Out Now: DON’T WALK IN WINTER WOOD

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Jason L Blair

Just a quick note to let all your story game fans know Don’t Walk in Winter Wood is now available for purchase!

I only contributed a bit of fiction to the book; the heavy-lifting was done by Clint Krause who has done a wonderful job crafting a spooky little game played in the tradition of folk tales.

From the official site:

Are you ready for a walk in the woods?
Don’t Walk in Winter Wood is a storytelling game of folkloric fear. Players take on the roles of hapless villagers who must enter a legend-haunted forest and uncover its sinister secrets.

In addition to my own tale, the book features contributions by Rafael Chandler (Dread), Jason Morningstar (Fiasco), Daniel Bayn (Wushu), Jeremy Keller (Technoir), and Daniel Moler (Red Mass). Add in artwork and layout by George Cotronis and you have a pretty great package here.

You can check out the game more here, and I suggest keeping an eye out for Clint’s next game, Unity Underground, currently in playtest.

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Some People Liked Some Books I’m In

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Jason L Blair

Starting a new job, working on two pen-and-paper game lines, selling a home, and moving out of the state are taking up a lot of space in my calendar so this isn’t the timeliest of updates but some pretty prestigious lights were shined on some fiction anthologies my work appears in.

First, acclaimed author and editor Ellen Datlow called out Alana Joli Abbott’s “Missing Molly” and Preston DuBose’s “The Angry Stick” as honorable mentions in the latest volume of Best Horror of the Year. Those two stories were published in Haunted: Eleven Tales of Ghostly Horror last year. I’m pleased that my own story, “It Happened in the Woods at Night” shares pages with both. Huge congrats to Alana and Preston!

Second, the wild western-wuxia fiction anthology Tales of the Far West, which includes my story “Local Legend,” has been nominated for Best RPG-Related Product in the 2012 ENnie Awards. Congratulations to Gareth, TS, and everyone else involved. It’s a great collection of stories. ENnie voting is public, if you’d like to check out all the nominees and voice your opinion.

Congrats again to everybody! If you’re a fan of new voices in fiction, I hope you’ll check out both of the books.

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Out Now: STREETS OF BEDLAM

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Jason L Blair

*breathe out*

I’ve been neck deep in my Savage Worlds project, Streets of Bedlam, since the turn of the year. I am very happy to announce that the game is out in PDF as of today! I’m going to allow for a couple weeks of intensive editing and index creation before this goes to print, but the hardcopy should be out next month.

If you’re interested in ultraviolent neo-noir tabletop gaming, check out Streets of Bedlam: A Savage World of Crime + Corruption. For more information, visit the official website.

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This New Thing I’ll Be Doing

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Jason L Blair

Most of the time since my last update has been spent giving birth to Streets of Bedlam (which is out in PDF this Wednesday!) but some of it was spent pursuing a new job.

You may remember that I had to walk away from the last opportunity that came my way, and I am very happy to report this opportunity has no such hang-ups or hurdles.

Starting in two weeks, I’ll be working at Volition working on their incredible Saints Row franchise.



I am a huge fan of their latest release, Saints Row the Third, and am excited about what they have in store.

So in addition to getting Streets of Bedlam ready for release, I’ve been prepping a house for sale, packing up all my belongings, and getting ready to relocate to Illinois, all so my family and I can start a brand-new chapter of our lives.

I will Madison very much. It’s a great city with a fresh, optimistic spirit that will be hard to match. I don’t know if a long-term return to the area is in my future but I’d like to at least visit again.

I will miss the friends I’ve made in the area, especially Brett, Laronda, Matt, Monica, Other Matt, Bill, John, my new friends in the Alliterates, and extra-especially the very first friends I made in the area, Barb and Caz.

Life scatters us but friendship keeps us connected always. Here’s to seeing you all at conventions and gatherings in the future.

Well, this post turned out far less light-hearted than I intended but goodbyes have a way of doing that.

I don’t do the big move for a few more weeks but I doubt I’ll be able to post much in the mean time. Until then, be good. Here’s to the future.

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Read Me in Savage Insider

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Jason L Blair

The latest issue of Savage Insider saw release this past week and, in addition to a bunch of great Savage Worlds-related articles, I speak a bit with Vickey Beaver about the process of conceiving and designing my new game line Streets of Bedlam.

The magazine is free to grab from DriveThruRPG. My interview starts on page 20. Flip through the rest of the book to see the game’s first print ad as well!

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The Dream Job

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Jason L Blair

Last Friday, March 30th, I accepted an offer for the job of my dreams. This past Tuesday, April 3rd, I declined the position.

Forgive me for not naming names, but this isn’t the studio’s story. This is mine. But, really, this is a love story.

Continue reading →

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Hear Me on the Jennisodes

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jason L Blair

I recently sat down with Jenn from the Jennisodes to discuss my latest project, Streets of Bedlam, as well as future plans for the Little Fears Nightmare Edition line and a short rant on stories in video games. Jenn is a wonderful host and runs a fantastic podcast. Be sure to check out the latest episode for me, and then dig into her backlist for some amazing guests and insights into all sorts of gaming-related topics.

Huge thanks to Jenn for having me on, and I’d love to drop in again sometime.

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A Sketchy Tweet

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Jason L Blair

I love Twitter. It allows me to shoot off a quick note about a news item, life event, professional anecdote, or wry observation without needing to find a way to turn that thought into a proper blog post (or, y’know, just keeping it to myself). Another benefit is sharing these thoughts with a bunch of folks of similar interest, meeting new people, and especially reading others’ anecdotes, observations, and news shares in return.

And sometimes, well so far just this once, something I tweet inspires someone in a way I never would have predicted. At least, that’s what happened the other day when the folks at Improvised Live turned one of my tweets into an improv comedy sketch. Craziness.

You can check it out below, and click on the link to check out their other videos as well.

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Out Now: TALES OF THE FAR WEST

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Jason L Blair

This one’s a knock out, folks. Last summer, my friend Gareth Skarka launched a Kickstarter for his Wild West/Wuxia adventure game setting Far West. Support flooded in, eventually netting Gareth and company almost $50,000 in backer pledges.

From its beginning though, Far West was intended as a transmedia property with the pen-and-paper game being just the beginning. While the Far West game is slated for release later this year, another piece of the transmedia pie has dropped with the release of the Tales of the Far West fiction anthology.

The line-up of talent is jaw-dropping with original stories from folks such as Matt Forbeck, Chuck Wendig, Ari Marmell, Scott Lynch, Tessa Gratton, and more. I was blown away that Gareth invited me to sit by their fire and spin a yarn but he did just that. I’m proud that my own story, “Local Legend,” sits among such company.

So, it’s out. Right now you can grab it from Amazon on Kindle. I’m sure it’ll hit other outlets soon. (I’ll let you all know when it does.)

Anyway, check it out. It’s an awesome set of tales in a fantastic and inspiring setting. Far West is primed to become something truly special, and I’m happy to have been involved.

(Artwork by Rick Hershey, blatantly stolen from IntoTheFarWest.com.)

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Hear Me on Gamestarter (and Then Again!)

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Jason L Blair

I sat down with Josh Mannon from the Gamestarter podcast a couple weeks ago not once but twice! The first was a sit-down with Josh and fellow writer/designer Filamena Young to discuss various game projects currently seeking funding including Filamena’s own Flatpack: Fix the Future. The second time was an interview focused entirely on me, my upcoming neo-noir crime setting Streets of Bedlam, and the madness that is running a Kickstarter campaign.

Check out the panel with Josh and Filamena here.

You can hear me talk way too much about myself and Streets of Bedlam here.

Thanks to Josh for having me on and to Filamena for being a great co-guest.

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