Can you . . .

-ahem- This post is going to have language which may offend some. You have been warned.

Can you fucking believe it? One of my RPG products was plagiarized. For those of you who know me from my RPG stuff, you’ll like know Sword Noir. If you know me through my fiction, Sword Noir is an RPG based on a genre I try to write to, the same genre as “A Pound of Dead Flesh” in Black Gate #15.

Some jackhole plagiarized basically the entire text, threw in a few new paragraphs, wrapped it up in a shittily designed package, and had people pay him real cash money to own it.

People do this? There are seriously people who can sleep at night by stealing creative ideas and the expression of those ideas and passing them off as one’s own?

I rant about this to a greater extent over at the SEP website.

Still kind of in shock. Time to eat some apple cake and have an evening coffee.

You can buy Sword Noir here.

You can buy Black Gate # 15 here.

You may have seen this over at the SEP site, but if I’m going to pimp, I’m doin’t it strong, so here she be again. SEP just released its first adventure for Sword Noir: A Role-Playing Game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery called the Kheufer Scrolls. In this adventure, the PCs find themselves caught up in the search for scrolls belonging to the ancient necromancer Kheufer. Allies, enemies and the unknown all intersect as the sand runs through the hourglass and the plans of an ancient power, long thought dead, move toward fruition.

The Kheufer Scrolls is a 34 page PDF including 5 maps and 10 pages of narrative characters. It is designed for up to six starting characters. While the adventure does not require the use of Sword Noir, the narrative characters and some situations are based on that system and would require modification to use with another system.

You can expect a second Sword Noir adventure in September 2011. This is going to be a version of the one-shot which I will be running for various people at Gen Con. Also in August or September, Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death will be available. An adventure for KMA will soon follow in October or November 2011.

You can buy the Kheufer Scrolls here.

You can buy Sword Noir here.

Yes, I’ve been very quiet. I got the manuscript for Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death RPG. That’s a Viking RPG based on Sword Noir . . . which continues to sell relatively well. I’m almost done a Sword Noir adventure called “the Kheufer Scrolls.” When that’s done, I need to do the one-shots for Gen Con—yes, there will be one-shots for both Sword Noir and Kiss My Axe to play at Gen Con. Those one-shots will then be released post-Gen Con as products.

So, yeah, things will likely continue to be quiet until those projects are all wrapped up. On the up side, there’ll be Sword’s Edge Publishing stuff to buy. Great, eh?

Sarcasm? Maybe.

Buy stuff here.

Why have I been so quiet, you ask? Sword Noir is out and has been doing very well. I’ve been busy trying to get some kind of visibility for it, as well as getting files ready for the Print on Demand version. I’ve also been looking into other options for making something special for Gen Con.

Unfortunately, whenever I get wrapped up in something, Sword’s Edge takes a hit. In this case, there is a direct connection, since Sword’s Edge Publishing pays for this site, focusing on that is basically focusing here.

It’s not going to get better any time soon, I’m afraid. I have another release this weekend, and then I have the Viking action RPG Kiss My Axe to complete and get out (including PoD).

And then there is Gen Con.

But stick around. I’ll get stuff up whenever I can—especially if it is geeky news flavoured stuff.

You can purchase your PDF copy of Sword Noir here. A Print on Demand version should be available shortly.

Another story is going in the “wait for an anthology?” bin. I’ve gotten some very nice comments and helpful advice from editors regarding “Fear of its Prey,” my only foray into horror/dark fantasy, but no offers. It’s likely because I don’t read the genre that I’ve failed in writing a story for it. The idea was essentially fantasy, but it kind of straddles the line, with fantasy elements and horror elements. It’s also very long for the modern market (7,320 words

In any case, apparently I didn’t do something well enough. I’ve carefully considered the comments of editors, but—of course—the wants and desires of one venue does not necessarily translate well to all venues.

If anyone wants the story, I’m looking for a minimum of 1.5 cents US per word. That’s about as low as I’ll go as I can publish it myself in some other format and get as much for it. Sorry, anthology and magazines that offer $25 or even $50 just aren’t worth it for me. I’m not saying they are bad or are ripping off authors, but I have a very mercenary viewpoint in regards to allowing others to publish my work, and $50 for over 7k words doesn’t interest me.

If you are interested, you can read the opening three paragraphs here.

Sure is quiet around here. Maybe too quiet.

I wish it was because a storm of posts was a-headin’ this way, but that just ain’t so.  No, I’ve been heavily invested in getting some stuff ready for Sword’s Edge Publishing. Two of those things are games, one is a supplement, and one is a short story compilation. If you follow the SEP website, you’ll have seen the announcement already.

I’m in the middle of writing the final parts of Kiss My Axe, which is a role-playing game set in the Viking Age. The part I’m writing now looks at different times and places in which one could run a Viking game—though, when one looks at the historical eras preceding the Viking Age, one isn’t actually playing, y’know, Vikings. In any case, I hope the section will prove of interest and give people some inspiration for running their games.

What does that mean for SE? I’m going to try to do at least two posts a week in the future. Hopefully, you’ll all stick around. The deluge of people seeking pictures of Odysseus, which really skewed my Google Analytics numbers, has passed, so I now have a fair idea who is actually interested in what I’m saying here. Frankly, I’m kind of surprised so many of you are still around.

Thanks! And I’ll see you soon.

You can find my SEP plans here.

From the world of “are you fucking kidding me?” comes the movie Battleship. Now, having a movie based on that particular game in and of itself is kind of a WTF decision, but in a recent article, we learn that the movie is going to be about “an alien invasion at sea.”

Whiskey. Tango. Fuckin’ Foxtrot?

Yes, because an intrinsic part of the success of the game Battleship was the alien menace that always seemed to consume one’s destroyer just before you called out “A-5!” Methinks some screenwriter spent too many days in the park, playing Battleship by himself, and watching the ants carry away the restaurant mints he used in place of the ship pieces he had lost.

And a $200 million budget? Or you kidding me?

Hey! Studio execs! Over here! Listen, don’t bitch to me about how piracy is ruining the industry when you pump $200 million into a shit-stupid project like this. Are you telling me there are not 4 other scripts out there that could all be made for $50 mil, that could make a profit? Because I got news for you—those $50 mil action scripts? In Hong Kong they’ll film them for $5 mil, and make a better movie, and make more money.

It’s not piracy that’s killing Hollywood, it’s Hollywood.

The article referenced above can be found here.

The MGM bankruptcy fiasco continues, as its creditors have provided it with a further extension, meaning the deadline for a resolution is now September 15th. This means that the deadline for a resolution on things like the Hobbit and the next Bond movie have also been pushed back.

Y’know, MGM has had a storied history and all, but if the thing needs to die, just let it die. The thing here is that it has a large back catalogue one which a lot of people want to get their hands.

But due to the delay, the Hobbit lost Guillermo del Toro, and may lose Ian McKellan. Who knows if Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig will be around to deliver the next Bond, as had been planned.

That, ladies and gentlemen, sucks.

Cross-posted at SEP

I can see the end of Dark Horizons on the—dare I say it/write it—horizon. So, what to do next? What to do with SEP? Most blogination happens here, with the occasional personal post over at my tumblr page, so whither SEP?

I’m wondering if serial fiction is the way to go. It keeps me writing. The problem is that it does take up so much of my writing time, I do little else. Also, it works best when there is a large (as in five or six) buffer of chapters/posts, which means I likely wouldn’t be prepared to transit immediately into a new story. Finally, I would have to decide what to write. I have so many ideas and inspirations, and they change so often, it’s a tough question to answer.

If I free up my writing time, maybe I can get some products out there. The Osiris Files have stalled, mostly based on the stalling of the release of Mundus Novit. It is the plan that should the Files go forward, they would no longer be linked to MN. While I remain enthusiastic about MN, the lack of certainty regarding its status—now and in the future—means I would prefer to focus my efforts elsewhere.

So, those of you still visiting, if you feel invested in SEP at all, what would like to see? More serial fiction? More product? Something else entirely? Or should this just become a legacy site and I should focus my efforts elsewhere?

I’d put up a poll or ask for comments, but I would likely be embarrassed by the response. Instead, just email me if you actually have an opinion.

I’ve spouted off before about my mercenary philosophy for writing. I know that there are those out there on both sides of that arguement. That doesn’t matter, because this is my house, so I win.

BOO-YAH!

Here’s something you need to consider when you are looking to submit to that anthology that only offers $10 and a contributor’s copy (or two, if very generous)—this is a direct statement about the editor/publisher’s expectation for return. If they are only willing to pay $10 for the stories they publish, they don’t expect to sell too many copies. If they don’t have faith in themselves, why should you?

Oh, and, if you are willing to sell your stuff for $10, what does that say of your faith in yourself?

I am certain that there are many, many editors out there, just doing it for the love, wanting to share fiction in a genre that they love with others. I got two things to say about that.

1) An e-zine is free (or can be, because if you want to take over Sword’s Edge and make it a real e-zine again, you’re welcome to it), so if you are doing it for the love, do it for the love and for free.

2) The reason you aren’t doing it as an e-zine is because you want the satisfaction of having a printed copy in your hand. Which is fine, I understand that, but don’t expect me to subsidize your desire. Why don’t you go all out and actually pay professional rates, get professional stories, and publish something of which you can really be proud? Because that would cost too much? Again, don’t expect me to subsidize your desire and also please see 1).

Sorry, I just get really sick of seeing this bullshit and knowing people are still happy to submit to these markets (and these are people whose work really deserves pro rates . . . well, some of them).

If you are doing it for the love, I can get behind that, but then explain again why a free e-zine doesn’t do it for you.

Yes, that was a rant.

Yes, I am a dick.

Yes, you may go about your business now.