Like the Dark? Meet me for a Dream Date in Indy and get Swag

I’m making a list and checking it twice — no, it’s not Christmas in July. As I mentioned before, we’re getting ready for GenCon Indy. Part of our packing efforts is to design two horrific packages for people who love the things that go bump in the night. One is a horror-themed silent auction package that includes everything you need for a dark and dreary evening; the other is a dream date.

Dream Date Auction – Flames Rising

Come to the ENnie awards at Gen Con and don’t sit with the plebes! Get a seat in the reserved seating for nominated publishers and hang out with the crew from Flames Rising.

This auction is for a “dream date” with Matt M McElroy and Monica Valentinelli for the 2008 ENnie Awards, Friday August 15th. Join them as they find out if FlamesRising.com wins an ENnie!

Also included in this auction is a Flames Rising t-shirt, coffee mug and poster. We also have a signed copy of the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society fiction collection from Abstract Nova, a horror music CD from Nox Arcana and a few other dark surprises…

This auction is for a sit-down event being held at Gen Con in Indianapolis on the night of Friday, August 15th. The prize must be claimed in person at Gen Con by coming to the ENnies booth in the dealer hall at Gen Con on Thursday or Friday during the dealer hall hours. If for any reason the winner of this auction cannot attend, they may choose to have a person substitute for them. If no approved substitute is sent, the dream date may be re-auctioned or re-sold at Gen Con.

Bid on the Dream Date Auction

If you’re more interested in something a little lighter or more magical, don’t forget to bid on your favorite publisher’s dream date. I hear that the White Wolf dream date is truly–a dream. Last year, we sat with the guys from Evil Hat Productions and their dream date; we all had a lot of fun!

July 30, 2008
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Who I’ll be Hanging Out With at GenCon: Indy

This year at GenCon: Indianapolis 2008 I’ll be supporting publisher Abstract Nova Entertainment at Booth #2115. I’ve worked on several of the products we’ll be offering at the booth including Nuomenon, Exquisite Replicas, Aletheia and a novella featured in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society.

As project manager for Flames Rising, I’ll be attending the Diana Jones Awards, the ENnie Awards, and hanging out with a lot of my friends including author and editor James Lowder. Here are some of the folk who will be there:

Game designer and novelist Ari Marmell who has done work for Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf will be there. The lovely freelancer and novelistJess Hartley will be speaking (potentially) on two panels and will be at the ENnie awards to see whether or not Changeling: the Dreaming has won any awards. Changeling, nominated for several awards, is a storytelling game of beautiful madness. Full-time artist, author and game designer Aaron Acevedo will be splitting his time between the Talisman Studios booth and the art show. Flames Rising is proud to feature Aaron’s work as part of a silent auction to fund the ENnie awards.

In addition to finding Matt Machell hanging around the Play Collective or Chad Underkoffler at the IPR booth, Industry Insider Guest of Honor Matt Forbeck will be signing autographs, presenting on panels, and having fun. I hope to meet Michael A. Stackpole this year and run into Jean Rabe once again.

GenCon typically has about 45,000 people in attendance; this year there will be events commemorating Gary Gygax, the release of 4E for Wizards of the Coast, and much more! If you’re going, please stop by the booth and say “Hello” or set up a time where we can chat. This is a whirlwind event that goes by very quickly and takes a lot of time and energy. If you’ve never had the chance to go, it’s definitely the experience of a lifetime.

This year I will not be speaking on panels due to time and scheduling constraints. I’m already working on next year’s presentation, but I hope to see you this year!

July 28, 2008
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When Fan Awards Make a Difference: Diana Jones and ENnie Awards for Gaming

As most of you know, I’ve done a lot of writing and editing within the gaming industry. Like other industries, there are some industry-facing and/or fan awards that softly bolster the businesses that do their very best. There are two awards that are typically presented at GenCon Indy that not a lot of folk are aware of; one is The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, and the other are the ENnie Awards.

Diana Jones Award

I had the pleasure of sponsoring this event through Flames Rising last year and was on hand to take pictures and throw in support.

Attracting international attendees, there are folk from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, the UK and as far away as Australia have come to Indianapolis for this convention opener. The Awards commemorate the “excellence in gaming” and while for many folk that might mean “excellence in design” — the Diana Jones awards has a different take on it.
Read More…

July 22, 2008
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Back from Wizard World Chicago 2008

Donald L Stephens Rosemont Convention Center in IllinoisSaturday I took the trip down to the beautiful Rosemont convention center in Des Plaines, Illinois for the Flames Rising webzine I’m project manager for. I had the opportunity to talk with artists, publishers, vendors and many, different folk excited about the comic book industry. This was my first comic book convention, and I have to say that I was very impressed with how nice everyone was.

I did a full write-up of the con through this article on Flames Rising, “Impressions of Wizard World 2008.” Additionally, I asked a few of the artists I had met to write some guest blog posts on topics related to our universe: first convention appearance, copyright and image rights, etc. If you have something you’d like to know about hiring artists or working with them, feel free to contact me with your questions and I’ll feature them on my blog. The artists I met were very enthusiastic and dedicated to the concept of working within a community; I’m sure that one of them would be happy to answer anything you might want to know.
Sandperson Costume from Wizard World Chicago 2008

My next big convention will be at GenCon Indianapolis where I will be working the Abstract Nova booth. Fortunately, this company is really great to work with and understands that my day job comes first. In my reflections of a gaming industry freelancer, I had talked about some of the positive and negative experiences I’ve had in the industry. My first writing credit in the gaming industry was through this company, and I’m happy to support its efforts to grow.

This week is going to be a bit on the light side for posting: I just had two, really great pieces of news come through the pipe and my deadline for the last novella is looming. With a shorter workweek due to the July 4th holiday, things are extremely busy in my world.

The two that I have in the hopper do continue the discussion about getting published and where to look: thank you to everyone who provided quotes for my upcoming posts. I will get to those posts as soon as I can.

Happy scribing and please, don’t forget to write!

June 29, 2008
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Hobby Games: The 100 Best is an Origins Award Nominee

In Hobby Games: The 100 Best, the top designers, authors and publishers in the hobby games field write about the most enjoyable and cleverly designed games of the last 50 years. Their essays cover the spectrum of the hobby market, from role-playing games to collectible card games, miniatures games to wargames to board games, with titles both familiar and esoteric. Writers include such legendary designers as Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons; Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering and Larry Harris, creator of Axis and Allies; best-selling authors R. A. Salvatore, Tracy Hickman, Ed Greenwood, and Michael Stackpole; as well as dozens of other noteworthy and award-winning creators. Hobby Games: The 100 Best is edited by James Lowder.

Hobby Games: The 100 Best is a finalist in the Non-Fiction Category for the recently announced 34th Origins Awards Nominees.

Astounding Hero Tales, also edited by James Lowder, is a finalist in the Fiction Category for the Origins Awards.

May 3, 2008
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