This is just a short vaguebooking announcement that I’ve turned in the first of three manuscripts for one of the projects in the previous post. It feels really good to have it turned in, and knowing that the 2nd manuscript is about 90% complete. It’s a little frustrating not being able to talk about all the things I’m working on, but the good news is that this is one project that we won’t have to wait until 2023 to announce. I expect that by the end of the summer I’ll be singing about it from the highest mountains. Stay tuned!

It’s been a hot minute since the last update here, hasn’t it?

The good news is that I haven’t been idle. By now, Study Abroad has been released so you know what I was doing around 2018-19. Since then, I’ve spearheaded a new RPG based in Pinebox. It was turned in this past January, so now it’s in Pinnacle’s production queue. I have no idea when it will come to the top, especially since Pinnacle already had a lot of great projects (like the Fantasy Companion currently under crowdfunding) but I’m not particularly concerned. It’s off my plate, so it’s someone else’s turn to stress over it.

I also finished–for real–a four story anthology set in ETU. This one was a labor of love that I’ve tinkered with off and on for close to eight years. The last time I touched it was two years ago and it was pretty close to done, but I felt like the first story needed a touch more polish. I picked it up last month and figured out what it was missing (no more than a few lines) and trimmed up some areas to improve pacing. This anthology–only around 25K words, is something I’m very proud of because it’s a different medium–prose–than I’ve been working in with Pinnacle. I’m also proud just because I feel like the project caused me to stretch as a writer, and I just like the final product. Speaking of final product, I’ve been talking with interested parties about publishing it, although I’m not sure it will happen in 2022. They too have a bit of a backlog.

In the meantime, Ed and I wrote Pinebox Legacies, a 3 part RPG set across three generations of students in Pinebox. We started this in 2020 as a convention game, then set aside when the quarantine hit. With covid restrictions easing, earlier this year we dusted off the drafts and finished it off. Those will be debuted in about a month at ChupacabraCon, then we’ll work with Pinnacle on how to release them to the public at large.

If that wasn’t enough, Ed and I are also working on another ETU-related fiction project that is going to be awesome. This opportunity just sprang up earlier this Spring and we have a pretty tight deadline to get it turned in. I think we’ll be done by early Summer though, and I anticipate this one coming out by the end of the year although I could be wrong. We usually don’t discuss release calendar until the writing is done. Too often, delays in turning in manuscripts blows production calendars out of the water. Projects get scheduled after there’s a manuscript in hand.

Oh, and last year I was ALSO working on another ETU-related roleplaying game. I ended up pausing that one to finish up the one mentioned in the second paragraph, but I’m really hoping to finish at least the first draft by the end of the year. Even that will require a good bit of focus and dedication on my part. There’s still a LOT of writing to be done, and I’m someone who revises several times before I’m satisfied.

That’s the writing news for spring 2022. Unfortunately nearly everything I do is covered by one NDA or another, so usually I can’t tease projects until they are nearly ready for release. But keep your eyes open because I have a solid backlog of work already in the pipeline, with more to come!

It’s true! The project is still in the secret phase, but I can share that it’s ETU related. At the moment I’m writing Savage Tales for it. Don’t expect this to drop in 2020, but do keep me honest by asking about my progress from time to time.

I had a revelation earlier today. I joined 12 to Midnight and began writing and publishing RPGs professionally in 2003. That means this year marks 15 years as an RPG industry professional. I don’t think I can entirely wrap my brain around that.

I’m of an age in which I can claim having seen all three original Star Wars films during their original theatrical runs. That also means I remember seeing the 1980s Flash Gordon™ in the theater as well. At the time I think we were all hoping for another Star Wars, but that’s not what came to the screen. (In hindsight, it was the other way around. Little did I know at the time that Star Wars was a Flash Gordon tale, sans Flash.)

“I use these for smuggling. I never thought I’d be smuggling myself.”

I’m also of an age in which my only exposure to Flash Gordon came from the 1980s movie. I knew he didn’t spring into existence in the 80s, but only in the way I know the capital of Alaska–a bit of trivia I picked up somewhere along the way. I’ve never visited Juneau, nor did I get to watch any of the old films or read the old comics.

That is, not until little more than a year ago. That’s when Pinnacle gifted me the opportunity to contribute a chapter to Kingdoms of Mongo, a companion book to the Savage World of Flash Gordon™ roleplaying game penned by the talented Scott Woodard. This gave me an opportunity to delve into Flash’s history and adventures. Luckily for us, the old serial newspaper comic strips have been lovingly collected in a series of beautiful hardback books so they are more accessible now than ever before.

It wasn’t until I started reading those old comics that I came to appreciate the lasting impact Flash Gordon has had on our culture. While I came relatively late to the Flash fan club, there’s no question he’s of a class of hero I have admired since childhood. In my mind he stands shoulder to shoulder with Buck Rogers, John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, Indiana Jones, and many other pulp-style legends. Flash relies on his quick wits, steady hand, brave heart, and steadfast friends to overcome adversity and win the day. What’s not to admire?

Too many captions! Can’t decide among: “Arrr, warrra, rowar!” “Hey baby, I’d be lion if I said you weren’t hot.” “I’m a lion-man. Man in the streets, lion in the sheets.”

So little more than a year ago I began penning that chapter, adding my own modest contribution to the ongoing Flash Gordon legacy. It remains, quite simply, an honor. It was a real joy to expand upon the “my” little corner of planet Mongo as we know it from the comic strips. I got to immerse myself in how Mongoians live, what strange creatures inhabit the world around them, and what dastardly dangers might befall heroes brave enough to call themselves friends of the legendary Flash Gordon.

How much longer will the Earth hero’s exploits inspire us? As long as we cast our imaginations to far away Mongo and its wonderful and deadly denizens, and that’s exactly what The Savage World of Flash Gordon aims to do.

The Kickstarter has less than a day to go. It’ll be available in retail game stores and online later, but backing the Kickstarter ensures you get early access. The PDFs will be ready as soon as January. I hope you’ll consider backing the Kickstarter so you can see how Scott brought Mongo to the game table. Flash is Alive!