Christmas Eve 1987. I was eleven years old. As far as gift-hauls go, 1987 was a reasonable year. I raked in some fresh NES games, unwrapped a new pile of GI Joe action figures, and rolled my eyes at the requisite stack of clothes for school. I would’ve been satisfied if that’s all it had been. Toys, … Continue reading
Hecatomb – ‘heka’tom/ (noun) – An extensive loss of life for some cause. or… The name of my terrifying new novella, NOW available. From Sept 20th-27th, The Hecatomb is on mega-deadly sale. I’m looking for your honest Amazon reviews! In a drowned village, on a dark shore, in a city … Continue reading
Welcome to the latest installment of my new weekly series, A Thought for Every Thursday. Every Thursday at Tessera Guild I’ll pose a question (or several) regarding a specific current event, a modern moral issue, or a philosophical conundrum. Instead of answering it myself, I’ll look to you for the resolution. … Continue reading
My goal? To write tabletop role-playing games professionally. My plan? To pledge for RPG Kickstarters that let me write as a reward. My reality? I pay-to-play to build my resume. So far, I discussed my contribution – monetary and writing-wise – to the Kickstarter for Sasquatch Game Studio’s 5e campaign setting … Continue reading
I love TV Shows. Much like I love movies and novels, I want to see a good story develop. Doesn’t matter the format whether it is in a podcast or some old book. As I told Chad the other night, I don’t know if this is still the new Golden … Continue reading
“Can I buy enough RPG writing credits to springboard from vanity press to a paid freelancer?” Since my first game of D&D with J Edward Neill, I’ve seen tabletop role-playing games as an opportunity to tell stories professionally. However, it’s not a profession that I pursued. I plead “responsibilities” – … Continue reading
FREE for the next few days! 101 Questions for Humanity Designed to provoke, question, and challenge, 101 Questions for Humanity is the supreme coffee table book for armchair philosophers. Crack it open during huge parties, tiny gatherings, or lonely nights on the couch. Entertain yourself…or twenty friends and frienemies. Review it right here! To … Continue reading
Hi there everyone. While it’s true most of my creative time is dedicated to writing fantasy, sci-fi, and philosophy books, in recent months I’ve found myself wanting to paint. As in a lot. As in almost every night. It’s something I do to relax at the end of a brutal … Continue reading
“Escapism: the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.” I’m finding myself escaping a bit more nowadays. Let me flesh that out a little better. For the past year, things have been a bit hectic. Sometimes stressful. Many times head scratchingly … Continue reading
Welcome to the first installment of my new weekly series, A Thought for Every Thursday. It’s simple: Every Thursday here at Tessera Guild I’ll pose a question (or several) regarding a specific current event, a modern moral issue, or a philosophical conundrum. Instead of answering it myself, I’ll look to … Continue reading
Last week I talked a lot about the bad stuff that went down at Dragon Con this year. These are obviously not crazy problems, and I completely understand that. More it was as much about having that moment where you just say “this is going to be one of those … Continue reading
Hey there, my favorite people in the world. I’m talking about book readers. Obviously. 🙂 Several times over the last two years, I’ve taken a few risks. I’ve offered free paperback copies of my best books in exchange for honest reviews via Amazon. I pay for the paperback and I … Continue reading
Recently I took a little vacation to the Gulf Coast of Florida. In contrast to some of my lavish vacations of yesteryear, I did this one quick and cheap. Which turned out just perfect. This is my journal for four days and three nights in Palm Harbor, Florida. Please enjoy. * * * Tuesday, Sept 6th – … Continue reading
Hey you. Are you an artist? An author? A photographer? Or someone with something awesome to blog about? Yeah. We bet you are. 🙂 We think you should know; Tessera Guild is looking for someone like you. Did you just finish a rockin’ painting? Cool! We want you to blog about it. … Continue reading
This year I think I’m playing the Grumpy Old Man. That’s how I felt on Friday of Dragon Con. The little things adding up to just annoy and bother me. I’d like to think it was just a combination of things, but regardless of the individual pieces there was still … Continue reading
Hi there, I’m J, possibly the worst person at relationships in the world. A while back, I wrote about how modern love is a battlefield. I talked about how dating is harder than ever because it’s actually too easy. And I figured (out loud) that finding love and relationships will never be the … Continue reading
Making a Publication on a USB Drive by Dylan Kinnett Contributor to the awesome website, Infinity’s Kitchen * * Publishing has become a digital process. Books, newspapers, magazines, and posters are all, for the most part, created using software before they’re printed, by machines, onto paper. The older traditions of … Continue reading
The time has come! This afternoon I’ll be heading off to Atlanta with a car full of art for the 2016 Dragon Con Art Show. Drusilla and I have been hard at work in the studio preparing for what will be an amazing art show. I kid you not…. Drusilla … Continue reading
Good things take a while. Bad things arrive instantly wherever they are not wanted. Projects drag on for much longer than you ever thought possible. And I have the patience of… well, something with a lot of patience. There is a fine line between patience and stubbornness. Most times, I’m … Continue reading
You say you want questions… Oh, does 101 Questions for the End of the World have them. But instead of ice-breaking, take to a party full of tipsy people, improve your love life-type questions, it’s full of deadly serious inquiries. Think Socrates meets Stephen Hawking, Plato meets Carl Sagan, and that’s kinda … Continue reading
It’s kind of a thing. You might’ve heard of it. NFL football. The world’s most lucrative sport. Bone-crunching hits. Last-second touchdowns. An all-consuming war between twenty-two men on the gridiron. Also… Hugely addictive. Also also… A massive devourer of time. For the last 3,000 or so NFL seasons, I’ve had a … Continue reading
Tread lightly into ancient, forbidden realms. Wander the futures of apocalyptic worlds. Know what it feels like to face the darkness alone. * Machina Obscurum contains twenty-two short tales by nine masters of fiction. Within its pages lie stories of men and monsters, of lonely souls and far-distant places. No matter what … Continue reading
I found a letter I wrote over twenty years ago mixed in with my various electronic files I thought enough of to try and keep them for the pack rat in me (at least the digital versions of these things don’t cost as much space these days). What’s interesting is … Continue reading
It’s the end of an era. The final book in the Tyrants of the Dead trilogy is here. Nether Kingdom At the world’s edge, Andelusia awakens to the terrible realization that all her dreams have come to nothing. No matter that her father, the warlock, has fallen into exile. No … Continue reading
A while back, I created a giant list of things I didn’t understand about life, society, and humanity. I felt like Jon Snow, in that I realized I knew nothing about the world or anything in it. I almost took pride in my ignorance, except not really. In my original list, … Continue reading
Hi dudes and dudettes. Decided to channel my inner Ninja Turtle/ Bill & Ted lexicon there. Myself and comic book creator William Satterwhite (creator of the webcomic Stealth, regular contributor to BlackSci-Fi.com) are scheduled to appear on 8/20 from 1-7 at Onyxcon Infinity. We’ll have copies of Stealth: The Life … Continue reading
Welcome to the final Anti-Meme Friday. For the last two months, I’ve posted fresh new meme-hate for your entertainment. The first meme is always pulled from Facebook or Twitter, and its logic deconstructed in the most sarcastic way possible. The second one is anti-motivational and/or funny. Because…really…that’s all a good meme should aspire to be. Enjoy this final entry! … Continue reading
Thinkers, questioners, and science buffs, behold! The Little Book of BIIIIIIG Questions is here. It contains more than two-hundred unique conversation starters and thought igniters. It’s the book for every coffee table. It’s meant to be read in the company of others…or all alone beneath a starlit sky. We all … Continue reading
Dragon Con is fast approaching. Before I’m lost to the rush of art show preparations, I thought I’d share some facts about the panel I’ll be hosting this year. Panel: Digital Painting – From Sketch to Finish Day: Mon. 9/5 | Time: 2:30 | Grand Hall C A detailed look into … Continue reading
Wake up. Look at the alarm clock. Decide begrudgingly to not hit the snooze alarm (again). Stumble out of bed, somehow weaving through your house to find clothes for the new day. At some point decide not to call in sick to work so as to take a hooky day. … Continue reading
Ok. So. Let’s get this started. First, a few disclaimers: 1. This list doesn’t include sports games, indie titles, fighting games, or sandbox games. And it’s not because I don’t love those kinds of games (a few favorites are Limbo, Inside, Killer Instinct, Crackdown, and Tecmo Bowl) but more because I’m … Continue reading
I’ve been a freelance writer for 10 years. I started out working for The Atlanta Voice Newspaper back in 2006, and I’ve been able to build a pretty decent career as a “hired gunslinger” when it comes to the written word. With the guidance of awesome folks like Maurice Waters, … Continue reading
