Posts from February 2009

February has been a fruitful month for some artists I know, chiefly in the form of music for the RPM Challenge, an annual endeavor that has participating musicians write and record an album's worth of material during the month of February. Also, I was asked to write lyrics for an entire such album. When there's more to link to, I'll give specifics. But I've heard some of it and it sounds terrific.

I'm currently wrapping up my part in another Goodman Games book. Can't say anything about it just yet, but the last such project was Hero's Handbook: Dragonborn, so this one shouldn't be too surprising. And this one I think is even better.

And actually, a quick glance at page 3 of Goodman Games's 2009 spring catalogue should give you some hints.

Job-hunt stuff: Not a lot of luck. Why is it that the only job postings I can find (and feel fairly qualified for) involve editorial work in the NYC area mostly for websites and magazines concerning that which I have no experience or interest in? That is to say, the "hip" urban lifestyle of young people: nightlife, fashion, gear, gosspic. Bleh!

Happy V-Day, folks.  :)

Goodman Games has finally announced—thereby freeing those of us who were involved in it to loosen our tongues—the very first print magazine for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons: Level Up! Click there to read a bit more.

The editor-in-chief is Aeryn Rudel, a prolific game designer whom I consider to be my go-to guy for 4E mechanics and balance (perhaps to his dismay) and a really nice guy!

The fact that Level Up is the ONLY print magazine for 4th Edition is a very big deal, and I hope that means there's a lot of interested readers picking it up. (Like you!? Maybe?) Ever since Wizards of the Coast discontinued the print versions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines, we've all missed being able to leaf through some good materials with our hands, as opposed to scrolling through a computer screen.

Oh, and Level Up is going to be $1.99 if you pick it up in an actual gaming store. You can't beat that price. If you subscribe, and want a PDF version, it's actually $4 per issue. Goodman Games is big on supporting gaming stores.

I'll talk more about my contribution to the magazine (which is going to start off quarterly) when a bit more has been said about it. Check it out! I'm stoked to get that first issue in my hands, and can't wait to check out the artwork.

First off, the stout and furry Seer of Seers has decreed that we're in for six more weeks of winter. No getting around that, folks. If you can't trust the augury of a Pennsylvanian sciurid to forecast our planet's environmental changes, who can you trust? Some yellow-bellied marmot? (Don't! They might look and sound like a lot like Punxsutawney Phil, but prognosticators they're not.)

As I look ahead for my 2009, I predict an astounding juxtaposition between fantasy and reality. As I've already stated, this year I intend to write my third novel, one that's my own...and that's a lot of time spent in the imagination, because there's a bit of world-building to do there. Meanwhile, I'm also in job-hunting mode, and you really can't get any more real life than that.

It's a strange feeling, having absolutely no idea what will happen next. I haven't had this sensation since 9/11, when I was displaced quite obviously from where I worked in building 5 of the World Trade Center. Since then, I've gotten married, moved to the Bronx, published a novel, and more. All of these things are things I had control over. But not this. Not entirely, anyway. Luck, circumstance, maybe a bit of Providence, and yes, some serious delving on my part is what steers this sort of life change.

Regarding the novel, it's actually going to be quite an experiment. Not only in writing it, but in marketing it. I'll talk more about this in days to come, but I wanted to ask those of you who visit my site: would you have any interest in hearing about the novel-developing process? (Fellow author Kameron Franklin has actually done this quite methodically on his website, Pens and Swords, and I'm sure plenty of writer-types do.)

I don't claim to be an expert on the subject; I love writing, I know I've got some good ideas, but I also had Wizards of the Coast's guidance (and requirements) the last two times. This time around I'm on my own. Should be interesting.

For Christmas (and my birthday), my parents gifted me with a new laptop. (Dude, I got a Dell.) My first laptop, given to me by my wife a few years ago, I used to write up all my Goodman Games work and a sizeable chunk of The Darkwood Mask. This one I hope will yield a great deal more. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

February is also going to be a busy month for some musicians I know, particularly friend Josh Wentz and brother John. I'll talk more about that soon enough.