I haven’t written a blog since Christmas, have I? Crumbs! Truth be told, I’ve had my head down working full pelt since December, and only now are the fruits of those labours starting to appear, and I’m finding a bit of breathing room. That, and the fact that several Top Secret Projects have finally been announced, so I can actually talk about what I’ve been up to…

So let’s start with tabletop gaming. The big one for me these past few months has been Lasting Tales, which is now finished – written, playtested, edited and laid out. The PDF has gone out to backers of the Fantasy Series II Kickstarter already, as an advanced taster. I’m hoping everyone will get the chance to buy a copy at retail later this year, but do keep an eye on Blacklist Games socials for updates.

Modiphius Entertainment are keeping me busy with content for The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms. We have a big rulebook revision nearing completion (a sort of v1.5, if you like), and the rules design of the eagerly-awaited Chapter 3 is done and dusted.

It’s also been a sad time in some respects, because the licence for the Walking Dead: all Out War has finally come to an end. I think we had a great run, and while I’m sad I didn’t get to bring you the Commonwealth, or post-time-jump Alexandria, I think the range of models and rules expansions was really impressive. Huge thanks to Mantic Games for their support.

Finally, Draco Studios recently announced the forthcoming Dragonbond: Endless Sagas Kickstarter. This is a huge, 5E-compatible TTRPG, featuring symbiotic bonds between mortal and dragon in a brand new fantasy setting. I’ve been with Draco for a short while now, working on their Dragonbond intellectual property (and fiction: more on that at a later date). Check out the press release here!

Speaking of fiction, no news on the new novel as of yet, as the hunt for a new agent continues (I’ll admit, I expected this bit to be much easier second time around, but apparently a pesky pandemic has done all sorts of ‘interesting’ thing to the publishing industry). However, despite that I’m pleased to announce I have had a story accepted by Belanger Books for a forthcoming Sherlock Holmes anthology, with a decidedly folk-horror theme. More news on that at a later date.

Furthermore, Sherlock Holmes: A Betrayal in Blood is now available in a Czech language edition, published by Knihy Dobrovský. Sherlock Holmes: a krvavá zrada is available now!

So onto the third and final string to my bow. I’ve been busying myself working on videogames for a while now, and have thus been sworn to secrecy for aaaaages. As some of you may know, I do the occasional bit of scriptwriting for the Total War: Warhammer series, and there are a couple of characters still to come for TW:W3 that I’ve scripted. Also, Fat Shark Games recently revealed the trailer for the forthcoming Warhammer 40,000: Darktide game, and I’m delighted to reveal that I’m part of the writing team there, alongside the talented Mat Ward, Dan Abnett, Jeremy Vetock, John French, Sarah Cawkwell, and Tory Hayward. The sheer diversity of the dialogue for this game, and the quality of the voice acting, will blow you away!

Of course, no round-up would be complete without at least one “There’s this thing I’m working on that I can’t tell you about yet, but ooo, just you wait!” And there it is. So you’ll just have to hang on for now.