25% Off My e-Book Plus Huge Sale on 1,000s of Others at DriveThru

I’m not sure how many of you that read my blog know about DriveThruRPG.com or DriveThruComics.com. Did you know that DriveThruRPG.com is the world’s largest retailer for digital hobby games? I’ve contributed to a few games within the gaming industry over the years. This industry has been really fun to be a part of and I’m excited for my panels at GenCon: Indy’s 2010 Writer’s Symposium, too.

The hobby games industry has been great to be involved with and has been a boon to my creativity and my professional career. The best part about gaming, though, is the people. Leanne, Shari and James, who composed the music for THE QUEEN OF CROWS trailer, are all people I met through gaming.

I’m pleased to announce that our project will be included in the Christmas in July sale at DriveThruRPG.com!

The Queen of Crows e-Book

From now through Monday, July 26th at 6:00 p.m. EST, my e-book entitled THE QUEEN OF CROWS will be priced at $3.75!

There are literally thousands of digital titles on sale, so if you like to game or read, now is the perfect time to check out DriveThru. The sale also applies to comics at DriveThruComics.com, so you can read comics from publishers like Top Cow, Archaia and 2000 A.D. for super cheap.

Hope you get the chance to check out some other games and comics, too. Many of these people pour their sweat, blood and tears into their work because, like me, they love what they do. There’s a lot of great products on sale, so if you’re thinking about going digital, now’s the time.

Catch ya later!

DriveThruRPG.com

Family Games 100: Essay List Announced

Hey folks, FAMILY GAMES: THE 100 BEST just left the printer and I’m pleased to share with you the full list of authors, games and essays. The game that I talked about was GLOOM, which is one of my favorite card games. How many of these games have you played or can recognize?

    Foreword by Mike Gray
    Introduction by James Lowder
    Afterword by Wil Wheaton
    Appendix A: Games and Education by David Millians
    Appendix B: Family Games in Hobby Games: The 100 Best by James Lowder

List of Family Games and Essayists

    Carrie Bebris on 10 Days in the USA
    Steven E. Schend on 1960: The Making of the President
    Dominic Crapuchettes on Apples to Apples
    Mike Breault on The Awful Green Things from Outer Space
    Jeff Tidball on Balderdash
    Keith Baker on Bang!
    Bruce Harlick on Battleship
    James Wallis on Bausack
    Paul Jaquays on Black Box
    Lewis Pulsipher on Blokus
    Teeuwynn Woodruff on Boggle
    Fred Hicks on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    James Ernest on Candy Land
    Ian Livingstone on Can’t Stop
    Bruce Whitehill on Careers
    Jared Sorensen on Cat
    Wolfgang Baur on Cathedral
    John Scott Tynes on Clue
    Alessio Cavatore on Condottiere
    Elaine Cunningham on Connect Four
    Will Hindmarch on Cranium
    Erik Mona on Crossbows and Catapults
    William W. Connors on Dark Tower
    John D. Rateliff on Dogfight
    Robert J. Schwalb on Dungeon!
    jim pinto on Dvonn
    Gav Thorpe on Easter Island
    Jeff Grubb on Eurorails
    Kenneth Hite on Faery’s Tale Deluxe
    Richard Dansky on Family Business
    Warren Spector on Focus
    Corey Konieczka on For Sale
    James M. Ward on Fortress America
    Stan! on Frank’s Zoo
    Bruce C. Shelley on The Game of Life
    Phil Orbanes on A Gamut of Games
    Monica Valentinelli on Gloom
    Matt Leacock on Go Away Monster!
    Steve Jackson on The Great Dalmuti
    David “Zeb” Cook on Guillotine
    Jason Matthews on Gulo Gulo
    Joshua Howard on Halli Galli
    Bruce Nesmith on Hare & Tortoise
    Mike Pondsmith on HeroClix
    Anthony J. Gallela on HeroQuest
    Chris Pramas on HeroScape
    Ed Greenwood on Hey! That’s My Fish!
    Colin McComb on Hive
    Alan R. Moon on Hoity Toity
    Jon Leitheusser on Ingenious
    Uli Blennemann on Java
    Luke Crane on Jungle Speed
    Monte Cook on Kill Doctor Lucky
    Emiliano Sciarra on Knightmare Chess
    Todd A. Breitenstein on Liar’s Dice
    Marc Gascoigne on Loopin’ Louie
    Andrew Parks on Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
    Seth Johnson on Lost Cities
    John Yianni on Magi-Nation
    Bill Bodden on Master Labyrinth
    Andrew Greenberg on Mastermind
    Ken Levine on Memoir ’44
    Scott Haring on Mille Bornes
    Steve Jackson on Monopoly
    Sheri Graner Ray on Mouse Trap
    Kevin G. Nunn on Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Dale Donovan on The Omega Virus
    Darren Watts on Othello
    Charles Ryan on Pandemic
    Michelle Lyons on Pente
    Thomas M. Reid on Pictionary
    Nicole Lindroos on Pieces of Eight
    John Wick on Pit
    Matt Forbeck on Pokémon
    Robin D. Laws on Prince Valiant
    Stephen Glenn on Qwirkle
    Sébastien Pauchon on Ricochet Robots
    Peter Olotka on Risk
    Richard Breese on Rummikub
    Jesse Scoble on Scotland Yard
    Richard Garfield on Scrabble
    Mike Selinker on Set
    Rob Heinsoo on Small World
    Hal Mangold on Sorry!
    Jess Lebow on Stratego
    Eric Goldberg on Strat-O-Matic Baseball
    Andrea Angiolino on Survive!
    Karl Deckard on Thebes
    Dan Tibbles on Time’s Up!
    Tom Wham on Trade Winds
    Susan McKinley Ross on TransAmerica
    Ray Winninger on Trivial Pursuit
    Leo Colovini on Twixt
    Matthew Kirby on Uno
    David Parlett on Upwords
    Lester Smith on Werewolf
    John Kovalic on Wits & Wagers
    Philip Reed on Yahtzee
    Kevin Wilson on Zendo
    Jess Hartley on Zooloretto

Announcing the Release of THE QUEEN OF CROWS

The Queen of Crows by Monica ValentinelliCentered around a short story entitled “The Queen Of Crows,” I designed a unique, digital product that I think you’ll really enjoy. At a retail price of $4.99, you will receive a magazine-style layout of THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a professional illustration of a character named Mahochepi and more!

This product is the first digital release set in the world of the Violet War and is also the first fiction product published through Flames Rising Press. The short story, which is entitled “The Queen of Crows,” takes place during the 1860s and focuses on the tough decisions that a Navajo elder named “Tse” must make to save his people. Will he summon Mahochepi, the Queen of Crows, without knowing who–or what–she is? Read the story and find out!

Here’s what you can expect to receive when you purchase THE QUEEN OF CROWS:

    * The Queen of Crows: A Short Story
    * Inspiration
    * Original Character Portrait: Mahochepi
    * Who Is Mahochepi?
    * What Is the Violet War?
    * Letter to the Reader
    * The Queen of Crows: First Draft
    * Printer-friendly black-and-white version and full color version

The product will be initially released in digital format through http://www.drivethruhorror.com, but other formats will be made available. To keep up-to-date with news about his product set in the Violet War, be sure to visit VioletWar.com.

What are you waiting for? Visit THE QUEEN OF CROWS at DriveThruHorror.com today! There, you can preview this unique product before you buy and then download it for yourself!

About the Contributors

    MONICA VALENTINELLI is a professional author and game designer. Described as a “force of nature” by her peers, Monica is best known for her work in the horror, dark fantasy and dark science fiction genres and has been published through Abstract Nova Press, Eden Studios, White Wolf Publishing, Apex Magazine and others. Her credits include: a short story titled “Pie” in the award-winning Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas anthology through 12 to Midnight, an original flash fiction piece entitled “Prey,” which placed an honorable mention in a Mirrormask writing competition and “Twin Designs,” a science fiction novella for the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society collection through Abstract Nova Press.

    LEANNE BUCKLEY is a professional illustrator with over ten years of experience under her belt and has worked for both the comics and gaming industries. Her clients have included: Image Comics, Mattel, White Wolf, Paizo, Wizards of the Coast and several others. In addition to her freelance illustrations, she was a Senior Artist for four years at Humanhead Studios, a video game design studio. Her work includes: Put the Book Back on the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology through Image Comics, Cthulhutech through Catalyst Game Labs, the Exalted line for White Wolf Publishing, and layout as well as concept work for Mattel. For more information about Leanne and her contact information, visit http://leannebuckley.com/.

    SHARI HILL is a professional editor, layout artist and writer with over 15 years of experience in non-fiction, gaming, and academic publishing and communications. She is currently a communications coordinator at a private university. As a freelance editor, she contributed to the All Flesh Must Be Eaten line by Eden Studios, and her credits include the Worlds of the Dead setting collection, the Book of Archetypes series and the Eden Studios Presents series. The Queen of Crows features her first credit as a cover artist.

    AP’s New Pay-Per-Quote and the Power of Asking “Permission”

    If you work in the business world, you might have heard the phrase: “Ask forgiveness, don’t ask permission.” This phrase is supposed to reflect how you, as an employee, might take calculated risks in your day job to “get ahead” in your career.

    As a writer, the reverse is often true, especially if you’re writing for the internet.

    The Associated Press released a press release late last week dubbed, “Associated Press to build news registry to protect content.” Additionally, they’re also charging a sliding scale of $2.50 per word for a quote from one of their articles per this Mashable article entitled, “Quote 5 Words from the Associated Press? That’ll Be $12.50.”

    In an earlier post, I talked about the Top Five Writer Misconceptions about Online Publishing. You might recall Misconception #2: My article will only be found on the site where I published it. The recent decision by the AP supports that misconception, by even charging for what I would call “fair and reputable” by offering commentary and then quoting and linking to the AP article’s original online source.

    Most of the internet’s content is structured in that way. You have original content which is then spread via social media and blogging; people often take a critical or an editorial approach to the content and build around it. Many of the web’s most popular sites, for example, are primarily aggregators that pull in content from other sources or find links on the web and talk about them. (Boing Boing, the Huffington Post, the Drudge Report just to name a few.)

    Between potentially getting sued for libel and now this new action by the Associated Press, I believe it is now (more than ever) vitally important to protect yourself as a writer and ask permission when you’re quoting an article. When I wrote my article for SFWA about personalization, I contacted the authors directly and asked them for a quote. Why? Two reasons. One, I wanted to offer personal examples of SFWA members to support my opinion. In order to do that, I felt I needed to ask permission because I was talking about someone’s online presence, which may (or may not) support their platform or reputation as a writer. Two, asking for permission gave me the chance to touch base with these authors and ensure that I was acting professionally. Did I need to ask them permission? Absolutely!

    Asking permission to quote someone’s article can also help you network, too. I understand that you may be on a deadline (Read my latest post about the Hazards of Getting There First) but as I’ve mentioned several times before, there is a lot on the internet that is still uncharted and unexplored. Internet law is not set in stone. By establishing good, professional practices you can protect your reputation and the reputation of the source you are quoting.

    No matter what I may think of the AP’s recent practices, I feel that this will not be the first (nor the last) major publisher/company to go this route. Content on the web has been published unchecked for so long; the rabbit is already out of the hat. As a result, the potential for bad PR is huge because content providers and readers both have years of established expectations for consuming and producing content which is, in many cases, “free.”

    Regardless, as a writer I will continue to ask permission, even if I have personal opinions about whether or not a particular ruling is a good one.

    Breaking News: Using Facebook Pages? Log in ASAP

    Just wanted to give everyone a heads up who is using Facebook “fan” pages. Yesterday, Facebook changed those pages to look more like profile pages, and added some new functionality. 3rd party ads are now more visible, you can provide a status update and they look more like a personal page. (Additionally, there is no ability to update your status message automatically by adding an “app” to connect with Twitter, either.)

    However, if you have an existing account this new functionality is a hindrance rather than a benefit. The profile information that you had filled out to go underneath your logo is shifted to a new tab, and most of your customization has shifted.

    If you’re using a Facebook page, I recommend logging in to see if this works for you. Otherwise, you can join me today while I dig around and see how I can make mine look better.

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    Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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