LAST CHANCE for Big Savings on Fantasy Ebooks

In addition to the massive saving on all my books at Smashwords right now, my 5^th Edition Dungeons and Dragons ebooks are also now available on the Dungeons Masters Guild at “Pay What You Want” for a limited time. 

I still think my D&D PDFs are a steal at $1.99 for the amount of work I put into them.  But I also thought a summer time price option might coincide well with the big Summer/Winter Sale that thousands of Smashwords books are enjoying right now. 

(That sale, by the way, ends on July 31^st!  Click here to check out the skinny on my What’s New page, or click here to go straight to my Smashwords profile, where you can find all my books listed at the bottom.  You can also navigate from there to browse literally thousands of other ebooks by thousands of other authors, all on sale for up to 100% off through the end of the month.)

Now, exactly what’s the deal on the D&D books I’m talking about?  Glad you asked…

One is a “creative companion” with optional rules, new feats, and 10 pre-made characters to give you new ideas.  The other is a complete adventure of cultists, dark magic, and other obscenities.  The third (free) book is basically an excerpt from the first.

(I really should get around to unifying the look of the three different covers someday too.  But today isn't the day.)

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Contained herein are more than 40 pages featuring customized game rules, a new, story-based experience system that does away with tracking math, and 17 powerful feats for players.  But that’s not all.

Presented for your inspiration are 10 complete characters created from new takes on existing classes, all forged via enhanced creation rules that favor player characters.  Each hero features stats, background stories, and character-building decisions spelled out to give you new ideas for your PCs and NPCs.  Examples include an archetype-defying Cthulhu warlock, steampunk mage, Shinto samurai, rogue spymaster, and Thor, godling of thunder.

Fantasy author J. D. Brink first discovered Dungeons & Dragons more thirty years ago.  Finally, with the advent of the Dungeon Masters’ Guild, he can now share some of his own ideas and game innovations with fellow players of the world’s greatest roleplaying game.  The 5eCC works in conjunction with your own imagination to develop exciting new worlds and the heroes needed to save them!

 A cup of coffee costs four bucks.  Endless possibilities for your games: half as much.

Find it only at the Dungeon Masters Guild.

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The simple townsfolk of Jersey Shore generally keep to themselves.  Neighbors might describe them as quiet cow herders, able fishermen, and pious church-goers.  If they had neighbors.  In fact, no one who visits Jersey Shore ever has anything to say.  Because visitors never leave.

This adventure is for early level player characters (levels 2-4), and will require one or two play sessions to complete.  Slip it into your campaign as an unfortunate pit stop in any D&D realm and enjoy an evening chock full of action, monsters, mystery, and humor.

Fantasy/SF writer J. D. Brink ran this adventure with his own D&D players based on just a few scribbled notes.  Now after weeks of further development, it’s ready for your team of D&D heroes.  Are they up to the challenge?

A cup of coffee costs four bucks.  An evening full of adventure: half as much.

Find it only at the Dungeon Masters Guild.

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Jansen is an intelligent, quiet young man.  A bit of an odd duck, especially in a noble family.  Quite like his uncle Hadspen.  When Hadspen mysteriously passes away in far-away Dunwich, Jansen makes it his business to find out more.  What he discovers there is a treasure-trove of strange artifacts, an other-worldly patron, and new destiny of darkness and adventure.

Three inspirational player characters to give new perspective on existing character classes:

- a mysterious Cthulhu warlock

- a gifted Tielfing knight

- a crafty steampunk mage

Each features an extensive backstory and commentary on how they were built.

The Player Characters are the heroes of your story.  Each should have their own backstory and stand out as unique in the Realms.  This free DMG title is a sample taken from the Fifth Edition Creative Companion and is intended to encourage players and DMs to take the road less traveled to enhance their tales of adventure.

Find it only at the Dungeon Masters Guild.

NOTE: This post is being simul-cast on my NEW Chaos Theory website, which will soon be my ONLY ongoing website and blog.  Please take a moment to go there by clicking here.  You can subscribe by opening the triangle tab at the bottom of the page.

Smashwords’s Massive Summer/Winter Ebook Sale

Smashwords.com, one of the oldest ebook publishing and distribution sites, is having their annual “summer/winter” sale.  The “summer/winter” bit refers to their global reach: it’s summer for us in the northern hemisphere and winter for those in the southern. 

And this sale is massive.  Literally thousands of authors and publishers (including myself) are offering huge discounts on books found on on the site throughout the month of July. 

You read that correctly: Thousands.  Huge discounts.  July only.

All you have to do is go to a book’s home on Smashwords and look at the price box on the right side of the screen.  Under the regular price and the yellow and green purchase buttons, you’ll see mention of a coupon code. 

It’s right there on the screen, already spelled out for you. 

When you go to check out, just type in that coupon code and you’ll get 25%, 50%, 75%, or even 100% off the book. 

Take advantage while you can.  Stock up.  Try out something you were iffy about before. 

Hunt down specific authors or titles, or just browse and see what they’ve got.

What have I got up for sale?  Glad you asked…

Actually, almost everything of mine on has a coupon code, from 50% to 100% off.  It’s easier just to let you look for yourself.  Click here (or any of those hyperlinks above) to go my profile page.  Scroll down to see all my books and click on one you like.  Chances are, it’s got a coupon code attached.  (If not, there’s probably a reason.  Just try another.)

NOTE: This post is being simul-cast on my NEW Chaos Theory website, which will soon be my ONLY ongoing website and blog.  Please take a moment to go there and subscribe by clicking here.

200 Word Movie Reviews: Tarzan and Independence Day: Resurgence

We see a lot of movies here on-base in Japan.  For one thing, we’re married with children, so it’s about as much excitement as we get.  And we desperately need a reason to escape from the house every other week or so.  It’s also cheap as hell: $3 for most movies, $5 for 3D shows.  One of the amenities for being far-flung from home.

I’m going to start doing quickie movie reviews on here.  I could make them long and in-depth, but I don’t think your average cyber-reader needs all that.  Most just want a quick overview to see if it’s worth their hard-earned dollars.  Should they see it at the theatre, wait for the rental, or just avoid it all together?  I think 200 words are enough to say something worthwhile, while still keeping it brief. 

Of course, everyone’s tastes are different, but if you find over time that our sensibilities align pretty well, then you might just check here before forking over a big wad at the box office.

This past week we saw two movies: 

Independence Day: Resurgence

I didn’t go in expecting much, just a couple-hour escape from the house.  And that’s about all I got.

Basics: Bigger and meaner aliens return to attack an ill-prepared future full of pretty boys and girls. 

In 20 years’ time, you’d think they’d have come up with something better.

One thing that stood out to me was that just about all the main players were young and pretty (especially Liam Hemsworth), which automatically sticks in my craw.  If it looks like 90210, it probably is.  There were a few players from the first movie called back into service, all of whom were probably waiting for this for 20 years, as they haven’t been in much else since. 

There was a little bit of characterization and a redemption storyline, but like just about everything in the movie, it was pretty shallow.  A lot of the science of it seemed wonky to me, too.  It is science fiction, but at least get gravity right! 

On the plus-side, it was a bubblegum summer movie: lots of pew-pew and ‘splosions, with a little romance between beautiful people.  Don’t expect more than that, and you won’t be disappointed.

2.5/5 stars.  “Rent it.”

The Legend of Tarzan

It was good.  Though I wanted this to be more epic than it was.  Even though it pretty much had all the elements and the approach needed, there was still just something missing for me.  (Or maybe I’m just becoming a cold, dry-hearted curmudgeon in my old age.)

Basics: Lord Greystoke, famed Tarzan of the jungle, is called back to the Congo into a trap against some historically-accurate evil-doers. 

I liked that this story takes place after he’s been Tarzan and returned to life as an English lord (which doesn’t appear to agree with him too well).  We still get the Tarzan story but in a series of flashbacks, which is way better than spending the whole movie on something we already know.  And it gives us a more complex story that really is based on the history of Belgium colonial exploitation.  So it mixes true history and social awareness with fantasy and legend (realistically done, as much as swinging like Spiderman and communicating with animals through mating calls can be). Most of the acting is good; Jane’s okay.  And Tarzan mostly naked through the movie is a bonus for the ladies.  (Worked for my wife.)

I’ll round it up to 4/5 stars. “See it.” 

NOTE: This post is being simul-cast on my NEW Chaos Theory website, which will soon be my ONLY ongoing website and blog.  Please take a momentto go there and subscribe by clicking here.

July 4th Fantasy Fiction for $0.99

For one week only, you can snag Tarnish: Thunderstrike Edition -- two books in one, normally $8.99 -- at deep discounts on Amazon.com.

The price drop begins at just $0.99 on July 4th!  

From there it'll slowly crawl back to it's original price over the next 7 days.  So if you miss it on the Fourth, it's not too late to get a great deal!

Act fast!  Click here to begin!

Werewolf Art to Go with My Detective Story

I just noticed on Crimson Streets that my urban fantasy story published there now has some art to go with it!  When it was first published back in March, there had been a problem with the artist signed up to do it and it became the only tale on CS without a visual aid, so to speak.  But that's now corrected.  Yeah!

Click here to see the picture and read the story (for free!).