Other Court

Order of Battle

The playtest went pretty well, all in all. Rules changes which we implemented from last time look like keepers. The game keeps getting smoother and easier to play, yet is still retaining the strategic/tactical elements that make it what it is. Still, it's not a done deal. There are changes yet to be made to get it into true fighting shape. Looking at removing about half of the obstacle types for simplicity's sake, and there's a tweak to one of the Captain Specials to be made. Also, adding 2 mission types, and locking down pre-made maps for ease-of-play. Then there's some design changes to the playing pieces and the board, to tighten up wasted space and to make the pieces slightly easier to grab and move around.

I'd like to make the changes and hit this up in playtest in another two weeks or so and see how it runs.

Post Skyfall

The next regular playtest game is approaching. I've mentioned this before, but it's on my mind a lot, so it gets some more attention here. If anything, I am happy that it has forced me to put under a microscope the rules governing Special Abilities as a whole, and psychic ones in particular. It has generated a lot of good conversation with my playtest team. And I think it is going to really help when it comes to the next item.

Thinking Toward Factions 2nd Edition

I have put on hold any further development of the Factions universe until a true "2nd Ed" can be completed. I have several reasons for this. Some are simply "artistic;" there are a lot of areas in the game that I can do better now, and I don't want to chunk out 2 or 3 small supplements for a version of a game that I know is going to be changed. Some of these reasons are business related - simply, Factions isn't taking off enough as a game line (yet) to truly justify the amount of work that would go into said supplements. 

So the game needs to be reworked. I have a very solid grasp on what I want to change, and a lot of the grunt work has already been done. Now it's time to playtest these ideas. The Special Ability and Strain/Shade rules will be worked over in the upcoming Post Skyfall game. The Ritual Magic changes will have to be worked out after that.

Essentially, I want to beef up psychic combat, impliment range changes to Special Abilities that we've been mucking about with, improve, beef up, and expand Ritual Magic, and add on the Character Motivation Meta-mechanic. Lastly, in World Building, I want to redirect character growth directly toward involvement with the Elements. There are also many sections of the book which can be written more cleanly, too, and some areas of the Setting which could use improvement.

This going into a "hold mode" is likely to affect my convention appearances for 2010. Order of Battle doesn't appear to be workable to make Con of the North in 3 months, and Gamer's Reunion is moving up into April. I don't know at this time if Order of Battle will be ready to roll by then. With luck, however, both it and some kind of next edition of Factions will be doable for Gen Con... if things work out according to plan. I don't want to say for certain, at this point, that I will be skipping both Con of the North and Gamer's Reunion in 2010, but the possibility is there.

That said, I am excited about the changes, for the game's sake. It might yet grow into the original vision I had for it, so many years ago.

-a-

It's been a busy pile of days. Getting acclimated to a very early shift at the new job, working on ideas as they come. Sent out another Query Letter in the hunt for a Literary Agent, and thinking about doubling up and sending out another while one is still out there.

Order of Battle

Reworked the last tweaks to be ready for the next Playtest. I still have some printing/papercraft to do before its ready to be seen. Most of the rule changes either are aimed at game simplification or game balance. Also, there was a bit of graphics adjusting to do. Lastly, I've touched base with a local artist about possibly doing some black and white art pieces for the rule book.

Post Skyfall

This is going to be the next RP game for the playtest group to chew on. It's set aproximately 100 years in the future, and will be my transhumanist/cyberpunk/psychics game. I've done about 25 pages of notes for world-building. Also, Phaedrus and Lord Carnifex were helpful enough to lend me their physics-oriented brains to play around with ideas for laser weapons... 'cause it's just not a FUTURE game without some laser weapons.

Magic Use as Debt

Also coming out of the Post Skyfall game development (and more specifically, rules for Psychics in this setting), I've worked up a new idea for the use of "magic points." See, most games with any sort of supernatural "energy" in it that is used to fuel magic, special abilities, or the like use these points in-game as a sort of currency. If you have the points in you, you can spend them and do the special thing. Not all games make use of magic points, but those that do tend to do it this way.

And I've decided to try out a different way.

Let's say you have a character with Focus 10. This means that he can hold a maximum of 10 temporary Focus points. When all 10 are spent, the character can't do Rituals or Special Abilities until he gets his hands on some more temporary Focus. This is the old way.

The new way is that whenever you do something that use to cost you Focus points, now, instead of losing your currency, you gain a form of supernatural "debt." This will take the shape of whatever negative energy the character type wrestles with. For Psychics, it is Strain. For Vampyres, it is Void. For Therans, it is Abandon. For Dreamers, it is Burnout. And for the Gifted, it is Shade.

Regardless of what form the "debt" takes, acquiring it means you are taking greater and greater risks with some sort of supernatural backlash. For every point of "debt," you have about a 1 in 5 chance of taking on a level of "debt" Effect (Shade Effect, Strain Effect, etc). What I really like about this is that it doesn't put a hard cap as to how much debt a character can take on... it opens up the possibility of a character really going for broke, acquirng 15 or 20 points of "debt," and then trying to ride out the cost. At the higher levels of Effect, the character is risking fundamental alterations and even death. Of course, one doesn't *have* to take on all that much "debt." One can play it safe, use powers or rituals only when necessary, and burn off the 5 or 10 points of "debt" without having too much to worry about.

It all comes down to a bit of a switch in my game design philosophy. Instead of defining hard lines of "You can do this, can't do that," I'm leaning more and more to "How badly do you want this?" It makes for more interesting game quandries. Or at least that's the hope.

Playtesting Resumes

Ah yes. The regular Tues night group will start meeting again in November. Looking forward to it.

-a-

Gamer's Reunion is a small local convention held in Rochester, MN. This was its second year. As with all startups, it's difficult to predict if this is going to be a long-running convention that takes off, a convention that struggles year after year, or a convention that doesn't make it past the five year mark. Still, like all startups, the best time to join is early. So, with this in mind, I packed the car the night before and went over the weekend plans.

( Stuff and things if you clicky... )

Wednesday

I packed the car the night before, so I wouldn't feel as rushed in the morning. There wasn't much free space in there. Got rolling out of the cities at 6:15 am. It was decent weather and traffic flowed well enough. I hit up the Tomah truck stop at 8:40 am for an hour-long breakfast break, as per usual. Stopped in Madison at 11:00 am for gas and more coffee, and crossed the Wisconsin-Illinois border at 12:10 pm. Rolled long through the tolls around Chicago, then broke free and got into Indiana, headed south. Landed in Indianapolis and checked into the hotel at 5:30 pm (6:30 local time). 603 miles driven in 11 hours and 15 minutes.

( Read more after the jump... )

Realized that I have been neglecting this little corner of the Internets.

Just wanted to report that I survived Gen Con. Then, got home and hurt my back hauling boxes around (though I'm on the mend now). Also, started a new job, and have a schedule that is taking some getting used to. Will have my "official" Post-Gen Con post up in a few days. Not quite as many pictures as last year, but with better stories to tell.

-adam

I have a lot I want to accomplish before heading out in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and I'm unsure as to how much of it I will actually get done. I have a lot less butterflies in my stomach this year... proving, I suppose, that one can get used to anything. Compounding my expected levels of anticipation and craziness is the fact that I have a new job. Training at the new place began on Thursday, and my last day at my "old" day job is Monday.

One of the benefits of working in the night life industry is that interesting, talented people are constantly walking in the door. One such acquantance whom I've known for several years stopped in last night... Tim Erickson is the man behind Death's Whisper, and was an early encouraging voice for my work. He is apparently working in some fashion with the people behind Cthulu Tech, and mentioned the possibility of working with him and/or them. I'm not quite sure what he had on his mind; it's something I'll have to follow up on after Con.

Speaking of which... here's a short verion of my To-Do list: 

• Clean the car
• Inventory all product going to Indiana. All told, including all titles, we're talking about 300 books.
• Convert book covers into a 72 dpi format for use on an in-booth digital photoframe.
• Create a quick "Sales Sheet" for Factions as a whole, and print off a few dozen copies.
• Check my inventory of other assorted handouts for the booth (I'm big on handouts, fliers, and the like...), and make a run to Kinkos if necessary.
• Pack for 5 days.
• Map/Plan my driving route.
• Locate and pack the 2 metal folding chairs that I was intrusted to store for the booth at the end of last year.
• Locate and pack the 2 fold-up rolling carts that worked out quite well for hauling product boxes around.
• Pre-pack the car on Tues Night

In theory, this is all totally do-able.

We'll see how well I actually do.

-a-

Playing Catchup

Unfortunately, real life has intruded a bit into game design time. I'm taking on a new job at a large security company, and between the added days of work for certification and training, and the push for all things Gen Con, I've had to neglect work on Creatures Strange and Deadly. At this rate, I'm unsure as to getting the supplement completed in time for Gamers' Reunion in Rochester in September... but I'll try.

Products Available Ahead of Website Updates

The hardcover for Kingdom of Ashes and A Time to Kill have both been released into the wild via my page on Lulu, but the website doesn't have links up yet (which is my fault, not my webmaster's, for being behind). You can order copies here. For whatever reason, the Kingdom of Ashes hardcover still has a spine with the word (hardcover) on it, beneath the pretty black and white coverslip. I don't know why this won't update, and will try to fix the little glitch before Gen Con. Speaking of which...

Gen Con

It looms large. I will be participating at the Forge Booth, which is sponsored by Adept Press, located at booth 1912. I'm bringing a small army of products. They, and their Gen Con pricing, is as follows: 

Factions at War: $7
Factions at War Revised: $25
Factions Player's Guide: $16
A Time to Kill: Factions Combat Compendium: $12
Kingdom of Ashes (softcover): $12
Kingdom of Ashes (hardcover): $32

In addition, I will be *giving away* copies of Factions at War throughout the convention. My goal is to leave all but 5 copies of the book in Indiana, one way or another.

In addition to spending a great deal of time at #1912, I will be attending the Diana Jones Awards, as well as the Ennies, and will likely be found wandering the open gaming area of the Embassy Suites lobby most evening hours.

Agency Hunt: Part II

Finally got the rejection letter from Agency Choice #1. I have four others in my immediate sights, and will commence with the Query Letters in short order. On average, I have 11 rejections to go.

All for now,

-a-

I've been away a little while! Sorry about that. Life gets hectic; you know how it goes. On with the show.

Convergence

I survived! Go-Go Girl and I had an absolute blast. I gotta say, though, that finding the proper pacing for a 4 day Con is tricky, even for an old horse like me. Or mayhaps it's because I'm an old horse? Regardless, much fun was had by all. I didn't treat this as much as a "work" Con as I did last year, and I'm glad for it. However, I did make use multiple "flyer" tables and put some glossies out there.

I was also able to (finally!) get a physical copy of the softcover of Kingdom of Ashes to Cole Sarar, my ever-so-busy editor. Also, Mark IV was able to get a copy of the novel into the hands of a certain horror author who was one of the many guests of honor at the Con. We'll see if anything develops...

A Time to Kill

I got my proof copy only to come to the frustrated realization that I had uploaded the wrong file to Lulu... so I got a version of the book at an earlier stage of editing, which made me make all sorts of unhappy noises. I was able to locate the correct file and uploaded it into Lulu, then hammered out 10 copies... which arrived this week. Everything looks fine, now, but it was one of those bang-your-head-against-the-wall sort of days.

Also, it seems that a few PDF copies have been purchased via DriveThru... I have regular customers! Who knew? 

Kingdom of Ashes Hardcover

The proof copy arrived. All was well, save something I had to change on the spine of the book (and not the book cover, which turned out smashing). Got the change accomplished and ordered 10 copies for Gen Con... which shipped, I believe, yesterday.

I like the sheer *presence* of the hardcover. It's kind of neat to have such a sturdy artifact of my writing efforts.

Creatures Strange and Deadly

I've started plugging away at it. The hardest part so far has been settling on a visual template for displaying the vital stats for each creature. I'm trying to find a template which will be able to remain as consistent as possible throughout, but it's tricky... some creatures will be a lot more akin to animals, and others are at (or above) human intelligence and capability. I'm getting there, though.

I've picked the 30 creatures which I'm going to include, and also rounded up another 30 for a (future... 2010? 2011?) second volume. The planned beasties for this volume are: 

AI
Alma
Boogie Man
Centaur
Chupacabra
Cyclops
Dire Wolf
Dragon
Eluea
Eshil
Flying Saucer
Fomorian
Ghoul
Golem
Jersey Devil
Killer Clown
Lake Serpent
Man in Black
Mind Leach
Nice Man
Roc
Sadistic Killer
Shadowkin
Slicer
Unicorn
Watcher
Wendigo
Werewolf
Will-o-wisp
Zorex

Now, a bit of an explanation... the creatures for CSaD span a great deal of settings and sources, from urban myths to "fantasy" (like the Centaur or Dragon) to creatures purely of my own design. Many of these will only be found out in the deep Maya, hiding out in Outer Realms of one sort or another. Also, there are certain types of beings that I'm reserving for actual PC uses, these being the Dreamers, Faeries, Therans, Vampyres, and Undead, among others. For this reason, these types will not be found in a CSaD book (and instead, will hopefully be presented in their own supplements in the not-too-distant future).

I've got to say, it's going to be interesting to list the vital stats of something as mild as a Will-o-wisp in the same book as an honest-to-god Dragon.

All for now!

-a-

A Time to Kill

Finished up the file and posted it up to DriveThru for PDF sales. Still waiting for the proof copy to arrive from Lulu. Due to last minute playtesting debates, a small change is required for rolling Initiative. Not a big edit text-wise, but an important change game play-wise. But with this done, and as soon as I get a chance to go through the proof (last minute typo hunt - yeas!), it'll become available.

Kingdom of Ashes Hardcover

This, too, was finalized. The cover design looks like this.



Looks like hardcovers take a lot longer to print (7-10 days, versus Lulu's usual 3-5), so it'll be a little while before I sign off on this one. But the proof is on the way!

Convergence

Yeas! Convergence is nigh! I'm attending in a less-than-official capacity, but will be running around handing out club flyers for the book and website. Still, no plans on running demos on the Open Gaming floor. I'll be most easily found near Coffee, Space Lounge, Main Stage, or Cinema Rex, and will have the badge name Capulet (as per normal).

If you see me, come on up and say hello.

Creatures Strange and Deadly

This is the (tentative) title of the next Factions supplement - a book of the weird, the wonderful, and the dangerous, perfect for a "monster of the week" session or, perhaps, medium-term enemies. Not all of the beings presented are meant to be antagonists, but a lot of them are. I'm in the preliminary writing stages now, which mostly entails a lot of research into folklore, urban legends, myths, and the like. Shooting for somewhere between 35-45 pages.

Time to pack for Con!

-a-

Order of Battle Playtest

Went swimmingly. The tactical element of the game was properly raised by the switch to a hex board, and the Capital Ship rules are working fine. The majority of the fixes coming were design/layout, and not play mechanics, so we're on the right track. I've also done some preliminary scouting of PoD board game manufacturer, and have discovered two possibilities. Will explore further after we make it through another playtest and see how close the game is to being finished.

Still needed: more missions, a board redesign, corrections on the Captain/Ship sheet, reworking ship piece facing, and the Navy Spec pages (for better information presentation). But we're on our way.

A Time to Kill

Everything is laid out (both the pay version and the free one), illustrated, ISBN'd, barcoded, and has cover art. Just got done with the first editing/typo run-through, and will give it one more in-depth pass before releasing it into the wild. I'm way ahead of where I thought I'd be with it, having gotten the lion's share of the work done in 2 weeks, instead of 4.

Future Plans

With A Time to Kill coming in ahead of schedule, I will be able to tackle the last of the cover design issues for the hardcover version of Kingdom of Ashes within a week. I also have to get in my print orders for the materials I'll be bringing to Gen Con. Also, it looks like I've secured at least 2 "roommates" for Gen Con, so my convention going costs for the year just got a lot more survivable.

So, the next few months, my general plans are: 

(1): Finish A Time to Kill and put it into production, including Lulu and DriveThru storefronts
(2): Finish Kingdom of Ashes hardcover and put that into production as well
(3): Convergence!
(4): One small supplement for Factions, either a Creature Book or a Spirit Guide (to be done hopefully before, but likely after, #5)
(5): Gen Con!
(6): Put out another small supplement for Factions, either the book that *doesn't* get made in #4, or a Ritual Magic supplement
(7): Gamer's Reunion!
(8): Approach finalization for Order of Battle for the end of 2009/2010

Convergence Looming

Got less than 2 weeks to go. I plan on plowing through a bunch of "club cards" as general handouts from just walking around and/or leaving them in likely places, pressing the flesh, and enjoying myself. Trying to run demos last year didn't seem to be the best use of my time, but Mark IV seems to think a one-shot is in order, so we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll just wing something if people seem interested... and hopefully, I'll be able to keep them entertained. I'm pretty good at that.

My only real regret is not being able to book hotel space in the actual hotel of the Convention... I'm across the street. Which will make a quick run to the hotel room to make myself another drink a little harder. I think I went through about $150 in alcohol-related supplies last year (go go gadget bartender!). Maybe I'll have to look into mixing larger batches, and placing them into a sealed, carryable container, instead of just mixing drinks one at a time? 

Hmmmm....

-a-

Gen Con is Go

So, I had a bit of a panic-moment when I realized that I had missed the listed deadline to sign up for the Forge Booth at Gen Con... by four days. Fortunately, the organizer said it was a-ok, and I've secured my spot. As soon as Paypal completes the money transfer, I'll have my booth spot locked in and all will be well.

Finishing work on A Time to Kill is going well, with 25% of the illustrations already done. Everything looks right for getting it done before July, and getting the hardcover design for Kingdom of Ashes down my mid-July.

This means that for new product for Gen Con, I'll have: Factions at War Revised (which was entered in the Ennies), Kingdom of Ashes paperback (also in the Ennies), Kingdom of Ashes hardcover, and A Time to Kill. I'll also have along the Factions Player's Guide, and will be selling off the original Factions at War for cheap. Will probably bring along the last of the 2009 calendars, too, as a give-away item.

Amazon

I'm listed on Amazon.

I didn't even have to sign up for Amazon's CreateSpace thing. Lulu is running a pilot program to place their books on Amazon's searches. At first, it looked like they were going to hike the prices by 30% (just to cover their costs, I guess) but they have since eliminated this clause. Simply, my Lulu offerings now show up on Amazon.

Which is kind of neat.

Order of Battle Playtest

This coming Tuesday is the next playtest of Order of Battle. We've changed it to a slightly more tactical game (complete with hexes and stuff), and this very well could be the final major evolution for the game. Sadly, there's no realistic way I can get this ready for Gen Con, but there's a possibility for 2010 Con of the North. I'm jazzed. Soon, I'll have to dive into the logistics of board game printing.

That's all the news that's fit to print.

-a-

Ran the new one-shot "Unlikely Sources" at Jon Con last week. As usual, I had a hard time keeping the game on the rails, and we had to quit at midnight right after the first big fight was decided.

Still, even though one-shots aren't my thing, people had a good time and return players seemed happy with the changes presented by the new combat system. It ran pretty smoothly, all things considered.

At some point, I'll have to learn what it takes to reel in my scenarios so that they will actually finish in 4-5 hours... I guess I'm too engaged with long-form games that take several sessions to unfold larger plot points.

In the meantime, I've been up to my elbows in board game work. Order of Battle is rapidly evolving into a robust creature, and the shift from grid map to hex map seems to have been very effective in rolling out a whole slew of great changes. I still don't know if I will have working, salable copies in time for Gen Con (and this gets less likely by the week), but the game itself is shaping up well. I don't like feeling rushed when it comes to playtesting... I think it's a vital part of game design, and I'd really like OoB to look, feel, and play "finished" when it hits market.

And it will. It's just a matter of (an uncertain length of) time.

Next playtest will either be next week, or the week after. More on how the hex play works out after that.

Still no word in the Literary Agent thing, and we're approaching the 4 week mark, methinks. So I wasn't outright rejected, which is a good thing. Or they're really buried in Query Letters. Either way, it's getting harder to keep my head on straight about it... The odds say I will have to be rejected 11 times before I find an Agent (or a Publisher). I have to keep reminding myself of this fact.

Also, I sent the Source the pricing info on the novel (and other products), but they haven't replied with an order, or any other questions. I'll give them another week, then check with them to see if there's any purchasing decision.

On with the show!

-a-

Jon Con

So,  Jon Con  is here again. Looks like I'll only be able to make it on Thursday, but that's when I'm running the one-shot "Unlikely Sources." I expect it to be a pretty bloody scenario. Good thing we'll have back-up characters on hand...

A Time to Kill Update

Nearly done with the text-only document. Still have two things left to do: Finish the "Examples of Play" chapter (which grinds through several combat encounters with full mechanics breakdown), and a Ref Sheet to help track combat stuff (various character's Initiatives, numbers on baddies, etc)... basically, a generic blank kind of worksheet that I, for one, would find useful.

In other news, the playtest game had it's first successful medium-sized combat utilizing the new system, and things went well. Not bad for a game with 10 PCs who were attacked by 4 NPCs (mental note: must use more bad guys in the next attack).

Jon Con planning is eating up my spare development time, so the text-only version will be another week or so. I expect to need about 35 or so illustrations for the full print book (and for sale PDF), so the sale version of A Time to Kill that will be about a month out.

Convergence is Go

Looking forward to this. Wasn't able to get a room in the Sheraton, but was able to lock in a room at the very nearby Sofitel at a decent rate. I decided to skip trying to run demos upstairs this year, and will spend my time pressing the flesh and handing out postcard-sized fliers at room parties.

Kingdom of Ashes Hardcover

I finally came up with a concept that I want to work with for the look of the hardcover. Sadly, with this much on my plate, I won't be able to tackle it for a few weeks at least. But rest assured that a plan is in the works, and with any luck, I'll have something to show before July.

All for now,

-a-

Limbo

I'm still waiting to hear back from the Literary Agency. It's only been a week, and the process can take 4-8 weeks. I keep reminding myself that this is a long shot, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up. Still feels like Limbo.

A Nice, Negative Review

The Christian Gamer fellow posted his review of Kingdom of Ashes up on <a href="http://gamingoutpost.com/review/in-re-kingdom-of-ashes/">Gaming Outpost</a>.

It's actually a more positive review than I had right to expect. He thought I was a good writer, and that I had written a good fantasy story. He had a hard time with the treatment of the subject matter, though, and really didn't find the book to his taste. Still, I have to give him credit; he obviously didn't *like* the book, but carried forward with the review and was both fair and honest. The profanity, sex, and drugs were things that bothered him.

Still, some choice parts, this one in the early part:

"It was a good book, and a good fantasy book. It was well written. Reimenschneider (sp) has a solid command of language, painting vivid images and compelling plotlines and credible varied characters woven together in a coherent story. "

And the ending:

"I am sure that there are people who will like this book. It is a well-plotted story well told. I do not think I know any of those people myself. I wish Reimenschneider (sp) the best with his book, but I think his audience is going to be rather limited. It’s a shame, really, because he is obviously a talented writer who probably could write something I would enjoy very much. This, though, was not that."

Now, it would be unfair of me to simply quote the above and call it a day. Context matters. I'm not going to grab a few of MJ Young's words here and there, and paste them all over the website. Follow the link and read the whole thing.

Really, it could have been worse.

If you have a differing opinion, please *don't* argue with the reviewer... write your *own* review, and submit it to the likes of <a href="http://www.flamesrising.com/">Flames Rising</a> or <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/">RPG Net</a>.

That kind of thing would be groovy. If you know someone who likes doing this kind of thing, have them drop me a line and I'll send them a comp copy of the book.

In other news, I got a nice email from a friend of Mark IV, who really dug the book and emailed the Source about it. Which is quite likely why the Source emailed me and said they were interested in carrying Kingdom of Ashes in their store. I guess it was the nudge they needed to remember I had dropped a copy off a few weeks ago for them to take a look at. Thanks, S.

That's all for now.

-a-

Got off my ass and sent an official Query Letter to the Literary Agency I want to be get picked up by. I came to the realization that I was dragging my feet about it, mostly out of a fear of rejection. And, well, that kind of thing isn't going to get me anywhere. So I told myself that I was going to be rejected, to get over it, and to write the best damn Query Letter anyway and send it to them.

A Query Letter is basically a writer's cold-call to a prospective Agency (or Publisher, for that matter). You don't really send your manuscript around without being asked, and a Query Letter is the tool you use to get an Agent's attention and get them interested in seeing more of your work.

It's not uncommon for a writer to be turned down by a dozen (or more!) Agencies or Publishers before they get picked up. Just part of the game. This is true no matter who you are, from nobody to Hemingway. I suspect that I'm not the only writer who finds solace in reading about how all of the great writers were rejected ten or twenty times before someone noticed how great they were. And, truth is, this first Agency looks to be near my ideal, and most certainly added to my being nervous about it.

So I wanted to get the rejection from *them* out of the way. That way, when I get picked up somewhere down the line, I won't look back and go, "gee, I really wish I had taken a shot at X. I wonder where things would be if I had gone after them the first time around..."

Here's my letter, for posterity's sake.

May 1, 2009

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

I am seeking representation for my urban fantasy novel, Kingdom of Ashes, a complete work of 131,500 words. This is the first of a collection of books I wish to write in this setting, an expansion of the role playing game line I have produced through my small press company, Other Court Games.

I wrote Kingdom of Ashes because I have a fascination with urban fantasy. I wanted to merge the otherworldliness and enchantment common in this genre with street grit and grounded occultism. I also wanted to truly test my characters, and to explore the meaning of their lives and the choices they make in this fantastic, yet familiar setting.

Cory is afraid that he has turned into a monster. He has fallen into the world of the supernatural and is now an outlaw, running from a far-reaching secret society called the Order. Cory's true nature is unknown to him, but he is dangerously powerful, and something haunts his dreams. Terry is a potent mage living undercover among the mundanes, and is Cory's roommate and closest friend. Terry takes Cory under his wing and introduces Cory to the occult underground, where they continuously dodge the Order's Orwellian controls, potent magics, and mystically-enhanced death squads.

Cory faces those he once called family, who reveal themselves as members of the tyrannical Order. They offer him membership among the elite, but Cory refuses to give them Terry's life in place of his own. Cory learns about magic conspiracies, trains to be an anarchist insurgent, and meets many new faces along the way. He grapples with his unsettling true nature, comes to grips with the imprisoned dragon that is connected to his mind, and learns the truth about how his parents were betrayed. In the concluding battle, Cory embraces his identity as a revolutionary leader and endures the horrors of war. Cory acknowledges that in many ways, he is a monster among men, but resolves to honor his friendships the best that he can.

I have been writing non-professionally for ten years. I formed Other Court Games in 2007 and produced the game Factions at War, which shares the Kingdom of Ashes setting. I currently sell Kingdom of Ashes, along with other products, via www.othercourt.com and at gaming conventions.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Sincerely,

Adam Riemenschneider

I'm on them.

Specifically, I'm on cold meds, as I'm fighting off a whopper of a bug. On top of this, I have two very large events to work at the club over the next two nights, and my voice is tentative at best. So, if you are out tonight, and I don't talk to you, it's quite likely because I physically cannot speak. I expect to be a pile of goo by Monday.

In other news, got the product sent to the Ennies and to MN Reads. And got my hotel reservation set up for Gen Con (not the Embassy Suites, like I'd hoped, but bloody close enough). No more driving out to the boondocks every night! Wooooooo!

The work on A Time to Kill has slowed to a pitiful crawl. I'm blaming the muck in my head, but will try to make progress. Jon Con looms. Fortunately, I think I have a workable plot for the game I'm running on Thursday night. Now, I just have to remember to keep things as simple and straight-forward as possible... since I'm a sucker for crafting game scenarios that take 10 hours to play.

-a-

Right then.

Got my books to send in to the Ennies, the En World awards thing that goes down at Gen Con. I'm sending them Factions at War Revised and Kingdom of Ashes. Actually had to do a little print run via Lulu to be able to meet their requirements... need 6 copies of each work. Which makes it kind of an expensive entry, when you figure shipping and whatnot into it (about $170). Ah well. Exposure, and all that. So those will ship out next week. Here's to hoping.

I mean, I honestly don't expect the game to get more than a few passing mentions... but the novel, that thing actually has a shot at winning something. It's in a strange category, and it can certainly compete with any of the usual game-related fiction out there. I remember reading some of the White Wolf novels when they first came out, and being pretty disappointed.

Anyway.

Pinged a few more prospects to get the novel reviewed. Haven't heard anything back yet. Will be hitting up Minnesota Reads next (thanks for the heads up, Ink). Been trying to spread the word that anyone can read the novel, for free, online at the website. Please feel free to cross post this information to anyone who might be interested. Spread the word.

Last bit, A Time to Kill. This is the combat "patch" that we're playtesting in the FitD game, and although all of the bugs have yet to be worked out, it's strong enough that I'm working on it right now to put up as a free PDF, and maybe a cheapy for print on Lulu. So what is A Time to Kill, anyway?

A Time to Kill is a hybrid combat system, taking the baseline "Non-Phased" combat system in Factions, and working in some of the advantages of the more granular, "Phased" one. It will still use all of the same raw mechanics, but handles time in the Round differently. Basically, a smoother, simpler version of Phased combat that will look a lot more familiar to folks familiar with the "multiple attacks per round" thing found in old DnD. Characters built to excel in fighting will be able to shine, but these fights won't drag down the pace of the game as hard as Phased combat generally does.

Will be done in a couple of weeks. Right in time for Jon Con.

Jon Con. Coming up on May 21st, running through the 24th. Going to be running a came (tentatively) called Unlikely Sources. Players are Alliance members who have to travel to Mexico to make a deal to buy weapons from the Shacti. You didn't think the Finn got his RPG's from a 7-11, did you?

So, sent off the first review copy of Kingdom of Ashes. The fellow doing the review will hopefully have it done in a month or so. I'm a little apprehensive, truth-be-told... which has everything to do with my own prejudices toward overtly religious folks, and nothing to do with the reviewer's professionalism or helpfulness. The fellow himself seems quite capable, and I'm pretty sure the book's content won't bother him as much as I'm worried it might. Anyway, enough whining out of me.

If anyone out there is part of any literary circles, 'zines, book blogs, or the like... want a book to chew on? You give me a couple of hundred words, post it, and agree to let me use the review on my website, and I give you a book.

I still haven't come up with a good design for the hardcover, by the way. I guess I don't know if I want to stick to the same overall design of the paperback, or if I want to do something different.

Haven't sought out one of the literary agencies yet. I've got two sorta staked out, though.

Doing plenty of more work on the new RPG. In writing player handout materials, I'm essentially writing the pre-draft of the next game. It's up to 25 or so pages already, which ain't bad for a PDF without any illustrations. They've finally got their characters mostly squared away, and we have a direction and overarching plotline figured. Actual play, Gods help us, will begin on Tuesday.

Of course, that means I have a lot of research and such to do before then. Next stop: ancient cultures, civilizations, and mythologies of Northern Africa. I love this kind of stuff. Someday, this will be my full time gig. Someday...

-adam

So, spent the last several days working on three general projects: working on a hardcover layout and cover for KoA, world-building work for a new RPG playtest, and dipping my toes into the pool that is publicizing the KoA release.

The layout work was the easiest. I think InDesign has really grown on me. The hardcover is going to be 11 point font, on heavier paper, and 329 pages. I was disappointed to discover that I can't really price it for retail, the same way the softcover is. It would come out to be way too expensive to expect a reader to pay over $50 in a store for an unknown author. So I decided that I would *not* price the hardcover this way, and treat it as a special sort of product that can only be purchased via Lulu... that it would not be found in stores, unless I did a large print run. I'm looking at a price of around $34.95.

The RPG work is always enjoyable for me. Once the playtest is actually underway, I'll have to put the files down and get back to board game work. But until then, working to make the world as true to itself as I can get it is consuming work (I now know more about Bronze Age smelting than I really ought to).

Working the publicizing is hard work. Most of it at this point is in research... looking for publications (net or otherwise) that accept books for review. Trying to find legitimate contests to enter the book in. That sort of thing. I knew that this was going to be the hardest part of the process for me. Frankly, my plan was not to remain the publisher for my fiction. My plan was to market it myself, primarily to the RPG community (at first), and the local sci-fi/fantasy crowd... in order to help my RPG work. Then I was going to approach larger publishers with the book, and see if they wanted it for its own merit.

I've decided that I might as well start shopping for professionals now. I'm planning on putting feelers out to a couple of promising Literary Agencies about representation, and have asked an old acquaintance who is now a writer (Scott Lynch) which agency he is working with. If anyone ends up biting, I'll see what the deal looks like and if it's the right kind of thing for me.

Back to creating the world of Atlantis for me!

-a-

Ok, so I just got done fixing little typos and layout issues in the first Kingdom of Ashes printing (curse you Justification button!). Got all of that done, and lightened the "dots" that separate sections within chapters. Henceforth, all such dots will be grey... with the original printing to now and forever be known as the "Blackdot 25." Any Lulu purchases from here on out will be the corrected versions.

Also got the Kindle files uploaded... Shortly, Kingdom of Ashes will be downloadable to Amazon's reader thingie for $1.99.

Next up: laying out a larger font, hardcover edition. Oh, and board game development, too.