Welcome aboard! and the Age of Personal Miracles

I am so excited to announce these two new followers. At first I wasn't going to wait until my usual "Welcoming Wednesday" post, but I decided to stay disciplined about it, then I ended up a little under the weather and missed Wednesday itself by a few hours. Damn.

First we have Obsidian3D, author of the blog "Thinking Outside the Box" and master of the Obsidian Fists space marine chapter. This blog as been rolling on and going from strength to strength since 2006. Quality content keeps the readers coming back, and that's the secret to longevity over at "Thinking Outside the Box." This blog covers topics outside gaming, too, including computer topics so rarefied I have no idea what's going on, although I always learn something. Welcome aboard, Obsidian3D!

And now, drumroll please ... we welcome none other than Francis Lee, the Angry Lurker himself! Francis is a member of Posties Rejects and frequently posts about the activities of (and personalities in) that wargaming club. The Angry Lurker blog is another with great longevity, and I am always informed and entertained by the writing there. I try not to get too starstruck in this field, but as gaming bloggers go, the Angry Lurker is tops in my book and I'm truly honored to have him visit my little corner of the interwebz.

Speaking of being starstruck, may I truly say we live in an age of miracles. This technology and the advent of social media have made things happen for me I never would've believed possible. To be in such close contact with the creators of the games I enjoy, the writers of blogs I follow religiously, the sculptors behind the minis I crave and can't get enough of, the authors of novels that have shaped my own writing, and the artists who have executed such awe-inspiring paint jobs that my jaw just drops ... it is part the boon of the technology, but it is also great testimony to the generosity of spirit and warm-heartedness of those who make this hobby great.

Here are some of the things that still leave me gobsmacked:

• I count among my closest friends Hendybadger and The Galley Wench of "Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher." In fact, although I'm an ocean away, I am Coleen's Official Stalker™.
• When I asked to piggyback on someone's Crocodile Games kickstarter buy so I could get one figure, it was Liliana Troy who offered to help. I've admired the elegant and color-rich work of this legendary painter and Slayer-weapon winner for a long time.
• I couldn't remember a reference work that was mentioned in an interview I read with Tim Powers, James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, the godfathers of steampunk. Hell, Jeter coined the term. I sent him an email asking if he might know what I was referring to, not really expecting to hear back since authors of his stature are busy people, they have legions of fans and he doesn't know me from Adam's housecat. I got a response from the author of "Infernal Devices" and "Morlock Night" in under two hours.
• Craig Cartmell, co-author of "In Her Majesty's Name," has been highly complimentary about the fiction I've posted here. 
• I am currently engaged in a Facebook poke war with wappellious, winner of Crystal Brush and Golden Demon awards aplenty. James truly goes the extra mile in the how-to articles on his informative and educational (and beautiful) blog.
• And most of all, the outpouring of love and support we've received from you, my readers and colleagues, as I've shared things about my own struggle with hoarding and depression and my wife's continuing battle with her spinal condition and chronic pain. You have buoyed our spirits, dried our tears, fueled our fires and inspired us both to continue fighting the good fight. All you people are amazing, and I am more grateful than I will ever find adequate words to say.

There are more and others, but these are the ones I can find in my head and my heart most easily tonight.

Damn but you people are fantastic.

Now appearing at ToaTS

My writing is now appearing at multiple places on the Web. In addition to my ravings rantings writings appearing here, I now have a piece about steampunk at Hendybadger's site, Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher. (The link takes you straight to my article.)

Ian suffered a computer meltdown a little while ago, and he lost some of the pieces he had set up for future publication. He put out a general call for articles to fill the resulting void, and I responded with the above-mentioned piece.

It's about why I love the genre for gaming (and in other media), and it runs through many of the 28mm figures in current release or on their way, replete with photos and links and praises and descriptions, oh my!

I want to thank Ian for both publishing the piece and for his tireless efforts to spread knowledge about this hobby we all love. In the interest of full disclosure, and especially for those who are mutual friends of ours on Facebook, I must confess that I am the Official Stalker™ of his wife, the lovely Galley Wench. That I am able to do so from a continent away is testament to both my dedication and Coleen's sheer force of personality.

(And yes, this is what I mentioned the other day that I knew was coming but didn't want to jinx before it actually appeared on the Interwebz, for those of you keeping score.)

Welcoming Wednesday

New followers to welcome! So exciting, a little bit like Christmas. Although I don't get followers at Christmas. I guess Jesus does. Whatever.

Joining us are the following:

Joe Kushner of Appendix N
Ian "Hendybadger" Henderson of Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher
PMMDJ of Metal Skirmish

I also have it on good authority that mathyoo of 28 Millimeters Later is a reader, based on our delightful conversations on Facebook, but he's having browser trouble that hasn't allowed him to sign up as a follower, for some reason. So welcome mathyoo as well!

EDIT: OK, I see mathyoo listed now. He got bumped to another page, and maybe I needed to have him as a G+ friend for him to show up. Not the smoothest of integrations across all apps, Google.

I'm going to welcome new followers each Wednesday, because I think the alliteration of "Welcoming Wednesday" will help me to remember to do it, plus, like a toddler, I need structure.

Thanks to ALL my readers, whether you sign on as a follower or not! (Although I wish you would ...) Happy Wednesday!

Empire of the Dead vampires

My wife has decided to field a vampire warband with a female Graefin for Empire of the Dead. While she hasn't worked out the stats yet, I did write up a little fluff for her, in the same manner I did for my Army of the Abandoned.

Francesca Annalyssa Alford Stonavorja Diamanté Delamere (a name for each husband she survived) holds no illusions about what she has become. Seductive, beautiful, stylish and at the height of fashion she may be, but the undead Lady in Red knows she is a scrap of velvet and a twist of flesh wrapped around a neverending hunger.

While she has gathered around her the thralls and servants typical of a powerful vampire, Delamere does not play the courtly political games of the other Lords of the Night. Her coterie are a means to an end, an aid to her hunting and, in an emergency, food.

When Delamere and her followers are seen beyond the grounds of the dilapidated mansion they inhabit, all others had best flee before them. They are fast and aggressive, flushing their prey from its hidey holes and running it to ground.

They then devour their victims in the field, heedless of watchers or witnesses. If sustenance is plentiful, Delamere may truss or captivate survivors and remove them to stock her living larder. Her whole band will then melt into darkness, leaving drained corpses and body parts littering the battlefield.

Real life has kept me from much hobby activity, even painting up minis for Hendybadger's Paint the City Pink charity effort, but maybe I can bid once the auctions start and help that way.

A worthwhile endeavor

Please check out the following. So many of us have lost loved ones to cancer, and this fundraiser that Hendybadger is running has so many ways we all can participate and help.

Paint the City Pink

I fully intend to paint at least a couple of minis for this, if not more. I'm just so notoriously slow that I don't want to overpromise and underdeliver.

Thanks for your time and attention.

Reaching out to help

Hendybadger is coordinating a breast cancer fundraiser that needs our participation to help. Paint a Pulp City mini in a pink theme for an auction and be eligible for prizes from the large pool he's gathered.

If I'm back home from the hospital in time, I'll definitely paint up something. Here's the latest link to Ian's blog, Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher, about the contest:

http://pressganger.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-call-for-help-to-all-gamers-readers.html?m=1

Introducing Farraday Kage

I cannot believe it. Hendybadger's Create a Supreme Contest ended last week, and the winners were announced today.

The top winner was ... me! I'd entered a low-powered reluctant hero who's been stirring around in my cranium for a number of years, and the Pulp City-focused contest Ian ran was just the impetus I needed to get him out of my head and down on paper.

(Warning: The Pulp City link above plays music. The shut-off is at the top right of the screen, if you're viewing this from work or, like me, are listening to something else as you surf the Web.)

Here's the link to the announcement in Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher. I love it that Ian wrote up a combat between my hero, F.K., and Terminal Velocity, the character created by proditor.

Proditor won a colletion of 12 Reaper Chronoscope minis, and I won the hero and villain starter sets for Pulp City, plus two individual characters, Kitty Cheshire and Chimp Chi.

The photo I used to illustrate how I see F.K.s powers working. The photo illustration
is by artist Chris Maverick. See his work at  http://chrismaverick.deviantart.com/

The quality of the entries was very high, and I was surprised to win the judges' decision because F.K. isn't a flashy, high-flying star-spangled hero. Of course, that's what I like about him -- he's a young guy dealing with powers he neither expected nor wanted and the side-effects of which have made him an outcast most of his life. But now he's coming into his own, I think, and the impetus of this contest win is pushing me to get some of his experiences down in writing.

Here's something else that helped inspire parts of F.K.'s creation:
Top Gear's Richard Hammond sitting on a Tesla coil while encased 

in a Voltrex suit, directing bolts of lightning with his hands.

As I told Ian in a private message I sent him, I've always been a writer, but by vocation I'm a journalist. I've always wanted to turn my hand to fiction, but I've been tentative about it. I've written poetry and plays and RPGs, but never narrative fiction.

So don't be surprised now when I foist my handiwork on you. And feedback is most welcome! My followers and readers on this blog are people whose work I myself admire, and I'd love to hear what you think once I get some fiction up here. I'll try and create a separate page for it so I won't clog up the blogging lanes if you're just here for gaming and the like.

Be safe, everybody.

Speaking of Hendybadger ...

Today I received the prize I won in an earlier Hendybadger contest: a collection of seven Pulp City postcards. Here's a picture of five of them (the other two didn't show any apes or monkeys; they're still cool, though). See my earlier post about winning a prize in that competition to observe my obsession with simians in action.

Thanks again, Ian!

Hendybadger's doing it again!

Want to win some excellent Pulp City prizes? Or a heaping helping of Chronoscope goodies from Reaper? Just love superheroes gaming?

Then hie thee hence to Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher and enter Hendybadger's new contest. It'll take a little creative work on your part, but who doesn't like to show off their own superhero (or villain) ideas?

Why are you still here? Get to work! You've got a city to save -- or destroy (and swag to win)!

I won something!

I was one of the lucky recipients of a prize in in the Super 100,000 Giveaway at Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher. Ian, aka Hendybadger, rustled up some great prize support and I won a set of Pulp City postcards.

Now I won't lie and say I wasn't hoping for one of the Pulp City sets of supers or the Ape-X from Reaper, but as the two Pulp City starter sets are already part of my lead mountain, I can't complain. Plus, I've rarely one anything in the past decade, so this was a delightful surprise. Here's a picture of what I won and my comment in Hendybadger's contest thread.

 Pulp City Postcards - set 1
Christopher Sheets
I should win this prize because there are monkeys involved. MONKEYS!!!! And Apes! I LOVE monkeys, and apes. All types of simians, from old-world, long-tailed critters to super-evolved examples sporting hats, cigars, chain-guns or cybergear. MONKEYS!!!

I love monkeys.

Yep, sure do. Monkeys and apes. Gibbons, chimps, orangutans, colobus, any and all. And Pulp City has some incredible examples.

Yep, I love me some monkeys.

MONKEYS!!!!

I can't wait to receive them.