Santa Dragon Claws Presents, 25 Holiday magic items (DnD5E OGL)

Happy holidays everyone!


Back in October, while the Whispers of Persephone KickStarter was running, I came up with an idea for a holiday themed RPG book detailing useful and fun magic items.  Zack Viola liked the idea, and so he launched the KickStarter campaign for the book last night.


While I'm finishing up Whispers for fulfillment, Zack is going to be running the campaign for the Holiday magic item book.  It will be good for him to learn the creator applications on KickStarter for his future endeavors. 


What we did with this crowd funding campaign:


This project is something of an oddity, in that we launched the campaign to fund our marginal costs but we wanted to keep the campaign simple and the pledge level low.  We hit upon the idea of having only one backer tier and keeping the rewards as digital only for simplicity sake. 


$4 backer tier:  The only backer tier for this campaign was specifically created to provide value for the backers while minimizing fulfillment expenses and facilitating a rapid delivery of rewards.  To maximize value for the backer, we are distributing PDF and Print on Demand codes for hard cover and soft cover versions of the book.  {Yes, this means we aren't making any money on the print versions through this campaign.  The purpose is to provide the best value possible for the backer. This is our way of saying 'Happy Holidays' to the KickStarter community}




How it's going so far:


We didn't promote this campaign much before launch but we've seen several people sharing links for us on social media platforms.  As of this writing, the campaign is less than twelve hours old and hasn't yet funded.  With six days left in this short campaign I'm optimistic that we'll reach our goal.




Fulfillment:


Normally, I wait to fulfill campaigns until after the money comes in from Kickstarter.  This is due, in large part, because I usually need to use that money to pay for printing costs and shipping.  With this campaign, where are rewards are digital, fulfillment will begin Christmas Eve night after the backer survey goes out.  PDF files will be sent out starting that evening, and the print on demand codes will go out once they are available from drivethrurpg.com. 




For other creators:


Running a campaign like this, where you are collaborating with someone you work well with, is a lot of fun.  This project benefits from having little stress on either Zack or I and is a fun holiday project.  If you decide to run a campaign like this yourself, I recommend far more advance promotion that Zack and I did, as we limited ours to a few social media blurbs and reached out to some bloggers and podcasters we know.  Give yourself a couple of weeks ahead of launch to build interest.


Here's to one last KickStarter campaign for 2018!
Now, I'm going to get back to work finishing up the things I've left to do for Whispers of Persephone.  Backers are getting that book this month and I've still a few things to take care of.


Check out Santa Dragon Claws Presents at the link below.  Happy holidays to you all!

Helping each other, a bit of advice about KickStarter Live, and shameless self-promotion!

In the time that I have been writing this blog, I have very often made mention of my belief in building community with other creators.  I have personally enjoyed doing so, have benefited from sharing information, and have develop a few new friendships along the way.  It has been beneficial and personally it has been most gratifying.

One thing I like to do, is to reach out to first time Kickstarter creators to offer encouragement, of if they are slow funding I like to recommend free things they can do to promote their campaign.  It takes just a few minutes of your day to reach out to people (bloggers, podcasters, Youtubers, etc.) who use an interview platform and put them in touch with the first time creator.  This has the remarkable benefit of providing content and provides a ready made audience for the first time creator to be introduced to.  This works best when you maintain these relationships.

Support those who have supported your efforts, and support those whose work you respect.  If you'll look over to the right you'll see the "featured crowdfunding campaign" section.  Folks don't pay for that spot, I put it there because I think their creation is cool.  This is one of the ways I make an effort to help other creators.  Those of you who have a broader social reach (so really, just about everyone who reads this blog) can have a tremendous impact on the success of a crowdfunding campaign. Remember, if you think its cool then the people who read your material will probably enjoy it too.

It really comes down to building each other up.  Share information about each other's campaigns.  Point folks to print shops and manufacturers you've had good experience with (Thanks again, Adam!).   Use the social media sharing options on your crowdfunding campaign to spread the word on things you like.  You'll find that people are usually very willing to help you in return.

'Pro' tip:

Starting with The Steel Road, I began making a habit of using KickStarter Live (their live streaming utility) to stream during the campaigns.  I've found that this is a wonderful way to connect with your audience!  While I cannot say that live streaming has had a direct impact on the amount of funding raised (there just isn't enough to data present for me to attempt a responsible correlation calculation) I will point out that The Steel Road was a great success for me and Whispers of Persephone saw even more funding from its campaign.

Yes, I'm recommending that you use this feature when you launch a KickStarter campaign.  I'm also going to recommend that you not limit it to just non-stop prattle about your project.  I try to spend about five minutes an hour talking about the project and the rest of the time taking questions, talking with guests (get to that in a moment) and making it a fun activity for all.  Making it a fun thing really does take a lot of the stress away launching the live stream, so have a good time with it.  If you look forward to it, then others will as well.

I also recommend having guests on.  I've had live streamers, podcasters, Youtubers, artists, an author and friends on my own streams.  It keeps the conversation going effortlessly, makes for a wide range of appeal, brings in fans of the guests in question, and really does make for a fun evening.  People have said that I don't live stream "the right way" in that I don't spend a LOT of time talking about my own stuff.  I do, however, take questions about the project and address them as prompltly as possible.  As a great side effect, my relationships with those guests have improved, they've picked up more viewers as audiences cross populate, and I've found more support from some of their fans as well.  Get to know people, even if they have an audience of five people that is potentially five more people you can reach.

Shameless self-promotion:

Yes indeed, it is time once again for me to plug my own stuff.  Whispers of Persephone's KickStarter campaign is complete and I'm working hard to complete the last stages before sending it to be edited.  Once Whispers fulfillment is complete, I'll be launching a holiday book.  I would like to see that campaign launch on the 14th if at all possible, so I'll be working pretty hard in the coming days to make that happen.  It will have its own KickStarter campaign with a rapid fulfillment turn around. Wish me luck!

Drip

My Drip page has entered its second month.  This month (November) will see a monster character as the subject of the month.  It is being illustrated in full color by Alexia Veldhuisen.  I've seen the black and white (pre-color) version of the art and it is stunning.  I'm looking forward to putting that PDF out and sending out the Magic in the Mail cards.

Drip (and Patreon) are wonderful resources for creators.  It is surprising how just a little bit of support can go such a long way!  I am hoping, really hoping, to achieve a milestone of fifty subscribers by the end of April 2019.  That is a BIG goal, but would (most likely) make the Drip page self-sufficient (I commission original art for the monthly release and it does cost some money) and would eventually like to expand the breadth of the material released to the subscribers.

So here is my vision of what my Drip page releases will, eventually, look like:

1) Behind the scenes releases will continue to include play test materials for subscribers.  This is already happening and I'm cautiously optimistic that this will continue to be a popular point with the subscribers.

2) Monthly release will be gradually expanded to increase content provided to the subscribers without raising price points.

3) Subscribers will have the first choice option for limited availability tiers for coming KickStarter campaigns.  One of the first examples of this will be with Tarot Adventures, Book Three: Death comes to Glenfallow.  For that campaign, I have arranged to have a fully illustrated map developed.  On that map will be ten (10) locations that KickStarter backers can pledge for to have the area named after themselves.  Drip subscribers will have the opportunity to pledge for this limited reward prior to the KickStarter going live. I'll reduce the total available tier slots available before launch.

Long term goal for Drip page:

Okay, so this is a bit of misnomer... Drip is shutting down next year and the Drip creators are being migrated to a new site.  I'm not certain what the new platform will be named so for now I'll just refer to it as Drip.  Also, I originally drew up three different long term goals but they are all dependent upon the goal below.

1) Reach 1000 subscribers!  There are a lot of reasons I want to reach this goal.  It would allow me to expand the amount of content released each month (as above), help fund the art and development for the Tarot Adventures and would (potentially) allow me to commission art for my own RPG (currently in development).

You can click on the image to check out my Drip page ... I'll be updating the video in the coming days.

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Thank you once again for joining me on my adventure into self-publishing, writing and game design.  I invite you post your comments and/or questions below.

Please do remember, this blog records my experiences and thoughts. I recommend that you conduct your own research and make your own determination as what has worked for me might not work for you.  The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone (except where other people are quoted).

I hope you'll join me next time, as we continue my new adventure in game design, self-publishing and writing.

Thank you all!

Time and Money, thoughts on crowdfunding and the growing pile of projects on my desk

I have been remarkably fortunate with the success of my crowdfunding efforts.  Thanks to my wonderful supports on KickStarter, I've been able to release four books (so far) and my fifth book (Whispers of Persephone) has reached 72% of its funding goal in just the first four days of its campaign.  Things are going well, so why are projects piling up on my desk?

The answer lies in the age old relationship between time and money. 

While I make time to write in my evenings, money to pay for art is slow in coming.  It takes time to lead into a crowdfunding campaign, more time to make it through that campaign, then if it is successful it often takes as much as two weeks before you have your money in hand.  Time ticks away, leaving you with ample time to write but without art.  Once you have money with which to pay the artist, you wait for the art to be completed.  Time ticks away a bit more.  Assuming that your artists meet deadlines (and I am very fortunate in that the artists I contract with do), you spend time formatting the art into your book, correcting any problems with the text layout and putting the final polish on your book. 

Lately my question has been, 'how do I accelerate the funding cycle so I can keep the art coming in steadily and produce more books?'.  I look at the pile of projects I want to produce, the books waiting in various stages from outlined to 'just needs art', and I ponder how to get speed things up.

Whether or not you agree with old saying that 'time is money', it is a fact that if you are like me and lack the skill/talent to create professional grade visual art, then you need money to pay artists to create that content for you. You'll need time for them to create in, and you'll want that time spent in parallel with any remaining writing/development you are completing.  This will allow you to get the book/product out to the audience expediently. 

What has and hasn't worked:

I've had success using KickStarter and no success on other crowdfunding platforms (GoFundMe, Indiegogo and Patreon).  As I look back I realize that I didn't really give Patreon a chance.  I needed to provide more value for patrons, should have kept the page up and running, and really should have done more research before my first attempt at using the site. My Indiegogo and GoFundMe campaigns simply didn't get the attention that my Kickstarter campaigns have garnered.

Insanity or insight?

*Edit* Following the release of this entry, I received an invitation to become a creator on KickStarter's "Drip" platform.  After reviewing the data available on that platform, I've decided to launch my monthly subscriptions on Drip.  I'll be posting a new entry concerning my thoughts on Drip and pointing out some other creators who are already there.*

What is the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Or so the common wisdom would have.  So I have been taking a look at where I've failed in the past.  How do I utilize sites like Indiegogo, GoFundMe and Patreon to enhance my crowdfunding efforts?  These are big questions and I'm still working on some of the answers. 

I do have an idea on how I can use Patreon to some effect.  Whether or not it will work, remains to be seen.  As this blog is all about my adventures in game design, writing and self-publishing I'll choose to look at this as yet another encounter along my journey.  Time will tell if this was insightful, or insanity.  See what I did there?

Patreon, as I understand it, is premised upon people providing some monetary support that you then use to fund your creations.  While I understand that there are people who earn their primary income on Patreon, I am convinced that number is very small percentage of the overall Patreon creator population.  Fortunately, my goal isn't to earn a primary income, but to help fund art for my books.  So my page needs to be set up with this in mind.

Monthly subscription options, are one of the patronage types available. As I have a monthly product I want to release anyway this is something I'm going to offer for patrons. Patrons should receive good value for their support (see any of my prior posts about providing the best effort for your audience).  So, I want to provide something that is unique for those patrons that is manageable on a recurring basis.  Fortunately, I have something that fits the bill nicely.  I've set up a total of three monthly subscriptions, ranging from $1 to $5 (with the $5 having a physical reward).  These are to facilitate the monthly release, which will now be done exclusively through Patreon, and it looks like it will be easier to fulfill this through Patreon anyway.

One time payments are of particular interest for directly funding future products.  With this, I conceive of a tier where I would transmit a Print on Demand code as well as PDF for those patrons who pledge that tier (Pledge?  I wonder if that is correct terminology.  Donate?... please comment below which you think is more appropriate).  In this way it acts just like a KickStarter Tier.  I do have one bit of concern, which is that this may migrate many of my KickStarter to Patreon. I happen to really like KickStarter, as it has fantastic RPG and comic book communities.  The potential advantage is that I can deliver these rewards upon release of the title, while earning revenue to pay for art ahead of time. 

Content for the Patreon needs to be more than just product in order to deliver real value (my opinion, feel free to disagree).  So I will be posting exclusive behind the scenes commentary on development, project progress, triumphs and setbacks.  It will be more detailed than what I manage to squeeze in here, more raw in many ways.  Who knows, maybe it will help patrons develop their own content.  That would be amazingly cool!

That's the theory anyway.  Will it work? I don't know, but I'm certain it will be exciting.

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I want to thank you all for joining me on my adventure.  I hope that this blog will help you along in your own creations, and that you can avoid mistakes I've made. 
Presently Whispers of Persephone is live on KickStarter and doing very well, but it could use some help to reach its goals. Please do check it out (link below) support it if you can and please do share it with others.   Thank you!

Checklist before Crowdfunding campaign launch

I'm counting down to Whispers of Persephone's KickStarter launch and the excitement is starting to build for me.  Excitement, stress, and that fierce pace to spread the word far and wide are common for me whenever I'm readying to push that "go live" button.  So, today I wanted to talk about a few things I have found useful to control the nerves and free up my mind to enjoy the excitement of a new crowdfunding launch.

1)  Make a checklist well in advance.  Define each step for your launch and make certain you actually check those things off once they are complete.

2) Check your print quotes (if any), shipping figures (again, if any), and run your numbers against your reward tiers a final time.   With this, you'll be checking the pledge level amount (minus the fees associated with the crowdfunding platform in question) then subtracting costs to determine how much this pledge level is benefiting your production cost total.

3) Look over your equipment.  This is an old hang-up of mine.  Before you go on "a mission" as it were, make certain that your stuff works.  In this case I'm checking my network, home system, webcam, mic (thanks Daniel for the new one!), and making sure that all are in working order for my live stream event.

4) Submit your campaign proposal for review at least four days ahead of time.  I've never had a campaign take longer than a day to be verified and approved by KickStarter, but they say it can take a few days on their site, so I respect that.  Give yourself that time so your campaign can launch on time. Related to this is your banking verification.  Do that at least a week in advance.

5) Reach out to your audience and let them know when the launch is happening.  It makes things easier on you when you hear from folks who tell you they are going to pledge for the new project.  I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't.  I'm not talking about mailing lists (I don't like those), I'm talking about updates on prior campaign pages, social media interactions, and generally just giving folks a 'heads up' rather than an advertising blurb.

6)  Read over your campaign to make certain it says what you think it says.  Check the reward descriptions to verify that they say what they should about what rewards are going out.  Ambiguity in your reward descriptions is NOT your friend and is not friendly to your audience and backers.  Clean up any vague language prior to launch.

7) Get your interviews in!  Folks, I will tell you that a LOT of my new audience members discovered my projects because I showed up on a podcast interview, answered some questions from a blogger/reviewer, or otherwise just made myself available to talk to people who want you for the content you provide.  I like the shows I've been on and it is always a thrill to do an interview.  Swallow any stage fright, be open and honest, and try to have fun talking about your project.
{of note concerning point seven:  I usually manage to get in a plug for other creators that have cool campaigns out there.  This is certainly not required, but I think it is good for the creator community.  Just my two cents on that.}

8) Finally, make certain you launch on time!  Once you launch, share the link to all social media channels you have available (with groups, make certain you are following group guidelines and have any permissions needed from admins).  In short, follow the rules with regard to your social media channels.  Not only is it the right thing to do, it is what you must do if you ever intend to launch another project!

Stygian Mummy screen capture
From Play test version 3.5 of
Whispers of Persephone

That's pretty much it for the final days pre-launch.  Check your math, make sure you're ready, and do what you can to get the word out.  As I've mentioned before, be honest with your audience and set realistic fulfillment deadlines and you'll be fine.

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Thank you for joining me on my continuing adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.  I hope that this entry is of use to you in your own efforts to fund and publish your work.

I hope you'll join me next time!

Look for Whispers of Persephone to launch on Saturday September 22nd, 2018 at
12:00 PM (noon) EST.

Cold Steel, Dark Arts, and comic books ~ a LOT of art in this entry~

Original painting (before digital enhancement) by Christian Martinez
From: Whispers of Persephone

It has been a very busy summer with me working to complete the formatting of The Steel Road, and getting the play test draft together for Whispers of Persephone.  I've also been coordinating work for a comic anthology project I'll be publishing in 2019 (once again we'll be using KickStarter to fund that printing).  So things have been very busy with me and Sinopa Publishing LLC lately!

The Steel Road:

Work on this project began more than a year ago and progressed nicely.  Things were going swimmingly and then my laptop died rather unexpectedly and in a fantastically thorough fashion. Long story short, I couldn't get my InDesign file to link to the image files again once I got a new computer system. This forced me to reformat the art for the book all over again (and YES, that cost me a lot of time).  I have been formatting text into the book for the last few weeks, and that has progressed nicely.  Presently, I have completed all but one region (the islands of the Pacific), and am very nearly done.  Great news is that The Steel Road is set to fulfill on time this August!

Lessons I've learned from this:  

1) Save the image files to your cloud after you've formatted them into your document so you can re-link them easily if your computer suddenly catches fire one day and you have to use a new machine.

2) Formatting text around an image and making it look good is a lot more time consuming than you might expect.  It is far easier to simply format blocks of text with reserved space allotted for your images.  That said, I think the text wrapping around the image looks far better.  So if you plan on doing this yourself, budget the time accordingly.


My thoughts on this project

The Steel Road was tremendously fun to research and write.  The KickStarter campaign was my most backed to date, and many of those backers have asked if I would be putting a second book with more weapons out.  I've spent a great deal of time formatting the text, revising the material and sweating the little things to create the best book I can for the backers and the RPG community at large.  I'm thrilled to put this book out and very grateful to Zachary Viola for all the fantastic sketch art he did to make the book possible.



Whispers of Persephone

I wrote this book's material by hand.  I'm hoping to format the complete play test file for the next round of play tests this weekend.  With Whispers of Persephone I'm going to send this file (which should have the page background art in it) to the entire play test group with just a little art in it.

Christian Martinez is doing fantastic work for this project, creating all original paintings (some of which will be available as backer rewards during the KickStarter campaign).  If you've seen his work in The Draw of Glenfallow or Comet over Echo Rock you're probably as excited as I am for this new art! 

Lessons I've learned from this project:

1) I took a different approach with regard to play test on this product.  I put the material in front of a handful of people rather than in front of the whole play test group.  This afforded me the opportunity to tweak a few points early on.

2) For Whispers of Persephone I want a LOT of art, but I had to calculate my art budget based on a smaller number of images.  I've decided to create stretch goals for additional art in the KickStarter campaign.  Content is key, after all, and art is incredibly important.  This project has been an excellent exercise in project budgeting.


My thoughts on this project

Whispers of Persephone was fun to write.  Presently I'm looking to the launch date for the KickStarter and working to coordinate the live stream event (more on that soon).  The book's mechanics and content are things I'm particularly proud of and I hope people will get much use and enjoyment out of this evil tome, this bloody little book of necromancy!  As I write this I'm plotting out the time line for the KickStarter launch.  This an incredibly exciting project that has been a long time in development (from the writing and design) and one that I am enjoying the thrill of receiving new art for!



Comic Books   

Yes, I blew the font up for this section.  I have some dramatic feelings on this topic, so stick with me. There are a lot of fantastic comic book creators working on titles I'll be releasing in 2019... check this out!

47 Furious Tails  

The first comic book I've ever written for publication.  Last year (2017) I tried and failed to fund this project through KickStarter.  This year (2018, if you're viewing this in the far future) I'll be relaunching this project, with more of the art done.  This first issue begins the retelling of the Ako incident in a unique way.  Alexia Veldhuisen has made tremendous efforts and I'm thrilled that she has continued to pursue this project with me.

Cover art by Alexia Veldhuisen
47 Furious Tails, Issue One

Untitled Comic Anthology project  

We're focusing on the book and will have a working development title in a few months.  Right now that's not the important part.  The IMPORTANT part, is the work going into this jewel of a book.

This book will have eight (8), yes EIGHT different contributing artists sharing their titles.  These are projects the artists and writers are very passionate about and it shows in the art they've produced so far.  Each of these contributors are producing eight pages of content to introduce everyone to the fine work they are doing.  I'm pleased to help bring the work of these talented professionals to the world. Art direction/edits by Alexia Veldhuisen.

I'll be launching a Kickstarter campaign in 2019 to fund the printing of this book. Below I have included samples of art from that project. I hope you'll enjoy it and look forward to that book.  Artists credited with the images, and most of them are available for commissions (follow the links in their biography pages for more information).

From the mind of Brian Lee
Art by Brian Lee

You can learn about Brian Lee and his art HERE!

From the mind of Colin Hartigan
Art by the legendary Christian Martinez

You can learn about Christian Martinez and his art HERE!

From the mind of Kelsy Cowan
Art by Kelsy Cowan

You can learn about Kelsy Cowan and her art HERE!

From the mind of Lotus Blair
Art by Lotus Blair

You can learn about Lotus Blair and her art HERE!

From the mind of Nick Caponi
Art by Nick Caponi

You can learn about Nick Caponi and his art HERE!

From the mind of Rebecca Coulthart
Art by: Rebecca Coulthart

You can learn about Rebecca Coulthart and her art HERE!

From the mind of Zachary Viola
Art by: Zachary Viola

You can learn about Zachary Viola and his art HERE!


We've assembled a great team for this project and I hope you will all look forward to some fantastic comic book material coming from these talented artists and writers!

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{Legal stuff:  All art included on this blog is copyright of their respective creators and are used with the express consent of those same individuals.  All rights are reserved.}
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So stick with me for more information on these and other titles that are presently in development.  2018 will continue to be busy as development for "Death comes to Glenfallow" is underway, and new titles will be seen coming out with more art from these artists and more!

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Thank you for continuing this adventure with me!  I hope you'll join me again next time for more information on artists I'm working with, projects I'm exploring, games I'm developing, and mistakes I learn from as I continue to publish.

See you next time!

Self-Publishing, planning ahead, things to come, and giving yourself a little pat on the back.

Art from: Tarot Adventures, Book One: The Draw of Glenfallow
Artist: Anthony Ojeda

Publishing your own material is a lot of fun and quite a bit of work.  Writing the book, editing, working with your play tester feedback, conducting final revisions and edits, then formatting the book involves a significant commitment of time and resources.  If you are crowdfunding your work in some capacity (such as I do to pay for the art I use), then you also find yourself working to promote your coming project, interacting with your audience (backers/supporters:  this is tremendous fun really), and managing a self-imposed deadline by virtue of the fulfillment project your create.    While this may sound like a lot of work, and can be, if you enjoy the genre you will find that there is a great amount of joy in holding those first run proof copies of your book and in knowing that your work is in use by others.

Self-publishing requires that you familiarize yourself with a number of things: copyrights, ISBN and Bar code sources,  distribution systems, and promoting your work.  Before releasing anything you write, do your research on these points.

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Art from: Tarot Adventures, Book One: The Draw of Glenfallow
Artist: Anthony Ojeda

Planning your titles in advance is critical if you're going to be crowdfunding.  Using a single platform, such as KickStarter, places a constraint on how many projects you can have launch at a time.   Use your time during your crowdfunding campaigns wisely!  Complete your project to the highest quality level you can produce.  You want your audience, your backers and supporters, to be thrilled with the items you produce.  This makes them more likely to support future products of yours.  Be mindful of your fulfillment projects.  Make realistic determinations on how long it will take to fulfill rewards, and work diligently to meet those deadlines.

When you are planning your project timetables, I recommend that you use a calendar.  I know this seems obvious, but its an important way to manage your time.  Set up your goals for task completion and indicate them on your calendar. Work to complete each task on time and you'll find that you reach completion of your projects in a timely manner and with less stress.  {Note: I also recommend that you copy all files and save those copies off your native system, either in a cloud service or a physical storage media}.

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Cover Art:  47 Furious Tails, Issue One
Artist: Alexia Veldhuisen

For 2018 I have the following planned releases (fingers crossed on the crowdfunding!):

Fulfillment of The Steel Road is to be fulfilled by end of August... presently I expect fulfillment to be complete in July.    The KickStarter campaign for The Steel Road has been a huge success so far with the first stretch goal having already been reached and 10 days (at the time of this writing) remaining for us to reach the second.  You can check out the campaign by using the link below (art by: Zack Viola).



Launch of  "Whispers of Persephone" in August 2018.   This campaign will have a higher funding goal as I am attempting to wholly fund the art for this book via crowdfunding.  With all color art by Christian Martinez, this book is going to be darkly beautiful.  I hope it haunts collections of gamers all over the world.  You can find more information about Whispers of Persephone ~ HERE

I'll be closing out 2018 with two final projects:  Tarot Adventures, Book three:  Death comes to Glenfallow, and 47 Furious Tails Issue One!   With the remaining months in the year, my KickStarter calendar is quite full.  It will take careful planning and spot on execution to make all these projects release on time.  I'll be updating progress on each project as I go along.

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Be proud of what you've done.  Give yourself a little pat on the back.  Many people start working on projects and never finish them.  By working diligently you can release your own game, book, or other project to the world.  I hope you do, and I hope I get to enjoy it.

My best advice for anyone who wants to publish their own material:  Do your research, work tirelessly, and never give up.  Don't stop creating.

Thank you for joining me once again on my adventure into writing, self-publishing, and game design.
The art for this entry was done by:
Anthony Ojeda      Alexia Veldhuisen     Zachary Viola

Each is a remarkable talent and are among those 'Fantastic Freelancers' (TM) who have taken the risk and worked for Sinopa Publishing LLC (my company).  I want to thank them all for their contributions to the success of those projects they've worked on, and I look forward to years of mutual success to come.


I hope you'll join me next time, as the adventure continues.

Video: A few words from Zachary Viola about The Steel Road ~ KickStarter launches tonight, May 24th at 7:00PM EST

In his own words:  Zachary Viola on what it was like to work on The Steel Road

Remember, the KickStarter goes live tonight at 7:00PM EST.  Zack and I will be live streaming on Kickstarter, taking questions and talking about this and other projects.

Come join in the fun and support a great book project.

*****

For all of you who follow this blog with regard to my adventure in writing, game design and self-publishing: I have to tell you that when Zack sent this video to me it choked me up a bit.  I'm grateful to have been working with Zack on this project, and happy to see that being professional and treating the artists who work with me well is making a difference.  He and I both had a great time developing this book.

I hope you will all come check out the KickStarter.  Please do help spread the word by sharing this blog entry, as well as the kickstarter on social media and by telling friends. 

Thank you all for your support!

Japanese combat fan and The Steel Road ~ and shameless self-promotion

Art by: Zachary Viola
From the working draft ~ grammar and spelling edits are forthcoming

When I created the list of weapons to include in The Steel Road, the tessen was a weapon I knew I wanted.  Tessen show up in the history of feudal Japan in unexpected ways. Whether being used to prevent Oda Nobunaga from killing you with a door (seriously, this is believed to have actually happened!), or deflecting the sword of a young general trying to kill his adversary in his tent, the stories associated with this elegant weapon are always interesting.

In RPG moments, the tessen has fantastic opportunities to shine in social encounters that turn violent.  Are you attending a ball thrown by a local count and can't bring your sword?  Bring the your tessen, just in case things go badly.  Were you disarmed by guards and locked in a cell?  Having a tessen with you provides a discreet weapon that is often overlooked. 

Don't miss the opportunity to boast of your victory. "He pulled a dagger from under his coat, so I beat him unconscious with my fan,"  is a fantastic story to tell.

Look for the tessen, appearing in The Steel Road,
coming to KickStarter May 24th, 2018 at 7:00PM (EST)

*****

If you've been following this blog you know I talk mostly about my experiences in game design, writing and self-publishing.  The above segment is an obvious plug I slapped together to remind people of the coming KickStarter campaign. 

When you are working to promote yourself, please provide something for people to enjoy.  I like the history of the tessen as a weapon.  I wanted to share some of that with people because I think other people would enjoy it too.  Make a point to provide people with that kind of value.  Give something interesting and genuine in your promotional efforts.  I'm sure you'll find it both rewarding and rewarded.

I do hope you'll come out in support of the KickStarter on Thursday.

I also hope I'll see you here next time as we continue the adventure into game design, writing, and self-publishing.  I hope I can encourage you to launch your own creations, explore your own writing, and to create fun games for people to enjoy.

I'll see you next time!

Dungeons and Dragons campaign Idea: Sword Art Online survival of the fittest style campaign/event

No art for this, I just had a random idea ...

What if, as part of an area wide campaign, you took a sign in registry of all the players who wanted to play in one grand campaign.

You then create one list of random encounters drawn up for all the GMs to use at each level of the overall map.

Everyone makes up first level character.  All seems normal.

Until ...

Each session you rotate GMs, with each using the random table for that level, as well as running a homebrew adventure of their own devising for that level.  Neither the GMs nor the players know who will be running/ playing what until you meet up that week.

Every time a character is killed, that player is removed from the event.

As players are removed you reorder the groups, to fill in gaps.

The campaign ends when the characters have survived a fixed number of sessions, or you are down to one group of six or fewer.

When the campaign ends, the final test is to send those player characters through a high level dungeon.

I think this would be awesome!!!!  Something you would stream for posterity.

******

Game design / event  thought of the day...

Fun things you learn when you let people see a preview of your new KickStarter campaign

Screen capture from the KickStarter campaign for : The Steel Road
This image was grabbed last night while I was working on the page

Hello everyone!

I'm about to launch my fifth kickstarter campaign.  With my fourth campaign I had made previews of the campaign available to some bloggers I'm acquainted with, and ran the information by some friends to look it over.  It was helpful.    For The Steel Road I wanted a broader spectrum of people to take a look at the campaign prior to launch.  I was looking for feedback and I got it!

Things I had pointed out to me from the earliest of drafts were that I had too much text. Really, I had written to much, put forth a lot of detail, and had pretty much made the page read like installation instructions.  That kind of format is no fun to create, and no fun for the people coming to the campaign.  So, don't over do it, be honest and sincere, and don't worry about things that people are likely to already know.

Also from The Steel Road Kickstarter page
This  capture shows the pledge level for pdf and pod after the early backer tier expires

The next thing that was pointed out to me, was that I needed to tell people what the book was for.  Somehow, in all the excitement and in the process of putting words to page, I had forgotten to indicate the book was for the 5th Edition game mechanic.... oops?    So I did a bit of work to clean that up.

I cut down the extraneous matter (still clipping that back a bit), and tried to stick with just the meaty bits of the thing.  Its a book for your 5th Edition game, it has a bunch of weapons, all are illustrated, please support it... that kind of thing.  I found it was much more fun to read through, easier to digest, and people didn't have to try to interpret things.  All good things I believe.

Page from: The Steel Road
Art by: Zack Viola

Stretch Goals:  

Everyone seems to want more stretch goals.  I've been torn on this point as I don't want the project to get out of hand, but then something great happened.  One of the people looking at the page had been a backer of a prior campaign and he made a suggestion about something he would like to see as a stretch goal.  Its easily done, and I like the idea, so I'm checking the math to see if its feasible. Thank you very much Alexander for such insight!

My position on stretch goals is that they should always be something that makes a great contribution to the project.  Additional art, more content, better quality materials, and things in a similar vein are what I like to see.  As a creator though, you must balance these ambitions against your costs.  It is critical if you are to succeed in the business side of things and be able to afford to create new projects in the future.

So for all of you who are planning campaigns, be mindful of your stretch goals!

original page art for The Steel Road
Art by: Zachary Viola

Audience  

I talk a LOT about how to treat your audience when you are a crowdfunded creator.  I always encourage people to do all they can to make the best products possible, in order to give their audience the best value.  Yesterday, I was reminded that people appreciate the effort.  I'll not get sappy about it, but I received some very kind words from a few backers of my last KickStarter (for Tarot Adventures, Book Two:  Comet over Echo Rock) which had its fulfillment running late (two weeks late as of this writing, but fulfillment is underway).

Once again, I'll recommend that in all dealings with your audience be honest, realistic, and put forth your very best effort.  I hope that in your creative endeavors you receive the same kind of messages I have.  They really do mean a lot to me because they are encouraging and really make all the work more worthwhile.

Yesterday I was told that my work mattered, that people are looking forward to my next book, and that they have fun with their friends as they play through the adventures I've created.  I can't think of a better reason for all the hard work, than knowing that the people supporting my kickstarter campaigns, my audience, are enjoying what I do.

(Thanks folks, you ladies and gentlemen have been the best!)

Your audience makes your creations possible.  Cherish them all.

*****

Thank you for joining me once again on this adventure into game design, writing and self-publishing.

I'll be continuing the countdown toward the KickStarter campaign for The Steel Road with a new entry tonight.  

I do hope you will share this entry with others to help fellow creators.

Adventure awaits!

50 Exotic weapons and 50 Enchanted weapons in one beautiful book: Coming to KickStarter May 24th!

Art by: Zachary Viola

Announcing the KickStarter campaign!

The Steel Road     (link takes you to details on the book)

This is it: the KickStarter campaign will launch on 
Thursday, May 24th, 2018 at 1900 EST (7:00 PM Eastern)

Backer levels start at $8 (USD) for PDF and PoD codes for the early backers.

I hope we'll see you at launch for a great campaign.

Please do share this with RPG fans everywhere!

Written for the 5th Edition game mechanic (we like our DnD)!

Zack Viola and I will be on KickStarter live, taking questions at launch.  Come hang out with us and support the project.

Thank you all!

"The Steel Road" ~ A look into a weapon of Africa

Work on The Steel Road, has been progressing nicely.

To give you a bit of insider information on this project, let me tell you that I'm presently formatting the text into the book's file.  What this means, is that in a few days time it will be ready for editing, and then final corrections before it's ready for release.

Yes, we're that far along!

As you've likely heard I'm launching a KickStarter campaign to cover the costs on this project.   That KickStarter campaign is less than two weeks away (based on my present projections).  I'll be announcing the launch date in few days, once I finalize it.

But that isn't why you're here.  Nope you're here a look at the weapons we've been hinting at for so long. So let's take a look at one of the weapons you'll see on the KickStarter campaign.

From out of Africa,  the Akrafena 

The Akrafena
Prized sword of the Ashanti (among others)
Page from the "The Steel Road"
Art by: Zachary Viola
Copyright(c) 2018 All rights reserved

This is an example of how the book is going to look.  

We are cleaning up the art layer this week. 
The book will be done before the KickStarter campaign is over.

A lot of work has gone into The Steel Road.   One hundred weapon illustrations (50 exotic weapons and 50 enchanted "Legendary" versions) took a lot of time to create.  

I want to thank Zachary Viola for his long hours sketching over the last ten months, which has brought us to the point where we are readying the KickStarter campaign!  Zack, you are awesome!

*****

I hope you will help support The Steel Road by sharing this post with others through social media, and by supporting the kickstarter and sharing it's links.

I do want to thank all of you who have been following my adventure into game design, writing, and self-publishing.  I do hope this blog helps you to avoid the mistakes I make, and inspires you to create the games, books, and art of your dreams.

I hope you'll join me against next time!

Robotech ~ Is anyone interested in a new Robotech RPG?

Hello everyone!

Thanks for taking a look at this entry, as it is not my usual fare. 

Lets get down to the question at hand:

How many of you would be interested in a new Robotech RPG? 

This subject came up earlier tonight as I was enjoying dinner with family.  We were talking about Palladium Books not having the license anymore, Harmony Gold's license expiring in 2021, and what would be involved in producing a new Robotech pen and paper role-playing game.

I did a little brainstorming with some of my brothers and the idea is buzzing in my head right now.  So here is what I'm thinking right now (2300 hours EST, May 9th 2018).

Issues:

1) Licensing ~ With the current license with Harmony Gold set to expire in 2021, what would licensing look like?  An initial license set to run through Harmony Gold's tenure and a second license running under Tatsunoko?  How much would those licenses costs?

Licensing the IP is the critical first step in a realistic effort to create a new Robotech game.

2) Funding ~ Funding an RPG is daunting.  If you are not creating your own art you need to pay people to create it.  You also need legal documents for licensing and copyright ownership, ISBN and bar code costs, legal fees, edit and layout costs, etc.   

3) Game mechanics ~ Its a game, you need rules.  Those rules need to be play tested before release (because you want a game to be good).   

4) Art ~ Personally I would like to see an all color art selection.  That means a LOT of funding for art! 


My thoughts on addressing the issues at hand:

1~ part a) Where licensing is concerned, I think the discussion would have to begin with Tansunoko.  Afterall, with only three years remaining at Harmony Gold for their license period, one would need to look to the future of the game's viability.  Discussions with Harmony Gold would follow, to address the period of their license.  Any agreement reached would be dependent upon funding which will make things tricky.

1~ part b) As an incentive I would recommend that as part of the license an open game license of the sort that have been so productive on the DM guild be implemented.  As with DM Guild, a percentage of the revenue from community produced content would be distributed to the license holding entity with an agreed upon percentage of that total distributed back to Tansunoko (more on this below, stick with me).

2) As all of you who have been following this blog are aware, I'm a huge fan of KickStarter.  I would imagine that the best course, and one that would avoid the debacle that Palladium Books ran into, is to limit the initial reward structure to a digital format.  Basically, keep it simple, get the license funded and get the books created and out to the people expediently.

A simple digital file reward would be easy to produce, optimize the funding to provide for licensing as well as some initial art.

3) I'm a fan of simple game mechanics.  I'm also a fan of hard-hitting, lethal combat rules.  I have a game mechanic system that I believe would work well for Robotech.  There are also a plethora of well designed game mechanics out there which I could see working for Robotech.  I think that ultimately it would depend on how things rolled out during the play testing as to how the game mechanics evolved and were finalized.

4) Art funding can be accomplished through the crowdfunding with enough interest.  Palladium's Robotech book was only a little over 100 pages (if I remember correctly).  Even for a small book like that, art costs can total a few thousand dollars for good quality work.  I would expect styling of the art to mimic the source material, with a higher level of detail on the machines (lets face it, we expect it today). 

******

A few thoughts I've come up with tonight about this:

I like Paiso's methodology in the development of Pathfinder and Pathfinder 2 as a good model here.  First produce the playable "Play Test" book and get it into the hands of the people who want to play.  Use whatever funding is raised for that to facilitate the license, and begin the shake down of the game mechanics.  For this I think using a few different open source game mechanics is a good idea as well.  Several are readily available and have the benefit of years of play built in already.  I would still want to construct a core rules system for the game, specifically to address the variations in actions between humans, machines, zentradi, etc.

I think that the next step would be a refinement of the game based upon player feedback (again, a la Pathfinder approach).  Use that feedback to produce the best rules for the game possible.  Make this version available to all the original backers/play testers without further funding at this step.  This is basically the final live fire test for the game before going forward with any funding efforts for end product art.

Crowdfunding of a finalized version to pay for final art would be next.  Here I suggest that PDF awards go out through Drivethrurpg, but that print awards be handled by offset printing to cut costs.  Print on demand is terribly expensive overall for large numbers of runs, but ideal for small numbers of prints.  As the costs necessary, just for the art alone, are likely to run up into the ten thousand dollar range and then some (again, I'm talking about full color art here) you would want to minimize your print costs per unit.  I say that not just for a profit point, but also for a sustainability point.  Think about this: why have your backers support a project where the individual book cost is $18 for printing and another $12 for shipping, when you can get the same or better quality book at a print cost of $9 (same shipping though)?  Any company taking on the license would need funding for future projects, keeping up with the license, and operating costs associated with the books (and they should probably earn a bit of profit as well... just being realistic).

I think that any open game license implemented should coincide with the reversion of license back to Tansunoko.  It would make things far easier for the community for release purposes. Afterall, how many open game licenses should you have to have?   This is not to slight Harmony Gold by any means, its just a real concern involving the IP and proper release of community content so as to avoid unnecessary legal problems. 

Please keep in mind that I'm spit-balling here.  I haven't reached out to Harmony Gold or Tansunoko on this as of yet to inquire as to licensing.  Its a bit premature for that. 

I'm interested in what you, the community of Robotech and role playing game fans would think about a new Robotech rpg.  I hope you'll comment below and share this with others.  Lets find out what the community thinks.

Thank you all!

KickStarter fulfillment for Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock

I received proof copies for Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock today!

Cover Art by: Brian Lee

This was pretty cool, but I did discover a formatting problem and a few text problems that had managed to slip past our editing.  So I'll be correcting those issues through this week and will begin fulfillment once the updated interior files are complete.  So backers for this KickStarter campaign will begin receiving their rewards next week.

This adventure is released under the Open Game License, and is designed to be a difficult to deadly level challenge for characters of second through fourth level of experience.

Some of art going into that adventure:

Art by: Alexia Veldhuisen

Art by: Kelsy Cowan

Art by: Christian Martinez

Art by: Jake Ochoa

Art /Cartography by: James Lee

Background/border art by: Nick Caponi

 You can see more of Nick's work by checking out his web comic SANDI on Tumblr

*****

Whether you are new to the Tarot Adventures, or a survivor of The Draw of Glenfallow, you and your friends will enjoy this brutal adventure!

What is going on in this book:

Monsters remain in the Echo Rock silver mine.  Pieron wants your group of brave adventurers to rid the mine of its monstrous inhabitants to avenge the deaths of those who have tried to reopen the mine before you, as well as to bring the wealth from the mine to help continue the growth of Glenfallow.

Survive the climb into the northern mountains, brave the depths of Echo Rock, and rid the mine of its infestation.  There is wealth to be had, political clout to be earned, and monsters to kill.

Packed with several full page illustrations, a selection of six (6) pre-generated characters, example dialogue, a selection of example skill results, and pages of NPC and setting data, this adventure is full of material for the adventure at hand as well as material that easily adopted for expansion.

*****

As a final note, I do use KickStarter to fund my various projects.  There are some neat projects on KickStarter right now and I want to point a few of them out to you.

Here are some of them:




At the time of this writing there are two days left to support the Coronary campaign.




At the time of this writing there are twenty-two days remaining to help fund Shinobi: Ninja Princess
Disclaimer:  I don't know the people responsible for Shinobi, I just think it looks like a cool project.






Gadget, another project that I saw that really just looks cool to me.  It is early in the campaign and could use a LOT of help in reaching its goal.  I haven't backed this comic yet, but I'm planning to in the final week of its campaign.  Give this campaign a long look, the numbers look realistic and the concept seems really cool to me.  I do wish it had an electronic copy only option or an option for print copy only.  I've messaged the creator to that effect as well.   It's the creator's first KickStarter campaign, at least that is what KickStarter says, so lets share this around and help make it a great first time experience.





Finally, one of the most exciting KickStarters that is running right now (to me anyway), I was looking into developing something similar but I just don't have the coding chops to make it work.  If there is any RPG themed KickStarter you are going to support right now, this is it!

How cool is an Augmented Reality monster?  Just check out their visuals to see.


Thanks for joining me today as I explore writing, game design, and self-publishing. 

I hope I'll see you again next time!

W.S. Quinton

My journey as a writer and publisher to "The Steel Road"

Promotional image for "The Steel Road"
The sketch is from the book
Art by: Zachary Viola

I've been rather busy.  I finished up the final formatting on Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock.




Screen grab of the title file for the hard cover collector's edition
Art by: Brian Lee

The book is presently in premedia set up at the printer, and I'm expecting to order proofs either later today (04.26.2018) or tomorrow (hopefully today).  I've also been writing out and formatting my coming project:  The Steel Road!

All of you who have been following this blog know that I'm very excited by
The Steel Road  project.  It's my first source book and I'm thrilled to be putting it into the hands of all the people who have been supporting my projects here and on KickStarter.

Promotional image
Art is by Zachary Viola
Actual art from "The Steel Road"

It's been a year of exciting projects, hard work, mistakes, making new friends, supporting other projects, and learning from comments and criticisms.


It is incredible to me, that it all started with Tale of the Wizard's Eye barely a year ago!

Cover Art by Phoenix O'Faery
Tale of the Wizard's Eye

With Tale of the Wizard's Eye I learned that I had a LOT to learn.  I also noticed that several people on Drivethrurpg had one title, and then they just didn't make any more. That bothered me.  I didn't want to be done after my first title.  Sure, it took work, but anything that is worthwhile always does.  Tale of the Wizard's Eye received some very kind reviews.  Enough of them, in fact, that I have been working on a sequel to bring characters back to the flooded city, and bring them face to face with an adversary far more deadly than they faced before *insert super villain laugh here*!

There were (and still are) several projects on my "to do" list, so I set my mind to completing them.  Money is a limiting factor, so I set off to produce my second adventure as my next project.  This was sensible as I could immediately apply things I learned from TotWE, and it was a lower cost production than trying to tackle a source book or the original RPG I have been developing.  That adventure gave rise to a series, as all of the play testers asked "what comes next".  Of course I'm talking about  The Draw of Glenfallow, the first book in the Tarot Adventures!

Goblin Chieftain from The Draw of Glenfallow
Art by: Christian Martinez

TDoG is my most funded and best supported KickStarter campaign to date.  Packed with fierce encounters for low level player characters, amazing art, and a fun story. Kickstarter backers, and those people who have bought this adventure since its release, have been kind enough to tell me they really enjoyed it.  As a writer and game designer I can think of no higher compliment.

It hasn't all been success and chocolate bunnies.  Oh no!  There is a project I am fantastically proud of, obsessively committed to, and which failed to reach the funding level needed to make it a reality (on its first crowdfunding attempt).  My first comic book project, 47 Furious Tails, just didn't reach its funding goal.  But I'm relaunching in a few months and I hope you'll help spread the word about it, as this comic needs to see print!  47 Furious Tails is packed with fantastic art from the remarkably talented artist, Alexia Veldhuisen.



Cover of Issue One
Art by Alexia Veldhuisen

The failure to fund was due to poor planning and execution of the crowd funding campaign on my part.

I didn't have enough finished art content at the time, and backers were left to speculate as to how awesome the book would be.

Next time, that changes!

I'm going to be using any extra funds from coming projects (over and above what is used for fulfillment, meeting stretch goals, etc.) to have more of the book done in time for its relaunch.  Getting a comic book illustrated is not for the faint of heart, but this is a tale that needs to be told.  The story of the Ako incident, of 47 samurai who became ronin and avenged the death of their lord.   A classic tale told with a twist!

Crowdfunding add-on poster
Art by Alexia Veldhuisen

I spent a lot of time looking at 47 Furious Tails' KickStarter campaign.  I had some doubts, for about thirty minutes, as to if I would ever see that comic book in print. Then I realized it was just a matter of time.

If you take anything from today's entry, I hope it is this:  failure is a momentary stumble as you travel to your goal.  In other words, so long as you don't quit, so long as you keep working, you will see your goal realized.  I know that one day I'll hold 47 Furious Tails in my hands.  I hope everyone else who holds it and reads it, experiences the same thrill at this story as I do!

As 2017 came to a close I found myself with some huge changes in my personal life.  To be frank, I got divorced.  It slowed down my writing, or more accurately I allowed  it to slow down my writing.  Many people tell me there is no shame in that.  I'm not ashamed but I do see now, just a few months later, that I could have put my time to better use.  Yes, I needed to work out my own emotions about the divorce but now it's time to get back to work!

A tough encounter!
Art by: Jake Ochoa
From: Comet over Echo Rock

I launched Tarot Adventures, Book Two: Comet over Echo Rock with a completed adventure that had already seen some play testing.  I had most of the art done.  All I really needed was the remaining art and to complete formatting.

Then my computer died.

Yep.  I was saved only by having my physical notes, work I had saved on my cloud, and a dear friend who offered to build one for me (and who let me use one of his in the interim).  Unfortunately, I had to reformat the art, which led to text format changes.  It cascaded a bit.  No worries though.  I had given myself an extra month of time outside my original project timeline when I planned my KickStarter campaign, and had targeted an April release date for fulfillment planned.  As it turned out, I needed every hour of that time. (See above comments about waiting for the files to clear premedia.)

Why did I need it?

Because I saw that I could make the adventure better.  Reformatting led to some rewriting.  Which in turn led to some changes for adventures I have planned down the line in the series, which led to a few more changes in CoER.  

It's not as complex as it sounds.  

I genuinely want to put my best effort out with each book, to give the people who have been supporting me the best work I know how to produce. In my mind, I owe it to the people who backed the KickStarter, I owed it to myself, and if an adventure is going to have my name on it I want it to be the best I can make it.  I hope you'll take the same position in your own project development.

a dangerous denizen of Echo Rock
Art by: Kelsy Cowan

Completing the formatting of Comet over Echo Rock brought me a great amount of joy.  I'm proud of that book.  It was labor intensive, costly, and incredibly important.  Important because my backers put their faith in me to deliver the best book I could.  Important because it turned the Tarot Adventures into a published series.  Important because it brought a wide range of talent together on a book that now carries their craftsmanship.  Its a grand adventure, with some seventy-one pages in the book, including encounters, source material, several npcs, a nice (or nasty) environmental hazard and more (71 pages total, that counts the legal stuff like the Open Game License.)

Now I'm looking at the writing I've put together for The Steel Road, making myself a nuisance to my artist as I ask more and more of him (even though he has done a FANTASTIC job already).  There is so much art, and it all looks amazing.

the iconic Iklwa, the heavy Zulu iron spear
Art from: The Steel Road
Artist: Zachary Viola

The Zulu spear, the Iklwa has received a lot of attention.  I love the sketch look concept of the whole book, and this illustration really drives it home for me.  The no nonsense look of the warrior, his weapon at the ready, is the kind of image I hope is evoked in the minds of players and game masters alike as they put The Steel Road to use.

the Otsuchi from Japan
Art by: Zachary Viola
from: The Steel Road

All of the teased art for The Steel Road has been art that is actually doing into the book.  Zack has delivered consistency, creating great sketches that are authentic to the weaponry and the environment they were created in (though some liberties were taken with the undead skeleton wielding the suburito).

I feel like I've walked life on a steel road myself these past few months.  Weird thing is that I'm happy about that. I like looking on my shelf and seeing two books I've written there.  I like knowing that a third is coming out in a few days. I look forward to seeing how people respond to Comet over Echo Rock and I can't wait to launch the KickStarter for The Steel Road. I hope people support it with the same zeal I feel about the project.

Life is an adventure in and of itself.  The steel road each of us walks is often feels like the edge of a blade.  We walk through our own trials toward our goals and when we make it to the end, when we're standing on the tip of the weapon itself, we then face new and more challenging goals ahead.

Welcome that feeling as that is how you go forward and achieve those goals you once saw as so distant.

The Steel Road, travel the world on the edge of a blade.  I hope you will come out and support the KickStarter.  It will be launching in a couple of weeks (check out this blog for final launch date).

As I like to say of Sinopa Publishing's books... "Adventure Awaits!"

*****

The art for these books was created by some remarkably talented people.
I want to thank (in no particular order):

Phoenix O'Faery
James Lee
Brian Lee
Rebecca Coulthart
Jennifer Fraggle Dee
Samantha Vogelsang
Christian Martinez
Kelsy Cowan
Anthony Ojeda
Jake Ochoa
Alexia Veldhuisen
Zachary Viola
Nick Caponi

And, for work she'll be doing in the future, on Luther's Revenge:
Lotus Blair!

Thank you all!

I hope you'll join me next time as I continue my own adventure in writing, self-publishing and game design.