A Gaming Revolution

With the arrival of my son Blake, time has been very scarce for doing much, if any novel work. Blake is a mere two months old today, which means he's still sleepless at night, is up early, and generally requires between 5 and 15 wipes to clean his diaper messes. It's great, I'm not complaining, but my novels have taken a back seat.

My third novel in my first trilogy is still not released. March marks the sixth month past the original due date of October 2009. There have been changes at the publisher, health issues, and other internal stuff that has affected the release. Am I surprised? No, not really. All three of my novel releases have been marred by some sort of unmitigated disaster. My first book was an editorial nightmare that required a second edition less than a year after its first release - this put a sour taste in everyone's mouth; my second book was released two days after we found out LBF Books had been bought out by Lachesis Publishing in Canada - this put a huge damper on the release of a novel that reads much better than the first; enter my third novel - sixth month delay, and getting close to three whole years since the 2nd's release (April 2007). Sour taste? No, sadly, the issue now is that no one remembers me or cares.

This may sound like doom and gloom. Perhaps it is, in a way. After all, I'm only human and I can't be positive all the time against the luck I have. Novel-writing, I must admit, may not be what I'm supposed to do with my writing skills.

I've been a gamer my whole life, as you should know by now. When I was younger, my buddy and I started a very basic website dedicated to talking about video game news. A few years later, I founded and wrote a gaming newsletter called Vagabond, which was distributed loosely in stores around Pittsburgh for a brief period. I even spent $400 on a copyright for the name and still own it today.

In late 2009, I threw something out on my Facebook page about getting into the video game industry. I've been toying with the idea for quite some time, but it's never gone anywhere. Damon Caporaso, co-owner of BSCreview.com, has been a huge supporter of my writing and novels ever since I got published. I randomly reached out to his site, then named "Fantasy Book Spot", and it's been a great relationship ever since. Damon saw my post and offered me a contributor position writing video game reviews for the site.

Recently...like, February 2010 recently...Damon and BSC offered me a full editor position for the entire gaming section. I received full access to publish anything I want without going through the Senior Editor, and I'm being tasked with writing more than just reviews. I'm contacting industry insiders, publishers, developers, and marketing firms. Staffing decisions for other gaming section contributors are funneling through me, as well, much to my surprise. In short, it's a big deal, and though it's "unpaid" right now, I'm getting some free games, lots of exposure, and when my third book is released, BSCreview will be doing some advertising for me pro bono. That's worth a lot of cash right there, in truth.

And in June 2010, I will be attending the E3 trade show in Los Angeles, CA at the LA Convention Center. E3 is the largest video game expo in North America, and is closed to the public and anyone under the age of 17. My application was accepted a couple of weeks ago and it's a dream come true. Ever since I knew what E3 was, years ago, I've wanted to go, but they closed it to the public several years ago and my hopes died. With my writing abilities, and love for the gaming industry, my hope is renewed.

Perhaps this is what my novels were meant to provide: an avenue for freelance journalism or, quite possibly, a chance to work as a writer/creator/game designer in an industry I've loved my whole life. I am not schooled in game design, but I have an insatiable drive to learn and to excel, and I won't let something like school stand in my way.