A Slight Change of Plans

As part of the recent Microsoft Massacre, I find myself with a lot more free time on my hands. The project I was working on at Romero Games was canceled, and as a consequence of that, I’m out of work at the moment.

I feel terrible for my team, who are a fabulous bunch of people, and I am sad that the project we were working on might not ever see the light of day. Because, well, it was going to be awesome.

But, time to go forward. The leadership of Romero Games is reaching out to publishers to see if there is interest in bringing the game to market, so with luck, that will be a thing. If not, well, I am lucky enough to have a bit of a cushion – you don’t work in games for a couple of decades without planning for the unexpected – and I am going to take some time to decompress, recharge, and work on personal projects. I’ve got Necon coming up in a week, I’ve got GenCon and Pop!Con and ProgDay after that, I’ve got a brilliant and lovely girlfriend who lives far away whom I’d like to spend more time with, and there’s a whole mess of stuff around here, both in terms of my house and just things to do in North Carolina that I have never done, all of which will keep me busy for the foreseeable future.

So, that’s the plan for now. I’ve got all that to do, and some personal projects happening, and then there’s the launch of The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You, and the graphic novel is ongoing, and I should be getting edits on my novel Nightmare Logic from the publisher soon, and….as the marvelous Ellen says, “How did you have time to hold down a day job anyway?”

But stay tuned, there’s more news coming.

This Week In Review/Preview

Earlier in the week, the nice folks at the GenCon Writers’ Symposium posted a short interview they did with me about, well writing. You can check it out here.

Coming up this Sunday, I will be teaching a workshop on video game writing at the Orange County Library in Hillsborough, NC! All the details are here, and it’s not too late to grab one of the few remaining seats.  Did I mention it’s free?

 

Upcoming Appearances

The calendar has gotten quite full for the next few weeks. This past weekend was spent at the SAGA Writers Conference/ConGregate in Winston-Salem, which was a wonderful experience, but that’s just kicking things off.

This Thursday I head to New Hampshire to make my annual pilgrimage to Necon. This year, I’ll be on a panel with S.A. Cosby, Clay McLeod Chapman, Trish Wilson and Shannon Grant, moderated by the effervescent Michael Arruda, on how horror has changed since COVID. I’ll also be running a horror-themed variant on the ever-awesome Write Club – we will see if horror authors have what it takes to come up with the write stuff on the fly!

Two weeks later, I fly to Indianapolis for the magnificent chaos that is GenCon, where I will be participating in the Writers’ Symposium. As an added treat this year, I have a story in the Symposium’s anthology, Interdimensions, published by Atthis Arts!

Then the 13th of August, I join a lineup of local horror authors for Monsters In the Mead Hall, 7 PM at Moon Dog Meadery in Durham. It’s a showcase event for members of the North Carolina chapter of the HWA, and we will be bringing unseasonable chills and thrills to the heat of summer.

That Saturday is Pop!-Con down in Sanford. August 17th. I’ve never been to Sanford, but I’m looking forward to sharing my spooky stories with a new audience!

So it’s going to be a busy few weeks, but I’m looking forward to it. See you here, there and everywhere!

 

Going to GenCon

Later this week I’ll be headed northwest to attend GenCon in Indianapolis. I’ll be taking part in the GenCon Writers’ Symposium, where I’ll be sitting on panels on Shaping GM Experience Into A Career In Narrative Design, Getting Into Game Writing, Leading TTRPG Development, and Video Game Writer As Freelancer Vs. Employee. I’m also doing Write Club with the inimitable Alexander Bevier, doing a signing with the talented Sarah Hans, and taking part in the “meet the pros” session of the Symposium.  I haven’t been to GenCon since 2016, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be great to see old friends and meet talented writers, and just generally soak in the game-y good times!