Author: Richard Parry

The Social Dynamic of D&D

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A recent oped hit the NYT on why the cool kids are playing D&D. D&D isn’t only about inventing a more badass version of myself, writes @annaleen. I was also drawn to the idea of building a social group whose baseline assumption was that we’d see each other regularly. https://t.co/VmIZ5Of0nH — NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) April 7, 2019 (The author is Annalee Newitz). As a kid I was into RPGs. I played D&D Basic, AD&D, and so on through the ranks to 3e, 4e, and … I haven’t hit 5e yet, because all my friends are dead*. It wasn’t just D&D, but Cyberpunk (2012, then 2020), Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Runescape… you get the drift. The games were a fantastic glue for social interaction, and we’d game at lunchtimes at school, or in the weekends, and so on. There’s a sad, historic Read More …

Piglet Racing

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We had a blast this weekend at 24/7 Electrical’s piglet races. They host a gig for the company + customers (of which we are one: shout-out to them for being like the only company who could fix our DSL problems). Owners Jamie and Elise have a farm where they raise (amongst other things) kunekune pigs. They host an annual racing event for the litter. Kids get very excited, can pet the piglets, and eat a lot of cake. Hyperactivity is high. I hope you dig these photos. Piglets are super cute, and this is why I don’t eat pork.  

An Interview with AKD 🎤

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This is one of my world-famous emails, originally sent Friday 5 April, 2019. Get on the list here. It’s almost done By ‘it,’ I mean Tyche’s Fallen, the latest Ezeroc Wars trilogy. Tiffany’s given me back edits for the first book, and should be done with the second two by, uh… soon. Until we get that hot sauce onto your burger (…is that a good metaphor?), there’s more to talk about. A note on focus, and how mine sucks; An interview with Amy DuBoff; and A social experiment I’m running, where you’re the subject. Let’s rattle on. F 0 C u ssss… There was a time when I mentioned how the return to honest work was going pretty well. While I’ve been keeping up with my workday wording habit, I’m in the throes of editing Tyche’s Crusade (third in the Read More …

Is Writing Everyday Really Necessary?

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I see this one a lot. Is writing everyday really necessary? from writing The short version is no, and the longer verison is that it might be harmful to your creativity, depending on how your brain works. Let’s get into this. The prevailing advice from the world is, “Yo, you should write every day. Every! Day! And twice on Sundays.” I’m not 100% sure where this craziness comes from, but it could be misguided thinking around the power of habituated behaviours. Habits can be good! Humans love habits. Making and breaking them takes effort, and while a crack cocaine habit is most likely bad, a fitness habit is probably good. You’ll have heard how habits take 21 days to form, and while it’s a little more complicated than that, doing something often, perhaps on a schedule, can be good for Read More …

The implosion of my mind 💥

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One of my world-famous emails, originally sent Saturday, 30 March 2019. You can get on the list here. It was bound to happen eventually. Kathy sent me an email recently, which is the genises of this PSA. This week: My brain! The Empire’s Rogues. Let’s start with the thoughts-and-prayers segment. I know the emoji in the subject is an explosion… …not an implosion. Turns out, there’s not a decent emoji for that, and I prefer the idea of imploding, so here we are: me vs. the Unicode Consortium. Let’s move on, and talk about Kathy’s email. In it, she said (note to others: this is how you tell authors they’re stupid, all while doing it politely): “Grace’s timeline no longer makes sense to me.” I’ll admit to a small feeling of dread on reading this. As I noted in a Read More …

An Experiment, Where You’re the Subject

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Alan wrote me probably an eon ago when I offered a deal on Night’s Favor, saying something like (and I paraphrase), “How about a deal on something else?” I’ve been ruminating about this for a while. What’s the best way to run a sale? How do I give something to the fans, while also offering a good series starter price? It’s maddening running a deal on, say, book 3 in a five-book series; no one cares, especially if they don’t have book 1, and first-in-series books are often discounted — where’s the shine? Let’s try to fix that. Starting today is a grand experiment (because I love me some science). Enter: [My Cr4zy Deals Page] I’m aware that I’m doing this on April Fool’s Day, but this is legit (…assuming all the store fronts updated, FML). The basic idea is Read More …

Boundless, Wikis, and RPGs

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I’m considering keeping track of Boundless information in a wiki, because after writing 7 Ezeroc Wars novels, 5 novellas, 6 short stories, and 3 mid-range books, I’m losing track. I know, I know, #hardfail, but it is what it is. Then I got to thinking: should I make the wiki based on a point of relevance, like D&D? If there are, say, orcs (…not telling, yet), do I adjust character bios to include stats? Would that be cool? Would it be confusing? Would Chuck Wendig approve? *loads unpopular opinion shotgun* Tried to read LOTR a bunch and couldn’t get through it. Worldbuilding is not plot. Your book shouldn’t read like an RPG manual but should also make me wish someone made your book into an RPG. The Chosen One is a tiiiiired narcissistic trope. https://t.co/1oF8tVFuvK — Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) March Read More …

Chromed: Rogue Just Went Wide

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ICYMI, Chromed: Rogue is now available pretty much everywhere. You can get it whether you’re on a Kindle, iDevice, Nook, or Kobo. Go nuts. It’s 2150AD. Syndicates fight on the streets. Company enforcer Mason Floyd and rockstar Sadie Freeman share an uneasy truce in a city buried beneath company sin. As the rain lifts for the first time in what feels like forever, they are hunted. Mason’s employers sent their best to take them out. Betrayed from within, walking away would be the simplest choice. But Sadie and Mason aren’t known for taking the easy path. They owe someone who gave everything so they could be free. They must get back to the world, save a lost friend from a reprogramming facility, and escape into the night. Megacorps. Cyborgs. AI. Gene-spliced monsters. Syndicate enforcers. Off-grid illegals. Supersoldiers. Rock music. Violence. Read More …

Releases, a giveaway, an interview, and a partridge in a pear tree 🦜

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The latest of my world-famous emails, originally sent Tuesday, 19 March 2019. You can get on the list here. I was a little quiet last week. This is because the new job is all-consuming; I’m working in a tibanna gas mine, minting fuel for hyperdrives.This week: The latest and last two Empire’s Rogues stories; An interview with Aethon Books; Getting the word out for John; and A giveaway. And who says nobody gives you anything anymore? Let’s roll. The Empire’s Rogues Ganymede Plague released last week without fanfare, because ^^ as I mentioned I’d been sucked into a vortex of horror, otherwise known as working for a living. This week Ganymede Plague’s joined by the fifth story, Dragon’s Rescue. These are the finales for the six-part series. You might notice a fancy cover ⬅️ over there. This is because of Read More …