Blog

Russ Pitts 
President, Flying Saucer Media 
Project: Stage of Development Kickstarter (stageofdevelopment.com) 

I was in my first year as Features Editor for polygon.com when I sat with Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantonio in Austin, Texas for an interview about their game, Dishonored. The game was coming out in a few months and nobody at studio Arkane or at publisher Bethesda was sure how well it would be received. Tracey Thompson from Bethesda had called me to ask if I would write a thing about Harvey and Raph to drum up interest in the game’s creators (and by extension the game) and I said yes and so there I was. 

We had just gotten back for lunch. I’d eaten a small salad to be polite, but I wasn’t hungry. I’d stopped for tacos on the drive down from Dallas, because I’d forgotten to eat breakfast and was starving. This made me late, and Harvey and Raph had looked a little pissed off when I arrived, but these things happen. I think they were hungry. Now we were settled comfortably in a small room at Arkane, Harvey and Raph had finally eaten, and they were starting to talk. 

The interview opened with the usual stuff about how they got their respective starts in games, where they first met and so on. It turned out they had an interesting history of casual encounters and similar life circumstances before ever working together. They could almost have been the same person, apart for one being Texan and the other French. I felt like there was a good story there, and kept asking questions and listening to answers. 

Then, without warning, Harvey launched into this miserable and sad tale about how he grew up in a nothing town on the Texas Gulf Coast and his mother died of an overdose and his father commit suicide. How he joined the military to escape a dead-end future. How he barely survived both experiences. And how he now channels this tragedies into his video games. I was in shock. I had never heard such a real, raw and emotional story in a video game interview. 

I looked over at Tracey as if to ask “Is this on-record? ” 

She looked back, eyes wide and shrugged. She had no idea. Maybe? 

So I kept the material, wrote it intro the piece and the result is one of my favorite stories about video games of all time. It got a lot of people talking about Polygon, and Dishonored, and a few months later both endeavors would become hugely successful.
 
But the whole time I was talking with Harvey and Raph, writing that story and publishing it I was thinking, “F- – -, we should have had a video camera in there. ”
 
A few months later I got the chance to develop a web series based on what I wish I could have done with Harvey and Raph. Human Angle was just that — the human angle of video games. It featured people whose stories were at an intersection of humanity and video games. People of all kinds. We produced 12 episodes, but I always felt like we had just barely scratched the surface. 

Stage of Development is my chance to get back to that, and finish what I started with human Angle. Starting with the stories of Brenda and John Romero and Spry Fox, two stories that are a lot alike in spite (or perhaps because of) their differences. 

I’ve been following both stories for some time. I’ve been interested to see how John Romero has handled a transition from making big-budget games to more indie stuff. Seeing how his relationship (and then marriage) with Brenda Brathwaite, now Brenda Romero influenced his work, and vice versa. And now how the two of them, with the launch of Donovan Romero’s game Gunman Taco Truck, have truly crated a family business. To be able to capture their passion for family and video games, and — for them — how the two are inseparable was a privilege. 

Spry Fox is a different beast. You probably don’t know much about them unless you’ re a game developer. If you are, though, you know they’re one of the most influential studios in the business. Principals David Edery and Dan “danc” Cook are both highly regarded and well known in the industry. Dan especially is considered one of the brightest developers there is. So many people have told me they look to him for advice and guidance, I’ve often wondered why his own company had yet to see a truly blockbuster game. 

When I reached out to Spry Fox about Stage of Development, they were just finishing what they called “a little mobile game” that would become surprise hit Alphabear. I genuinely believe their success story is yet to be fully written, and I wanted to be there to capture it. 

If Stage of Development fully funds at Kickstarter, these are only the first of the stories we’ll be able to tell.

Here is my Sasquan schedule. There is, as usual, a no-shyness zone around me. If you want my attention, talk to me. I will have a limited number of my Story Convention Cards with me. Find out how I (fictionally) die at Sasquan. I do have several meetings and Hugo-related things not listed here and I will probably show up at some of the publisher parties.

THURSDAY
10:00 am – 6pm SFWA Board Meeting, 304 (CC)
7:00 pm – Role Playing Games as an Author’s Tool, 401C (CC)

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FRIDAY
11:00 am – Comics and Graphic Novels for Teen Readers, 303A (CC)
12:00 pm – Hard SF for Teens, 401C (CC)
4:00 pm – Autographing, Exhibit Hall B (CC)

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SATURDAY
10:00am – The Range of the Small Press, Conference Theater 110 (CC)
1:00 pm – 3pm, SFWA Business Meeting, 300B (CC)
3:00 pm – Getting Your Game Published, 303A (CC)
6:00 pm – Hugo Pre-Reception
8:00 pm – Hugo Awards Ceremony, INB Performing Arts Center (CC)

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SUNDAY
11:00 am – Kaffee Klatche – Jennifer Brozek, 202A-KK2 (CC) [Note: This is the only event of mine you need to sign up for.]
1:00 pm – Worlds We Believe: YA World Building, 300D (CC)

In the last quarter of the year, all three of my Melissa Allen books will be released, starting with Never Let Me Sleep. In fact, there is a pre-order page up for it now.

You might notice that this is an ebook only. That’s on purpose—for now. All three Melissa Allen books will be released in ebook form October, November, and December. The hard copy compilation, Never Let Me, the one that will be in bookstores as well as online (and another pre-order page…), is slated for a May 2016 release, and will include a brand new Melissa Allen story.

The release plan is…
October 13, 2015 – Never Let Me Sleep (Set in the town of Onida, South Dakota.)
November 10, 2015 – Never Let Me Leave (Set in an underground lab in North Dakota.)
December 8, 2015 – Never Let Me Die (Set in Richland, Missouri.)
May 3, 2016 – Never Let Me (The Melissa Allen Omnibus with the extra story).

Here is what some people are saying about the Melissa Allen series.

“NEVER LET ME SLEEP is a disturbing glimpse into an unfolding apocalypse. This is genuine nightmare territory.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of ROT & RUIN and FALL OF NIGHT

 “It’s a cliché to say ‘I couldn’t put the book down,’ but greeting the dawn at about the time I read the final words suggests to me that I really couldn’t. The situation is downright creepy, the horror rooted in tension rather than gore, and the protagonist is more than a little fascinating in her own right. Definitely hoping there’s a sequel on the way.” –Ari Marmell, author of the MICK OBERON and WIDDERSHINS series

“Taut, tense, and terrifying, NEVER LET ME SLEEP grabs you and refuses to let you go until the final page.” –Cat Rambo, author of BEASTS OF TABAT

 “The main character in NEVER LET ME SLEEP is irreverent and fun, even if her grip on reality is a little shaky. Teenager Melissa Allen struggles to determine why everyone around her has died. Tension and suspense lead to a satisfying ending.” –H.E. Roulo, author of ZOMBIE DOME

“Action, adventure, humanity, horror, mystery and mayhem mark the pages of the Melissa Allen series. Jennifer Brozek’s deft and exciting writing style keeps you wanting more yet also wanting to get to the finish as soon as possible!” –Jake Bible, author of the Bram Stoker Award nominated novel, INTENTIONAL HAUNTING.

Publication: “Rune’s Avatar Cafe” has been published in the Shadowrun Worlds of Shadows anthology. It came out at Gen Con. I haven’t seen a link for it yet. I’ll post it when I do.

Sold: I sold my story “Feathers in Need” to the latest Valdemar anthology called Crucible. It’s also the opening story in the anthology. I’m super happy about that. I will note that it is a happy story, unlike “Written in the Wind.”

Kickstarter: Women in Practical Armor. I have nothing to do with this anthology except to cheer it on because I work for Evil Girlfriend Media. It’s already funded and it is awesome! I’m all about cheering this one on.

Website: If you love the rain and miss it in this heat, Rainy Mood is the perfect soundtrack for you.

Cover Reveal: Here’s the cover for NEVER LET ME SLEEP! It’s the first book in the Melissa Allen series. Is it not the best? I have an actual teen on my YA book and she’s not a stick figure.

Cyberpunk Sisters-in-Arms

It began in college. A series of ongoing stories about a wandering swordswoman. My version of Red Sonja.

I read through the first three Ace/Lancer Conan books for inspiration and began preparing the world of my swordswoman. The kingdoms and villages and lands she’d wander. The kinds of magic she’d encounter.

Halfway through the third Ace/Lancer collection I stumbled across Lieber’s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, either from a comment in that collection’s introductory essay or in some other reading I was doing at the time. Something about that caught my attention. I can’t recall if it was a idea of TWO wandering warriors or something else, but it sent me around to local used bookstores to track them down.

After a few hours of wandering between stores, I finally located the first two story collections of those tales. Over the next week or so, I read through Swords and Deviltry and Swords Against Death and my solitary swordswoman took on a companion. Now I had pair of wandering women warriors. By then I had a vaguely sketched out map of a world, a series of names of exotic fantasy cities and towns, and a rough history of the world. I even had some likely scenarios for my adventuring duo.

But I didn’t get beyond that.

As it was, Xena and her sidekick, Gabrielle, were already swinging swords on TV. Warrior women duos appeared to be already taken care of so I shelved the premise for the time being.

Fast forward a few years.

1996, if I remember correctly.

I was reading a Gunsmith Cats graphic novel when the wandering women warrior duo leaped back into my mind and the following train of thought occurred to me: Gunsmith Cats was about a pair of female bounty-hunters working the mean streets of present-day Chicago. Xena was about a pair of female warriors in a Greek-myth/medieval-esque/fantasy world. Then an anime series came to mind: Dirty Pair, about a pair of female agents in the far future.

What about a pair of female warriors in the near-future? In the world of cyberpunk?

Boom.

Enter Kat and Mouse.

I remember the idea grabbing me by the shorthairs in a vice-grip, yanking me close, and a low, breathy voice saying, “Write me. Write me now.”

I then remember diving into my bookshelves for my copies of Neuromancer and Burning Chrome, the Mirroshades anthology, and my dog-eared copies of the Cyberpunk 2020 and Shadowrun RPG manuals, followed by furious scribblings as ideas rushed out in a flood. Movies and anime came to mind. RoboCop. Demolition Man. Blade Runner. Bubblegum Crisis. Appleseed. Akira.

It took another four years before the duo’s first escapade appeared in an online zine.

Eight years before I decided to turn it into an online serial.

Since it premiered in December of 2008, I’ve written somewhere around 150,000 words over 25 episodes and 160-something blog posts depicting the pistol-packing, katana-swinging, butt-kicking escapades of these two Sisters in Arms.

Yes, it may be cliche-ridden, trope-filled, and escapist.

But you know something?

It’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing.

I’m not out to change the world or examine the human condition with these stories.

I just want to take you on a slam-bang, catch-your-breath, roller coaster ride with chills, spills, and thrills.

And if you walk away from reading these tales with a smile on your face and the potential thought of “Hey! Let’s ride that again!”, then I have done my job.

—
Abner Senires. Fed on a steady diet of SF/Fantasy novels, genre movies and television, videogames, comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, anime and manga, and role-playing games as a youth,  the man who would be king   Abner Senires eventually grew up into a wombat   a tea cosy   a strange little brown man.

He  has now waged war on   has laid siege to   laid an egg   writes sci-fi pulp adventure (and sometimes ventures into regular science fiction, fantasy, and possibly horror).

He confesses to being a SF/Fantasy/movie/genre TV/comic book/RPG/anime/manga/weapons/firearms fan.
 
One day he hopes to become a firetruck.   He has never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

He lives  in his own deranged imagination   just outside Seattle, WA with his wife and a pair of rambunctious cats.

I am home from Gen Con. It was a very good and busy time. I did not win the ENnie for Best Related RPG Product but with the caliber of the competition, it really was an honor to be nominated.

This year I was both part of the Writers Symposium (run by Marc Tassin) and one of the Industry Insider Featured Presenters. I got to do a lot of panels that were both valuable and hard. Fortunately, my two most daunting panels, Diversity in Gaming and Women in Gaming After Gamergate, both went off without a hitch. I like to think this was because we all did our homework and prepared and we had excellent moderation.

Like most conventions, there’s too much to tell. Here are some of the highlights:

•    Chatting with Wesley Chu in the dealers room about working at conventions. This spawned the quote, “It’s all push-ups and prose.” from Wes.

•    Sitting in the authors lounge area watching Chuck Wendig and Sam Sykes be themselves. I have pictures…

•    Actually sitting down to game with Erik Scot de Bie and Brian Cortijo. I’d not played D&D 5 yet. It’s a good system. Also, I kinda love the dwarf warrior I was playing.

•    Having a number of people come to my “office hours” to follow up on panels and to ask me about my writing. Doc Wagon 19 and Discordance (my first Valdemar short story) were highlights.

There were two standout events that made Gen Con awesome for me.
 
The first is Ingress. I started playing about 3 weeks ago and I was told there was a mission day happening at Gen Con. I had no idea what a mission day was but I was game. I sent out a call for someone to come walk with me because I really have no sense of direction. I was fortunate enough to be answered to by Sarah Babe, Host of Plot Points Podcast. The two of us banded and bonded together to do this thing called Gen Con Mission Day.

It was 13 missions. Walking around, hacking 5-7 portals per mission and answering questions. We started about 8:45pm at night. We ended the last mission at about 1:30am. It was hot, tiring, and sweaty. By the end of it, both of us had blisters and were finishing the quest out of malicious spite. But it was still awesome. I got a bunch of digital badges, leveled up, and despite shredding my feet (30,000 steps that day – 20,000 on the mission day quests), I had a great time. Sarah and I hit it off so well. I look forward to meeting up with her at GameholeCon in November.

The second is my friend Monte. I haven’t seen Monte in years. One of my favorite GMs and friends from the Bay Area, he made it out to Gen Con. Monte is one of those people that I click with. We can go for months without talking, but when we do, it’s like no time has passed.

He decided to introduce me to The Mountain Witch. We played with Albert and Nancy (also friends from the Bay Area who now live in Canada). It was the best time. Sparse on rules. Heavy on the roleplay. Awesome for narrative storytelling. Honestly, this game, with these people, made Gen Con worth it. I will be thinking about this game for a long time to come. I just bought a copy of The Mountain Witch from IPR.

It was a very good time. I’m glad I went. I’m also very happy to be home with the Husband and the kitties.

This is the Scribe Award. I’m in love with this little statuette. Right now, it’s my most favorite award of all-time. Not because of what it is for—though I’m very proud of my YA Battletech novel—but because of what it represents.

On a professional level, it means a jury of my peers, who read and write tie-in fiction, judged it worthy of the award. That means a lot. On an personal level, it means I’m not a hack. I can write and affect readers. I do know what I’m doing. On an emotional level, it means I didn’t lose four awards in a row. No matter what happens with the ENnies and Hugos, I’m still an award winner in 2015.

I didn’t realize just how much was riding on the Scribe Award. It was the one I had the least stress about and was the award I was absolutely certain I would not win. I had already prepared myself to congratulated the winners and move on. Then I won and I felt 90% of the pressure from the ENnies and Hugos just melt away. The feeling is amazing and startling. I can relax now. I’d won one of the awards I was up for. Hurrah!

Sometimes, the littlest things mean the most.

This is what I wrote to accept the award for The Nellus Academy Incident. I’m really glad Matt Forbeck got to read it:

“Having grown up a military brat, I wanted to give Battletech fans an idea of where hard-bitten warriors come from. The military is a way of life and that starts when you’re a young dependent. Military kids grow up fast. I wanted to show this with The Nellus Academy Incident. I think I succeeded. Thank you to my editor, John Helfers, and to Jason Schmetzer who pushed me out my comfort zone. Thank you to my Battletech Thinktank group who helped me get the details of the story right. And thank you to the jury for this award. It is an honor.”

It looks good up there. I like it.

If I’m not at one of these panel spots, I’m probably in the writers lounge area outside the Writer Symposium Rooms 243, 244, 245. Don’t forget to ask for my Convention Story Card.

Thursday
11:00am – Signing in the Exhibit Hall

4:00pm – SEM1580472, How SFWA Can Help You, RM211
Whether or not you are a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, SFWA has the ability to help you with expert advice, tools, examples, & community outreach.

6:00pm – SEM1577164, Craft: RPG Tie-In Fiction, RM243
Learn about the tips & tricks authors use to write amazing fiction based on your favorite RPGs, & find out what it takes to write successfully in a shared world setting.

7:00pm – SEM1577168, Craft: Plotting for Short Fiction, RM243
Explore the differences when plotting short fiction VS novels, & learn tips and tricks that the pros use to create fantastic short story plots.

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Friday
11:00am – Signing in the Exhibit Hall

2:00pm – SEM1580463, Diversity in Gaming, RM210
Discrimination ordinances, Gamergate, & the expanding Geek culture emphasize the importance of diversity. This is an opportunity to brainstorm how we can make gaming more welcoming for everyone.

8:00 PM – ENnies 2015 Ceremony at the Union Station, Indianapolis, Indiana

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Saturday
10:00am – SEM1580486, Women in Games After Gamergate, RM211
In the wake of Gamergate, we’ll explore what the industry is doing to help, how women are interacting differently & ways we as a community can support women as leaders in the evolving gaming world.

11:00am – SEM1577138, World Building: Flora, Fauna, and the Natural World, RM244
Nature & its denizens are crucial background elements in many genre stories. Learn how to subtly incorporate them into your story to make the reader’s experience even more enjoyable.

7:00pm – SEM1577100, Writer’s Craft: Erotic Interludes, RM245
Explicit sex scenes are perhaps the easiest type of scene to write badly. Learn from the pros how to turn up the sexual heat without making your readers laugh mockingly.

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Sunday
Hanging outside the Writer Symposium Rooms 243, 244, 245 when I’m not in meetings.

Tomorrow, the Scribe Awards happen at SDCC. This is not a convention I ever intend to go to. I’m not sure how I would deal with the crowds. However, it’s got me thinking about awards again. I’m up for four awards with three different styles of nominations and voting for the win.

The Scribe Awards is a juried nomination and awarding system. Both of my nominated works were sent into the jury who decided on whether or not it should be nominated. Then that same jury chose the winner. This way is probably the smallest number of people to nominate and vote on the win.

The ENnie Awards is a juried nomination system followed by a popular vote. My work, Chicks Dig Gaming: A Celebration of All Things Gaming by the Women Who Love It, was sent in to the jury who decided on which works should be nominated. From July 4-14, anyone and everyone can vote in the ENnies. You do not have to vote, nor are you expected to vote, on every category. Chicks Dig Gaming is listed under Best RPG Related Product. If you are going to vote in the ENnies, I’d appreciate any love you could throw my way.

The Hugo Award is a limited popular vote for the nomination and a limited weighted vote system for the win. Only people who were at/supported the previous world con or are going to/supporting the current worldcon can nominate. Only the people who are going to/supporting the current worldcon can vote in the Instant Runoff System.

Three very different types of voting systems for three different types of awards. I’m really not sure which one I like better. Awards are a strange thing. They can be something you shoot for. Or something that you are surprised with. Or, something some people dread. Other people don’t care one wit about them.

I do care. I would be a liar if I said otherwise. I’d love to win at least one of these awards but, realistically, the nomination is all the honor I will enjoy.

They are all honors. I think my favorite part of the whole award process is the notification you’ve been nominated. It’s like lightening from the blue. 90% of the time, you can’t tell anyone for a couple of weeks. That’s the feeling I try to keep in the forefront of my mind as the ceremonies go on with or without me. That’s what I recommend anyone who is nominated keep to the forefront.

I won’t be at the Scribe Awards. I will be at the ENnies and the Hugo Awards. Despite the nervousness that comes with being in attendance, I’m looking forward to both.

I am home now from five weeks of travel and events (3 conventions, 2 readings, 1 wedding). I ended with LepreCon in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, it was hot. Really hot. Like 110+ degrees hot. However, it was a great convention. Highly recommended. Small, enthusiastic, and great guests of honor.

In particular, I was pleased to meet Dayton Ward, whom I know from IAMTW, and David Gerrold (most famous for “Trouble with Tribbles.”), who soothed all my fears about the Sasquan Hugo Awards ceremony. After talking with him about my concerns (David is the host), I feel like I can relax and just enjoy the ride. That’s a huge deal for me.

Also, I got to meet my Shadow Minion, Sarah Hendrix, who is as awesome in person as she is online. She took to being my in-person assistant like, well, my shadow. She got me to where I needed to be (Seriously, I have the direction sense of a stoned newt. I couldn’t find my room even once without her.), made me eat, even when I was cranky, found out all the answers, and even played in my Big Demons in Little China game. There’s already an offer on the table to bring the both of us to an LA convention.

Then, on the way to the airport, I discovered that Chicks Dig Gaming: A Celebration of All Things Gaming by the Women Who Love It has been nominated for an ENnie award for Best RPG Related Product. Ya’ll have no idea just how happy I am about this. I joke that this means I have four awards (2 Scribes, 1 ENnie, 1 Hugo) to lose over the next two months, but I really am honored by the nomination. We worked hard on the anthology and it deserves some love and recognition. So, yay!

Now, I have a month to whip NEVER LET ME DIE into shape while fielding the edits of other projects from various publishers. Then, off to Gen Con as part of the Writers Symposium and as one of the Industry Insider Featured Presenters.