You might think that there’s something easy about choosing a “current day” setting. After all, it’s the world in which we live, right? If you, the writer, are in it every day, then naturally you know it, don’t you? Rakers takes place right around now. Maybe a little bit in the future, but not far […]
Monthly Archives: October 2017
Rakers is Launching
Yep – the title pretty much says it all on this one. Rakers, my next novel, is launching. It’ll be available in all the places in ebook and some of the places in print. I’ll have a link up for it shortly and all that jazz. Rakers is about a pair of ex-special forces members who […]
Cauliflower Rice and Experimental Cooking
If you handed me a bowl of cauliflower rice without telling me what it was, I’d probably guess some form of cheese. Goat cheese, or maybe a thick Parmesan. However, it lacks the flavor of those two delectable treats. Like normal rice, it takes on the taste of whatever you pair it with, acting as […]
Donkey Kong Country – Where Setting Makes All the Difference
As a child of the 90s, the Super Nintendo played a distinct part in my elementary school life. There was Mario, sure, jumping along on mushrooms and pipes in worlds full of fireballs, turtles, and Bowser. But, when compared with the lush jungles, dark caves, and haunting seas of Donkey Kong, I couldn’t help but […]
Conquer the Galaxy – Star Wars Rebellion and a Board Game Feast
There are board games, just like there are stories, at every level of scale. Some put you in control of a single piece with one ability – often just being able to move in a direction. Others give you mountains of rules, pieces, and options and it’s up to you to parse what to do […]
Kubo and the Two Strings – The Folktale Made Visual
Every so often, usually when busied with some sort of mundane task, the wife and I will wander the vast labyrinths of video streaming services in search of some gem we’ve previously neglected. I’d seen Kubo and the Two Strings before, but Nicole hasn’t, and if there’s one thing that makes tedium easier to endure without sacrificing […]
Caravel Island – Avoiding the Sword – Part 2
There’s a certain image that comes up in “Fantasy” settings – usually some monstrous creature, a dragon, say, is facing off with a knight and his (or her) sword. A horse might be there too, for color. After a couple of sessions of Caravel Island, what I’m finding is that the combat is actually the least interesting […]
The Delight of a Coffee Shop in a New City
A couple of weeks ago, as an airport on the way to a Vermont wedding, my wife and I spent a quick night in Boston. In the morning, while she jaunted off to a workout, I did the responsible thing and went hunting for scones and coffee. A bit of writing time wouldn’t hurt either. […]
Caravel Island – On Playing a Game in a World You Create – Part 1
So, around a month ago and at the behest of a friend who’s been watching a lot of Harmonquest, I agreed to run a tabletop game for some of our local group. If you’ve never had the experience of being a GM/DM (game master, dungeon master – both interchangeable terms for the person in charge […]
Divided Time
I think most authors – most artists – would tell you that, at any given time, they have one core project that they’re working on. As you get further along, however, the designation of a “main project” gets a little blurred. For example, here are the main things that I’m doing right now: Writing the […]