 11 on Thursday morning.
I should also be at the Catalyst Games booth from 4—5 on Saturday. I’m told they’ll have actual hard copies of Spells & Chrome for the rest of the authors and me to sign.
Plus I hope to be at the mass signing for Gameplaywright’s The Bones at the Indie Press Revolution booth. That’s from 1-2 on Sunday.
My full schedule is after the break. Hope you can join me there!
Imagine Interview
Over at Imagine Daily, Kyle Robert Willis posted an interview with me. This one covers a long gamut of topics from Ghosts of Ascalon to Amortals to Brave New World: Revolutions to the Leverage RPG. It makes for a good recap of what I’m up to these days, so be sure to check it out.
Ghosts of Ascalon Out Now!
Actually, Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon hit stores yesterday, but I’ve been away from the computer for a few days and I’m just getting to write about it now. It’s available in numerous electronic formats as well as in the traditional flattened-tree-pulp version. If you put your mouse over the widget to the right, you should get a pop-up image that can steer you toward the right place to make your purchase. To whet your appetite, be sure to download a free PDF of the first chapter.
So far, the reviews for the book have been fantastic. My co-author, Jeff Grubb, has an excellent roundup of them on his site, and the four reviews on Amazon so far have all rated the book at five stars each. If sharp fantasy adventures set in a vividly built world are your thing, be sure to pick it up. I hope you get the chance to enjoy it!
Grubb Represents for Ghosts of Ascalon
Jeff Grubb – my co-author for Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon – is busy out there promoting the book while I’m here at home getting ready for a vacation in the Northwoods. The folks at Guildcast recorded a podcast with him last week, in which they discuss some spoilery details about the book. He’s also at Comic-Con, signing and chatting about the book and Guild Wars 2. If you’re there, be sure to track him down.
How to Write a Tie-In Novel
My latest column for the Escapist went up today: “How to Write a Tie-In Novel.” Check it out for a quick behind-the-scenes look at how some of your favorite books about your favorite worlds make it to your shelves.
Tied-In Released
The IAMTW has just released its first book, Tied In: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing. Edited by Lee Goldberg, the book features essays about all aspects of writing tie-in novels from Donald Bain, Max Allan Collins, Tod Goldberg, Elizabeth Massie, William C. Dietz, Aaron Rosenberg, Paul Kupperberg, Jeff Mariotte, Raymond Benson, Robert Greenberger, David Spencer, Greg Cox, Burl Barer, Jeff Ayers, Nancy Holder, Brandie Tarvin, Alina Adams and William Rabkin. There should be a hard-copy version available soon, but in the meantime you can pick up the Kindle version or other ebook versions for your e-reader for the low price of $2.99.
Keep your ear to the ground for the results of the IATMW’s Scribe Awards too. They’ll be given out Friday night at Comic-Con.