Skipping Downton Abbey...

...to write this blog post. No, I realize the show airs on Sundays. I only get to watch it "on demand" after my child goes to sleep...and last night took so long to get him down, that I went straight to bed. Tonight was much better AND I'm still awake...perhaps because I wasn't drinking all day with a Super Bowl that last extra time due to the power outage in the second half.

What I was doing today was getting my shit together writing-wise. O boy o boy!

With D going into the new daycare and the wife out-o-town, I was able to have a real "day off" for the first time in a loooong time (I got to slack on the household chores...I'll be cleaning up before I hit the hay tonight). I made good use of the time by sitting down and finishing the proofing/edits to my fantasy-cyberpunk game, which had been something I've been meaning to get to since, oh, back in August or so. Since my prospective collaborator/publisher turned out to be even busier than me, I just kind of "back-burnered" it...for six months. Sheesh!

But I put in the three-to-five hours or so to go through the whole check list, and got it all knocked out. At least to the point where I can email it to my editor for a final proof. And then I can start begging the interwebs for artwork.

[actually, this particular book is one I'm thinking of doing hardcover in a slightly different format, and I'm seriously considering a single interior artist in order to have a "consistent" vibe, which might meaning hitting up a local person whom I can "ride" with deadlines and such...but I haven't really decided yet]

It's funny that I did finish it today, after having procrastinated so long. I chalk it up to meeting a guy from the other play-test group (a group that I wasn't refereeing) and hearing his disparaging remarks about the game. Specifically, he said he really wanted to like it but it seemed "too much like Shadowrun" to him. I explained that this was not surprising seeing as how a fantasy-cyberpunk mash-up is treading the same genre ground as Shadowrun and my goal was to make something easier and more playable. He said he grokked that, but still...Shadowrun. Apparently, the guy really doesn't like the Shadowrun concept.

Which just means he's not the target demographic for the game. Duh.

IN ADDITION to this, I was back working on D&D Mine again, putting the finishing touches (i.e. illustration plates) on the covers and cover leafs (cover leaves?) of the book. In writing my own version of the Little Brown Books, I've decided that for the main illustration I would use some classic fairy tale pics that are public domain...pretty much the cheapest, tasteful way to go. For this particular project I have tapped a local artist to do some interior works, and she was very approving of the images I'd picked, feeling she can do some line drawings that will echo the feel. She did ask if she could do them lithograph style (whatever that means)...personally, I don't mind doing my own cheap-ass drawings for this project (I think my talent-level could come close to that of the original illustrators...if not, I could always trace some Nick Fury comics and add swords).

Still D&D Mine (or rather 5AK as I am currently titling the thing) has a bit more work left (like most of Book 3) before I can break out the dark ink and scanner. It is coming along though, and I'm again getting excited about the project. Which will certainly come as a relief to people tired of me blogging about Star Wars and superheroes.

Gosh...maybe I do have time to finish the dishes and watch Downton Abbey tonight! Later, gators!
: )