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Words cannot express how excited am that Augment magazine is a real thing! Augment, Spring 2083 done. You can pre-order it now and pre-orders are love. I’m so proud of this magazine. As the managing editor of it, I know how hard everyone has worked on it.
You don’t need to know a thing about Shadowrun to enjoy it. But, if you are a Shadowrun player, this is a prop, supplement, and fun reading all in one. It will be released on 14 Feb in ebook and physical POD as a digest magazine.
Augment your life with Augment magazine!
Augment is Shadowrun’s official magazine. This is a fully in-universe publication, and can be used in Shadowrun games as well as enjoyed by the casual reader.
Augment, Spring 2083. Magic is in the air and within the pages of this issue. Learn words of wisdom in an exclusive one-on-one interview with VIP CEO Michael Bishop. Listen to DJ Smash and Will-o-Wisp as they share their insight into the combination of magic, machine, and music. Discover how runestorms are endangering the Caribbean. Enjoy reviews of new products, clothing, tech, and so much more!
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Real world column authors include: Marie Bilodeau, Aaron Rosenberg, Bryan CP Steele, Brandon O’Brien, Bryan Young, Michael A. Stackpole, RJ Thomas, and Jennifer Brozek. SINless Secrets by Dylan Birtolo, Jason M Hardy, Jaym Gates, Bryan CP Steele, and Crystal Frasier.
Cover art by Ron Sanders.
Interior art by Jeff Porter, Bruno Balixa, Marco Pennacchietti, Jose-Luis Segura, Mia Steingräber, Andrew Lowry, Lukasz Matuszek, Brenton Smith, Lara Baron Ortega, Elizabeth Galindorf, and Kat Hardy.
Loren L. Coleman, Publisher; John Helfers, Executive Editor; Jennifer Brozek, Managing Editor; Art Direction, Kat Hardy; David A. Kerber, Layout and Graphic Design
(I am so very busy. I’m sorry. This is all I had time to do. At least they are pretty images and informative, too!)
Here’s the numbers. We all love numbers so much.
Thoughts about the numbers:
I don’t really have a lot to say about the metrics for this year. I’m fine with them. They’re respectable for a full time publishing professional. With the Shadowrun magazine coming out next year and being an editor-at-large for CGL, my editing numbers will not be going down. That does cut into the writing schedule. But I’ve got my plans for next year—which I will talk about in the next blog. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of my cats.
I hope you have had a very good holiday season!
If I have done this correctly, this blog post will go live on Monday, December 9th. It’s my birthday and the Husband has whisked me away for a day trip to Leavenworth!
Event: I will be reading at A Midwinter Haunting! 8pm at the Kirkland Arts Center. Readings from HWA Seattle Chapter members. Free event. I will be reading a spooky holiday story. On a mid-winter’s night, everyone is hungry.
Interview: With Epic Realms. I enjoyed the heck out of this interview. YouTube link.
Release: My 25th edited anthology is live! Shadowrun: Through the Decades celebrates 35 years of Shadowrun through 7 novelettes and novellas from new authors and old favorites!
Release: Valdemar short story, co-written with the fabulous Marie Bilodeau in the Feuds: All-New Tales of Valdemar anthology. “Dueling Minstrels” – a story of two small town minstrels and their battle of wits exploding beyond verbal showmanship…
Writing Contest: Worldcon Seattle Writing Contest 2025 – Submissions open Jan 5-20 (do not send anything in before this time).
Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
Shadowrun: Magic, Machines, and Mayhem, co-edited with John Helfers, is my 24th edited anthology. The pre-order link for the anthology is live. (Released on 20 Sep 2024.) This anthology is also my first official edited thing as an Editor-at-Large for Catalyst Game Labs. What a beautiful cover and just look at that Table of Contents!
Introduction by John Helfers
“An Apple a Day” by Bryan CP Steele
“Beer and Waffles” by R. L. King
“Licensed to Die” by Bryan Young
“Night Shades” by Jason M. Hardy
“To Fix a Broken Heart” by Marie Bilodeau
“The Price of Art” by Andrew Peregrine
“A Tale for Munchausen’s Merriment” by Jennifer Brozek
“Life at 9000 RPM” by RJ Thomas
“Out of Dodge and Into the Fire” by Ken’ Horner
“A Casual Glance” by Dylan Birtolo
“Dog Days” by Aaron Rosenberg
“One Night in Bellevue” by Crystal Frasier
“Can’t Trust a Trickster” by Alina Pete
“The Wastelands Speak” by Jaym Gates
“Where the Heart Is” by Michael A. Stackpole
“Incidents, Accidents, and Consequences” by Russell Zimmerman
I will note that I am not usually in the ToC of an anthology I’ve edited but I wrote the story and got it accepted before John brought me on as an official co-editor.
Awards: This year, I have two Scribe Award nominations. The first is for short story: Valdemar – “Needs Must When Evil Bides.” The second is for Shadowrun: Auditions, the first novel in The Mosaic Run duology. I am particularly chuffed about the short story nom. It’s been a donkey’s age since that’s happened. Also, it’s always a thrill to be mentioned in Locus magazine.
GoFundMe: One Booth to Record Them All. Pretty Please. Tren is on tap to record the Shadowrun: Elfin Black audiobook. Help him get to it faster! (Also, help his sleep schedule and his health and to future proof his career.)
Publication: Raven Oak and I have a co-written story in the Gen Con anthology, Interdimensions. It is called “Eye of the Beholder.” I really like this story. It’s crime story with a hint of magical realism.
Publication: My fourth Shadowrun novel, Shadowrun: The Mosaic Run, has been released! While it is the sequel to Shadowrun: Auditions, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
We’re down to the FINAL 24 hours of the Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980 campaign, and what an incredible journey it has been! Thanks to your amazing support, we’ve reached $7200+ surpassing our initial goals and unlocking one stretch goal so far. I’m really happy we reached the coloring book goal.
Tomorrow, Thursday, April 25th from 11am – 12pm Eastern / 8am – 9am Pacific, I will be live on Twitch with Rem to celebrate and countdown to the final moments of my first Kickstarter campaign. Come join us at there: twitch.tv/masterofrem
Last Chance to Back Dear Penpal
With less than 24 hours left, now’s the perfect time to back Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980 or increase your pledge. Don’t miss out on some of our unique rewards and the chance to be part of the Dear Penpal community.
I am grateful for each and every one of you who has backed, shared, and cheered us on throughout this campaign.
Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980 is in its last full week. The campaign ends at 9am (Pacific) on April 25th. We are funded, and the first stretch goal has been met. Coloring pages in every letter! I’m excited, and I know my artist, the talented Elizabeth Guizzetti, is excited as well. Other stretch goals include, a 25th letter from present-day me (and maybe my sister Shannon) and a 30-day emailed ghost story set to run in Oct 2024 called “The Old House on Highway 109” that will be free to Spooky Fun Pack tiers and above or available as an add-on for the lower tiers.
I thought I’d talk about some of the different packages and who they are for.
Paranormal Package – All 24 letters in a single package. This is for the person who prefers “one and done.” It is a single mailing, mailed when the 24th letter is mailed. You want the story. Then you’re good because you get to choose when to read each letter.
Bimonthly Phantom Post – 2 letters a month for 12 months. This is the core experience of Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980. You will receive two letters a month for a year and will experience the story as it was originally conceived. Plus, you get to come to the Zoom calls and find out what actually happened because a lot of the story is true.
Spooky Fun Pack – 2 letters a month for 12 months and all the extras. This includes the core experience, but if you are a curious person like me and want to know more esoteric details of life in Belgium, you get to hear the songs I listened to, see some of the photos and items I still have from Belgium. Plus, there are stickers! Who doesn’t love stickers? This tier will also get extra bits from the stretch goals we reach.
Haunted House Calls – This is the highest tier with limited spots available. At the time of the posting, 2 of 4 slots were still available. Backers get everything in the Spooky Fun Pack and this tier includes 24 one-on-one calls (2 a month). This one is for the backer who wants my full attention. Want me to be your mentor for a year? Or want to give the gift of a writing mentorship to a loved one? That could happen. Want me to teach a writing class for homeschoolers? I can do that. Run co-writing sessions for you and your writing group? Be your critique partner? All of these things are possible. We’ll talk about it and come to a happy accord. (Note: If this is a gift for a minor, their guardian/parent needs to be present for the opening discussion at a minimum.)
I hope this gives you a better idea of what you will receive when you back my passion project. I’m so happy to have this kickstarter funded. I’ve got so much to share with you. Won’t you be my penpal? Thank you.
Running a kickstarter is not for the faint of heart, lemme tell you that. I am one giant Muppet flail right now. But “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980” is 31% funded as of the uploading of this blog post. I am beyond thrilled that we’ve come so far. Of course, I’m nervous as hell that we won’t make it. I just gotta believe in this passion project of mine.
The Husband wrote his own blog post for our launch that I didn’t see until it went live. It made me feel a little sappy (Facebook link). I have the best husband ever!
Also, I have a post over on Cat Rambo’s blog, “On Eating Frog Legs and White Asparagus.” It’s all about me learning to be fearless when encountering foreign food while I lived in Belgium.
As I’ve said before, this project is near and dear to my heart. I’m excited to be able to send you my epistolary story and to bring joy to your mailboxes. Yes, actual snail mail that’s not spam, bills, or politics! Keep spreading the word. I know we can make it to $5,000 and I hope we get to unlock some fun stuff for everyone with our stretch goals.
“Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980” is a cozy, middle grade-appropriate, ghost story, loosely based on fictionalized me at ten years old while living in a 300-year-old manor house in Belgium. The story will be told through 24 physical letters (already written) over a one-year period. This is the kind of odd project I could never sell traditionally, so I’m rolling up my sleeves and doing it myself. Won’t you be my penpal?
Leeloo is waiting for you to support her servant so her servant can get back to servant duties…
The holiday season is upon us. Gift giving can be stressful or fun or both. If you want to get signed and/or personalized books from me, but haven’t seen me at one of my in-person events, I’ve got a solution for you. One that will work all year round and for any of my new physical book releases!
Introducing Brick & Mortar Books (Redmond, WA). They are a wonderful and friendly indie bookstore that is close to me that works with willing and available local authors to get signed/personalized books. Whether or not a book is physically at the store, as long as it is available through their site, customers can place orders and either have the book(s) shipped to their address or held for pickup at the store. All the books go through Brick & Mortar Books proper first before they’re shipped out or held, so the signing process is the same for local and long distance orders.
Once you decide on the book(s) you want, there is a Notes field available when customers place orders through the store’s website where they can indicate if they want their copy signed and/or any personalization requests. Once Brick & Mortar Books has the book(s) they will contact me and arrange a time for me to come in and sign/personalize the books.
If you don’t see the book you want on the website, you can call or email the bookstore and request it. They will take it from there. Signed books sorted! Please support your indie and local bookstores.
Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Hugo Award. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.
Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.
