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Boltblaster Fiction Games Jason Cosmo (Series) Knights of Pen & Paper 2 Royal Crush

Knights of Pen and Paper 2 is ready to play

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 logoGreetings, Loyal Reader!

It has been a while since I have posted and I have been up to many things. Today I want to mention my most recent project that you can get your hands on: the Paradox Interactive game Knights of Pen & Paper 2. Per the publisher, “Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is a turn-based, retro style, pixel-art adventure full of danger, intrigue, death, and saving throws!”

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 — or KoPP2 to friends — is part tongue-in-cheek parody of tabletop fantasy role-playing games and part interactive simulation game simulating tabletop RPGs. You, the player, control a group of in-game RPG players and the player characters they are playing as they go on an epic quest to save the world of Paperos from disaster.

It’s all very meta, but all you really need to know is that it is a funny and fun game you can play on your smartphone or tablet, or via Steam. And that there are flying monkeys.

I had the opportunity to be a story editor and additional writer on this project. To be clear, my role in the overall making of the game was fairly limited. I worked with the smart, talented and very creative team at Kyy Games to help them kick around story ideas and I also got to suggest a few jokes and script a few of the smaller episodes (or “quests” in the lingo of the game) myself. I won’t say which ones, because that would not at all be in the spirit of a collaborative project. The final game is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people, most of whom were not me.

This was my first experience working in the realm of “interactive games” (or what I still tend to call “video games” because I am older than Pong). I learned a lot about the game-making process…and learned there is a lot I don’t know. It is always fun to get a glimpse “behind the scenes”.

I especially enjoyed the collaborative aspect, kicking ideas back and forth with the writers and producers and Kyy and Paradox, and riffing off of each other to tell the story and combining our imaginations to create an entertaining experience for the players. Being part of a creative team is a very different experience than writing a novel, where it is all on me. It was also different trying to think in terms of an interactive story, where player choices affect what happens next, and within the confines of a game environment where visuals are a big part of the player experience and text/dialogue is in many ways secondary. I had to stretch a little and it was fun!

That said, I’m not giving up on novels. I have one completed book floating around in editorial limbo right now, I am currently getting the next Jason Cosmo novel, Royal Crush, ready to release this summer and I’m gearing up to write the long-awaited Boltblaster after that. More on all that soon. For now … take a look at Knight of Pen & Paper 2 and let me know what you think! Available in your favorite app store now.

Best regards,

Dan McGirt

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Andrea Parnell Audiodrama Dark Prelude Dark Splendor Delilah's Flame Devil Moon Fiction Jason Cosmo (Series) Novels Royal Crush Trove Books Whispers at Midnight Writing

What I’m Up To

Greetings, Loyal Reader!

I’ve had a busy summer and fall and I thought I’d bring you up to speed on what I’ve been doing, what I’m working on, and what’s ahead.

[SECRET PROJECT]

  • The makers of a fun, crazy, tongue-in-cheek fantasy-themed computer game approached me a while back about writing a short tie-in novel set in the world of their game. It sounded fun, so I said sure! I can’t tell you the name of the game quite yet, because they haven’t officially announced the book.
  • I can tell you I turned in the manuscript last week and the target release date is in early November.
  • I have also seen draft cover art, which looks amazing — and which I will share as soon as I get the all clear to do so.
  • As I understand it, the book will be available in the Amazon Kindle Store only. I know! I know! That is not how I would do it, but I’m only the hired gun on this one, not the publisher.
  • More details to come!

New books from Andrea Parnell

  • The star author of my publishing company Trove Books is not me, but my mother Andrea Parnell.
  • Over the last few years Trove has released Mom’s gothic romance novels Dark Splendor and Whispers at Midnight, the novella Dark Prelude, and the Western romance Delilah’s Flame.
  • This fall she has three new titles coming out, including two more Western romance novels — Devil Moon and My Only Desire and a Western novella. All are in the final stages of editing and production — which means I am doing a good bit of editing and producing lately!

Jason Cosmo in Audio

Royal Crush

  • Last, but not least, with the soon-to-be-formally-announced Secret Project written, I am back to writing the next Jason Cosmo book, Royal Crush. Which, at this point, looks like an early 2014 release.

Whew! I’m tired. Are you tired? But I think we’re all caught up! I will try to post more often, and with greater brevity!

Best regards,

Dan McGirt

Categories
Andrea Parnell Devil Moon Media Novels Royal Chaos Royal Crush Writing

New Projects

Greetings, Loyal Reader!

Time to check in with you again. A few things to mention. First, my mom and I were in the paper recently. We were interviewed for an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called “e-Books getting the words out”. The able reporter did a good job of reporting on how ebook publishing empower authors to take charge of their writing careers and connect directly with readers in ways that were not possible (or at least much more difficult) in the pre-ebook era. Whether it is re-releasing previously published books or publishing all-new works without having to wait around for Big Publishing to get a clue, this is a great time to be an author. The tools are there for those who learn how to use them–as more and more authors are each day.

As for my own authoring, my summer projects are writing a new book, Dash: Into Space! and the next Jason Cosmo book, Royal Crush (a revision of the classic Royal Chaos). I’m also editing my mother’s novel Devil Moon for reissue as an ebook. Enough to keep me busy!

I was also thrilled to be contacted by REDACTED to inquire about my interest in writing REDACTED for REDACTED. Yeah, can’t say much about it, but there may be a fun side project in the offing.

One more thing — my ebook titles are on sale at Smashwords through July 31.

Hope you’re enjoying your summer! (Or winter, south of the equator.)

Best regards,

Dan McGirt