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2013-05-21 17:17:01 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Waiting for the Numenera corebook to get printed so I can lay down all the page numbers. Ended up at a coffee shop called Holy Grounds. This is awesome in a number of ways.  

2013-05-19 22:37:20 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Also, here's my brand-spanking new Twitter account. Join me? I promise to entertain you. Mostly. 

https://twitter.com/ShannaGermain

2013-05-19 22:30:34 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

Double-fisting the #Numenera corebook edits this weekend! 

2013-05-19 22:17:56 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I just realized that social media exposure is the new slut shaming.

Here's what I mean: While I'm very open on social media, I'm also very private. Unless someone knows me in real life, they probably know very little of my private life or my personal history. They might think they know a lot about me, gleaned from bits and pieces, but in truth, I keep most things close to the chest. 

Recently, I posted a tweet saying that my weekend was off to a rough start (no details) and someone that I don't know personally made a (wrong) assumption and commented on Twitter about my private life (based on their guess of it, from what little they'd seen on social media). The exchange made me feel so violated that I actually closed my Twitter account, something I've never done.  

And do you know what my first thought was? It was, "That was totally my fault,f... more »

2013-05-19 16:15:17 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

If you want in on a @Numenera game at Gen Con Indy, now is the time. The seats are going FAST. Monte and I will both be running games! 

2013-05-18 19:21:06 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Our Gen Con Indy schedule is up. Between the Numenera launch, the Kickstarter panel, and running a Numenera tournament, we're going to be busy!

2013-05-18 17:42:22 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Finalizing the planning on my upcoming novella. This is an important part of my process, to find characters, images, and places that will be important for the story. I gather everything that might be useful, and then I sift through the images and pull the ones I'll use into Scrivener for reference while I write. 

Can you even begin to imagine what this novella might be about? 

2013-05-18 04:27:37 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Dinner outside with grilled meat, fresh margaritas, flowering lilacs, and saucy man. 

The craziness that began with that first Kickstarter in the middle of the 2012 has meant we've barely kept our heads above water schedule-wise. Now, we're getting some float time. By which I mean to say: we're not working 12 hours a day anymore. It's delicious.  

2013-05-18 03:55:40 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 11 +1s)

2013-05-17 23:25:27 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

At the SIFF opening Gala. Don't Panic stockings and big smiles. 

2013-05-16 19:18:41 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I am pretty sure I have played this... 

2013-05-16 16:06:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Today's Numenera reading: Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, by Annalee Newitz 

2013-05-16 00:26:40 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Leather Bound got its first review (that I know of), and the reader has such nice things to say about it. I'm so delighted! 

"Leather Bound gets a 5 out of 5! It was absolutely perfect, and I couldn't get enough. I hate to admit it, but I'm actually halfway through rereading it a second time, even though I just finished..."

(The link is probably NSFW for many)

2013-05-15 17:51:04 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

It's "Say Something Nice to Someone" Day. 

Yes, I made that up. 

Go forth and be kind. 

2013-05-15 17:38:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Last day to enter the Numenera Meme Contest! 

One of the great things about Numenera as a game is that it puts a lot of creativity into the GM's hands. The rules are simple and straightforward, allowing GMs to use them as a resource and then make their own decisions based on logic and intuition. It also means that player creativity and ingenuity is rewarded. 

As Monte says in the corebook: "That's not cheating. That's awesome." 

So, here's the contest:

1. Make a meme of the Numenera catchphrase: "That's not cheating. That's awesome."

2. Post it to our tumblr: http://numenera.tumblr.com/

3. We'll do a random drawing and you can win of one of the following ebooks (your choice) from DriveThruFiction--Kicking It: Successful Crowdfunding; Geek Love: An Anthology of Full-Frontal Nerdity; or SmallMat... more »

2013-05-15 01:54:27 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 19 +1s)

We just offered the print version of the Numenera Player's Guide up for pre-order! Just a few more weeks to snag both it and the corebook (and you get the free ebook version(s) as a thank you gift).

http://www.numenera.com/numenera-pre-orders/

2013-05-14 22:40:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Some days are beautiful. Things have slowed down just a little on the work end, allowing me time for pleasure, something that has been sorely lacking in my schedule as of late. 

Today brought: NOS4A2 (a lovely book, it was like reading my childhood all over again in a familiar, and yet new, voice); a walk and lunch with love (always good); Bioshock Infinite while on the treadmill desk (I'm enjoying the game immensely so far); working on my short story for Numenera (I'll post an excerpt soon). Later, we'll mix up ice cream on our salt block, play some Borderlands 2, watch some Arrested Development, and then go back to work in the gloaming. 

All in all, I'm happy for the small joys that are making up my days this week. 

2013-05-14 21:03:51 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

Despite the fact that I write almost everything on my laptop, I still love notebooks. Here is my current one, with one-of-a-kind cover art. I'm currently using it to make notes about my Numenera short story and my next novel.  

Do you still use a notebook? What kind?

2013-05-13 16:19:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I have no idea how I missed this for so long, but I just spent twenty minutes cracking up. Delightfully funny.

2013-05-12 17:40:22 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

"Your hands are not made to type out memos. Or put paper through fax machines. Or hold a phone up while you talk to people you dislike. 100 years from now your hands will rot like dust in your grave. You have to make wonderful use of those hands now. Kiss your hands so they can make magic."

Not for everyone (and having worked for myself on and off for almost 20 years, I can say that it's possible to screw that up so that you work too much/don't get enough play/feel too stressed), but it's something to think about if you hate your job. 

2013-05-11 17:23:06 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

And that's a wrap! The entire Numenera corebook -- all 416 pages -- is edited and off for layout. 

...I can't imagine what I'm going to do with my time. 

Oh, wait. Proofing. The Player's Guide. Some adventures. The Bestiary. Sir Arthur's Compendium. The Guidebook. Writing for Torment. And doing some short fiction set in the Ninth World....  

2013-05-11 17:02:32 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

If you're over the age of 25 (and especially if you're over the age of 35), it's time to consider putting your big-girl panties on. 

Drama--like retainers and feathered hair--is best left to prom-goers and virgins who die at the end.

2013-05-11 15:52:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Got to introduce one of my favorite movies to one of my favorite people. 

(I can't seem to find a trailer that doesn't have subtitles.)

2013-05-11 00:52:41 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Delish. I'm going to start doing this with the dumb, mean things that people say about me on the Interent!

2013-05-11 00:20:23 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Tom Lommel is the smart.

"In my opinion, the power of Kickstarter is to give creators 100% control, to take greater risks than they could with outside funding, and to definitively test whether there's a market (however small OR large) for their idea. Bad or poorly executed ideas flounder, well-run projects that speak to their specific audience (however broad or niche) get rewarded. Indie films are not hurt by this -- if anything greater awareness of Kickstarter itself encourages more people to explore the film category." 

2013-05-10 23:38:22 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Finishing up the Numenera corebook! In the meantime, here's a peek at the city of Yenth: 

http://www.numenera.com/sneak-peeks/

2013-05-10 21:29:15 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

Preorder the print version of Numenera now and get the ebook for free. That offer is only good through the end of May, so don't miss out. If you just want the ebook, you can preorder that now too. 

2013-05-10 15:29:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

2013-05-09 16:31:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

My friend James Bernard Frost writes beautifully about many things; here, he talks about friends and divorce. I suppose I was "lucky" in my marriage in that we had mostly separate friends, so my divorce didn't have that additional element of pain and confusion. 

I like people who write the truth of their experiences with such candor, because it allows me to think deeply about my own experiences and learn something new. This is the kind of writer I strive to be, no matter the topic.  

2013-05-08 21:35:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

"Women, stop sexualizing yourselves—that's our job, and you're taking all the fun out of it."

Great article. It's also a good reminder that, goddamn it, we all have a right to be as sexual (or as non-sexual or as asexual) as we want to be. No apologies. Bring me my cherry-red fuck-me pumps!  

2013-05-08 17:21:48 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

2013-05-08 15:38:40 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 3 +1s)

/geek swoon

I want this. It would be like having Ray Bradbury's brain in my living room. 

2013-05-08 02:18:36 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Just finalized the second-to-last section of the Numenera corebook and sent it off for layout. Once the adventures section is finished, this baby will be done! 

Well, not counting adding the rest of the art, the page numbers, and all of the proofing changes.

Still, can I have a margarita, pretty please? 

2013-05-07 22:18:15 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Fun!

2013-05-07 17:52:37 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is an interesting take on Kickstarter and its purpose. While I absolutely agree with the right to not give a project money based on your beliefs, I don't agree with the reasoning of "he's too big, he has other avenues, so he shouldn't use kickstarter because that's only for the little guys." 

After all, Kickstarter calls itself "a new way to fund creative projects." It doesn't say you have to be an unknown. It doesn't say you're supposed to be poor. It doesn't say that you must have no other way of making money for your project.   

Kickstarter also says: "We believe that creative projects make for a better world, and we’re thrilled to help support new ones."

Essentially, crowdfunding a democratic way of raising the funds to create something new. If you don't like someone's project, don't backit. ... more »

2013-05-07 16:11:36 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Good morning, World! 

<--Am writing. 

You?

2013-05-07 02:26:23 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Sunny bike ride. Working on a new short story. Homemade chili with heat and heart.    

What did you love today? 

2013-05-07 00:48:32 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 15 +1s)

Our first sneak peek of the #Numenera corebook is live with a little taste of the Beyond. Don't miss it!

2013-05-06 21:06:28 (10 comments, 4 reshares, 2 +1s)

This pretty much boggles my mind. Among all of the other things wrong with it, take it to this other level: there seems to be an inherent understanding that only girls' bodies and girls' clothes can be "distracting." 

What does that say not only about our culture, but our understanding of girls' and boys' sexuality? That either: girls can't be distracted by boys' bodies and clothing; that girls just don't have that kind of sexual impulse; that they do have that kind of sexual impulse but are better at controlling it than boys; that boys must be protected from their own inability to focus and curb their sexual impulses; and/or that these policies being put into place are actually about the adults who spend time with these girls and who can't control their own sexual impulses (or worry that they can't). No matter how you look at it, it's a fucked... more »

2013-05-06 17:45:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

2013-05-06 00:57:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Tonight is all salt all the time. Once the work is done, we get to make dinner on our Himalayan salt block. And I am mixing up the kind of margaritas that make everything funnier. And there might be Arrested Development with caramel-salt popcorn. 

This kind of incentive is how I get the work done on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 

2013-05-06 00:17:43 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I'm interested in gender stereotypes in gaming as a general rule. Classes, as Sarah's essay points out, are a long-standing way in which gender (and its stereotypes) is often pre-designated. 

One of the things I like about Numenera's "classes" (we call them types) is that they're absolutely gender-neutral -- until the player chooses to give them a gender. IF they choose to give them a gender. Gender in Numenera, while never irrelevant, will never automatically give you extra strength or an affinity for healing or anything else. It WILL give you another element of your character to roleplay as you choose.

I'm certainly not against cool gameplay options based on gender -- the optional perks in Fallout are a good example -- but I believe players should get to choose. 

Thoughts on gender representation, presentation and stereotyping in games? ... more »

2013-05-05 18:16:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Sitting next to a writers' critique group at the coffee shop, and it's bringing back vivid memories of both the good and bad groups that I've been part of over the years. They appear to be looking at someone's draft of something and saying things like, "I think this sentence really needs a comma here."

To the groups I was part of that rocked me in good ways -- namely the ones headed by  Nancy Wilbur Woods and Tom Spanbauer  and the Fish Tank -- thank you. You fed my writing when it was starving. 

2013-05-05 17:47:14 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Working at the coffee shop decked out in a tank top, short skirt, bare legs, and sandals. Either I'm in an accidental Nair commercial or summer has arrived in Seattle.

2013-05-02 16:36:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea -- H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon, I am about to be in you. 

2013-05-01 15:48:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

This has long been one of my favorite shorts. I often say "But what washes that soap that washes the soap?" So far, no one has known what I'm talking about. 

2013-05-01 03:53:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Numenera memes, coming at you!


Check out the tumblr, and then enter the contest here: 
https://www.facebook.com/Numenera/posts/365587926880249

2013-04-30 22:14:33 (13 comments, 139 reshares, 34 +1s)

Oh. my. god. This made me laugh so hard!

Sexy Pool Party

2013-04-30 18:51:36 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

It's a day for contests in this end of the world!

We just drew the winner for the first Geek Love print book. Battana, come and claim your prize!

If we sell 19 more ebooks, we'll be able to give away another print book (we will have some print books available for sale in the future, but they're going to be very limited and they will cost $60, so this is your chance to get something amazing for free.).

2013-04-30 18:41:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"That's not cheating. That's awesome."

Numenera meme contest!