Myth, the Universe, and Everything

Apparently, I missed some big news two weeks ago when I didn't read Matt Forbeck's blog. He announced that the Eberron line of novels has been canceled at Wizards of the Coast (see ETAs below for clarification). Apparently the Discoveries line and the Tracy Hickman Presents Dragonlance line have also been canceled.

I can only hope that this is because the lines don't meet with the vision of Wizards right now, because they had some really good titles come out in the Eberron line, at least. I'd been hoping to pick up several of the Discoveries titles as well. As all of the interactions I've had with their editorial department have left me impressed with the people working there, I'd hoped to eventually have the chance to write fiction for them in some way or another. As someone who was never a huge fan of the Forgotten Realms as a setting (my involvement with Living Forgotten Realms aside), I was thrilled to be able to buy fiction more up my alley from a publisher I liked and admired.

At any rate, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

ETA: Paul Crilley was kind enough to post here and let me know that not all the series in the Eberron line have been cancelled. He, gloomforge, and Don Bassingthwaite are still working on Eberron novels. Hurrah! As I responded to his comment, I'm very glad this is the case, as it gives me greater hope that the Eberron series won't just vanish and never return. If they have some continuity, there's the chance that they'll build up the number of titles again in the future. Which, actually, gives me a chance to catch up on the titles I've purchased in the series, but not yet read.

Thanks Paul!

ETA #2: Matt Forbeck also just commented that the line is not actually ending, just some of the series. It doesn't make the situation better for those folks affected, I'm sure, but... well, I was already optimistic in my first ETA, so I'll leave it at that.

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After posting last night, I had a great conversation with friends about interactive storytelling in home games, and talked about how much I'm looking forward to starting a game, set in Mythological Greece, for some of my old "home" group (which stretches from New Haven area to Boston, so it's hard to consider it "home" exactly). I haven't run a home game since 3rd edition came out, and that was a play-by-post. Actually, now that I think of it, I've never run a table-top *campaign* before--only ever stand alones in mixed DM campaigns. So this is going to be a whole new adventure for me, and I'm excited about going back to Delphi and Naxos and visiting Ithaca for the first time, all in their ancient glory.

In other news, I got to judge the 100+ senryu entries that came in for the Spacewesterns.com contest. They were so good! Nathan may post a handful of runners up, and I hope he does--there were a lot of really excellent poems that I hope the public will get to read. I've still go to write comments on a bunch of them--I only commented on five or so, plus my judge pick, so far--but the actual judging/ranking is complete on my end. The winners will be announced on August 6. I'll link as soon as they're up!

I just wrote a wonderful entry on shared world fiction and the importance of balancing the flavor of the game with telling a good story. You will have to take my word for it that it was brilliant, because I cliked on the button next to the "tags" line, thinking it would let me insert tags, and instead took me to the FAQ section. Thus, was my entry lost to the ether, and I will some other day have to write about that balancing act.

I also said wonderful things about Edward Bolme, Matt Forbeck, and Margaret Weis. For the moment, I will just sing their praises and give no background, as I really must get back to doing other writing and can't quickly recap otherwise.

In other news, the interview with Secret Identity went extremely well, and Brian was a great host. I'll post here as soon as it's available to download.

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Patrick Sweeney passed along an idea from Matt Forbeck, who got it from Shane Hensley, and I'm going to use it at GenCon. When you come to the booth to have me sign a copy of the novel, I'll have one of my copies of the novel sitting out for you to sign. This seems like a wonderful way to commemorate my first book signing! So please, come by. I'll have pens in eight colors.

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Currently reading: The Tales of the Last War. I finished The Grieving Tree and thought it was a good entry as book two of a trilogy. Reading these has gotten me back in the shared world fiction mode and I think will help me keep from getting too "girly" in Departure.

I'm also currently reading the following Web comics: The Adventures of Darth Mad, which is based on Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords, which I beat last week. It contains spoilers, and also only makes sense if you've played the game. But if you've finished the game, it's quite funny.

I'm also reading Rob and Elliot, which was recommended by Brian of Secret Identity.

And now I will post this before it gets eaten, like it's predecessor.