Monica Valentinelli's Blog: booksofm.com, page 14

[Now Available] Hath No Fury Anthology

Looking for a kick ass book about fearless women to read? Hath No Fury is a collection of stories and essays edited by Melanie R. Meadors. The anthology features 21 stories and six essays about women who defy genre stereotypes. Here, it’s not the hero who acts while the heroine waits to be rescued; Hath No Fury’s women are champions, not damsels in distress. Whether they are strong, bold warriors, the silent but powerful type, or the timid who muster their courage to face down terrible evil, the women of Hath No Fury will make indelible marks upon readers and leave them breathless for more.

My contribution to Hath No Fury is an essay titled “This is Not Another Why Representation Is Important Essay”. This collection of women-as-champions is now available wherever fine books are sold.

[Announcement] Your Best Game Ever Will Happen!

Your Best Game Ever is not your typical RPG sourcebook. It’s not a book with adventures, spells, creatures, or magic items. It’s not a book for characters at all, but a book for players! If you play or run roleplaying games, this book is for you. Inside this gorgeous hardcover book, suitable for your coffee table or your gaming table, you will find advice and suggestions for enhancing your RPG experience at the table and away from it. This is an insider’s look at everything that goes into the hobby—finding a group, making a character, running a game, creating adventures, finding all the right ideas, hosting a game…and that’s just for starters.

If You’re an Experienced Gamer

You’ve been gaming for a while now. Maybe even years. You get the concepts, and you understand the rules. No one needs to explain the dice to you. Your Best Game Ever embraces the hobby you love, and provides real tips, immediately usable advice, and hands-on pointers you can use at your game table. You’ll find everything here from enhancing immersion, tips for running games online, creating characters with depth, worldbuilding, designing rules, dealing with personality conflicts that arise at the table, and more!

If You’re Fairly New to Gaming

Your friends play RPGs. You’ve maybe watched some streaming games, or given it a try a few times. You get the general idea, but where do you go from there? How do you really get into this hobby the way so many others have? This book will give you everything you need to learn how to choose the right game, how to fit into your game group or start your own group, and get you going on the fast track to being a great gamer.

I am pleased to announce that I am one of several consultants on this 2019 project. The Your Best Game Ever! Kickstarter has already funded, and we’re on to stretch goals.

Monte Cook is the primary writer on the book. He’s joined by a wealth of talented contributors that includes: Eric Campbell, Matt Colville, Luke Crane, Stacy Dellorfano, Tanya DePass, Ajit George, Jennell Jaquays, Eloy Lasanta, Tom Lommel, Matthew Mercer, Susan J. Morris, Alina Pete, and yours truly.

[New Release] Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

Wonderbook has become the definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy by offering an accessible, example-rich approach that emphasizes the importance of playfulness as well as pragmatism. It also exploits the visual nature of genre culture and employs bold, full-color drawings, maps, renderings, and visualizations to stimulate creative thinking. On top of all that, the book features sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names working in the field today, including George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, and Karen Joy Fowler.

For the fifth anniversary of the original publication, Jeff VanderMeer has added an additional 50 pages of diagrams, illustrations, and writing exercises creating the ultimate volume of inspiring advice that is also a stunning and inspiring object.

I am happy to announce that my work has been included in this stellar edition. When reviewing the existing material, there was so much great advice in the initial volume it was difficult to figure out a contribution. I opted to provide a methodology for the creation of an alien language simply and quickly; this is something game designers, authors, comic book writers, etc. can use if you get stuck figuring out how an alien species communicates.

Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction is available wherever fine books are sold. Additionally, if you haven’t checked out Jeff VanderMeer‘s work please do! He’s a very fine author in his own right, and his wife Ann is a stellar editor, too. A perfect blend of literary talents, indeed. To hire them for writing, editing, teaching, or speaking, visit VanderMeer Creative.

Announcing the Table of Contents for Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories

In churches and convents and other religious communities, sisterhood takes many forms, forged and tested by such mundane threats as disease and despair, but also by terrors both spiritual and cosmic—Satan’s subtle minions and the Lovecraftian nightmare of the Outer Gods. Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories presents sixteen horror stories by some of the genre’s leading female voices. Their settings range around the globe and across the centuries, from 14th century Spain to 17th century Virginia to England in the present day.

Contributors include such award-winning and critically acclaimed authors as Nadia Bulkin, Livia Llewellyn, Molly Tanzer, Sun Yung Shin, Gemma Files, Kaaron Warren, Damien Angelica Walters, and Selena Chambers. With original cover art by Liv Rainey-Smith.

Table of Contents

“The Wine of Men” by Ann K. Schwader

“From an Honest Sister, to a Neglected Daughter” by Monica Valentinelli

“Étaín and the Unholy Ghosts” by Lisa Morton

“The Barefoot Sisters of Saint Beatriz of the Mountain” by Kali Wallace

“Unburdened Flesh” by Penelope Love

“Only Dead Men Do Not Lie: The Trials of the Formosans” by Kaaron Warren

“Jane, Jamestown, The Starving Time” by Sun Yung Shin

“Dorcas and Ann: A True Story” by Molly Tanzer

“The Resurrected” by S. P. Miskowski

“The Low, Dark Edge of Life” by Livia Llewellyn

“The Anchoress” by Lynda E. Rucker

“Siūlais ir Kraujo ir Kaulų (Of Thread and Blood and Bone)” by Damien Angelica Walters

“Gravity Wave” by Nadia Bulkin

“The Veils of Sanctuary” by Selena Chambers

“The Sisters of Epione” by Alison Littlewood

“Red Words” by Gemma Files

Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories

Edited by Nate Pedersen

CHA6058

SRP $17.99

ISBN 978-1-56882-464-2

272 pages

Trade paperback

For pre-orders and availability, visit your local bookstore, library, or watch for it on sites like DriveThruFiction.com.

[New Releases] Scarred Lands, Unknown Armies, and Vampire: The Masquerade!

Hello readers! I have been consumed with development on Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition, keeping on top of short story submissions, and proofing a brand new Firefly Encyclopedia that’ll go to approvals shortly. I’m taking a quick break to let you know I have three gaming-related releases.

Karmic Ties and Fifth Wheels is a Campaign Starter Kit for Unknown Armies Third Edition. In the kit, the player characters are the black sheep of a large, extended family based in rural Wisconsin. Brought together again for a family reunion at the behest of matriarch Maple Adams, they discover that old secrets and occult mysteries lie at the heart of everything their family has done over generations. Throughout the campaign they may learn who they truly are, and how thick their blood runs through the veins of the occult underground.

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary serves as the definitive book of setting and plot for Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, containing 30 chapters spanning different geographical regions, encountering vampires of every clan, profiling obscure and profound segments of the mythology, and providing countless story hooks on every page.

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is a fiction-forward supplement and is heavy on the lush lore of the Vampire setting. Though Storytellers will benefit from the material in this supplement, any fan of V20 can enjoy it. And, if you LOVE Beckett? For a humorous take, check out Paths of Storytelling!

Ring of Spiragos is the conclusion to a trilogy of Scarred Lands adventures developed by myself and Scott Holden for Pathfinder first edition* and Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. This adventure offers a wealth of lore and possibilities and, as the adventures progressed, we offer more options for gut-punching scenes and opportunities for exploration. As the conclusion to the trilogy, I definitely encourage you to pick up Gauntlet of Spiragos (Free!), Dagger of Spiragos, and Ring of Spiragos to play in the Scarred Lands. It’s a wonderful setting!

* Links in my post are to Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition adventure versions.

Happy gaming!

My WisCon 42 Schedule and Reading

Hello everyone!

I am excited to share my WisCon 42 schedule with you today. The guests of honor are Saladin Ahmed and Tananarive Due. I hope you will join me for my reading on Sunday!

Saturday, May 26 2:30-3:45 p.m. Geekiness and Productivity University B

Moderator: Rachel Kronick. With Becky Allen, Catherine Krahe, Allison Morris, Monica Valentinelli

Capitalism tells us that we are only worthwhile when we produce or when we consume. As a result, many of us end up justifying everything we do, whether for work or pleasure, in terms of “productivity”: “I’m useful to society because I make widgets.” “My crafting/stargazing/gaming/reading/writing make me work better and consume more.” “That person is a better geek than me because they spend more money on their hobbies.” These kinds of framing buy into and reinforce capitalism. Are there ways of framing geeky pursuits that don’t buy into a capitalist framework? Are there ways of justifying our geeky pursuits that don’t commodify them? Are there ways to avoid needing to justify our geeky sides at all?

Sunday, May 27 1:00-2:15 p.m. Smash the Patriarchy Reading at Michaelangelo’s

Naomi Kritzer, David D. Levine, Monica Valentinelli, LaShawn M. Wanak

Powerful stories can move mountains and shatter glass. This reading is not for the faint-of-heart. The stories will unsettle you, make you uncomfortable, force you to think and feel. Come for the stories. Leave with possibilities.

Note: I will have swag bags at my reading that will include this! You’ll have to come to find out why!

Sunday, May 27 2:30-3:45 p.m. Why Do Gender Neutral Things In Games Get Gendered As Masculine?

Moderator: Rachel Kronick. With Kel Bachus, Tanya D., Jack Evans, Jed Hartman, Monica Valentinelli

Watch a “let’s play” and you’ll soon see a lot of gamers gendering non-gendered things — humans with non-declared genders, fish, trees, basically anything or anyone that moves — as “guys” or “he”. NPCs in tabletop RPGs quickly get gendered as masculine if the GM doesn’t explicitly declare them otherwise (and a lot of GMs forget that non-masculine genders exist). A lot of gamers generally tend to fall into masculine-default mindsets while gaming. Why does this happen, and how do we stop it?

Monday, May 28 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The SignOut Capitol/Wisconsin

Saladin Ahmed, Becky Allen, Eleanor A. Arnason, K. Tempest Bradford, Sue Burke, Kristi Carter, Nino Cipri, Loren W Cooper, Meredith Dillman, Timmi Duchamp, Tananarive Due, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Jack Evans, Rhea Ewing, Karin Gastreich, Andrea D. Hairston, Alex Iantaffi, Vylar Kaftan, Naomi Kritzer, Rebecca Kuang, David D. Levine, Dale Cameron Lowry, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nancy Jane Moore, Pat Murphy, Beth Plutchak, Cath Schaff-Stump, Nisi Shawl, Sheree Renée Thomas, Amy Thomson, Monica Valentinelli, LaShawn M. Wanak, Sunny Moraine

My 2017 Publications

Hello everyone,

It’s that time of year! Today, I take a look back at what I’ve published in 2017. This year, I’ve had a busy but rewarding schedule. Let’s see how this year shook out for stories, games, and comics!

This year, my summer travel was pretty intense. Thanks to the fine and upstanding individuals at RopeCon in Helsinki, Finland, I was able to travel overseas to talk about my work and chat with fans. Plus, I was at CONvergence, GenCon, and Geek*Kon as well. I’ve already put together a tentative 2018 schedule that wraps around a few conventions I’ve never been to before, but the shows will be further apart for sure.

As luck would have it, my 2017 list of publications wound up with a stronger emphasis on gaming publications than fiction or non-fiction. That said, there’s a lot happening behind-the-scenes. My agent, Jennie Goloboy, recently announced she’s switched from Red Sofa Literary to the Donald Maass Literary Agency, and I have recently signed a new contract. I’m excited despite (what I feel) has been a lower productivity year for multiple reasons, and it’s something I am holding on to as I move forward.

Games Released in 2017

This year, role-playing game material was the bulk of my publications. Here’s a list of what was released in 2017 thus far–with the caveat that I may be missing a few short adventures.

LEGACY OF LIES , Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages 20th Anniversary Edition, 2017, Onyx Path Publishing/White Wolf Entertainment AB (Developer)
OVER THE EDGE , Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, 2017, Wizards of the Coast
RUSTED VEINS , Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Playtest, White Wolf Entertainment AB (Consultant)
DAGGER OF SPIRAGOS , a Scarred Lands adventure for D&D 5E and Pathfinder, 2017, Nocturnal Media/Onyx Path Publishing (Developer)
DARK ERAS COMPANION , Geist: Sin Eaters “Forboding Lands”, 2017, Onyx Path Publishing/White Wolf Entertainment AB
UNKNOWN ARMIES 3rd Edition Books 1, 2, & 3, 2017, Atlas Games

Of Note

Though my releases were sparse in other forms, I did move forward on fiction and non-fiction, both behind-the-scenes and in unique ways. For fiction, I kept busy promoting Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling which launched late 2016. I also managed to kick off a serial work called Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist, which is available for free on WattPad.

In non-fiction, I self-published eBook called Make Art Not War Challenge: Rules, Essays, and 31 Creative Prompts. The latter is a continuation of this year’s blog initiative and posts linked to my Make Art Not War Challenge.

I also sold two original short stories which will debut next year, a cool bit I’m doing for a card game, and an essay to an upcoming anthology. I do have more news to announce, but for the time being I’m holding off until long after the ink is dry. There’s more to come!

If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that I’m human after all. (That realization incurs two eyebrow raises and a sip of tea!) Many thanks to friends and family for being so supportive during an interesting and turbulent year.

I’ve left comments open on this post if you’d like to share your news. Hope you’ve fared well, and your future is everything you hope it could be.

New! December’s 30 Day Challenge to Make Art Not War

Wow! What a year it has been! For several months, you’ve learned some things about yourself as an artist. You’ve made art! And, you’ve stuck with me on my artistic journey. Now, I have one last challenge for you. In lieu of a theme for December, I’m offering a series of fun daily activities for you to complete. Each one touches on some of the tips, advice, and themes I’ve offered throughout the year. Enjoy!

MANW Check-In Week 48: November’s Progress and Finish Lines

Hey, how did your November go? Mine went pretty well, despite two weeks lost to the flu. This month’s theme was FINISH, and by now you have either finished what you started this month or you’re struggling. There could be a lot of reasons behind your lack of motivation or slower progress, and I’ve often found that it’s important to record them. The point of finishing is not to hyper-analyze how you reach the finish line. Sometimes, it’s more important to type “the end” than it is to write it with a flourish or add a bit of poetry. From there, from your failures or setbacks, you might discover new goals or behavioral techniques you can use to move forward.

Here are some examples of setbacks and solutions:

Setback: Falling Behind. Your goal was to reach 50,000 words for a novel this month, but you felt overwhelmed and couldn’t figure out what to write. By the time you got that sorted, you fell behind.

Solution: To prepare for a month of writing, try your hand at outlining and character sketches beforehand. What do your characters want? What stands in their way? Where does your story start and end? Outlines can help keep you on track as you write, because they’ll offer goal posts where you didn’t have any before.



Setback: Lack of Focus. You knew what you wanted to write, but it was hard to focus. Every time you started, you quickly lost interest and didn’t want to write at all.

Solution: Being resistant to the work happens to all of us. To get past that mental block or stubbornness, you could try warm-up exercises, changing your environment/music, writing something else for fifteen minutes to half an hour, etc. Usually, when you’re slow or can’t focus there’s a reason for that. It could be something as complex as anxiety/depression or a consequence of heavily relying on online tools. It could also, however, be something simple. You’ve never written in that genre before, or haven’t used that technique. Fear can definitely be a factor, even on a subsconscious level, too.



Setback: Can’t Finish. You have no trouble getting into writing, but you can’t seem to finish what you start no matter how hard you try.

Solution: Try writing the end or middle of your story first. You might also benefit from mini-tasking, or taking your short stories and breaking them out by scenes instead. You might also plan to write for shorter periods of time, lke 15 or 20 minutes, until you rebuild your concentration. If you get distracted, I also find that having a journal or a tool like Evernote next to you can really help. That way, if you have a to do item you forgot or suddenly remember an important task you can write it down and get back to your manuscript.

The next time you have a setback, try identifying what it is and cooking up your own solution. This week’s check-in addresses some of the finer points I’ve been dealing with. Tune in later this week for a brand new 30 Day Challenge!

Weekly Check-in

My Original Make Art Not War 2017 Challenge pledge:

I pledge to devote one hour a day to my original art.
If I don’t feel motivated, I pledge to write down the reasons why I wanted to take this challenge for fifteen minutes or one-to-three pages whichever comes first.
I pledge to mark down on the calendar whenever I complete a day’s efforts.
As the challenge creator, I pledge to create a weekly accountability post every Wednesday beginning on January 9th. Comments will be open. Hashtag #makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
I pledge to check into social media twice a week for personal use, and once a month with my local community of artists and writers.

Here’s my current status:

Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist is going strong. William Sand finally got the job after a confusing and rocky series of appointments. He’s currently stuck in an archive, reading old books about alchemy and the occult
Motivation hasn’t been the issue for me, but I did have a challenging time trying to work while I had the flu. I’ve got a strong routine down now, and need to add back in a few other things. Looking forward to it!
So, I’ve been using a new technique on Evernote to mark down progress. It’s been very effective!
As the challenge creator, I pledge to create a weekly accountability post every Wednesday beginning on January 9th. Comments will be open. Hashtag #makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
I’m good re: social media. I’m mostly using it for work right now, and I may extend that into 2018. We’ll see how this month goes!

Hope your month went well and better than expected. Write soon!

Mood: Focused. Tired. Deep-fried.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Going to hit the caffeine hard. Vrooooom!

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Some walking.

In My Ears: Us Against the World by Coldplay

Game Last Played: Pokémon Go

Book Last Read: A mega-ass ton of anthologies.

Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Lucifer Season 3

Latest Artistic Project: Make Art Not War Challenge eBook now available!

Latest Releases: Over the Edge for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Legacy of Lies for V20 Dark Ages.

Current State of Projects: Read my latest project update. New project update coming when I get time.

[Recommending Reading] Writer’s Yearbook 2018

December is a great time to reevaluate how the rest of your year went. I’m opting out of such a summary, if only because 2017 had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. That said, I find it’s always a fantastic idea to take a pulse and see how my methodology and experiences measure up to other writers.

The other day, I picked up the Writer’s Yearbook 2018 from a local bookstore. (You can find it in the magazine aisle.) There’s a lot of material in this handbook, and the advice is spot on. Some gems:

Just Say No to Click-Bait. pp. 48-49. Written by Brandon Ambrosino, the article specifically focuses on the issue of chasing volume. He writes: “Because such [e.g. click-bait] content is fleeting and flames out quickly, writers feel compelled to churn out more and more of it in order to remain viable in a writing landscape that is largely sustained by social media.” The article goes on to offer solutions that help writers be more proactive and make better decisions with their time.
Get Down to Writing Business. pp. 51-53. This article takes a nuts-and-bolts approach to the business aspects of writing from a ghostwriter’s perspective. John Peragine writes that: “The key is to view yourself not as a contractor–always at the mercy of the next job–but as a business: in control of how you operate.” This type of operations management may seem intimidating, but I felt the article is applicable to any writer.
101 Best Websites for Writers. pp 68-78. This is a descriptive list of websites separated into several categories: Creativity, Writing Advice, Everything Agents, General Resources, Publishing/Marketing Resources, Jobs & Markets, Online Writing Communities, Genres/Niches, and Just for Fun. There is a lot of information jam-packed into the list, and a few sites you may not normally consider.

I feel that this is well worth your time, and there’s a lot of advice mixed in with practical experiences from seasoned writers. If you’re mildly interested in getting a leg up in your freelance writing or authorial career, be sure to check it out.

Mood: Too much ho-ho-ho.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I’m drinking decaf tea. It’s a sacrilege.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Some walking.

In My Ears: Some coffee house mix designed for teenagers.

Game Last Played: Pokémon Go

Book Last Read: A mega-ass ton of anthologies.

Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Beauty and the Beast live action. It was something.

Latest Artistic Project: Make Art Not War Challenge eBook now available!

Latest Releases: Over the Edge for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Legacy of Lies for V20 Dark Ages.

Current State of Projects: Read my latest project update. New project update coming when I get time.