I like puzzles. I also like tabletop role-playing games. But for the life of me I have yet to figure out a decent way to combine the two. I love the idea of throwing puzzles at a group of players when I’m running a game, but actually doing it has proven very challenging. Do players enjoy puzzles? Sure, I try to make sure I seriously entertain any ideas players have for getting around the puzzles I present them with, but I’d also like the puzzles themselves to be fun. Is there a good way of doing...
Jun 12, 2014
I talk for a while about my recent trip to ConCarolinas and how it smashed my brain about with its many wonders and diversions. Silent movies, alcohol and writing panels galore! (Recorded earlier this week when I was still a bit punchy.) DOWNLOAD Music by Kevin MacLeod
Jun 06, 2014
I once again find myself trying to ski ahead of a deadline avalanche, so I didn’t have time to do a regular topic this week. So instead, here’s more audio from the vault! This is a faux commercial I came up with in broadcasting school to advertise a faux car. I hope it is to your liking! DOWNLOAD
May 28, 2014
When I try to come up for a name for a fictional person, place or thing, it can sometimes take me quite a while because I don’t want to choose a name that’s already taking up a big chunk of the public’s mental real estate. In this episode I have a bit of a ramble about the way I try to approach people’s headspace as a writer, with the occasional divergence into madness and mimicry. DOWNLOAD VIDEO! For anyone not familiar with Brian Blessed…...
May 20, 2014
So, it seems I managed to utterly fail to prepare a topic this week, so here’s something from my audio archives: a monologue in which I try to sell you a DNA-altering protein drink. I hope it is to your liking! (DISCLAIMER: No basilisks, legendary or otherwise, were harmed in the making of this recording!) DOWNLOAD
May 13, 2014
For this blogcast’s 50th episode, I interview Stephen Hood, one of the creators of Storium , a new online storytelling game. It looks to be a project that will tickle the fancies of writers and gamers alike! It came to my attention when I saw huge numbers of writerfolk and gamerfolk from all over my social media talking about it. The game has a Kickstarter running as of this post, but there are only a few days left to pledge so go check it out now! LINKS! The Storium Website The Storium Kickstar...
May 04, 2014
I have a bit of a rant about the use of passwords in the modern age. Perhaps I’m too set in my ways or perhaps I’m just weary of all the wonderful hoops the information age requires us to jump through. Thankfully, this episode is NOT password protected. Yet. DOWNLOAD
Apr 30, 2014
Image courtesy of Imgur Batman and Superman have recently had their 75th birthdays, along with DC Comics. I decided to ramble for a while about my experiences with those two characters in particular and the effects their stories seem to have – on me, at least. DOWNLOAD VIDEOS! It seems I’ve managed to embed those videos after all! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzeorvDlPe8...
Apr 22, 2014
Here’s an update of stuff I’ve got going on in the writing and podcasting worlds! I recorded this last Sunday evening and for the last few days I’ve been scrambling about finishing up the current project you’ll hear me discuss in this episode. I also mentioned a few publications my work has recently shown up in. LINKS! In the Bloodstream Kaiser’s Gate: Tales From the Front – Amazon / DriveThruRPG Tsunami Quarterly Review # 4 DOWNLOAD...
Apr 16, 2014
Let’s have a little chat about negativity and why it’s not as great an idea as it seems. DOWNLOAD
Apr 07, 2014
Image courtesy of Imgur . Sorry about the delay in getting this one posted, folks. This week I’ve been doing the literary equivalent of trying to ski uphill during an avalanche. So I’ve been a wee bit more distracted than usual. This time I’ve decided to geek out about Deadlands, a Weird Western role playing game. I talk a bit about the game in general, my experiences with it and the various Deadlands campaigns I’m running these days. I also talk a little bit about why I think these particular k...
Apr 04, 2014
Time for a bit of a ramble about Star Wars and Star Trek, and how the two seem to have become each other. Over time, Star Wars has become more Star Trek-y and Star Trek has become more Star Wars-y. I wonder where it will lead? DOWNLOAD
Mar 25, 2014
Ever get that feeling like the clock in your head is speeding up and the seconds are ticking away faster and faster because you’re not working on something RIGHT NOW? I certainly do. Incidentally, if you’re curious about the awesome and entertaining Geologic Podcast, which I mention early on, it can be found at http://www.geologicpodcast.com/ . DOWNLOAD
Mar 17, 2014
I’m fascinated with the way our brains fill in the gaps about people and things when we use social media. So I’ve decided to ramble about it for a bit. DOWNLOAD
Mar 11, 2014
Image by Robert Bruce Livingston At a time that the concept of role-playing had mostly been thought to be the purview of actors and psychiatrists, some folks thought of a different application. No, not Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, but television producer Fred Friendly. The Fred Friendly Seminars got well-known experts together to discuss major issues of the day by participating in a sort of role-playing game – a “hypothetical” moderated by a host. It is this fascinating thing that both is and is...
Mar 02, 2014
I ramble for a bit about how the people behind Doctor Who may not have changed as much as we might think at first. I also talk about why old Classic Who fans like myself shouldn’t worry so much about the differences between the old series and the new one. Even though we had a 16-year gulf between times the show was on, one side of the chasm isn’t so different from the other. DOWNLOAD...
Feb 24, 2014
I was snowed in for a while last week and got to look on as people went mad trying to deal with it. It was as strange as it was entertaining. DOWNLOAD
Feb 19, 2014
I am not dead! I just went to a party held by my author friend Kierce Sevren (check out her blog HERE ) and it was DELIGHTFUL. Here’s a thing I recorded beforehand. It was horribly early in the morning and I think I must have been too close to the mic, so apologies for the oddities in the sound. I’ve tried tinkering about with music loops for the background – let me know what you think, if you’re so inclined. DOWNLOAD...
Feb 10, 2014
The multi-talented Starla Huchton and I have a rambly conversation about her Sci-Fi Romance novel NEMESIS, the New Adult category of fiction and what’s going on with genres in general. Starla’s web site with links to her current projects (writing, voice work and ALL THE THINGS) can be found HERE , and her book cover design work can be found HERE . You can follow her on Twitter at @riznphnx . You can also learn more about the New Adult category at NA Alley . DOWNLOAD Music by Kevin MacLeod...
Aug 25, 2013
Fabled Environments is in the midst of a new Kickstarter campaign! This time their objective is to create a complete floor plan of a high school for use with tabletop RPGs. I talked to Charles White about the Kickstarter, the creation process and possible future projects. Check out the Kickstarter HERE . DOWNLOAD Music by Kevin MacLeod...
Jul 11, 2013
Victorian Chamber Metal band Valentine Wolfe are working on a collaborative project called “Once Upon a Midnight.” The project includes both an album and a graphic novel, each of which takes a look at the afterlife of Edgar Allen Poe, as interpreted through his stories and poems. The Kickstarter for this project can be found HERE . It ends soon, so check it out ASAP! Valentine Wolfe: http://valentinewolfe.com/ The artist, Jacob Wenzka’s site is HERE , and his Facebook page is HERE . Click below ...
Jul 01, 2013
Hey folks – things are changing! This is an audio-only update, so feel free to listen below or download the MP3 file to hear me ramble about what’s going on. DOWNLOAD
Jun 29, 2013
I’ve been on a crusade of late. Well, maybe “crusade” is too strong a word. “Quixotic Jaunt” might be a better description. The last few months I’ve been focusing a great deal of attention on getting my various projects done, or at least making significant progress on them. To that end, I’ve begun doing this strange thing I once heard about on television called “scheduling.” Apparently, the idea is that you plan to do a particular thing on a particular day at a particular time, and when that mom...
Jun 25, 2013
(The audio of this interview is available at the bottom of this post!) JR: Today I am talking to Charles White of Fabled Environments. Hello, sir! CW: How are you? JR: Good! How’s it going? CW: Not too bad, not too bad at all. JR: So first off, tell us a little bit about Fabled Environments, for folks who might not be familiar. CW: Well, Fabled Environments is a modern cartography company. We create modern floor plans for role-playing games. We use the term “modern” a little bit loosely than mos...
Sep 11, 2012
(The audio of this interview is available at the bottom of this post!) JR: I am talking to Jenn from the Jennisodes . Hello! J: Hi! JR: So I see that you are in the midst of a Kickstarter . J: I am. The grueling part of a Kickstarter – right in the middle. JR: And this is for a game called Project Ninja Panda Taco . J: Yep. JR: Tell us a little bit about it. J: Well, this is a storytelling role playing game where you get to play a Mastermind trying to take over the world and you also get to play...
Jul 10, 2012
(The audio of this interview is available at the bottom of this post!) JR: I am talking to author and game designer Matt Forbeck. Hello, sir! MF: How are you doing, Jim? JR: Good, good! Good to have you on here. MF: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it! JR: Of your many projects that you’ve got going on, something that I find particularly interesting as a writer is this 12 for 12 project that you’ve got going. For anyone who’s not familiar, why don’t you tell us a little bit about what that is?...
Feb 26, 2012
One day I found myself sitting in a movie theater watching something abysmal. I can’t remember what it was, exactly, but a moment of inspiration came to me as I found myself almost about to fall asleep for the thirteenth time. “You know what this movie could use?” I asked no one in particular. “Godzilla.” I realized that if Godzilla had been in it, it would have been a much better movie. It was then that the seed of the Godzilla Theory occurred to me. It goes something like this: Sometimes I hav...
Sep 26, 2011
(The audio of this interview is available at the bottom of this post!) JR: I am t alking to Eloy Lasanta of Third Eye Games and we’re going to be talking about his game Part-Time Gods . Welcome, sir! EL: Hello everyone! JR: First off, for anyone who might not be familiar, tell us a little bit about the game Part-Time Gods. EL: The game Part-Time Gods is where you play characters who are just regular people who have been imbued with the powers of gods. And you are given this huge amount of divine...
May 18, 2011
As you may have noticed from the audio of the monologue at the end of my previous post , I’m a fan of caffeine. The problem, though, is that the further I creep into that thing which, for the sake of argument, we’ll call my thirties, I find that I’m becoming more a fan of the IDEA of caffeine than the actual caffeine itself. As I get older I notice that caffeine has a much subtler but more pronounced effect on me than it did in the past. Back in the good old days when I was ridiculously young an...
Apr 16, 2011
Hey, folks! I’m making a little entry here to let you know that I have a book coming out and it has just gone into pre-order! The book is called Abduction Etiquette and it contains about 50 or so monologues that I wrote to perform at open mic nights at coffee houses and the like. They’re all very short pieces and I have performed each and every one of them in public. So, these all come pre-tested for audience reaction! I am incredibly excited about this. Right now it’s looking as though the publ...
Mar 18, 2011
