Matt Forbeck's Blog, page 65

Moving from Gaming to Novels

The other day, my pal Sean Preston over at Reality Blurs asked me about how I moved from writing roleplaying games to writing novels. It's not the most obvious career path in the world, although I've had lots of friends and mentors manage it, and it makes for a fine story. He asked if he could post my answer on his blog as a means of helping promote the release of Amortals, and I happily agreed.

That's the kind of friends you want, folks. The ones that you not only enjoy hanging out with but who are also bold enough to suggest a way in which you can help each other out. (Speaking of which, if anyone else out there would like me to write a guest post for your blog or website or whatever — or would enjoy interviewing me for the same — I am open to entertaining all request/offers.) It also doesn't hurt that I can unreservedly recommend Reality Blur's RPG books as some of the best being produced today. Realms of Cthulhu, for instance, is fantastic pulpy horror wrapped around the excellent Savage Worlds rules.

So, if you're curious about how I made the jump from writing games to writing full-on fiction, jump on over to Sean's blog and get reading.

The R.E.V.s Motion Comic

A few years back, Playmates Toys hired me to come up with a complete storyline for its upcoming line of morphable cars. These were toys that were a cross between Transformers and Tinkertoys. They looked like cars at first, but you could unfold them into large robots and then swap out pluggable parts to customize them or even build bigger conglomerated robots out of several of them.

When we started, Playmates had no idea for a story behind the robots or even what to call them. They hired me to provide that. After a bit of back and forth and many tries of getting bits approved by trademark attorneys, I came up up R.E.V.s, Radically Engineered Vehicles, complete with a list of names for the good robots and their robot foes, plus a story that gave them all a good reason to fight a lot and knock pieces off of each other.

Playmates also wanted a comic book, so I hired Max Bertolini to handle the artwork, while I managed the writing and production. Once that was ready, they asked me if I could add animation and voiceovers to it. For that, I hired James Farr (creator of Xombie) to chop up the artwork and manipulate it in Flash. Tim Brown's bandmate AJ had a sound studio, so I grabbed a bunch of friends and directed the voice recordings too.

Playmates has long since cancelled the line, but they gave me permission to post the PDF of the comic online. I never got around to finding the Flash files for the motion comic and posting them — until today. While going through my office, I stumbled across an old CD with some R.E.V.s files on it, and the Flash file for the comic was on it. I've posted the R.E.V.s motion comic now. I hope you have as much fun watching it as I did helping make it happen.

Amortals Launches Today!

My latest book, Amortals, hits shelves in the UK and Australia today, and it's also been released worldwide as an ebook! You can now purchase it at stores throughout the UK and Australia, including Amazon UK, and you should be able to get it anywhere you are for the Kindle (US) and the Nook. You can also pick up the ebook directly through my publisher, Angry Robot. If you're in the US or Canada, the print edition is coming soon, on December 28!

Amortals is an action-packed science-fiction thriller in which the world's oldest man — Secret Service Agent Ronan Dooley — wakes up in his latest clone body to discover that he's been brutally murdered, and a recording of his killing has become a huge hit on the internet. Worse yet, because he hadn't bothered to check in for a backup for a while, he can't remember anything that he did for the past three months — and now he must hunt down his killer and bring him to justice.

Lots of people have already read and loved the book. Check out Amortal's reviews and blurbs page for ringing endorsements from Jim Lee, John Rogers, Jordan Weisman, Dan Abnett, Mike Stackpole, Ben Templesmith, Monte Cook, Richard Dansky, Jack Emmert, and Richard Knaak, plus a number of excellent and kind reviewers.

In my wholly biased opinion, this is the best thing I've ever written. Give it a try, and I hope you'll agree. Be sure to read the free 50-page sample or listen to me read the first chapter. If you like it, please go buy it, and then tell your friends and neighbors! Thanks for your support!

Go Joe!

While I was at the World Fantasy Convention, Jeff Conner let me know that I could finally tell people about the novella I wrote for him for a tie-in anthology. A little poking around this week showed that Diamond Book Distributors had already solicited the book, so I can share the cover with you too.

The name of the book is G.I. Joe: Tales from the Cobra Wars. Max Brooks (World War Z) edited it, and it features novellas from Max, Chuck Dixon, Jon McGoran, Jonathan Maberry, John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow, Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Tafoya, and me. Look for it in stores on March 2, 2011, from IDW Publishing.

I loved the G.I. Joe series from Marvel Comics, and IDW has been busy blowing the doors off that for the past couple years. I'm honored to be part of such an excellent lineup of talent wrapped up in that stunning cover by Gabrielle Dell'Otto. I had a great time concocting my tale for this anthology, and I can't wait to read the rest of them alongside you.

Buy Amortals Now! — or Soon at Least

You can now buy Amortals in at least two different flavors, depending on where you are. Amazon UK started shipping the book on November 1, and as of this morning at least you can now purchase the ebook at the Angry Robot Bookstore. If you have a Kindle, you can buy the book now, and it will be delivered to your device tomorrow. Same should be true for the Nook.

If you'd like to try before you buy, you can hear me read the first chapter of the book or read the first 50 pages of the book. It's absolutely free.

Don't be shy when it's time to buy. Put your money down, and please tell your friends and neighbors! This is the best book I've ever written, and I'd like to have as many people read it as possible. Not just because I like feeding my kids this way, but also because I want to bring you something I hope you'll enjoy.

Thanks for your support!

Lyndi Interviews Me

Over at her site, author Lyndi Alexander interviews me about how I got into writing novels and how Amortals came to be. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

Gamers for Pakistan Relief

My pals at DriveThruRPG.com just raised over $65,000 for Doctors Without Borders to help with the efforts to help out the people affected by the horrible floods in Pakistan. Good going to them, the gaming companies that supported them, and all the gamers who bought the special bundle to raise the money. Does my heart good to see that kind of rallying for people in such dire need.

See after the full press release after the break.

October 27th, 2010

*DriveThruRPG's Customers Donate Over $65,000.00 to Doctors Without Borders

for Pakistan Relief*

(Atlanta, GA) – DriveThruRPG, an Internet-based business that specializes

in the marketing and distribution of role-playing games and role-playing

accessories for traditional dice-and-paper gaming, recently conducted a

fund-raising program in the wake of Pakistan's devastating floods. Their

efforts, concluded on October 25, resulted in an amount in excess of

$65,000.00, all of which is being donated to the international emergency

medical organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

(MSF).

"For the second time this year, we asked the gaming community to step up and

help those in need," said Sean Patrick Fannon, marketing and communications

manager for DriveThruRPG. "Once again, the response of the publishers and

the customers blew us away. I am proud to be part of this community, and I

am grateful for its capacity for generosity. We cannot erase the misery

suffered by the people of Pakistan, but we are hopeful that our efforts can

bring some relief and recovery to them."

DriveThruRPG continues to support Doctors Without Borders because of its

mission to provide emergency medical care to people in over 60 countries

around the world, as a neutral and impartial organization.

"We would like to thank DriveThruRPG for choosing Doctors Without Borders as

the beneficiary of this event," said Jennifer Tierney, director of

development for MSF-USA. "Contributions like this enable us to provide

assistance to those affected by the floods in Pakistan, through programs

focused on delivering safe drinking water, providing shelter for the

displaced, medical and nutritional care, and essential relief supplies."

In addition to the RPG bundle that was offered, DriveThruComics (sister site

to DriveThruRPG) also offered a special charity package. "Comic and fiction

publishers at DriveThruComics were thrilled to donate some of their creative

work to the Pakistan relief cause," said Matt McElroy, DriveThruComics

manager. "Comics fans responded, donating thousands of dollars and scooping

up some great digital comics along the way."

Since early August, MSF aid workers have conducted nearly 50,000 medical

consultations at hospitals, mobile clinics, and diarrhea treatment centers.

The organization is providing 330,000 gallons of clean water per day, has

distributed nearly 58,000 relief item kits and 13,000 family tents to help

displaced people survive, and 1,700 malnourished children have been admitted

to feeding centers. Approximately 135 international aid workers are working

alongside 1,200 Pakistani staff in MSF's existing and flood response

programs in Pakistan.

"Though we are deeply saddened that another tragedy like this has come up so

soon," said Steve Wieck, CEO of DriveThruRPG, "we are gratified to know our

publishers and our customer base were able to step up once again and share

such generosity. Our relationship with Doctors Without Borders gives us a

solid and continuing conduit to channel that generosity into powerful and

effective relief efforts. We hope it's a long time before we are needed in

such a way again, but we are ready to do what we can when that time comes."

About DriveThurRPG:

DriveThruRPG..com is the world's largest source of RPG products available

for download, as well as a burgeoning source of print-on-demand books for

gamers. It is an industry leader in modern business and technology

developments for the tabletop gaming fan. For more information, contact Sean

Patrick Fannon (**, 614-946-9371).

About Doctors Without Borders:

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international

medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to

assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or

catastrophe. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. For

more information visit doctorswithoutborders.org.

Try Trilobyte

My pal Blaze Miskulin recently set up a new venture called Trilobyte Studios. He aims to develop a number of new properties in several different genres, for games, films, books, and so on, but he needs help. If you're a creative soul looking to get involved with something cool, stop by and check it out.

World Fantasy 2010 Report

I had a wonderful time at the World Fantasy Convention (WFC) this weekend. It's a traveling show, roaming from city to city each year, and this time it landed in Columbus, Ohio. I went to the University of Michigan, so I'm likely to be biased against Columbus, as it's the home of our rivals at Ohio State. However, I've been there many times for the Origins Game Fair and loved it.

I headed out for the show — which had started on Thursday — on Friday morning. I got into town about 4:30 and met my roommate Scott James Magner. Scott's been active in the gaming industry for many years, and I met him back in the mid-'90s when I was running Pinnacle. He's a great guy and a talented writer who's made the move over to that side of the business as a computer game writer, coming from marketing tabletop games.

I had planned to skip WFC this year, but Scott's girlfriend wound up staying home after her father had a heart attack earlier this fall. He's recovering fine, thankfully, but that left her badge and a spot in Scott's room open, which he offered to me. Able to get into the show and stay in town for cheap, I could no longer resist the show.

After I checked in, Scott and I headed over to the Hyatt, picked up my badge (and a massive bag of free books) and wandered up to the Big Bar on 2. Just as with every Origins I've been to, this became the focal spot of the entire show. It's a large lobby bar, spread out with lots of seating, and it's the perfect place to wander in and out of conversations with dozens of friends and to hobnob with people you're eager to meet.

We ran into a few friends and sat down for drinks, which eventually became dinner with Jeff Conner (who edits IDW's new fiction line), Robert Fleck (agent for many of my friends), and Jerry Gordon (writer and editor, and a client of Bob's). Afterward, I ran off to the mass autograph session, which was packed.

WFC caps its attendance at 1,000 people, but lots of writers, editors, agents, and publishers attend. It often seemed like the publishing professionals outnumbered the fans by about 2 to 1. Of course, most of the pros are readers too, so we all serve double duty that way.

I didn't sign any books, which I'm going to generously attribute to the fact that no one knew I would be there until the week before the show — including me. Still, I had a great time chatting with fans and pros. I sat down next to my pal Tobias Buckell and watched him sign books instead. Jim Minz of Baen Books came by to introduce himself and ask for some pitches, which flattered me to no end.

After the signing, I went back to the Big Bar on 2, where I ran into many old friends (like Maurice Broaddus, Marc Tassin, Nikki Lange, Tanya Ellenburg-Kimmet, Brad Beaulieu, and Paul Genesse) and made a slew of new ones (like Nayad Monroe, Daniel Robichaud, and Robert Wenzlaff). I wound up hanging out there until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day, Scott and I got up late and headed for the food court in the convention center. Sadly, the legendary Krema Nut Company lunch counter wasn't open, but we had breakfast for lunch to stoke our fires for the day. I roamed through the dealer's hall and caught up with Jim Pavalec and Chris Seaman, who were hawking their cool new art/story book Inkbloom, which teaches you how to illustrate a fantasy adventure story.

I somehow wound up back at the Big Bar on 2 until my reading at 3:30 PM. Despite the fact I've had 13 novels published — and countless games — I'd never given a public reading of my work before. I've been on enough panels and done enough solo speeches I wasn't worried about it, but it marked another milestone for me.

About 20–30 people showed up, which pleased me since, again, I hadn't been able to tell too many people in advance. Rather than read from Amortals — which starts out with a dark, vicious bang — I opted to respect the Fantasy part of the con's title and read the first two chapters of Vegas Knights instead. The kind crowd laughed at all the right spots and applauded at the end of each chapter, so I'm counting that as a huge win.

I gave away dozens of copies of the Amortals e-book while I was there. I e-mailed one everyone who came to my reading one, and anyone who met me in the bar or the autograph session got one too. Some people were kind enough to come back and tell me how much they enjoyed the opening.

After the reading, I returned to the bar and chatted with a number of people, including Melinda Dansky, wife of my good friend Richard Dansky, who sadly couldn't be there. Throughout the afternoon, I met a number of very cool people like John Scalzi (who says hi to Ken Hite!), Paolo Bacigalupi, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jonathan Oliver (of Rebellion/Abaddon/Solaris).

For the dinner break, Pierce Watters (director of sales for Paizo) grabbed Steve Saffel (of Titan Books), Scott, and me for a quick bite. Jeff Conner joined us halfway through. I could have listened to Pierce and Steve talk about the legends of the industry all night. Instead, after dinner, we adjoined to the bar for a bit and from there to the room parties upstairs.

The parties were fantastic. At the Tor party, I met a couple of the legends, Tom Doherty (publisher of Tor) and Brian Lumley. Plus — ah forget it. There were too many wonderful folks in too little time, and it's much of a blur. I'll forget someone who doesn't deserve to be ignored. The fact that I was out until 4:30 AM might only have a little to do with that.

I do have to mention Jeremy Lassen of Night Shade Books though. He's the greatest Giants fan I've ever seen. He died his hair a bright orange and wore a glorious pinstriped zoot suit in the same color in honor of his favorite team. I couldn't help but talk with him. To see him in it, check out this article from last Wednesday's USA Today. The photo doesn't do the suit justice, but it'll give you a hint of its glory.

The next morning, I got up to meet Betsy Mitchell of Del Rey for coffee. Then I got into my car and drove back home to arrive just in time to take the kids out for trick-or-treating. As much fun as the rest of it was, that was still the high point of my weekend.

Becoming a Freelancer

My friend Louis Porter Jr. — the man behind Louis Porter Jr. Design — asked me to write a guest post for his blog about becoming a freelance writer. Head on over there and check it out at your earliest convenience, please, and let him (and me) know what you think.