Everyone's At GenCon, and I'm Just Sitting Here Creating

Hey Everyone!

What's it been, six weeks since my last blog post? I am not great at this "keeping a regular blog" thing, much as I'd like to be. So where have I been? Well, the three or four of you reading this who don't know me personally, I've been doing that marvelous thing that wound up with me creating this website in the first place, writing books.

...Well I've been writing book, anyway, and I've been working rather fervently on it as of late, if I do say so myself. So much so, in fact, that I feel a little silly for feeling like I was having trouble with it for the last couple months or so (though I've come to realize that mid-draft existential despair is very much part of the 'creative process' for a lot of writers). So much so, in fact, that I feel like I can comfortably announce some things regarding this book, as well as the other awesome project I have going right now.

So, first off, this book, that is to say the sequel to The Summerlark Elf, is titled The Missing Thane's War. I hope to have the first draft completed very, very shortly, at which time I will release it to my beta readers, confident that they will pick every last nit in the manuscript and send me promptly back to my writing hole until I've learned my lesson. That being said, before anyone gets through the first beta read, I'm planning on releasing a small excerpt (likely the first chapter) right here on the website, because I love you all so much and want you to get excited. In terms of a release date, I am tentatively announcing a release somewhere in the area of mid-November, preferably to coincide with mine and Deanna's appearance at SFContario, but I'll have a more concrete date as the process continues.

Secondly, and speaking of Deanna, she is currently diving headlong into the final illustrations for our picture book Dragon in the Doghouse. I'd like to say that it's a concept similar to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, but with less chain-reactionary mayhem and more kobolds and owlbears. I had so much fun writing it, and right now you can get a sneak peek at some of Deanna's illustrations on her tumblr. Right now , the picture book is slated for an early September release, so Othar willing you will be able to purchase it, as well as the first two Four Kingdoms books if you happen to be attending Contario in November.

Other than that, with FanExpo around the corner, I am anxiously awaiting the stock of novels I'll be bringing with me. I'll be sharing a booth with the awesome Jason Anarchy, creator of the Drinking Quest games, so if you're attending be sure to look for the big DQ banner in the Featured Guests area and say hi! (That's right, Jason and I will be in the same area as Ed Greenwood himself.)

In non-book news, I got over myself and picked up the fifth edition DnD starter set, and have been very, very much contemplating picking up the Player's Handbook. Honestly, the system is really interesting, and the Starter Set adventure is everything, in hindsight, I would have wanted the fourth edition Red Box to be. That being said, I'm still not crazy about dropping a whole new system on my players, but I will likely be giving the starter set a try this weekend with a handful of people, and if I'm feeling chatty next week I'll probably tell you how it went.

Until then!

-Brandon