My fellow Alliterate and good pal Rob King just sold his latest novel, The Angel of Death to Angry Robot, the new HarperCollins imprint run by my old friend Marc Gascoigne. It’s actually not his latest, as the book was originally slated to come out through the now-cancelled Wizards of the Coast Discoveries line. I’m happy to see the book …
Buyout is Out to Buy
Fellow Michigan alumnus Alex Irvine’s new book Buyout is on shelves today. I worked with Alex on the Beast several years back, and I came to respect this talent then. As the marketing copy says: From acclaimed author Alexander C. Irvine comes a gritty near-future thriller in the paranoid, prophetic vein of Philip K. Dick and Richard K. Morgan. One …
Varney on the State of RPGs
My friend Allen Varney has an excellent article in this week’s Escapist: “Internet Killed the Tabletop Star.” In it, he suggests the internet has helped the tabletop RPG industry as much if not more than it’s harmed it. Be sure to check it out.
Danforth on Games and Libraries
My friend Liz Danforth is not only an extremely talented artist but also a librarian. I’ve known Liz for years and even been fortunate enough to have some of her work grace a few of the tabletop gaming books I’ve worked on. Recently, the Library Journal named her their new writer for their “Games, Gamers, and Gaming” blog. If you …
Ann on the Radio
My lovely and wonderful wife will be on the radio this morning! Ann and her boss Marge Hallenbeck are slated to join the Stan Milam Show at 10 AM to talk about homeless students in the School District of Janesville, Wisconsin. This is a growing problem everywhere, and Ann’s become an expert on the subject, speaking out for kids here …
Monte Cooks up a Dungeonaday.com
My fellow Alliterate (and one of my first-ever editors) Monte Cook just announced his next big project in gaming: Dungeonaday.com. The name alone tells you how ambitious of a project it is, but if anyone can pull off such a humongous feat, it’s Monte. Here’s what he has to say about it:
Boom’s ARG
Boom Studios just announced that it’s launched an ARG to go with its upcoming comic-book series Unthinkable. I haven’t had a chance to play around with it much yet, but it’s great to see ARGs being used to promote more than just high-budget films and video games.
Free Coulton!
It killed me that I had to miss the Jonathan Coulton show in Madison last Thursday, but a consolation prize arrived yesterday via Jonathan’s Twitter feed. You can now download a legal torrent of JoCo Looks Back, a compilation of 20 of his best songs, for free. Creative Commons originally released this on a USB jump drive last year, but …
Amy and Missy for School Board
While I decided not to run for school board here in Beloit this year, a couple excellent candidates asked for my support, and I was all too happy to give it to them: Amy Oselio and Missy Henderson. Both are wonderful women and dedicated parents who truly have the interests of Beloit’s kids at heart. Amy lives two doors down …
Top Game Writers
Gamasutra recently released its list of the Top 20 Game Writers. By this, they of course mean video game writers, as that’s the field they focus on. The list is shockingly incomplete and has blind spots the size of black holes–as do all such lists. They exist to generate conversation and awareness, and the article does a fine job at …