Hey, there’s something coming up that I want to tell you about!
Sandra and Keliana are down at the Hypernode Warehouse awaiting a truck full of Force Multiplication. Signing, sketching, packing, and shipping are the activities that will soon come to dominate the cottage industry here.
No pictures yet, because no truck yet. We’ll keep you posted.
We just got word that our pallets of Force Multiplication: Schlock Mercenary Book 12 will be arriving sometime “in the next week or so.” If you want your copy shipped soon, now is the time to place your order.
A great many of you have already placed your orders, and are reading this and asking what OTHER book you can maybe order. Well, as it happens, my friend Bob has a book out! You may remember Bob from his guest-review of Hardcore Henry. That’s his blog style, and while it’s not the same as his literary voice, the snark does shine through.
Death by Cliché is Bob Defendi unchained. It is the story of a game designer who attempts to sneak out of the worst role-playing session ever, and ends up in the game itself, starting with a room “lit by flaming brassieres.”
This may be misleading. Death by Cliché is not full of puns and dad jokes¹. It’s a funny, frightening, poignant, and exhilarating exploration of a world in which RPG clichés and sloppy game design are the governing principles, the unseen hands pulling the strings.
UPDATED TO ADD: My 21-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son both grabbed copies² from Bob last night. Five hours later—FIVE HOURS LATER—they both got grouchy when we insisted that it was time for lights to be out so the old people in the house could go to sleep.
Which is to say that my review may not have gushed to the level that this book deserves for some readers, including a junior majoring in illustration and a junior-high student majorly invested in Minecraft.
¹There are puns and dad jokes in the book. I won’t lie. They’re there. Not everywhere, but there. Usually as the set-up for something that is actually funny.
²He only meant to give us one copy of the book at Writing Group on Thursday, but he had a stack, and my children, even the adult ones, can be grabby.
My friend Sal, who was among the first comics industry professionals I met, is fighting cancer, and a bunch of us are getting together to help out.
This Saturday I’ll be at Dragon’s Keep in Provo, Utah. I’m bringing books, miniatures, and art supplies.
All proceeds will be going directly to Sal Velluto. I don’t know if Dragon’s Keep will be able to run credit cards through the register for this stuff, so maybe plan on bringing pockets full of cash. Better artists than I will be doing sketches, too.
We won’t be able to ship anything, so this opportunity is limited to the locals.
I’ll be at Phoenix Comic Con this weekend. My schedule is pretty light, and I don’t have a permanent seat in the exhibition hall, so I may be difficult to catch up with.
Difficult, but not impossible:
Like I said, it’s pretty light. My merchandise can be found at the Brandon Sanderson/Writing Excuses booth, #1378, through Saturday evening, and I will be there from time to time to sketch in your stuff. My schedule will be posted there, and will include the times when I’ve promised to brave the madding crowd and return to the table with my sharpies.
I need to get a lot of work done this weekend, including penciling and inking strips for late June. It’s possible I’ll be doing some of that in places where I can be seen. If I’m in public, I’ll tweet my location. Follow @HowardTayler on Twitter for that information, as well as for random noise, some of which might be pretty entertaining.