Development, things to come, and art for "The Steel Road"

From: The Steel Road
Art by: Zachary Viola

A friend of mine recently said to me, "I don't know how you do it all."  This was in reference to my writing, blogging, publishing efforts, promotional work, crowdfunding campaigns, raising kids, and going through my divorce while working full time during the day. It sounds very daunting when you write it all out. I admit that I felt a bit conflicted about my friend's opinion. He is convinced that I achieve a great deal.  My perception, however, is that I actually just accomplish a little each day.  With each task I complete, I take another step toward completion of my projects.

Many of you who read this blog are interested in producing your own materials. I am certain you have had moments when you felt overwhelmed by the job ahead.  I know I've certainly had moments when I have looked at my "to do" list and it seemed impossibly huge.  Anything extraordinary, any kind of remarkable accomplishment, is going to require some extra effort. The thing to remember, is that any large task is really just the sum total of several small jobs. I encourage you to put your pen to paper, your fingers to the keys, and your time to the small tasks.  You'll have to set forth the effort. But if you can accomplish a little bit each day, or each day that you have a moment to work in, the work accomplished piles up.  You'll get a step closer to completion with every play test, every page written, and with every task you complete toward your goal.  Don't let naysayers deter you, don't allow an incomplete project to lay fallow, and don't worry about what other people are doing. Create your vision, bring it to the world, and enjoy the incredible sensation of seeing people appreciate your work.

I recommend to each of you (the writers, the visual artists, the game designers, bloggers, etc.), that you not let yourself become disheartened as you work.  Believe me, I know that sometimes it can seem like writing and developing games and titles can feel like a never ending task.  Its a lot like eating a whole cow, you do it one bite at a time (yes, I know the saying is 'elephant'). So get the outline written, write through that tough scene that has you wringing your hands, correct that layer you aren't happy with, and bring your vision to life.

People will say things like "Wow, how did you do that?!" or "That must have been SO hard!" but really its just that you were willing to put in the work, in order to accomplish your goal.  Don't be afraid to do the work, don't be scared of not seeing immediate results, and above all... DON'T GIVE UP!  You can produce your vision if you will just do the work to make it happen.

You may feel like you're not doing enough to get done.  I sympathize as I feel that way very often.  I have a full time day job, I have small children, and I have a divorce I'm dealing with.  Believe me, I know what it feels like to have your time tied up.  Certainly take a little time to relax and unwind, but don't sacrifice your vision.  Dust yourself off and get a little done.  Only have twenty minutes to write? Well, then write for twenty minutes.  I usually keep a notepad with me or some other way that I can write down notes, ideas, and / or blocks of text.  I encourage you to do the same.

Completing your project is very simply a matter of doing the work to get it done.  It won't always be easy.  This blog entry is a perfect example of that.  I didn't know what I wanted to talk about and I went through three different ideas before I found what was most important to me right now.  I wrote this for you, and to confront my own demons as they howl in my ear trying to decry my own efforts.  (Back hellspawn, BACK!) So this entry was beneficial for me as it allowed me to refocus on the important details.  So tonight I'll write, even if it's only a few words, and get that little bit done.  Day by day, and page by page, I'll complete those projects and more.

I hope you'll do the same.

Below are the things I'm working on right now.  Items in development and those things rolling into development.

As of this writing, I'm polishing up Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock for its backer release /fulfillment.  Schedule is to release in April so time is coming up.  I had my laptop die and that slowed things considerably until I was able to get a new system (thanks to my friend Justin, for helping me out with that).  Art is done except for maps, which should be completed shortly.

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What comes next:

Once fulfillment is complete for CoER, I'll be finishing up "The Steel Road" 5th edition OGL version.  I'll be creating the Pathfinder Compatible version as well and should complete that during its KickStarter campaign.

"The Steel Road" is a source book of exotic weapons from around the world.  It features fifty weapons, each of which is illustrated.  For each of the weapons within the book there is also an illustrated and fully defined enchanted "legendary" version of that weapon type.  This book provides you with a great range of available weapons for your game.  I have developed each weapon's statistics from real world data.  None of the stats presented are duplicated from any other text.  {In short, we're not copying anyone!}  The book is presented in an art style that mimics a sketchbook.  This is in keeping with the theme, as information is presented from our fictitious 'narrator', a leader of caravan of weapons merchants, as they traverse the far flung corners of the world.

From: The Steel Road
Art by: Zachary Viola

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Following fulfillment of "The Steel Road" Kicstarter campaign, I will be commissioning the initial art for use in "Whispers of Persephone".

"Whispers of Persephone" is a resource book for players and game masters alike.  It brings a new arcane tradition to the 5th edition OGL mechanic, "Stygian Necromancy".  This book is being designed to resemble a spell book, containing pages of new spells, rituals, rules for ritual sacrifice (how and why you do it), notes on the tradition itself, tips on playing an evil spell caster, fiction concerning the Stygian Necromancers, and material to help bring the "DARK" back to the 'dark arts'!

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In the late summer of 2018, I will be re-launching crowdfunding campaigns for "47 Furious Tails, Issue One".  If you've been following this blog since summer of 2017, you may recall that we didn't reach the funding goal on our first attempt.  To remedy this, I'm diverting any profits above operating costs into making this comic book a reality.

"47 Furious Tails" is a comic book re-telling of the Ako Incident. The story of 47 samurai who defied the will of the Shogunate to avenge the death of their lord, Asano Naganori. This series uses anthropomorphic characters to depict these legendary samurai.  You'll see samurai squirrels, foxes, monkeys and more as the tale unfolds.  Issue one begins before Lord Asano's last journey to Edo.  You'll see our insights into the way these samurai may have lived.

Based on historical and literary accounts of the incident, this comic series strives to bring the tale back to the modern era.  You'll see brutal samurai action throughout the series, experience intrigue, and catch a glimpse into the beautiful and deadly traditions of the samurai!

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Late Fall and Winter of 2018

Tarot Adventures, Book Three:  Death comes to Glenfallow.

The Tarot Adventures continue in the later half of 2018.  I'll be releasing Death comes to Glenfallow, and if time permits, I will strive to release Book four as well (more on that title later).
Death comes to Glenfallow will bring yet more adversity to the denizens of Glenfallow, more challenges to the player characters, and more opportunities for heroics.

Luther's Revenge 

The sequel to my first adventure release, Tale of the Wizard's Eye, Luther's Revenge is a dark tale filled with assassins, murderous plots, and deceits targeting the player characters.  Look for fantastic art from none other than Lotus Blair  to make this a beautiful book.  Designed for high level characters as a difficult to deadly level challenge.  Be


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Things on the back burner (I.E. my pile of other projects)

Children's books ~ I've written four children's in 2017 and I'm still waiting on illustrations on the first.  These projects are important to me, so I'm working on them as well.  It is likely that one or maybe two of these book will be released this year.

Card game ~ A friend of mine had a kickstarter to fund his own card game.  I thought to myself, "I can create a card game, sure" and so I bent my will to the task of designing a card game.  It was not as easy as I expected!  That said, the design is done, it just needs art and lay out to be completed then I can test it.  This isn't a high priority for me at the moment, so it is sitting in my "to play test" pile of projects.  (That pile is basically for things that I will inflict upon my play testers... they are such tolerant souls).

My original RPG ~ I have tons of work done on this and probably one hundred or more pages left to write  I don't have any art for this other than a few pieces for the bestiary so I'll have to fund that through crowd funding (and its going to take a LOT of money, so wish me luck and I hope you'll support the effort).  I'll run this game by my game group for play testing and we'll see how it shakes out.

I want to thank you all for once again joining me on my journey as I explore game design, self-publishing, and writing.  I hope you find this blog useful, of benefit, and that it helps you to avoid the mistakes that I have made while providing some clarity for your own efforts.

I hope you'll join me next time as we continue this bold adventure.

W.S. "Sam" Quinton





The Tarot Adventures series is trademarked by Sinopa Publishing LLC and W.S. Quinton.  All rights reserved.

The Steel Road is copyright (c) 2018 by W.S. Quinton and released by Sinopa Publishing LLC.  All art included in The Steel Road is copyright (c) 2017 and 2018 by Zachary Viola and is used with permission and under contract. All rights reserved.

47 Furious Tails is copyright (c) 2017 by W.S. Quinton and released by Sinopa Publishnig LLC. All art included in 47 Furious Tails is being created by Alexia Veldhuisen on commission from Sinopa Publishing LLC.  All rights reserved.

Whispers of Persephone is copyright (c) 2018 by W.S. Quinton and released by Sinopa Publishing LLC.  All art included in Whispers of Persephone is being created by Christian Martinez on commission from Sinopa Publishing LLC.  All rights reserved.