On the road again
Heather’s father died last year and this will be the first Christmas without him, so it goes without saying that she needs to be home on the East Coast for the holidays. While the filthy lucre of publishing might be flowing like sweet wine, it wasn’t flowing that sweet, so a second plane flight was out of the question. Instead I’ll be driving up to Wyoming to spend the holidays with my brother and parents. I’m the evil son that never writes, calls or visits, so it will be good to see my family.

Which puts me on the road.

I had vague plans to hook up with friends last night, but I ended up at a punk bar instead. I did more people watching than drinking, taking notes for the vampire book and relishing the frantic, desperate way we humans throw ourselves at each other. The girl working the bar looked like she was counting the days to her fourteenth birthday, had two purple pigtails and wore the same yellow, ducky galoshes you might seen on Paul Kemp’s kids.

By the time I had had my fill, I had missed my window for finding my friends, along with a warm place to crash for the night. I drove back onto campus, unstuffed the sleeping bag and slept in the car.*

Woke up to frost on the inside of the windshield. Fitting punishment for getting distracted with people watching and forgetting my prior commitments, tentative though they may have been.

Tonight I arrive in Wyoming and settle into seven days of hardcore writing. Vampires staff my dreams. I’ll be away from the internet, but if you need to reach me, both Ashlock and Gentry have my number. :)

Happy holidays, everyone. Be safe, and I’ll see you in the new year!



* There are millions of people out in the world that aren’t so lucky to have the choice of sleeping in their car; Harley “playing homeless” is an insult to all those people. And yet, some small part of me delights in the charade.

Something else to go to hell for.




This post has been syndicated to livejournal by the nubile and flexible Harleybot.

I don’t write for the money …
But I love it when the check comes in.
Ask anyone working in the publishing business and they will tell you that making the jump from part to full-time freelancer is not a decision to be made lightly. When even those with regular novel gigs keep their day jobs, you get a sense of how great the gap is. Still, I suspect that each one of us, in our secret (or not so secret) heart of hearts still yearns for title of full-time freelancer.

In case you were worried, Harley isn’t making the jump any time soon.

The upside to being unknown, broke and ugly, is that every sale – and I mean every – feels like a giant step forward. It’s like the first time you kissed the girl. Archangels trumpet from on high, the stoplights all turn green, the cop lets you off with a warning for skateboarding.

The soft cover edition of Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor campaign setting isn’t due out for a few months, but that didn’t stop the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons from paying Harley’s rent for the month of December. (And remember, I live within avalanche distance of Aspen.)

Part-time or full-time, that’s pretty fun.

And in other news …
I spent last night doing setting work (inking and coloring a 2 ft. by 3 ft. map for a campaign setting that is due for release at the next GenCon) and I realized the reason that I love doing d20 work: the opportunity to draw.

Silly, but there it is. I’m not professional grade by any standard, but the mere act of preparing maps of professional cartographers is a joy, and something that’s lost when I write straight fiction.

You may recall that before the setting gig came along I expressed a desire to step away from d20 work and get back to writing more. That’s still the case, but I hope I have the opportunity to the occasional d20 job on the side. I spent my childhood doodling on graph paper and I'd hate to give it up now. :)


This post has been syndicated to livejournal by the devoted and unflagging Harleybot.

Blogger Meets Live Journal
Won't work unless I pay $19.95 to upgrade to a paid account. Or I get so popular that LJ syndicates as a public service. ;)

Ed and Marce have solved this challenge by posting a link to their blogs from their LJ accounts, but they could also do solve the problem by cutting and pasting blogger posts to LJ accounts.

Viva La Vie Boheme
I’m sure there must be missing accents on that title, but that’s what I get for copying and pasting from Google.

The weekend is here! All day Board retreat on Saturday (that’s one 5 ft. step, so that we don’t incur attacks of opportunity*), and then let the writing commence! All day Sunday to drink coffee and spill thoughts out onto a keyboard. And we get paid for this? We are the luckiest people ever.

A big, Deathy welcome is due to Paul Kemp for taking time from his busy schedule to stop by. You should all stop by his blog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/paulskemp/ , if only for pictures of his children.

Also, a big thank you is due to everyone that offered words of encouragement during the last weeks of the White Wolf contest. I’m still a far cry from the worthies that have published/ are in the process of publishing novels, so it is generous of them to suffer my company.

Okay. So maybe that last bit was little over the top. But it’s true to Harley’s emotions. I’m thankful for everyone that hangs around. :)

What else? The setting work really starting to take form. It’s akin to a heating a pot of water: for a long time it seems like little is getting done, then you cross that critical threshold and the water erupts into a rolling boil. Last week the waters were placid, but this week it’s boiling – maps being handed off to the cartographer, manuscripts are being cross-referenced and the cover art has been commissioned. That, and I still have a 24k adventure to write for the setting. And a book about vampires. And encounters for the GenCon tournament. And an adventure for February’s DragonCon.

Have I mentioned I love my night job?

Let’s all hear it for a two-week winter break. Which brings us back to the title of this quickly written, sloppily edited post:

Viva La Vie Boheme! I love you guys. Write hard, fall down on concrete for me, and I'll see you all on Monday!


*Stupid gaming joke. Sorry.

I want you!
...to playtest my modules. >:)

Chris and Chrissy are hard at work on the Spellburn setting, so I'm short my usual suspects. Anyone else interested in playtesting a module, lvls 7-9?

Post ‘Em If You’ve Got ‘Em
What a fantastic time to be alive. Good friends, good work, and writing as far as the eye can see. Thanks for being around for the show.

H and I went to see “Walk the Line” –the Johnny Cash biography– last night. For those of us who like to consider ourselves artists, it hits pretty close to home. Namely, I almost didn’t go to the movie with my wife because I had so much writing to do.

Given my melodramatic bent I probably took more from the movie than intended. Regardless, it served as both a warning and inspiration.

Still waiting to hear back from my new friends at White Wolf. This is actually just fine since I’m still trying to clear my writing load for the new year. My plan is to finish 2 modules and the remaining setting work by the end of December, freeing me up for the final leg of the White Wolf contest. It’s important to complete my contract obligations before I begin chasing contest dreams. It’s never too early to begin behaving like a professional --- even if I still dress like a coffee shop refugee.

Still, I find myself daydreaming about the World of Darkness, which is my way of doing foundation work to the actual writing. Armed with a bomb-proof outline, I’ll begin hammering away in the last weeks of December. If you have any outline suggestions or advice, feel free to post them.

BTW, anyone know if Indianapolis has a skatepark? A little physical exertion would be just the thing to take the edge off GenCon.

In other Con news, the fine folks who published stories in Realms of the Dragons II will be hosting a group signing sometime during the Con. This is a great chance to get meet 10+ authors in one fell swoop, and since many of them are currently writing other novels set in the Realms, it isn’t an exaggeration to say that they are the next generation of Realms Novelists. They have been generous enough to invite me along for the ride, but I’d feel like a bit of a pretender. Thankfully, the opportunity to hang out with these fantastic writers far outweighs any lingering self-esteem issues. I hope many of you can make it.

And finally, a rousing, Deathy shout-out to Ash and Marce. Fingers and toes crossed, kids.

BTW ...
Courtesy of Kam --- Elaine's blog is back up! Was I the only one in the dark? http://ecwritingjournal.blogspot.com/

Copied from White-Wolf.com:

World of Darkness Novel Contest: Five Winners of Round Two Announced

November 28, 2005 - From an initial field of over a thousand entries, the World of Darkness Novel Contest enters the Final Round with these five winners of Round Two:

Cody Bye
Joshua Alan Doetsch
David Nurenberg
Harley Stroh
Brayton Tompkins

These authors wins prizes of $1000 and the opportunity to complete their World of Darkness novels. The winning novel will be published by White Wolf Inc., though all of the other completed novels will be considered for publication as well.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the other winners of Round One, especially the five authors who finished in places 6th-10th (alphabetically): Christopher Frye, Max Gladstone, Andrew Peregrine, Mary Pletsch and Chad Welch.

Winners entering the Final Round will be contacted directly by contest judge Stewart Wieck, co-founder of White Wolf and co-creator of the World of Darkness.

Thanks for all your thoughts, guys. It’s enough to make an old skull smile.

There was a saying that used to circulate amongst my friends back in college. I only said it once, but if you ascribe to the idea of memes, you know how ideas can have a life of their own. Anyhow, this one has remarkable staying power and still comes back to haunt me on occasion. This is one of those occasions.

It went a little something like this:“Life is too short not to be a hypocrite.”

The idea I was trying to convey was that, in a finite life, standing on principle for principle’s sake can get you into trouble. As far as I know I have one shot at this life. There are good reasons to cling to principles, but just “because” isn’t one of them.

When the world changes, adjust.

Given my current schedule, do I have time to write a novel? Absolutely not. Work is eating up 60+ hours per week, and I’m booked on gaming material through the summer.

So what does one do? Start by waking up at 4 in the morning. Make coffee and write for two hours before going to work. Throw myself into this with all the hungry, desperate passion I can muster. Lean on my friends for editing; skate until I cry. Try not to be this melodramatic in the actual novel. :)

As far as I know this might be my one and only chance to publish a book. I have to crunch words like my life depends on it, because –in a very real sense– my “life” as an author does depend on this.

To be clear, I’m still a ways from selling any book. There are four fantastic writers who are doing their best as well, and only one of us gets the sale. All I can count on is the opportunity to write and to be read.

What a blessing.

One chance. Marks, set, go. Time to write a book.

Yipes. Things just got real busy.

I'm scared and excited, all at once. This deserves more airtime but through all the shock I'm left with just one thought:

I am so damn blessed (!) to have you guys (and gals) as friends.

Hey! A Question!
"So, Harley, I gotta ask, do you ever question whether some of these module ideas would have made a good short story? I think that's one reason why I've held off on jumping into the d20 game design market--every idea I have I would rather explore as a story."

Nah. Remember, I'm only writing dungeon crawls. The reason the modules are so much fun (and easy) is because I can just write really fun scenes (dramatic environs, crazy bad guys, really weird magic) and let the players do the rest. It's candy store writing: show up, drop exciting ideas, get paid, and get out. :)

Anything important that I might have to explore wouldn't really fit into 20,000 words (less stat blocks). All right. Gotta run. See you guys tomorrow!

Just as you were beginning to think I was a chronic liar:
UPCOMING MODULES!

A sale in hand is worth two contests in the bush, neh, choomba?


The sequel to the classic DCC #1: Idylls of the Rat King (written by the brilliant Jeff Quinn). This dungeon was goblin tested and GM approved by game designers Chris and Christine McCoy, and their Knights of the Dinner Table, so if you have a total party kill, it’s their fault. ;)



A Rosolf cover. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He painted the cover to a module writen by some guy named Gygax. The module was entitled “Keep on the Borderlands,” more commonly known as The Caves of Chaos.

Yow.

This is a longer adventure, with some fun, overarching puzzles, goblins on giant bats, a dwarven moonshine still, stolen heirlooms, and a tribute to Gygax’s original. What more could a 1st lvl character ask for?

For the record, I'm one of the luckiest bastards alive. :)


And in other news ...
I hope you all had a safe holiday. Nothing like trying to drive home on a belly full of tofurky.

Heh. Anyhow, I'm in the midst a self-imposed crash deadline. A week and a half to finish a module, start to finish. The good news is I've fallen in love with the idea and theme, making it easier to write than sleep at 1 in the morning. The bad news is I've fallen in love with the idea and need to pull it off a big finish in the next 3k.

Could be a pinch. :)

And in other, OTHER news ...
Spoke with Jeff last night. I should start paying him for therapy. I’ve realized that the WoD is a win/win situation. I have more than enough work to last me from now through August, but I’d hate to turn down the chance to sell a novel.

I did a little calendar magic and blocked out the time to write a book …. BUT, if I get the big bounce, I’ll have more time to work on the upcoming projects and skateboard.

Win/Win.

We’ll see tomorrow. Could be the first time I’m happy to get a rejection. Sleep tight. >:)

Harley: The Eternal Struggle
So yeah. Way to go Stroh. Knock the contest, and then make round 2.5. Round three will be announced Nov 28.

You can find the post here:
http://www.white-wolf.com/fiction/wod.php?line=news&articleid=332

Edit: Out of self-preservation, I'm going to put in some plotting work over Thanksgiving. Just in case.

H Versus the WoD
As of Friday, 7:30 a.m., no word yet on the novel contest. I should be anxious and frustrated, but as I wrote to Jeff in an email, something has changed in me. I’m still eager for the chance to write the book, of course, but it’s different now. Less edge to the emotion, perhaps. Less panicked drive.

I think it has something to do with prior commitments. I have a campaign setting that needs my attention. The words are all there, but – and forgive me for bringing this up – there is a spiritual component as well, a force of will that needs constant exertion lest the project fall to the wayside. If I start to focus on another mammoth project before the first is truly finished, I’ll have failed in my task as a writer.

I’m looking at the last paragraph and it reads like goobly-gook. Out of context, which I don’t have time to provide right now, it doesn’t make much sense. You’ll have to trust me on this one, at least until I can free up the hours to explain it.

Suffice it to say that Harley is a greedy, greedy writer. He wants every project, every spare word he can get. But he also believes, perhaps mistakenly, that everything he works on is imbued with a living spirit of sorts. And if that spirit is neglected, the work suffers for it.

It’s not a matter of getting a project it up to word count. I can do that blindfolded. It’s a matter of investing enough time and energy to ensure that a work is full-bodied, developed, and healthy.

If you’ve read some of my writing, you know that I fail at this on a pretty regular basis. But that’s due to a lack of skill, not for wont of passion, effort or time. Right now I have enough work to take me through to Summer, 2006. I’d jump at the chance for a 1st novel, but baring a major change in lifestyle, it would be negligent and irresponsible to take on a 90k project due in April.

When the rejection comes down I’ll be bummed, for certain, but I’ll also be writing.

PS. To Lara, Jaleigh, and everyone who has clicked over to the WW forums, or checked in on Choose Death because they were thinking about me. You guys are better friends than I deserve.

For me, that’s the real lesson. Thank you. I won’t forget it.

"Ease back,
ease back,
ease back,
'cause he's back..."

Whew. Fastmail is restored, and I think I have all my back mail. But if you sent me a warning about an impending attempt on my life, feel free to resend it.

//H

Martinmas

Tonight our school is celebrating the Feast of Saint Martin, or Martinmas. The Nursery-Kindergarteners, first and second graders have spent all week making lanterns in preparation for their walk tonight.

The school is about 5 miles out of town, so when I flip all the breakers this evening, the grounds will be very, very dark. The children will be led through the woods, their lanterns held high. At the end of their walk they will encounter a roman soldier atop a white stallion, and a beggar, pleading for the soldier’s cloak. The solider slashes his cloak, giving one half to the beggar.

Guess who gets to be the beggar? ;)

It’s a Christian tale, but the story could just as easily be Hindu, Muslim, or any of the other world traditions. What is important is the example of selfless giving, and the experience of following your personal “light.” Even in the dark times of the soul, or so we would like to believe, every human has an inner guide lighting the way. Too often I choose to ignore mine, but it’s there, whether I look for it or not. A candle in the darkness, an innate sense of justice.

So, if you’re in the Colorado Rockies tonight and you come across a beggar on the roadside, think of me as you’re passing by. ;)

Fastmail server #4 ...
is down for emergency service. The new mail is being queued so I'll get your messages by the end of the weekend, but if you need to get in touch with me right away, use the old bagboy address.

//H

Dragons Landing Inn Review


Chuck and Lonnie are two great fellows that run a regular gaming podcast. In episode 17 they were gracious enough to review and recommend both Legacy of the Savage Kings and Iron Crypt of the Heretics. Fun stuff.

If you are a designer/writer, I'd encourage you to drop by the website and send the pair an email. It's a great opportunity to get your products reviewed or to host an interview. In case that I was too subtle, that was a wink, wink, nudge, nudge to Kam, Eric, Jaleigh and Ed --- pimp that WotC ride!

And tell 'em Harley sent you. ;)

In other news ...

A Deathy Shout-Out to the Superfan!

Ben "Superfan" Waxman has completed a series of battlemaps for my DCC modules. These are scaled maps in jpg and pdf format that GMs can use for their games. Print them out at full size for your miniatures, or project them onto a whiteboard, and -tada- instant maps for your game. For those of you that have the Dundjinni program, this is an example of battlemapping at its finest. You can find his awesome work here:

DCC #12.5

DCC #17

Thank you, Superfan! Superfan was also the cat that turned me on to Dragons Landing ... many, many thanks, indeed!

Keith Parkinson, 1958-2005

Be a writer ... or just look like one.
It seemed appropriate that this Halloween have a writing theme. A few minutes with the shaver to accentuate my impending baldness and Harley was Hunter.

Hunter went dancing at the local Thai restaurant, so you all know how that went. If any pictures surface I'll post them for your amusement.

And in other news ...
Despite the lingering disappointment about the WoD, today was not a complete wash. I was hired to write another module for Goodman Games. The trick is that it needs to be done in time for a February convention --- it’s a crunch, but I think it can be done.

So far two of my adventures have been published. That leaves another seven somewhere in production, either being edited or on their way to the printer. My career is sort of the iceberg of d20 publishing.

Heh. Anyhow, Happy Halloween, Choosey Deathers! Thanks for being such great friends to a skull in need.

WoD News

"We were going to announce the five winners of Round Two of the World of Darkness Fiction Contest on Halloween, but the competition is so fierce and the winners so difficult to determine that this announcement has been postponed until November 15th.

(Ok, actually it's just taking the judge a long time to read through the 100 sample chapters from winners of Round One, but those winners don't want the judge to rush, do they?!)

Mark your calendars, because on November 15th we'll begin to share some of the sample chapters we received. See if you agree with the judge's selections."

The original post can be found here.

Have a wonderful Halloween!

~Your friend Grimmy

I know it isn’t about the money ...
...but it's still nice to get that check in the mail. :)

And if any of my other publishers happen to be reading this, I wholeheartedly encourage you to jump on the bandwagon and send Harley his money. Rent is due soon and it is hard to meet deadlines when I can't pay the electricity bill. ;)

Sensei Sez ...

"Dragons hoard everything they can get... Young Dragons even more so."

Laugh. Ain't that the truth.

Thanks for the thoughts, guys.

In my life, I'm trying to find that balance between clawing and screaming my way towards a novel, and a full-hearted gratitude towards you, my publishers, any readers, and the world in general. J.L. got it right when he wrote that one doesn't interfere with the other.

Perhaps equally important, I don’t want anyone to EVER suppose that Harley is better than unpublished writer X, because that simply isn’t true. If there is any discrepancy, it rests solely on the fact that I’ve been clawing at this door since I was twelve. Give me 15 years of your life, and I will make you a published author.

So where am I left? With control of one variable: time. If I miss these 3 chances, I can hang around another 15 years and try again.

But here’s a little secret just between you, me, and the internet. I want ‘em. Bad. Real bad. And if I get just one of these books, I’m buying you all drinks ….

… even if it’s just to kill off a few thousand of your brain cells to lessen the competition in the future. ;)

Not to put too fine a point on it ...
Quick post. Sorry for the brevity.

In five days and some odd hours I should be getting an answer from WW, either a rejection or a go ahead asking for an entire book. There are also the trailing streamers of a Wizards closed call (“We’ll keep you informed.”), and another d20 publisher who asked for a novel proposal. Three shots at a first novel, likely resolved in the next three months.

So.

You might say I’m a little excited and anxious. My wife is sick of seeing me raise my fists to the sky in silent protest. I've left my blood on the skate park, trying to work off steam. I check my email 20 times a day, then forget my password in my anxiety.

Enough, Stroh. If I die walking home today, the tally would read in my favor. I have been fortunate enough to do and write more than I deserve. If I don’t publish another word for as long as I live, I would still need to give thanks for all the words I have published.

I am a fortunate, fortunate man.

So what I really have here is an opportunity to behave like an upright human being. It doesn’t do any good if I preach after getting a book. I have to say it, and live up to it, now. So here is my chance. Let’s see if Harley is enough of a human to meet the task at hand, step up to the edge of the battlements and not crumble before the coming darkness.

I want these books --- badly. I should want to be a good person even more.

From the Desk of Ed Gentry:

Did you know that WW has released the WoD CS, the entire CS in PDF for free?

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_134&products_id=1124
-Ed

Wow! Great find.

To clarify, this isn't the campaign setting, but the rules book. WoD has several interwoven settings (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage) for which a single rule system applies. But to actually roll up a Vampire character you will need to buy the Vampire book.

This doesn't make the rules book any less of a find. (I just downloaded it myself.) When I decided to enter the WW fiction contest, money was tight. After much painful deliberation, I bought the Vampire books and passed up the rules book. (For a novel I needed the fluff more than the rules system.) But now, thanks to Ed and Drive Thru RPG, I have both. :)

Making it to round two was worth $50, pretty much what I spent on the books, so at this point I've broken even with White Wolf. That's pretty much all a gambler – or writer – can hope for. :)

Not that you need any more distractions ….
Steve Jackson Games has an online store they call "Warehouse 23." You can buy my work there, along with a ton of other great gaming material.

But the warehouse is really just a cover. The warehouse has a basement.

This is a facility built to house forces and artifacts humankind was never meant to understand. Unholy artifacts. Alien technology. Weird tomes of lost lore. You get the idea.

The best part is, readers can add to the list.

Now, as writers, you and I are in the business of sellling the nightmares in our own mental basements. So entering them, sans copyright, into an online database is akin to giving pennies away to SJ Games. But there is an allure to this as well, contributing to something that will never come back to "Harley A. Stroh." Essentially, ideas for the sake of ideas.

That, and it’s fun.

So ... What is in the basement?

Countdown to Jeff and Marisa's Anniversary!
...aka Halloween!

...and the White Wolf announcement. ;)

Even if I get the big bounce, I'm excited to see what comes of the novel open call. The World of Darkness is an exciting one these days.

NaNoWriMo;
Or “No Time for Love, Doctor Jones!”

Yep. It's that time of year again. If you haven't heard of the organization/event, the folks at NaNo bill themselves as such:

"National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30."

The point is to drop any inhibitions and simply write. Good, bad, or ugly, you too can be a novelist by the end of next month. Check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/ for support and information.

I've known about these guys ever since Marce turned me on to the event, but I've yet to participate. Something in my gut has always regarded any personal involvement as counterproductive; for better or worse, rich or for poor, I’m here for the long haul. Harley’s Personal Writing needs MORE self-editing, not less.

However, if you’re among the thousands of writers that just need a little kick start, this might be the event for you. For my part, NaNo is certainly something I'd like to do before I die, simply for the experience.

One last note. NaNo is a great organization, but you don't need them to help you write a novel in a month. Any month can be your own personal "XXXXX words or bust!" event. Just a friendly reminder --- it starts and ends with you.

Death From Above!
Or... That Ninja is About to Lose His Pants!

A rousing, Deathy Shout Out to Alex Anderegg, professional game designer/author! His first professional d20 work should be out by GenCon 2006 --- which means the line for his signature starts behind me. ;)

As long as I've known him, Alex has been a better writer, gamer, and human being than I could ever hope to be. He's rescued me from coffee shop dates gone horribly awry, fought me off during violent sleepwalking episodes, indulged my narcissistic skate videos, led the construction of a trebuchet, hung from my climbing belt while I clung to a wall dressed as a ninja --- you get the idea.

Alex and I did some design work for fun a few years ago, never expecting that either of us could get paid for playing games. Seeing a friend be published is as good, if not better, then getting published yourself. Congrats, Alex! It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to do the playtesting.

And if you're reading this, Alex, I haven't given up:

Crash helmet. Ring of fire. Shopping cart.

Email Down
It sounds like Comcast took a serious hit in Denver; I'm offline until that changes.

//H

Goals for the Weekend
Maybe Thursday, noon, is too early to be thinking about the weekend, or maybe it reflects the tone of this work week. Regardless:

1. Finalize two module proposals for the Project. That's 44k due by January-ish, but earlier would be better.

2. Give thanks for the fact that I'm living the life that Harley, the child, never would have imagined. I'm getting paid to write modules?!

3. Re-sketch the maps for Mike’s campaign setting.

4. Attend a ska/punk show down in town.

5. Forget that I'm still waiting to hear back about the book. (See EC's Guide to Success in Publishing, rule #2012.)

6. Forget that the White Wolf novel announcement is just around the corner.

7. Fall down on concrete with friends until I accomplish #s 5 & 6.

8. Rethink the purpose of Choose Death. Nobody needs to hear about Harley's weekend plans --- write about something that matters, damnit!

If I don’t have time to post, have a wonderful weekend! Be safe, know that you are loved, and take a fall for me. If you should see an old man sitting on the street corner with some graph paper and a skateboard, you know who he is!

Barbeque on the Half Pipe!
This weekend I had the chance to help out with a local skate jam. I showed up early to sweep the park, then hung out to skate with the kids. We old men gave lessons, parents barbequed veggie burgers and hotdogs, and a good time was had by all. I’ve got a bit of a limp from trying to land a gap between two half pipes, but that’s what you get for showing off for photographers.

It is always good to be reminded of how much I take walking for granted. Seriously.

Harley: Danger Mouse

A couple of years ago, my friends and I found a recipe for Hollywood stunt glass. You can find the recipe in issue #4 of TIN, a zine I used to help out with.

But I digress ... stunt glass.

Being boys, we needed to put this knowledge to use. We destroyed a countertop in the process but after an afternoon of cooking we had a small, 2 foot by 2 foot pane.

We had the glass. All we needed was a reason to break it.

Unable to craft a stunt glass windshield, we quickly realized that skateboarding through the glass was the obvious next best option.

The glass project became the impetus behind an amateur skate video. Emphasis on amateur. This isn’t going to get anyone sponsored, and that was never the intent. The video was made for fun, between friends, and by that standard it was successful several times over.

Plus, it has Harley falling through a pane of glass.

Here is a brief excerpt of our movie: Old Men Falling Down. (Give her a minute or two to load. You might even want to save it to your hard drive so you can enlarge the picture)

Be warned: there is profanity in the last 5 seconds, and there is a lot of Harley falling down without a helmet. My skating has improved dramatically since we shot this footage, but the most dramatic change is that now I always wear a helmet.

Always.

If I’m going to try to make a living as a writer, my brain is my biggest asset.

(Funny how my biggest asset has such a knack of getting me into trouble.)

Regardless: Don’t be dumb like Harley. Protect that noggin’ kids!

This movie is in QuickTime format. Click here if you need the QuickTime plugin.


Special Thanks to: Spackle, Phlegm and Noise for patiently filming the movie, and for their help in the digital conversion. Couldn't have done it without them!

Calling All Freelance Designers!
This info is from Kam's Blog, which means you've probably already read it since everyone who reads Choose Death reads Pens and Swords. (Of course, the reverse is NOT true.)

Regardless, Wizards is hosting a rolling open call for short d20 adventures. No deadline + short word count = great chance to get published by the big guys.

I'm overbooked at the present, but I heartily encourage anyone with a little spare time to design a quick adventure. You could do it this weekend and submit it on Monday.

The original posting is here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20050930b

Start the Presses!

The campaign setting formerly known as the Frontier Fantasy Setting has been submitted for publication. This is a big deal because, had you been hanging out on Wizards boards back when MoP was still up for grabs, you would have seen a wild-eyed Canadian dreaming up his own setting.

Of course, you would have seen about one hundred other writers trying to do the same thing.

But one of them stuck with it. And found some friends to help him out. And wrote waaaaay too much, was rejected, then accepted, then black balled from the internet, came back under an alias, was deported from the country, and forced to move to a small, dung-hut, in a third world neighborhood in a first world country, and ...

If you recognize the above writing style, then you know I'm talking about the one and only Mike Wallace. Love him or hate him, the underdog is on top, and his work is headed to print.

So, once and for all:

A Big Deathy Shout out to Mike, Chris and Chrissy!

500 Words and Climbing
One of the nice things about having a BIG project is that it forces me to write every day, no exceptions. I began with a goal of 500 words per night, triple that on the weekdays.

No big accomplishment there. If you’ve ever held yourself to a writing schedule, you know that this isn’t all that ambitious. Most the pros you know crank out a thousand plus in a sitting, and before this post is finished it will be near 300 words. But with workdays consistently stretching to 12+ hours (did a 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. stretch on Tuesday), and filial responsibilities at home, getting in a few hours to write can be a major accomplishment.

Surprisingly – and this is a testament to my ignorance of that wonderful machine, the human being – it has become really easy to break 500 words. What used to take 2 hours, fell to an hour and a half, and then an hour. On a good evening I can kiss H good night and then get another thousand words done before crashing.

Caveat: some nights are better than others. Last night I fell asleep sitting upright at the computer.

Anyhow, the real benefit of this process has been discipline. All through college I considered myself a writer, but I was lucky to write just on the weekends. By contrast, averaging 6ish thousand a week puts me at 15 weeks or 4 months to complete a rough draft of a 90k word project.

The fun part is, anyone can do it. A-n-y-o-n-e. Sit down for a couple hours every night, do it for 5 months and viola, you’ve written a novel!

I’m still trying to reconcile the math in my own mind, but the every morning there's the proof: another 700 words. Let’s hope some of them are good ones.


P.S. I'm interested in hearing how the pros do it. Ed, Erik, Jaleigh, Kam, E.C.? Any anecdotes to share?

P.P.S. *laugh* I forgot the original intent of my post. This weekend H is going rafting with the girls from work. For me that equates to 48 straight hours of eating meat, falling down on concrete and writing! Woot!

Son of Flame, Son of Hak

The short story Son of Flame, Son of Hak*, will be included in the Blackmoor softcover corebook. The first half of the story was released as a free download on the Zeitgeist Games website ; this will be the first time that the entire story is available in print.

It's also the first time my fiction has appeared in a book with an Elmore cover. Milestone, that one.


Next!
I'm expecting a rejection to come down the pike this week or the next. It was a closed call for a novel, so it will hurt a little more than the generic rejections I get all the time.

Whatever. Rejections build character. They're part of the unwritten contract we all agreed to when we decided to be writers.

The important part is to dispell any notion that Harley is a made man. It's easy for me to post a bunch of covers and pretend like the rejections don't keep coming, but that would be a disservice to the community. The fewer illusions the better.

For the record: I'm still a peon, I'm still a hack, I'm still crunching away, just like you.

And I'm loving it. :)



*This is officially my best title yet. I'm ping-bombing anyone who mentions ***** Chrome. >:)

Okay. So you all know about Kameron Franklin, celebrated author of Maiden of Pain.

But have you checked out Jaliegh Johnson, Ed Gentry, and Erik Scott de Bie?

All three are working on new Wizards novels, books that will deepen and broaden the scope of the Forgotten Realms. A good sleuth could pick up quite a bit hanging out around their sites.

The Cavalry Arrives
A big, Deathy Thanks is due once again to the Knights of the Patio: Chris, Chrissy and Co. They just finished play testing another module, completing it in record time. I realized yesterday that – aside from seeing the actual work in print – reading their comments and getting feedback on the adventure is my favorite part of the process.

EC brought up the importance of community many moons ago, and my own experience has born out her thesis. I’m flat out bad about keeping up with friends. That needs to change. We’ll see.

But enough of the mopey melancholy. Thank you, Chris, Chrissy and Co. for a job well done! See you at GenCon, 2006!

White Wolf Update
The second round winners of the White Wolf Novel Contest will be announced on October 31. Fitting and fun. As an added bonus, Halloween has always been a favorite holiday, especially since Jeff and Marissa's wedding. :)

The contest schedule has been backed up a bit, and allows six months for the completion of the book. Since I'm drowning in work and fighting to find time for my own writing, this is great news. If --- on a long shot --- I made the second cut, it would be a bummer to have to pass. As it stands things are pretty tight until March, but I'm sure that, given the chance, I could squeeze a book in there.

I mean, you would, wouldn't you?

To be clear, I'm a long shot. But that is what this industry is about. We're all long shots. The plan is to keep shooting until something eventually dies...

More on this later. I hope you are all doing well, writing well, and taking the time to fall down on concrete (or an appropriately inappropriate activity). Till then!

Six String Samurai Headmaster

Little time to post, but let it be known that after a lightning strike to the school, a teacher and a bus driver quitting over the summer, malfunctioning fire alarms triggered by a second lightning strike …

The Six String Samurai looks like I feel.

If you haven’t checked out the movie, do so!

Thank goodness for writing weekends!

Harley’s Guide to Celebrity Stalking
or … Mr. Little meets Mr. Big

Photo courtesy of Jeff LaSalla


GenCon Log: 4:30, Saturday afternoon.

I’m sitting at my booth like a good writing-monkey, happily making small talk with the folks passing by the Goodman Games booth. Like promised here, no lines.

Enter Dave “the Man” Arneson. Tired from a late night of live action gaming and from signing autographs on the floor, he was looking for a place to rest his feet, and the Blackmoor booth (home to Dave’s campaign setting, the longest running D&D campaign world) was as good as any other.

So, in an instant it changes from a quiet signing, to sitting with one of the pioneers of the genre. I had my old Blackmoor pamphlet book and the newer Blackmoor setting book in my bag, ready for signatures, just like any proper fanboy should. But in that split second I saw that Dave was literally exhausted, so – like any good Legend of the Five Rings geek – I made my decision in seven breaths.

I left my Blackmoor gaming material in the bag, and treated Dave with the respect due any other human being, albeit a very tired human being. Instead of hitting him with a thousand and one questions, we sat quietly and had a chat. Jaleigh Johnson stopped by, Alex Anderegg checked in, and we all had a cordial, very amusing conversation with the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons.

A signature versus a human relationship. Easy choice, really.

Before you start to worry about Harley turning in his fanboy club card, it should be noted that the minute my signing was finished and I was released from the table, I sprinted over to Jeff to see if he got a picture.

It’s good to keep everything in perspective. :)

By the way, if you are looking for the quintessential GenCon photo, go no further than Jeff’s splash page.

I should preface this by noting that I’ve never been to GenCon before. Boarding the plane and flying out from Denver, I was a little worried that I had become too jaded of an adult to enjoy a convention; that by having not attended as a child, I had squandered the real magic of the event. I drank my coffee, marveled at a thunderstorm outside the plane window, and wondered if the awestruck child in Harley could ever be recaptured.

Foolish, foolish, boy.

This year Wizards/Hasbro is pushing the latest edition of Axis and Allies. The first thing you see when you walk into the showroom was a battlefield complete with tanks, jeeps, an army bunker and the ruins of a three-story bombed out church, smack in the center of the arena.

Impressed with the replicas, I reached beneath one jeep and … peeled off some rust.

It wasn’t a diorama. Wizards had brought in actual tanks and jeeps and bunkers to the city center of Indianapolis.

For a game.

It only got bigger from there.

Entire ballrooms dedicated to war gaming. 24-hour anime rooms. Easley, Elmore and all the new 3.5 artists chatting with fans and selling original artwork. Shaking hands with Phil Athans at the Salvatore signing (and Phil sneaking us out some freebies!). Sitting with Dave Arneson at my signing (photos coming). And seeing the hundreds of cutting-edge games being demo’d on every side.

I’d love to say that I walked in and owned the place. After all, I'm a "published" game designer right? I was the one doing the signing.

The naked truth was that I walked in and was awed into a gibbering idiot. In Northern America it just doesn’t get any bigger than this.

Ignore all the hype. GenCon is bigger than any hype.

If you ever plan on coming, come for weekend. Even if you are only an incidental gamer, there is too much to see to do it all in a day. Otherwise, you just won’t sleep. (Maybe you won’t sleep either way, but it is worth giving yourself the chance.) I spent 16+ hours in the con, didn't see a single seminar, barely hung out with Ed, Lara, Jeff or Marisa, and still didn't have the time to see everything.

Personal Highlights
-Meeting Jaleigh Johnson, up and coming Wizards novelist, at my “signing.” (I still owe you one. Just when you least expect it …)

-Seeing people actually buying something I’ve written. Boggle.

-Seeing Ed spend the first bit of his Wizards advance on his fiancé.

-Spending time with the Goodman Games crew. They treated me (and my friends) like VIPs even though we were nobodies. That’s pretty darn impressive.

-Chatting with Dave “I co-authored Dungeons and Dragons” Arneson.

-The mysterious El Presidente.

-Seeing the reprint of my Zeitgeist Games fiction!

-Riding through downtown Indianapolis hidden in the bed of a home-brewed pickup truck.

-Cheering every time Goodman Games was mentioned during the The Gamers: Dorkness Rising preview.

-Hanging out with Ruth and Jess from the Rich Burlew (a.k.a. Order of the Stick) booth.

Big Deathy shoutouts are due to whole casts of folks, but the music is already playing, so I’ll try to keep it short. Big Deaths to Goodman Games & Zeitgeist Games, Ed, Lara, Jeff, Marisa, Phil, Dave, Jaleigh, and anyone who bought a module or source book. Thank you!

The biggest, Deathiest shoutout goes to Alex Anderegg, who acted as my personal guide, chauffer, bodyguard and all around “Did you just see that?!” man. He also was extremely tolerant of the mysterious El Presidente. You can’t ask much more of a friend.

Alex dropped me off at the airport on Sunday, but my plane had been overbooked. Like a castle falling from the sky, my weekend was about to get real ugly.

I dashed down to the gate only to find I had been bumped up to first class. As we jetted out of Indy, I toasted the city's skyline with my free wine and marveled at the magic of this life.

Was it worth dropping writing for a 36 hour, no sleep, geek frenzy weekend?

I'm already booking my flight for next year, and I hope to see you there.

Wizards Cabal

On a much, much lesser note, Zeitgeist Games released some of my fiction in their first source book. You’ve probably read it already, but it is always nice to see it in print.

GEN CON INDY

I'll be doing a signing at the Goodman Games booth on Saturday, from 4:00 p.m. to whenever. If you're there, drop on in --- I'd love to put faces to all the names. :)

Unprofessional Aside
Prior to my signing will be Dave Arneson.

Maybe you’ve heard of him.

Let’s examine this, because it is just plain silly:
1. Harley gets to go to Gen Con?!
2. Harley gets to do a signing?!
3. Harley gets to sit in the same seat as Dave Arneson?!

Just plain silly.

Good thing I’m going on several hours after Dave --- it could get a little painful to watch the stream of his dedicated fans trickle down to just my friends hanging out around the booth. Have no fear, I fully understand my place in the food chain.

So ... bring some coffee and come to hang out! I promise there won’t be a line. :)

Iron Crypt of the Heretics

Thanks to Jeff to pointing this one out! You'd think the writer would know when his own product is being previewed. Sheesh. (Those are Mordenkainen's Hip Boots of Warming, by the way. ;) )

A big playtesting thank you is owed to both Alex and Lara, and their respective gaming troupes. The Iron Crypt went through several development cycles and owes much of its polish to their playtesting critiques. Worse, Lara's group found certain portions extremely frustrating --- thank you for your patience, Ms. Gose!

...and meanwhile
I was just sent the cover image for Into the Wilds, painted by one of the classic TSR artists.

Man, I love my night job.

The Howling Delve!
... an upcoming Realms novel by up-and-coming WotC novelist, Jaleigh Johnson! Many well deserved congrats!

Make nice now, and maybe she'll sign our copies a few years from now. ;)

The Other Living Boy in New York
As an aside, I had the chance to spend some time with Jeff a couple of weeks ago, and he is a fantastic human being. Once again I find myself blessed with the company of friends that force me to rise to a higher standard.

Only Living Boy in New York ...
Leaves.
Internet dead-zone for the next 5 days. See you all in Colorado!

Newsflash: Neversfall!
...the upcoming novel by Ed Gentry!

Hurrah!

Get all the dirt at edgentry.com!

Yay, Ed!

Busy
Busy, busy, busy.

An additional 25k was added to the Campaign Setting, so I shanghaied a couple drunken sailors into my merry pirate band.

Week 3 in New York. It’s good to be closer to the ley line between Cunningham and Salvatore, but I’m starting to really miss my family. Heather, brother, parents and friends. And to demonstrate the principle of melancholy’s love for melodrama, I’ve been playing “Only Living Boy in New York” on repeat.

Heh. What a geek. The thought makes me smile.

It is good to have work.
It is good to have family to miss.

Miss you, love you, see you soon!

//H

Midnight ...
...again?

More than coffee to keep them awake, writers need something that will let them sleep.

New England Magic
I’m not one for humidity, but it is hard not to fall in love with murky bogs and fireflies hovering amid ancient trees. Life is simply more dense here, and makes for a critical mass that allows magic to seem much more plausible. Life, piled upon life, accreting like layers of soil. Even the darkness seems thicker than in the West, a thing alive.

Faeries?

Absolutely.

Trolls?

Down by the swamp, atop the log with the toadstool.

Mind the children. ;)

“But when the Night had thrown her pall
Upon that spot, as upon all,
And the mystic wind went by
Murmuring in melody-
Then–ah then I would awake
To the terror of the lone lake."

An excerpt from
THE LAKE. TO --
by Edgar Allan Poe,
1827

Sneak in a quick 30
I was offered the great chance to write a sequel to a classic module, so I’m sneaking in an extra 30,000 words over the next 2 months. I’m finally starting to feel confident with the genre; that’s a nice feeling. It’s also pretty darn fun to type a title with the full knowledge that the work is headed to print. So long as White Wolf doesn’t show up looking for a book about vampires, I shouldn’t have too much trouble turning the projects in ahead of deadline.

In the same vein, Iron Crypt of the Heretics is due out next month, at Gen Con. After seeing the art and production of Legacy, I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing the art to IC. I love seeing what the artists come up with. :)

For Sale, Sold
A pair of authors I know recently had their works altered by their publishers. Nothing terribly damning in either case, but both serve as a good reminder of the foundation of our business. Namely, we are selling our works; as soon as the check hits the bank, the publisher is free to do as he or she will with the work. (There are legal intricacies that I’m ignoring, but you get the idea.)

This reinforces the importance of selling your work to folks you trust. A good relationship won’t prevent every bad experience, but it can go a long way to preventing hard feelings. There is the temptation to sell our writing to anyone willing to scrap together some cash (I still fall into this category), but a little discernment can go a long way.

What’s the Latin for “Let the Seller beware” ?

What Are You Doing?
A Blog for Kelly
If given the choice between publicly declaring that I’m a writer, or running naked down a busy interstate, you can be sure that I would come back with a sunburn on my bum. Acknowledging that I’m a writer, that I’m actively trying to take up your finite hours with these stories, is tough for me.

For better or worse, I’m currently studying in program that focuses on personal development, with the idea being that if you can understand yourself better, it will be much easier to manage the staff working beneath you.

Fine. No problem there.

The trouble comes in when you spend 18+ hours/day with your fellow students. Writing is a big piece of my life, and it would undermine the process not to acknowledge that piece.

And of course, it doesn’t help that I sit down right after dinner in the group dining room, flip open the lap top and “go to work” every evening. Eventually these highly intelligent people are going to put one and two together and pop the big question.

So, yes, for anyone reading that isn’t familiar with my work, I write fantasy stories and setting material for a couple different role-playing games.

Why this is such a big hurdle me, I’m not sure. In fact, as any of my old friends can attest, it is more of a wall than a hurdle. A sheet wall with loops of razor wire and glass shards sprinkled on the top.

Get over it, already, Harley, you obnoxious, whiny, brat. You get paid to write escapist fiction and love every minute of it. Be done with this piece and move on.

There, see? Was that so hard? Personal development happening right before your eyes.

Whence the Elven Bard?
It looks like ECs blog is down again. As a dedicated reader but occasional poster, I'm going to leave the link up for a bit, just in case.

Shrink Wrap
My earliest memories of being able to buy my own gaming material was in fourth grade, back when Toys-R-Us still carried the TSR lines. I would save up for weeks to buy modules, and then savor opening the shrink wapped plastic. The sound and smell of crinkly plastic came to signify everything I loved about fantasy worlds --- that brief moment after opening, when the contents of the package (unread) were still perfect in my mind.

Today is my birthday. I picked up mail from the small mountain town post office and found a package from Goodman Games. A check and author copies of Legacy.

And damn if it wasn't shrink wrapped.

Deadline: July 8
Every birthday I make plans to send all my friends presents thanking them for all that they've given me over the years. Every year it gets a little too busy and I miss my deadline/run out of materials/can't find enough clay skulls.

I've managed to miss it again, so please forgive a public thank you. You people are the best.

Maybe next year ...

SK Etttera


I'm flogging a dead horse at this point, but let me point out one last time how incredible it is to see Jim Holloway spending finite hours of his life illustrating something I wrote.

I mean, this is the guy that illustrated Rose Estes' Mountain of Mirrors!

There. I've finally burned off any lingering illusions of professional dignity. >:)

Perhaps best of all, this module was as a lark, written as a gift for my dear friend Alex. I didn't have a gaming group at the time, and was living vicariously through his group. (How's that for passivity? Listening to stories about other people pretending to do stuff.) It was written for fun, with no hope of ever being sold.

I'd love to sign off with the moral "Do what you love and eventually it will work out," but that’s more than a little intellectually irresponsible. The truth is I got lucky; many folks (with much more talent than I’ll ever have) suffer their entire lives without being recognized.

But have no fear, gentle reader! Grimbones won’t let you down. Even if I can’t fall back on our culture’s happy-go-lucky cliché, I can promise this much:

If we try, we'll probably fail.

If we don’t try, we will certainly fail.

Me, I’ll try my luck. Choose Death. >:)

Art from the Legacy of the Savage Kings!


The name "Jim Holloway" may not mean much to most of the world, but those of us that played WAY too much AD&D (or Paranoia, or Oriental Adventures...) all know his name. It is an honor to have a Holloway illustration gracing a module I wrote.

*boggle* This is the best gig a geek could have.

I understand if you don't get it --- if it looks old and cludgey to you. That's cool. You just had to be there.

But for those of you who have been around, you know that Old School never felt so good. I am not worthy.

Fan Love
Kameron's Maiden of Pain is the focus of this month's book club over at Worlds of D&D. I haven't had a chance to keep up on all of the topics, but a quick scan turned up a few criticisms noting that the novel wasn’t dark enough. Fans want dark fantasy, the posters reasoned, so why won’t authors and editors answer the market demand?

I can understand the complaint, but for better or worse, our Realms novels are all PG-13. Unless you are a parent, you might forget just how young 13 is. (And unless you are 13, you have probably forgotten just how savvy 13-year olds can be, but that is a topic for another post.)

Assaulting the novel because it isn’t dark fantasy is like complaining that it doesn’t have enough Jedi or Ewoks. That’s not the book Kam was hired to write.

I understand that this sort of criticism comes with the territory. When you accept that royalty check you are also accepting a role as a public figure. And I know dozens of writers that would sell pounds of flesh for the chance to write a book and be faulted on-line. Still, it’s hard to see it happen to a friend.

On the Road Again
H is back on the East Coast helping out her family, so I'm on the road for a long weekend of writing and skating. This lifestyle has become something of an addiction: no phone, no obligations, just friends to see, worlds to write and concrete to fall down on. I can't tell you where I'm sleeping, but with a pickup truck and a tent, I'm not too worried about it.

If any of you ever catch me complaining about my life, slap me.*



*As I'm typing this, I'm wondering if that last sentence came off a little too “My life is so cool that you must hate yours.” Just in case my meaning might be misconstrued, let me clarify by simply noting that I’m thankful for all I’ve been given. I’m no more talented or brilliant than the next writer (and my spelling is worse than most). If my finite career is a tribute to anything, it’s a testament to dogged, single-minded persistence. So go forth and write.

I love my life and I hope yours is just as fantastic.


From the "My Life Is Cool ...
Just found out who will be painting the cover to "Into the Wilds." There are handful of TSR artists I idolized as a child. Having one illustrate a work of mine is just plain silly.

....and Yours is Too, Damnit" file
Erik got the green light on this second Realms novel! Cheers!

Now if there rest of us would just hear if we've been bumped. Erin? Collins? Jaliegh? <--- Never mind, good money says she got one. >:)

Why I Think You’re a Rock Star
Our culture makes it really easy to be passive. This isn’t entirely bad --- for instance, it makes it possible for chumps like to me sell to writing --- but it can’t be denied that given the choice between sitting down a watching a movie, or sitting down and writing a screen play, most of us are going to choose to be passive.

Again, this isn’t all bad. It’s not like I’ve recorded any songs for my ipod recently. But it does highlight why you are a rock star: in a culture where passivity is encouraged, the mere act of creation is worthy of praise.

You had the choice and decided to take the difficult route. You’ve chose to risk failure and ridicule. You chose to create.*

The result may not have been a work of genius, but it is yours. And if you keep writing (composing, painting, coding, whatever) eventually you will get good. It’s part of our contract --- despite the universes’ insatiable drive for entropy, humans get better at the things they practice. We build things up.

So despite the universe, our culture, and that Xbox in the living room, you stepped up to the plate and made something happen. That’s pretty impressive.

Now, if you’ll forgive me, I’ve been stalling for too long. Time to write.




*Endnote that I found amusing. I’ve been talking about constructive criticism and the power of creation. Now imagine the sort of complaints God gets (he/she/it, depending on your belief system, or lack thereof). That guy must be so fed up. ;)

Jaleigh Johnson...
has a Live Journal now at

http://www.livejournal.com/users/jaleigh_johnson/

Go on and check it out. :)

Hey Harley, now that you've finished the WoD submission ...
Don't forget to send it in!!!

Sheesh.

Into the Wilds
Finally turned in the manuscript for "Into the Wilds." At 31.5k, it came out just over the goal of 30,000 words. It’s not a terrible infraction, but it stings a little since the usual modules are 24,000 words. I asked for the extension when I took the job and still went over count. Frustrating.

Fortunately, the publisher has been good about finding room for me. Certainly not a habit I want to cultivate, though.

And, again, a deep heartfelt thanks to the McCoy family for all their help. It's only a matter of time before they'll too busy selling their own stories to playtest mine, so I appreciate them taking time out on my behalf.

Embarrassment of Riches
I’ve always done my best to never turn down a writing contract. That changed yesterday.

The contract was for 20-25k words of d20 source book fluff. I would have loved to take the job but I just couldn’t promise that I’d have it done in time. Between the d20 World project and the potential for a Vampire novel, I just didn’t have the time.

Like a lot of you, I’m in that nebulous gray zone between full-time freelance writer and starving unknown author. I work days, write nights, and my schedule can only accommodate so much freelance work. You find yourself trapped in this very narrow space where you can’t make the jump to full-time freelance because your part-time gigs aren’t bringing in enough money, BUT you can’t take more gigs, because you are only writing part-time.

And … I don’t even have kids yet! (Applauds Kam, Elaine and Marce.)

As frustrating as the situation may be, it also has its benefits:

First and most important: Discipline. In between work, cooking, and sleeping you MAKE yourself write. During college I wrote when I felt moved. Nowadays I don’t have time to wait for my muse to show up, so I write before work, after dinner, on the bus, and whenever else I have a spare fifteen minutes.

The best part is, your muse learn to start showing up, latte in hand, for even those brief flashes. That little fairy is trainable.

Secondly, you learn Clarity. My writing used to meander like a drunken boxer. And, for better or worse, it still does. But I’m getting better. Promise.

Thirdly, Discernment. This one is a bit tricky. Some publishers pay better than others, and when you’re trying to decide between taking a 5k project for a reputable publisher or a 40k project for a publisher that has trouble paying its writers on time, chances are you’ll go with the smaller, but reliable, project.

That last one is tough for us wee-folk. After all, we need to be hungry --- and thankful --- for every single publishing house that is willing to give us some space on the marquee. At the same time, you need to know what you’re worth, and expect nothing less.

Sorta like being in love.

A Big Deathy Shout-Out...
To Mike and Chris. After years of hard work, the Frontier Fantasy Project will finally be published. For those of you who don't spend your free tiime hanging out on the Wizards boards, I can tell you that Mike began the Frontier project right about the same time as the Maiden of Pain contest. (You still might be able to find early drafts of the work on the Wiz boards.)

Their sucess is a joy to witness, since I've been lurking around the project since its inception. From humble beginnings, to a d20 triumph, and they've earned every bit.

Congrats, Mike and Chris!

You're 5 pounds lighter in print.
Goodman games just sent me the proof maps for "Iron Crypt of the Heretics," their Gen Con special. And --- thanks to some incredibly talented cartographers --- they look great.

Funny thing is this: you, me, and every other shy kid on the block have been drawing these same maps since we were in elementary school. It is amazing the difference the art makes.

Wheel keeps on turnin'
Tonight I'm teaching my roomate's son how to roll up a d20 character.

Do you remember that day? I do.

6/19 ettera...
d20 word count is up to 30k (out the 150 goal) ... and H cried herself to sleep on Father's Day.

Moral of this after-school special: writing can wait, and love your parents while they are still here, folks.

Dragons by Firelight
H and I just got back from an 8 day camping trip. A sprint through the American Southwest (the setting for my WoD proposal), followed up by a wine tasting evening hosted by Spackle and Chernobyl Spice. Great way to spend out anniversary.

There is great free camping near Santa Fe and Taos. I was able to spend most of my evenings reading source material for the d20 World by the campfire, highlighting passages as I went. I started mapping out the world and trying to make all the pieces fit. Now I’m going back through the material, collecting the notes by chapter, and working up maps of the world.

Happy Fathers Day, Dads!
Me, I'm pretty damn lucky. After the obligatory teenage clashes, my relationship with my father has only gotten better with each passing year.

But for those of you with especially challenging relationships with your fathers, or for those of you whose fathers have passed, I wish you the best in sorting out those feelings.

To Forge a World
Or Thank Goodness for the Office Copier
Tonight I’m staring at – literally – several hundred pages of source material for my largest d20 project to date. The stacks are the sum of twenty-odd authors, each having their own vision of heroic fantasy. My job is to give it form, a structure and a cohesion, that will allow d20 players to traipse from one to the next.

J.L., who has also had experience working with d20 publishers, asked if I’m the sole author responsible for all 150,000 words. Thankfully the answer is “no,” but I will be the sole fool responsible for bringing the works together. The raw material, the ore of the imagination, is all before me – now I’m the lucky punk who gets to forge the parts into a believable whole.

This project has very little to do with actual writing. It is more of a GMing exercise – perhaps the GMing exercise, making the discordant and divergent appear to be part of a greater plan. That’s the GM’s cardinal lie: “No really, I planned this all from the start.”

And in a sense, it isn’t a lie … in every game I run, I do plan on fudging, faking, cheating and improvising from the start. Mike Wallace calls it “jazz” GMing, but I don’t want to give jazz a bad name. ;)

Tonight it begins: the reading, highlighting, dog-earing, and more reading. That, and the search for the mother of all expanding folders.

Good stuff. If I could meet the Harley of 20 years ago and tell him that he’d get to do this project, he’d never believe me. Of course, he’d secretly hope for the chance, anyway. He’s a shy sort of kid. :)

Anyhow, I haven’t had much chance to check in on my friends lately. I hope you are all doing well. Kam’s book is out, and should be shattering sales records. Eric’s book is up for pre-sale and should be doing the same. Ian sold a story, and Chrissy too. All in all, it is a good time to be a young writer.

Back to the pile. Write well tonight and let me know how your projects are coming along.

Kameron Franklin Book Signing
From Pens and Swords:

"Saturday, June 18, 2005, 7pm
Book Signing
@ Vancouver Borders (164th & Mill Plain)

I will be signing copies of Maiden of Pain and Realms of the Dragons II. The store will have copies of both books on hand for purchase."

You should all be there! I'll get a map quest image (and clean up this post with some links) when I have the time tonight ...

Life Is Too Short
My last few commissioned works have all been gaming modules. A few months ago I promised myself that I was going to take some time off from d20 work and devote myself to writing straight fiction – no source books, no module work. Straight fiction for fiction’s sake.

Last night I received an email calling for a 100+thousand word d20 product --- essentially a book length gaming project.

So much for abstinence.

Contracts aren’t signed yet, so nothing is set in stone. But the chance to work on something of this magnitude is a powerful lure. It will mean putting down the fiction pen for another 7 months or so … but when I find myself worrying about it, I just think back to another example of game designers-turn-authors: Hickman and Weiss.

The truth is, I’m lucky just to have the opportunity to write d20 adventures. This was never anything I thought that I would get the chance to do, and I certainly never thought I might get paid for it. (And all it took was one rogue submission. If any gamers are reading this, I heartily encourage you to query your favorite publisher --- it’s easy, fun, and there are few things better than getting paid to write games.)

In a moment that gets quoted far more than it deserves, I once said to a friend, “Life is too short to not be a hypocrite.”

This wasn’t meant to inspire a moral free-for-all. What I meant was that clinging to a principle simply for the sake of it being a principle is silly. If the situation changes, and your judgment doesn’t hold true, maybe it is time to change your judgment.

A week ago I was determined to limit myself to writing fiction. Now it looks like I’ll be writing gaming material for a bit longer.

Lousy hypocrite. :)

Fear the Google
Hey RotDIIs ("Rotdewies"?) ....

We're all listed on O-Love's Realms site. I've admired Olaf's work for a while, so its kinda fun to be a minor part of it. :)

There's Always Tomorrow
Up late, working on the first 4k for the WoD novel contest.

There are times when you can't sleep because you accomplished nothing in the course of the day.

Then the are times when you can't sleep because whatever you are working on is just plain fun. This is one of those times.

As a teen I worked as an actor in the Colorado Ren Fest. Our faire ran for 7 weekends --- 14 short days --- and I remember recognizing that they were finite, and that I had to try to make them last.

That's how I feel tonight. I know it's finite, I know it won't always be this good, but right now it is great. I know you can all identify with this feeling, and the recognition that it is fleeting. What a shame we have to wake up the next morning and go on with life.

Here is to all of you. May you one day be able wake up and start doing what you love where you left it off the night before.

Hmm. With syntax like that, it might be time for bed. :)

Bow to the Knights
A big Deathy Shout Out to the Knights of the Patio for their patented speed playtesting. They managed a one night (?!) turnaround of my longest module to date, and they managed to proof it twice.

So thank you, Chris, Chrissy, and Company. I remain in your debt.

Present: Tense

The rumors proved true, and it turns out that there is not another Harley Stroh struggling to make a career writing shared world fiction. Due to some clerical error, I made the Round 1 cut in the World of Darkness fiction contest. Chapter 1 is due June 30th.

As per the suggestions laid out in the WWECD? Guide to Success in Shared World Publishing, I’ve been reading all the World of Darkness material I can get my grubby hands on. Presently I’m reading A Hunger Like Fire, by Greg Stolze, the first novel in the new WoD line. This is the flagship book, against which all others will be measured and judged.

A guess what?

It was written in present tense.

Like a lot of other fledgling writers, I’ve always harbored a guilty affection for ol’ PT. I’m sure you're familiar with all the arguments for and against its use. I won’t list them here, but if you have any thoughts of your own, I welcome them.

In my own experience as a reader, the question is largely moot. By the time you get to page 50, your brain has adapted, and the prose no longer seems any more “immediate” nor “awkward,”* which raises another question: if the reader’s brain is going to adapt anyway, why bother using it?

But, thankfully, better minds than mine will sort this out. I’ve been given the freedom, for better or for worse, to write a novel (or, at least the first chapter of a novel) in present tense.

Fun.







*Immediate and awkward. Sounds like my sort of gig. ;)

I don't deserve ...
You guys (and gals). For a bunch of people --- most of whom I've never "met" --- you guys are amazing. Thank you so much for your friendship, it means the world to me.

Vampire: The Time to Sit Down and Crank Out a Chapter. Pronto!
Heh. For the record, it is a little silly to click on to your own blog, read everybody else's posts, and find out about open calls, but there you have it.

I'm on the road, headed home for good, and you guys bring me the news. It doesn't get much more fun than that. Thank you very much. :)

Deadline for Chap 1: June 30th (?). Slow kid better sit down and hustle. Fortunately, a wise woman in Rhode Island once counseled me to recycle old work ... A few years ago I wrote the best 1/2 page of my life, but had nowhere to put it. (The rest of the aborted "book" quickly melted down.) Now it has home!

Hope you all are doing well. 5 hours and 3 mountain passes and I'm home!

"I'd hammer in the morning, all over this land."
I'm off for one last week of construction. Twelve hour days so I'll likely be absent until next weekend, when I'll be back to stay.

Hopefully, on the drive up, I'll be able to buy that book everyone has been talking about. ;)

Till, then, keep on submitting!

Four Hours to Midnight
Up against a word count tonight (again). It’s amazing how quickly 30k can vanish when you’re working on gaming material. I hope to have the module finished by midnight --- much later and my output drops, and my writing goes from merely bad to really bad.

Once again the Knights of the Patio have stepped up to the challenge and agreed to be test patients. Hopefully this module goes over better than the last one.

Off to work for me! I hope you are all doing well. Some Big Deathy celebrities have been dropping by … track down Erik’s blog at

http://www.livejournal.com/users/eriksdb/

...and check out his cover. Fun stuff, and encouraging to all of us standing on the side lines!

Whoops


A friend once told me, "Be careful what you write because publishing is forever." For better or worse, WoTC agreed to publish the webstory written by the authors featured in Realms of the Dragons II ...

...which means a big Deathy prize to whoever can pick out my hundred words, give or take. We'll let you know when the story shows up on the Wizards website.

The Road Home, Pt. II


I tried to get at this last night, but missed. Take two:

Back when Wizards hosted discussion forums for novels, Elaine offered sage advice to the hordes of hopefuls: submit and move on. She argued that waiting on a publisher was wasting time, time that could be better spent writing.

Great advice, though difficult to accept. At the time I thought it was directed at those of us that didn’t make the cut, but in the year since “The Road Home” was accepted, I’ve come to realize that her wisdom applies equally to writers on either sides of the equation.

To the point:

Situation: Didn’t make the big sale.
Result: Keep on writing and submitting.

Situation: Made the big sale.
Result: Keep on writing and submitting.

This isn’t just another optimistic pitch. The result really is the same. The only difference is how you choose to feel and behave in the interim.

None of the RotDII authors are made men (or women). We’re all still punching keys, still using those same 26 letters, still trying to tell (and sell) a good story, and ---more often than not--- still failing.

That’s liberating for me. Like a Zen fable, it’s full circle back to zero, obscurity and the good ol’ slush pile. The slush pile is a place I’m comfortable with. I can sharpen a shank from a toothbrush as well as the next.

Submit and keep on writing. Good advice then, great advice now.

Son of Flame, Son of Hak


Part one of Son of Flame, Son of Hak has been published for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign setting. You can find it in the downloads section:

http://www.dablackmoor.com/MMRPG

As always, feel free to get in on the forums and let them know how much you hated/loved it. DABlackmoor.com uses different forums from zeitgeistgames.com, so you will have to re-register to use the DA Blackmoor forums.

I'd love to hear what you folks think about this one. In my opinion, it's weaker than "A Night in Maus," but you never can trust the author.


The Road Home


Now, I know you all know that "Realms of the Dragons II" is out, but I'm only going to get a chance to do this once in my life:

I can walk into nearly any bookstore, thumb through the stacks, and find one of my stories in there.

I'd be lying if I said my story was brilliant and that reading it is best thing you could do with your time today. But I'd also be lying if I said that I haven't been dreaming of this moment from the time I cracked open my first Dragonlance book.

Will this story feed the orphans and promote world peace? Probably not. But every time a childhood dream comes true, that motivates the rest of us to pursue our own childhood dreams.

Maybe that's reason enough.

Coming in May ...


Ed Gentry, the Don King of Shared World fiction, succeeded in selling a Realms of the Dragons II article to Dragon Magazine. Five or six of us contributed to the piece, which will be appearing in the May issue, #332. (The image I used is actually the cover of issue #331.)

If you’ve been a gaming geek since you were 8 years old, you understand how cool this is. Even though the article is short, even though I contributed only 250 words or so, even though most of those words were "wacky," "sidekick," and "titillation," getting a byline in Dragon Magazine is just plain exciting.

Selling articles to Dragon is something real writers do.

Somehow they haven’t spotted the pretender in their midst. I’m just going stay low, avoid turbo lasers, and see how long I can hold out.

Show us some love ...
H and I were back East for 2 weeks, with her family. Now I'm headed back up to Wyoming for more construction work. That leaves a load of unanswered emails. If you're one of those folks, please be patient just a bit longer.

"You can't, you won't, and you don't stop."
It's somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m., and sleep just made its dodge check. I can't complain because Ashlock is awake and New York is 2 hours ahead of Colorado.

Up at 2 in the morning, listening to the trucks pass on the highway. We have a finite number of days on this earth, and each time you let go of one, *poof* that's it. Of course, it's a mental trick --- all the disciplined writers I know get their work done between 6 a.m. and noon. It's just us hacks that sit awake, clinging to the night.

"Legacy of the Savage Kings" goes to the printers tomorrow. The proof editor passed along her compliments and a request for a sequel, which is always nice to hear. If you've read any of my work you know that it comes with more than its share of errors. Like Ed said: "If Harley sends you a story he claims he wrote, and there aren't any errors ... he's lying."

Finite lives. And people choose to spend them reading stories that you and I write. That’s enormous. As authors we incur a responsibility for those finite hours, to share and to teach, or at the very least, to entertain.

But enough of me wasting your finite life. Go out and write something wonderful, that only you could imagine. I can’t wait to read it.

Into the Wilds
My current assignment is a 30,000 word module. That's 6k above the usual count, and trust me, I need every word I can get. I'm only 1/3rd of the way done so far, but I'll post more about the project as it begins to firm up.

Fogey Quiz: Saurus and Ashlock, name the module with the worg-riding goblin leaping out of the cover...

100 Word Flash Fiction
I did my part and contributed to an 11 author story that will be submitted to Wizards for web-publication. It's damn tricky to get much done in 100 words, but I gave it my best shot --- and set Ed Gentry up for a heck of a recovery. Ask him about it. ;)

Anyhow, we'll let you know if WoTC bites.

Gone but ...
It will be 3 to 6 months before John Handy has a proper grave marker, so H and I built a cross for his grave. It is a very simple affair, painted white with routered edges. The extended family met to place it before his grave this afternoon.

Tomorrow night we catch a red eye home to Colorado. It will be good to be home for a number of reasons, not least of which is the measly $100 in my bank account and the alleged royalty checks waiting in my mailbox.

Thanks again for all the support, guys and gals. H and I appreciate it.

John Handy died on the morning of March 5th.
He will be missed.

A Big, Deathy Welcome to Walt!
...who is also something of an artist. Mike, you should check out Walt's page and see if his work is suitable for the FFP style.

Return of the Clockwork Inquisitor

In a surprising turn, Zeitgeist Games has plans to include "A Night in Maus" in the upcoming Wizards’ Cabal sourcebook. Even cooler, the editors suggested that the story will be illustrated, which is always a lot of fun. Royalties are great and all, but illustrations are where it’s at.

The editors also promised that the next story, “Son of Flame, Son of Hak,” will be posted soon. I’ll let you know as soon as I see something real.

Zeitgeist Games just hired some new hands, which should help with their workload. If you’ve submitted stories or proposals to ZG and never heard back from them, or toyed with the idea of submitting, now is the time. Hit them again and demonstrate your persistence.

A Note on Community
Elaine mentioned this in her blog, before she shut it down, but it bears repeating: writing is a lonely gig. This isn’t bad, per se, just the nature of the calling. You write alone, submit alone, and when you get the rejection, it is addressed to you and no one else.

But that doesn’t mean no one is on your side. Stop, take a minute and look around. This haphazard collection of artists, writers and designers, we all know what you’re going through. We’re in it together, we’re all chasing that same impossible dream.

That’s a pretty incredible thing. I remember getting into written fisticuffs with a certain Loghan Shadowhand, back in the day (and getting my vocabulary handed to me on a bloody shingle). I remember the day when Mother and Ashlock figured out they both listened to Rush. And the day Jeff thought I critiqued his discussion thread as “predictable.”

I can’t stress how valuable this group is. Out of a random 100 souls, probably three or four have aspirations to be writers. Out of a 100 would-be writers, maybe only one makes a go for it. That places you, and the fellows around you, in a very elite group.

It doesn’t make us better than anyone else. In fact, it probably only predisposes us for failure, melancholy and disappointment. But it also brands you in a certain way, makes you see the world in a different light, leaves you hungering for different dreams. For better or worse, you’re tainted.

Most of us have never met. Maybe we never will. But as Elaine Cunningham pointed out, it is rare – and valuable – to find other folks that can actually identify with this life. When you receive the inevitable rejections, you have an understanding audience. When one of us makes it, it spurs the rest of us to press that much harder.

It ain’t much, but it’s home.

Drywaller by Day, Author by Night,
Or, Why the Heck is Harley in Wyoming?!
So, Ms. H’s father remains very ill. She has been spending time back East with her family, and with her father, making the most of the time they have left. I miss my wife, but I wouldn’t deny her this for anything.

With H (the attractive one) gone, this leave the other H (me) to pay the bills for rent and what not, in one of the most expensive counties in the U.S.

Have I mentioned I’m a freelance writer? Well, right now, and for as long as it takes, I’m also a freelance drywaller. This means living out of my truck with a duffel bag full of clothes, a sleeping bag and pad, a laptop for writing (thanks to BWS!), and a fistful of software (thanks to MNTS/BWS!).

And you know, it’s not all that bad. I’d love to be with my wife, I’d love for her father to be healthy, but these aren’t things I can change. What I do have is a rare and marvelous opportunity to chase my dreams. In a lot of countries I’d be worried about where my next meal was coming from. Instead, I spend my evenings daydreaming about worlds that never were.

And that’s a pretty damn good life.

H vs. Tank, regarding Shared World Fiction
Tankgrrl: "You’re a literary whore!"
H: "Doesn’t mean I’m not good in the sack."

(Strained Metaphor Translation Service: Where you sell your writing has no relation to how good or bad your writing might be.)