FLY SOUP

Following a minor bout of cancer (featuring surgeries and 6 months of chemotherapy), I'm writing again! Having spent some time reviewing my writing career to date, I note with a degree of dismay that while I've had some material published, I'm not super happy with all of it. In the past I've pandered to the whims of the industry in order to get stories out. Well, I'm done with that. Now I'm writing what I want to write. No more < 5,000 word stories about "blue aliens on exoplanets", simply because a publisher somewhere decided that's what they wanted for their next anthology. I know it may seem a little hypocritical, given that I helped come up with the theme of A Hand of Knaves (and I stand by it), but I'm allowed to be hypocritical if the mood takes me. And the mood does take me.  From now on I'm writing whatever the hell I want. It might not get published, but it'll be mine and I think I'll be a lot happier with that.  Let...

Readership has ticked up on the Tales: Choose your own story app, and since a bunch of folks have asked for more Darkendore, I've decided to give it to them. I really enjoy writing Darkendore and all its weird and wonderful characters.  Darkendore: Knight Defender will focus more on developing friendships and love interests, but you can still expect plenty of plot twists and turns, as you attempt to beat back the forces of evil threatening to overwhelm Castle Darkendore this time around. You can play Darkendore: Knight Defender here:  https://link.talescreator.com/qJRhANAwwBb or the original Darkendore game here:  https://link.talescreator.com/No4wDnkHfxb

Tales has chosen my branching narrative Darkendore as one of the first stories to upgrade to a new format that is so awesome it blows my mind. I've read a fair bit of branching fiction on my phone over the past few years and a lot of it is visually a bit samey, but this Tales graphical upgrade is next level.  I used to think my characters looked pretty cool (or at least okay) but I've done a side-by-side and, well there's really no comparison. The art is just...better, in every way. Sure, it doesn't change the story, or the outcomes, but in the same way a good close-up can be compelling in a movie, the extra detail in this character art really makes you fall in love with these characters all over again (at least for me).  You can check out Darkendore here...

The first four chapters of my latest branching narrative gamebook: Dreamwalkers  are out on Tales: Choose Your Own Story and looking good. I'm enjoying writing this story on commission for Tales and have great hopes of getting all ten chapters out by May 2023.  The story is about a group of teens who find a way to visit one another's dreams, but (you guessed it) when their dreams turn to nightmares, some of them wind up dead. I'd describe it as the Goonies meets (the original) Flatliners . Hit this link to download the app and read the story:  https://link.talescreator.com/Q2PRVqqgqsb Also, loving the cover art. It's so nice when publishers spend the time (and money) on artists who're able to capture the vibe of a project like this. I have no complaints about any of the covers or interior art they've created for my work so far.

For the past 4 years SIFTER has released a list of all video games made in Australia in order of their release date. This years' list, boldly titled 2022: The Definitive List of Australian Made Video Games,  can be found here . I have no idea exactly how "definitive" it is, but it does contain great new titles from Australian game companies like Mighty Kingdom, Tin Man Games and Playside. Tassie game makers have 5 games on the list, 2 of which are mine: Cat's Claw and Darkendore . Yipeee, go Tassie! The industry is small here but we do our best.  The other 3 Tassie games were released by MarineVerse (a VR sailing game), Smash Attack Studios (party minigames), and Motely Pixel (fun side-scroller).  I'm pretty sure there are a lot more games being developed in Tassie than are on this particular list, but finishing what you start is important in this industry. I write on a contract basis and I'm paid for completing my work, which gives me a strong incentive to...

 Much as I hate to brag... *Ahem* My branching narrative stories Cat's Claw and Darkendore have recently shared top spot on the Tales: Choose Your Own Story app. This makes me very happy. The app management team are still in the "writer and community building stage" right now. But even so, the number of readers appears to be steadily growing. There must be over a thousand stories/games on the app now and I'm so happy my stories are being read, even at this early stage. I hope that, when Tales team switches from app development, to the serious business of attracting readers in large numbers, that the stories will enjoy a similar degree of popularity.

Just going to drop these here. I'm only a few scenes away from finishing Darkendore. Some of the art is still pending, but have a look at this. It's a fair indication of what you'll see if you choose to download the Tales: Choose Your Own Story app for iOS or Android (still in beta I think).  Apologies in advance for the poor graphical and sound quality. That's on me. Between my sub-par video screen-capture skills, and the video conversion here on Blogger, it hasn't translated super-well. Still, I figured they're worth worth putting up to give an idea of what I'm up to.  

I've been really busy in 2022, mostly writing for a mobile platform called Tales: Choose Your Own Story . It's a great, new(ish) app that I believe offers a lot to both readers and writers.  In early 2022 I put the finishing touches on Cat's Claw , a small 's' superhero who finds herself in a huge pile of captial 'T' trouble. As far as I can tell it's going well on the platform and as such is getting promoted by the app managers. I'm currently writing the final episodes of Darkendore , a young-adult (kinda grimdark) tale about reapers, and what they get up to in their downtime, and their uptime I guess. In fact, it's pretty-much about what they get up to all the time. I'm loving writing Darkendore as I originally tried to get a grant from Screen Tasmania to produce it and was knocked back. But the first game company I pitched it to greenlit it immediately. Unfortunately, that means it's not set in Tassie now, but I love it anyway.  Tales ...

 So I joined these guys: They seem like a pretty inclusive bunch and since I'm branching into crime writing now I thought it was a good idea. They've already put me onto a couple of informative (and free) online seminars. Honestly, as most of my work (including the narrative design) comprises some level of mystery and danger, crime writing isn't much of a stretch.  Plus - I'm loving it already!

No one who knows anything about the Skywalker saga can deny the final scenes of The Mandalorian Season 2 are anything but spectacular. The arrival of the mysterious X-wing, the green lightsaber, the black-gloved hand, all build toward an exhilarating and surprising reveal. Personally, I thought the return of Luke Skywalker in the prime of his Jedi powers was an awesome sight. My partner on the other hand? Not so much. My partner isn't a long-time Star Wars fan. She doesn't know much about the Skywalker clan and doesn't much care to find out BUT, she loves the Mandalorian and she especially loves little Grogu.  Toward the end of season two's final episode, while I was getting more and more excited as clues began to drop as to what was about to happen, my partner was becoming frustrated and confused. "What's going on?" she asked, bewildered at the sudden and unexplained turn of events. "Who's this guy?" At the time I was too overwhelmed with ch...

The first thing I'm gonna say about this game is: I freaking love it. Everything that comes after should be seen through that lens. The second thing I'm going to say is that the writers/devs on the The Outer Worlds are sharp. You know the saying, "You can't please all of the people, all of the time"? Well, Obsidian Entertainment has shown that you really, really can. It's been said many-a-time that "This Game" is just Skyrim with guns, or "That Game" is just Fallout in Space etc... Well, The Outer Worlds is all that and it doesn't care what you think about plundering pop culture for kicks. There are numerous nods to other games, sure, but (and I want to emphasize this) not only games. There are references to TV shows, movies, music, books, table-top RPGs, the list goes on, and it's not confined to the SF/F genres. Conversations are 1 on 1. Very Reminiscent of Oblivion. And like early Elder Scrolls, the voice acting is ...

The more contracts I take in the game industry, the more I'm appreciating the nuances of game writing. And the more I appreciate the differences between straight fiction and interactive experiences, the more I'm blown away by the creativity of some people involved in producing video games. Cue the total, mind-bending insanity of Cuphead and Mugman . I have no idea how, or why, this game came into existence. No doubt I could search it and discover all the details I'd ever want and more, but I don't need to. Cuphead and Mugman is perfectly well appreciated simply by playing it. With visuals reminiscent of early Disney cartoons - or even early Popeye  - this game is like no other. It looks amazing. It sounds amazing, and it IS amazing , but in this case it's not the graphics, story, or even the gameplay that really make Cuphead a great experience for me. It's the all-pervasive, persistent absurdity of almost every element of the game that has me entranced....

The title of this post says it all. My writing's been given mentions in "best of"s" and I've had the odd award here and there, but my work's never been nominated for a Ditmar award, so this is new for me. Which isn't to say A Hand of Knaves is all "my work". It's an anthology containing the work of plenty of people, but Leife and I planned the theme, read and selected the stories, and edited them as best we could to come up with the final product - which also contains artwork from Shauna O'meara that just happens to be nominated in the Artwork category (so we're winning all 'round). Congratulations to everyone involved with A Hand of Knaves and thanks to everyone who voted us into the ballot. As I've only ever considered myself a writer, it's strange to have something I've edited up for a national award. Strange, but AWESOME!!! Go AHOK!

Wow. Just, wow! I had reservations about buying Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4 when I first heard tell of its development by Insomniac Games. Never, ever, ever , have I taken to a superhero game for PC or console. Even the recent Batman games were - for me at least - a soulless button-mashing exercise in kicking and punching bad guys into submission with little-to-no story or motive above the generic satisfaction derived from kicking ass. Marvel's Spider-Man has changed the way I look at superhero games. Insomniac has managed to inject story into Peter Parker's journey, but more than that, they created a series of narrative sequences that really motivated me to want to come back time after time to unravel more of Peter's tangled web of relationships. Sure there were predictable back-stabs and double-crosses from (mild spoiler alert) the likes of Dr Octavius and co. But because aspects of Peter's relationships with other characters were so strong, I found myself...

When CSFG Publishing puts out a submission call to authors across Australia and NZ, it's with a view to showcasing the fantastic work of established and emerging writers in this region of the world. This was most certainly the case with  A Hand of Knaves , edited by yours truly and Leife Shallcross in 2017-18. The "blind" submission process helps a lot, as there can be no subconscious (or even conscious) favouritism involved during the story-selection phase. The most exciting part of the process for me, was getting to show-off some new (and even first-time) authors to readers of short fiction in this country. But now some of the more established contributors are getting their opportunity to shine. The recent announcement of the 2018 Aurealis Award finalists includes three stories from A Hand of Knaves: For Best Fantasy Short Story "A Moment's Peace" by David Versace For Best Science Fiction Short Story "A Fair Wind off Baracoa" by Rob Por...

5 Dynnyrne Rd. Hobart TAS, 7005. Fantastic 4-bedroom home. Sought-after Tasmanian location.  Has stood for over 100 years (sadly no centenary letter from the Queen), being one of the original Dynnyrne Station houses. Unlike the nearby whippersnappers built in the '50s and '60s, 5 Dynnyrne Rd has weathered the test of time and is a true 1915, federation-style original. Not haunted! No ghosts, poltergeists or repeating spectral apparitions of any kind observed or reported in the past 20 years. Protected from meteorite impacts!* Proximity to Hobart’s iconic  Kunanyi/ Mt Wellington means you’ll be shielded from extra-terrestrial debris, particularly from the northwest. Well clear of predicted tsunami disaster zone . Be “that guy” posting videos of houses getting washed away while laughing quietly yourself and sipping the micro-brewed beverage of your choice, as any (standard-sized) tsunami steamrolls over Taroona, Sandy bay and Battery Point below. ** Ca...

Tears and laughter. For this kid it was mostly tears. This weekend the Royal Society of Tasmania put on a picnic in the park WITH DINOSAURS for the kids (4000 of them apparently). As I do from time to time, I was one of the dinosaurs - the Utahraptor to be precise. The little ones loved it and I had a lot of fun too. There was a baby T-rex there as well, expertly operated by a friend of mine. You can't see much in those suits, so you need dino-wranglers to shout out when you're about to mow some poor kid down, or when one of the more "excitable" little tykes starts trying to punch you in the knee.  Verdict: Being a dino is a lot of fun but those suits can get really, really hot inside. 

I've only just started my 5e D&D journey, having played through Horde of the Dragon Queen  earlier this year with some friends and really loving it. On a whim (after having launched A Hand of Knaves and still feeling the roguish vibe) I picked up the  Dragon Heist  (Waterdeep) campaign module last week and it looks really good. Dragon Heist begins with a low-intensity mystery, allowing players to get a feel for their new characters, and slowly builds into a fun urban adventure. The city-based intrigue is strongly reminiscent of the AD&D 1st and 2nd ed. Lankhmar adventures, which I absolutely love. It's difficult to compare the two really, since my friends and I spent many game sessions navigating Lankhmar's dark, rogue-invested back-alleys, and I know little about Waterdeep - but still - I get a very Lankhmar-ish vibe from Dragon Heist . The city maps for both are spectacularly detailed - though I think I prefer the Lankhmar map for its colourful names and gen...

A couple of weekends ago I attended Conflux 14 in Canberra. I had a great time for many reasons, not least of which was because, alongside Leife Shallcross, I got to finally launch A Hand of Knaves! Editing this fantastic collection of stories about thieves, pirates, con-artists and anti-heroes of all kinds with Leife has taken up a lot of my time over the past year and to see the finished product in the hands of readers was a real thrill for me. It's the first collection of stories I've 'properly' edited and I think I can safely say that Leife and I struck up a great working relationship. It was a superb learning experience for me as a writer as much as anything. I learned a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses, not only through my interactions with Leife, but with the authors as well. A couple of tipsy editors A lot happened for both of us between the time we chose to take on A Hand of Knaves,  and the date of publication. Leife beat out literally thous...

Thanks to Shauna O'meara  A Hand of Knaves now has a cover, and it's a great one. Thanks also go to Simon Petrie for the layout of the text inside and out. I'm really pleased with every aspect of this anthology and can't wait to launch it with Leife Shallcross at Conflux 14 at the end of September. I know it's traditional only to show the front cover when announcing these things, but I like the wrap-around so much I just wanted to show off the whole thing.