Changes are Here
I skipped last week’s blog due to my friend coming in from Regina to visit. I haven’t seen Gary for several years and my mom passing was the excuse he needed to come and visit.
Talk about years of catching up. I found out a lot about his life and what has been happening over the past few years – despite the fact we’re friends on Facebook and he’s the one who got me into using it.
That is the reason my New Mutant Monday series was late, as well as Wednesday’s Wondrous Works, and no blog.
It certainly was good being able to catch up like we did.
Now for the crux of this blog.
I am making some changes to what I am doing. After having a long chat with Michael Varhola earlier this week.
I’m tired and disheartened at the same time.
I’ve been producing material for Skirmisher since 2011, when they published my first mutant book. Since then I have been producing a steady stream of material, mainly in the shape of free monsters for my fans to use in their games.
As of last week, I had produced 512 free monsters for the OSR system.
It had always been my hope to get these creations compiled, cleaned up and published as monster books with new art and other goodies, but I’ll be brutally blunt here.
OSR games don’t sell. At least OSR post-apocalyptic games don’t sell. For years I have toiled and used my creative juices to produce this material and I have barely made a dime for my efforts.
So – after much discussion and thought, I’m done.
No more OSR material with one exception.
From here on in, anything I write will be strictly Pathfinder.
Be it monsters, be it magic items, whatever.
What does this bode for my mutation books, the power armor and others? Well, for the most part the mutations are pretty damn easy to convert over to Pathfinder. Some will be more difficult and complex, but it will be done. And this means I’ll also be waiting until after Starfinder is released in August.
The one exception we are making is the Monk Magic Item book I wrote last year for a possible project that after going over the numbers has been indefinitely shelved. At this time Mike has one of my other offerings in the process of being published, and then it’ll be this book. We are both curious to see how it’s going to sell for OSR fans, and I’ll be taking the time to convert all the magic items I created into Pathfinder stats. A few months or so down the road we’ll be publishing that as well.
And the numbers are not going to lie.
As I said I am both tired and disheartened. I really wanted to see all the work I put in over the years published. This is not going to happen. Any of the creatures I have created will have to be converted to Pathfinder rules in order to see them published.
It takes me an average of 30 minutes now to convert a single creature, if the past few weeks have been any indication. Some will end up taking an hour or longer to convert.
I’ve put in a lot of time and other than the few products Michael is working on getting out for me over the next few months – I won’t have anything to publish.
So for the foreseeable future, I’m finished. I am not going to write up any more creatures and post them, period. I will try to continue to write up a new magic item each week, but even that seems to be too much effort now.
It’s not anyone I work with fault. No one is to blame but myself for putting in so much time and effort into writing up material for fans of the OSR systems.
This particular niche does not sell and that is the worst part about it.
Sorry but I’m in the industry to make money, not to cater to people who want it only for free or don’t bother purchasing it at all.
Now for the usual.
Here are the Magic Items I wrote and posted over the past few weeks – Brute Tattoo, and Demon Hunter Tattoo.
Oh yeah, and for those of you who happen to be a fan of my fiction, I completed and posted a new story yesterday called ‘Blood is Blood’. This is the 9th in the series of short stories I have written, chronicling the life and times of Ronnath Al’thia, an Elven Ranger, and his daughter Cheonsa, a Tiefling.
Like my story ‘One Night’, this deals mainly with the relationship between Ronnath and his daughter Cheonsa, and reveals something about their communal past.
I still have lots of stories to tell, so expect another one in the near future.
The past two weeks saw me finishing several books. First is Signal by Patrick Lee. This is the second in his Sam Dryden series of books, which are techno-thrillers in the same vein as the Joe Ledger series. This particular novel deals with technology which can listen to radio signals from the future, and a group who wishes to use it for nefarious means.
Yes I enjoyed the novel a great deal and I am certainly looking forward to more in the future.
The second book is called Gorgon by Grieg Beck. This is book 5 in the Alex Hunter series. Hunter, aka the Arcadian had been on his own for months, living hand to mouth and trying to come to grips with his life and the darkness which dwells deep inside.
When something appears in Greece and begins to kill thousands upon thousands of people, by seemingly turning them to stone, Jack Hammer, Alex’s former CO asks to bring Alex back in so they can fly overseas and see exactly what kind of mess they are dealing with.
It was okay, nothing really stuck out for me, although I did find the antagonist to be too over the top. I can’t say anything else without giving away serious spoilers.
Still, I will continue to read the series and I’ll get book six in the near future. It’s already on my wish list.
The third book was Machine World by B.V. Larson. This is book four in his undying mercenary series. This time the legion is sent to a world which will have strategic importance due to its resources in the impending war against the Squids.
A new and unexpected life form is discovered on the world, and the main character James McGill actually takes a change of course and develops more in one novel than he has the entire series.
The book is filled with a lot of action, as one might expect, and the character development is well written.
Worth your time to read.
The last book I read was Rebel: Vicky Peterwald book 3 by Mike Shepherd. After having her step mother, the grand empress attempt to assassinate her several times, Vicky has finally had it. Her loving stepmother has overstepped her boundary’s once too often and Vicky is not taking it any more.
She is loyal to her father, the Emperor but not her, and as such she instigates a rebellion in order to return power to where it belongs, and to try and rid herself of the machinations of her evil Step Mother.
This novel saw her grow and develop as a character, and other than her diminutive assassins, spent most of the book with her clothing on and her legs closed. There was a lot of combat, and more than a few deaths, but it was quite well written.
Yes, as with the previous novels I mentioned, I will continue to read this series and I recommend it.
Two weeks ago I shared the fact I got a new Dremel 3D20 Idea Maker printer. Since then I have also purchased an brand new, nearly top of the line computer system. Other than having a few issues with trying to get non-dremel filament spools to sit properly, I have made quite a bit of use when it comes to my printer.
There have been a few misprints to be certain, but at the same time I have been very happy with how some of my printing has turned out.
So far I have printed Poe Dameron’s blaster, Chirrut Imwe’s props (since I have the costume), and currently I’m printing out the Motion Tracker from aliens. I am very tempted to print out a Rebel Pilot Helmet to carry around with me at the upcoming expo, but we shall see.
Of course I have every intention of printing out the Smart Gun from Aliens as well, but that’ll be down the road a little while.
And I think that pretty much covers it for this week.
Winter has decided to pay us another visit, and it’s cold outside, and we got several centimeters of snow as well, so later today I’ll have to brave the cold and go and shovel the walkway.
So I hope all of you have been staying warm, safe and happy and will continue to do so with the chaotic political climate you’ve all been exposed to over the past few weeks.
Later!
