Dangerous Games Novels Kickstarter Final Hours

Murder at a con. Who hasn’t been there?

The specific convention setting here is GenCon. As that part of the world is outside my usual geographic orbit, I’ve only done GenCon once, years ago with White Wolf. I was going to tell an anecdote about this, but, come to think of it, I think I won’t. Just head over to Kickstarter now. Only three hours left to back author Matt Forbeck’s newest Kickstarter project.

I’ve been a full-time writer and game designer since 1989. Game projects I’ve worked on have won 5 ENnies and been nominated for 28 Origins Awards and won 14. I’ve had 16 novels and countless stories published by traditional publishers, from Penguin and Del Rey to Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast. My latest is CARPATHIA, from Angry Robot. I also write the Magic: The Gathering comic for IDW.

I live in Wisconsin with my wife and five kids, including a set of quadruplets. Visit Forbeck.com for all the details!

Third Stretch Goal Unlocked!

We hit $16k, so I’ll produce a Dangerous Games playset for Jason Morningstar’s Fiasco game. (See Update #11 for all the details) Woot!
First Two Stretch Goals Unlocked!

We smashed through the second stretch goal last night. This means that anyone who backs this drive at the $75+ level gets not only the regular reward but free standard ebook editions of the Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World and Shotguns & Sorcery trilogies. That’s a total of nine ebooks, plus a printed Dangerous Games omnibus! Spread the word!
The Dangerous Games Trilogy

Once a year, the greatest tabletop gamers in the world descend upon Indianapolis for Gen Con, the Best Four Days in Gaming, to play games, see friends, and have fun. They play things like D&D, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40,000, Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, and everything else they can get their hands on. Mostly the competition is friendly.

Sometimes it is not.

When a world-famous game designer turns up murdered at the convention, a group of gamers makes it their quest to figure out who killed him, and why. As they dig deeper, they start to question everything they thought they knew about the man: who he is, why someone hated him enough to kill him — and if he’s really dead. In the end, they must figure out who’s playing whom or risk not only losing this most dangerous game but their lives.
Novels & Games

In addition to having 16 novels published to date, I’ve been an award-winning freelance game designer for more than 20 years. I also co-founded the game publisher Pinnacle Entertainment Group and served as its president for four years. I started going to Gen Con when I was just a kid, and this year will be my 31st time in a row. It’ll also be my 10th consecutive time as a guest of honor at the show.

I know gamers, and they’re my favorite people in the world. For me, Gen Con is like Christmas in August, coupled with a reunion with the greatest family members anyone could ever choose. I love the show and know it well, and I can’t wait to dive into it with my next set of books. Through the course of this, I plan to dig deep into the convention, write about the people who are part of it, and show you what it’s like to be there and be a part of the industry I call home.

But, you know, with the added benefit of fictional, life-threatening thrills.
12 for ’12

This is the third part of my 12 for ’12 project, a year-long challenge in which I plan to write a novel* every month in 2012. I’ve broken 12 for ’12 up into four trilogies, and this Kickstarter project represents the third of them. I’ve already used Kickstarter to fund the first two trilogies: the Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World Trilogy and the Shotguns & Sorcery Trilogy.

The drives for the first two trilogies raised over $12,000 each. Here’s hoping the Dangerous Games Trilogy can beat them.

[*By novel, I mean a work of fiction that’s at least 50,000 words, a bit shorter than most of my novels, which tend toward 80,000 words. The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards each define a novel as anything over 40,000 words, but I want to be a bit more ambitious. And 50,000 words is, not coincidentally, the number of words writers shoot for during National Novel Writing Month.]
Can I Really Pull This Off?

Yes! As I write this, we’re into May, and I’ve already written the first four books in the 12 for ’12 challenge. The first ebook went out to its backers in April, and copies of printed books are going out to the backers this week. That’s a full month earlier than the original estimate.

I managed that while also writing the Magic: The Gathering comic for IDW, kicking out a few smaller projects, and helping raise my five school-age kids — including a set of quadruplets who will turn 10 during this drive. There’s no guarantee this won’t still blow up in my face, of course, but so far, so good. No matter what happens, though, I promise you’ll get your books.
The Game Plan

With the previous trilogies, I set a low goal for the first book in the trilogy and then set the second and third books as rewards for hitting stretch goals. I think this caused a number of backers to balk at the idea of maybe backing a series that wouldn’t get finished.

This time around, I’m setting the goal for all three books at once, as an all-or-nothing drive. Feel free to back the project as much as you like without having to worry about it. If the drive gets funded, you’ll get all three books for sure, and if it (let’s hope not) fails, you’re not out a dime.
Respect the Streak

If we crack $12k in funding — which we managed to do on the past two drives — the Respect the Streak benefit kicks in. I’ll give free ebook editions of the Brave New World trilogy from the first Kickstarter to everyone who pledges $50 or more. These are similar to the editions that backers of the first Kickstarter receive, although they won’t be personalized or autographed. That’s reserved for those early backers.

If we crack $14k — which we haven’t quite done yet — I’ll toss in free ebook editions of the Shotguns & Sorcery trilogy from the second Kickstarter to everyone who pledges $75 or more.

If you backed the earlier drives and already have autographed copies coming your way, don’t fret. This means you can have an extra set of the books to give to whoever you like. Plus you still get all the regular benefits for your backing level.
Thanks!

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who’s supported this crazy plan so far, and thank in advance everyone who steps up this time too. Please pledge whatever you like or can, but also don’t forget to spread the word far and wide about this project. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors and even strangers if they’ll listen. It’s been an amazing year so far, and I’d love to have as many people as possible along for the ride!

Credits

Video Editing: Darren Orange of Reactor 88 Studios
Music: “Hidden Blues” by Pitx

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Posted by Amelia G on June 17, 2012. Filed under Books, Headline, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry