“An Interstate Ghost Story” to Play Second Fiddle
As a very ambitious human being, I have had many different dreams. ��All of you who know me pretty well already realize that one of those dreams was to become a successful novelist. ��So far, about two years into the pursuit of this dream, it remains unrealized. ��However, I am truly thankful for all who took the time to invest in my first novel — 2018: An Uncivil War — and especially those who helped to spread the news of it and recommending it to any and all the people they knew on their social media and elsewhere.
However, another ambitious dream that I had was designing my very own tabletop role-playing game. ��As a kid, I had played numerous such RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, James Bond: The Roleplaying Game, Chill, Vampire: The Masquerade, Cyberpunk, and many, many others. ��I also founded three��different gaming clubs in North Carolina.
And another crazy dream I had was to live the life of a pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy! ��Yes, I know this sounds absolutely crazy! ��But as a Marine on ship while in the Southern Pacific, part of me wondered what it must have been like to be on a galleon back in those very adventurous days…what it was like to overtake other ships and bring them completely under your control with the ultimate decision to either sink her or claim her as your personal prize to add to your fleet…and finally, what it was like to battle with swords and cutlasses in the style and grandeur of Errol Flynn and Tyrone Powers.
And there are many, many others…to be a rock star or movie star, to be rich beyond my means and never have to worry about bill collectors hounding me and humping my legs like the rabid, starving dogs they are.
But I have decided to pursue a project that will help me to pursue those first two dreams I just mentioned, the pirate and the role-playing game design. ��That’s right, folks! ��I have decided to design a role-playing game based on the Golden Age of Piracy! ��It will be authentic and will be based on actual facts on the history of these adventurous men and women whose names threatened the waterways used by many, many ocean going vessels.
Some of you may be wondering: ��How will this affect the release of my��upcoming horror novel, An Interstate Ghost Story: The Girl on the Highway? ��I will move the tentative date back one more year and will still continue to work on it whenever I get a chance. ��But my new project, tentatively named Skull and Crossbones, will take the helm of my current writing endeavors.
Being a fiction novelist just hasn’t delivered the warm and fuzzy feeling that I was hoping for. ��So I’ve decided to try something different for a change. ��For me to get back into the mood to pursue my writing full pitch, one of two things will have to happen. ��Either the sales of 2018: An Uncivil War will have to seriously take off; or a reputable agent will have to pick me up and be willing to bank on me and my profitability.
Who knows? ��Maybe all the research I do for this RPG will be useful in a novel that takes place on��the high seas during this Golden Age of Plunder and Booty.
I’m also considering the��temporary closing of this blog, though I will leave it up for web surfers to enjoy from time to time. �� ��So there is quite a bit up in the air at this time. ��Please stay tuned here, and I will keep all of you posted as time goes on. ��And thank each of you for your continued and undying interest of me and my work.
