Matt Forbeck's Blog, page 67

A YouTube Interview

Wyn Alexander, who used to print some of our books at Pinnacle back in the day, recently looked me up on Facebook and asked me if I'd be willing to take part in a video interview via YouTube. The topics ranged all over the place, but I think it made for a stimulating conversation. If you can bear with me in my natural state — tired and unshaven — give it a look.

Here are Wyn's questions:

And here's the first part of my answers:

And the second:

Gearing Up at Storytellers Unplugged

Late last night, I posted a new pieces at Storytellers Unplugged called "Gearing Up for Publication." It's all about how I now have to go out and promote Amortals as best I can. If you have any ideas for me or suggestions that might help, don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks!

Pre-Order Amortals

My upcoming science-fiction novel Amortals is now available for pre-order. I've provided a list of online retailers below. The "Indie Bookstores" link should help you find the book at an independent bookstore local to you, assuming there is one. The official release date for the book is November 4 for UK print and worldwide ebook sales. Amazon UK lists themselves as having the book ready November 1, which may well be true too.

If you're at all interested in Amortals, take a few seconds right now to pre-order the book. I'll truly appreciate it, and my publisher will too!

Amazon (UK) (Nov. 1)
Kindle (US) (Nov. 4)
Nook (Nov. 4)
Amazon (US) (Dec. 28)
Barnes & Noble (Dec. 28)
Borders (Dec. 28)
Indie Bookstores (Dec. 28)

My Next Trilogy: Dust

This summer, I signed on to write a trilogy of novels based on Dust, a world created by my longtime friend Paolo Parente. I first worked with Paolo on the Mutant Chronicles RPG way back in the early '90s, and later when I served as the president of Pinnacle, we regularly hired him to produce some amazing artwork for us. He always creates incredible imagery: dangerous, sexy, and action packed.

More recently, Paolo came up with Dust, a world in which alien technology discovered in 1938 allows the various warring factions of World War II to build and deploy walking tanks and other amazing weaponry. It's just as much wild, crazy fun as it sounds.

Dust has already seen life as an Image comic book, a series of gorgeous models, and a strategy board game from Fantasy Flight. Fantasy Flight also plans to produce a tactical board game later this fall.

Next year should see the first of the Dust novels released, with the other two following shortly after. I'm diving into the first volume right now, an approved outline in hand and bullets zipping past my head. Geronimo!

Read and Play for Pakistan

The fine folks over at DriveThruStuff.com have launched another charity drive, much like the Gamers for Haiti event they ran back in January. This time around, they're aiming to help the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan by gathering donations for Doctors Without Borders.

They're running two concurrent drives, actually. For the RPG side, if you chip in $25, you receive a bundle of game PDFs that total up to being worth over $700. If you prefer comics instead, chip in $10, and you receive over $100 worth of comic-book PDFs.

Both packages have some excellent bits in them. I'm proud to see, for instance, that Pinnacle tossed my Deadlands: One Shot comic in the comic book mix. Even if you don't like everything in the bundle, you're sure to enjoy some of it. You're bound to get far more than your money's worth — and it's all going to a great cause either way.

SFBooks Reviews Amortals

At the moment, I'm busy making the final revisions on Vegas Knights, my second novel being published by Angry Robot. This morning, though, AR's head robot Marc Gascoigne sent me some good news.

Antony Jones at SFBooks.com just gave Amortals a five-star review! The money quote:

Amortals is an action-packed sci-fi thriller full of fantastic tech and a great ending. Highly recommended.

The book is due to appear on shelves in the UK in November and the US in January. The ebook should be available worldwide simultaneously with the UK debut. Can't wait for you to read it!

Vegas Knights Cover Draft

Amazon.com has a draft version of the cover for Vegas Knightsup on its site. It's not the final copy, but I thought you might like to see it. I'm still giving my friends at Angry Robot feedback on it, so if you have any comments of your own, let me know.

Seeing the cover means the book's one step closer to being real, which is a complete thrill for me. Now I just have to finish those revisions so we have some words to put between the covers.

RPGs for Kids

The fine folks over at Fear the Boot have a new podcast (Episode 207) aimed at exploring which are the best RPGs to use to introduce kids to the hobby. They have a fine list of selections from people across the hobby, including one from me. If you'd rather read than listen, you can find the list and links to the various games on their site too.

Archon 34 Report

I haven't done one of these con reports for a while. Usually I'm swamped getting ready for the show, and deluged when I get back. Plus, tweeting while I'm at the show dulls the sharp edge of the need. Still, I enjoy writing them up, if only to remind myself of how lucky I am to be able to attend these shows, and I hope you do too.

I had a fantastic time at Archon 34 last weekend. The folks there were kind enough to fly me down, put me up, and stuff me silly with food and drink, for which I'm always grateful. The staff was helpful and unflappable, and everywhere I looked it seemed like people loved the show.

I flew in early Friday morning, an advance reader copy (ARC) of Amortals in my hand, and John Novak came out to the airport to pick me up and bring me to the hotel. After checking in, I wrote for a while, then went down to grab my badge from the convention HQ. This came along with a gift bag full of beer and pretzels, perfect for any gamer — plus chocolate, cookies, and fruit as a bonus.

I made it to the opening ceremonies, at which I got to meet the other guests of honor: Kurt Miller, Vic Milan, Selina Rosen, Jim and Teri Buck, and Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. After that, I grabbed a quick beer with Jeff Dohm and Matt Weinberg, who are working on a new American steampunk RPG called Steamfortress Victory, and Kurt and his lovely wife Ilyana joined us.

From there I raced straight to an autograph session, at which I sat alongside Marcus Pelegrimas. Doubled-up signings are always a bonus because they give you someone to chat with when things get slow, as they often are at 2:40 PM on a Friday afternoon, for instance.

At 5 PM, Jeff and I handled the Reactor 88 Studios panel. Unfortunately, Darren Orange and the rest of the crew weren't able to make it down, which meant we had nothing to show. Still, as writers Jeff and I did our best to paint moving pictures with words.

Jeff and I joined Jon and Beth Bancroft and their family for an early dinner to celebrate Beth's birthday. Jon is in charge of gaming at the show, and the man who invited me down as the gaming guest of honor. Beth handles the programming for the rest of the show, and they make an excellent team.

Afterward, Jeff and I had a late dinner with Kevin and Rebecca. I'd known them online for years and had met them before, but this was my first chance to sit and really chat with them. They're fantastic folks with a real passion for their lives and their work.

One thing about Archon: free beer. It's available at the hospitality suite (read: hotel bar) throughout the evenings to anyone of legal age who's attending the con. They also have some stunningly fun room parties throughout the weekend, including one that Jeff and Matt hosted to promote Steamfortress Victory that night. I bumped into my pal Doug Ferguson of the Pokémon Company later that night and caught up with him over a few of those free drinks.

I got in late.

Still, I slept for about eight hours, which is far more than I usually get. The next morning, I made it down to my first panel on "Game Writing, Illustration, and Design" with Brent Chumley and Rob Hobart (of AEG).

After that, Rob and I were scheduled for a panel on tie-in games, but only a few people showed up because of the competition across the hall from Kevin and Rebecca's panel on tie-in novels. Proving himself a true gentlemen, Kevin poked his head into our room and invited Rob, me, and all our guests to team up with him and Rebecca for a full tie-in-releated slate.

Next up, I co-hosted a kaffeeklatsch with Gwen Cope, , and Mitchell Bentley. We had an entertaining roundtable with everyone who joined us.

Later in the afternoon, I had another autograph session, this time with Kurt, which gave me some time to chat with him. The differences between freelance artists and freelance writers and game designers it seems aren't that much.

From there, I was off for the day. I wound up having dinner with Doug and a couple of his friends. Then I went over to the gaming area to watch Jon run a game of Sticks & Stones by Rob Lusk, with some modifications by Jon. It's a minis game in which the players can't use words, only names and grunts. All movement and ranges are measured with hands, and all combat is settled by rock-leaf-spear (a.k.a. rock-paper-scissors). It was knockdown hilarious.

I spent a good part of the night at the Legend of the Five Rings party hosted by the local Shark Clan. Pro tip: If someone offers you a drink called Instant Enlightenment, consider your options carefully first.

The next morning, my old business partner John Zinser of AEG called me up, and we grabbed lunch and caught up in a way that we never can seem to manage at larger shows. I lost track of time and missed my last autograph session, but I made it to the closing ceremonies, at which those looking for me were able to track me down.

Best of all, Kevin and Rebecca gave me a signed copy of their first Star Challengers book (Star Challengers: Moonbase Crisis) for Marty. The series aims to inspire kids to be passionate about science and space travel, in conjunction with the Challenger Learning Centers around the country.

After saying my good-byes, John Novak brought me back to the airport for a smooth flight back. A few short hours later, I was home once again. If you get a chance, go. It's a great show.

The Fun of Surprise (An Interview)

Jeremy L C Jones just posted a short interview with me on Booklife about how playing and designing games has influenced my writing. Go read "The Fun of Surprise," and then let me know what you think.