Matt acts as the “Editor-in-Chief” of Flames Rising, which usually means writing reviews, setting up interviews, posting news and checking out the latest Horror & Dark Fantasy products from a variety of publishers. He also recruits reviewers, posts previews and works with publishers to explore new ideas for promoting the genre.
Matt occasionally dabbles in freelance writing and game design. Recently he worked on the Ghostories Enhancement Pack for Precis Intermedia and the novella "Time to Burn" in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society collection from Abstract Nova Entertainment.
Posted on April 9, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Some big news over at the Talisman Studios website this week. They have signed on with Studio 2 Publishing for distribution of these great books. First up will be the Shaintar core book, which uses the Savage Worlds system from Pinnacle Entertainment. The Suzerain core book will be the second product to hit distribution and it sounds like supplements for each line will follow.
Customers will also be able to order directly from the Talisman Studios website as well.
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Posted on April 8, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
For a limited time, several of the Flames Rising crew’s favorite zombie horror novels are on sale at Amazon! Take a look at some of the great titles included in this sale: Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins Undead: Skin & Bones by D.L. Snell (Editor) Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines by D.L. […]
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Posted on April 7, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Fantasy Flight Games has launched a new website for the Dark Heresy RPG. Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game based upon the universe of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000. The setting of Warhammer 40,000 is a dark, gothic future where the Imperium of Man is beset by dangers within and without. In Dark Heresy players take […]
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Posted on April 4, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
White Wolf Publishing has recently put together a new Storytelling Adventure System website to feature the “Playable Stories for all White Wolf Publishing Games” series of products that we’ve been raving about here on Flames Rising (including a Mini-Reviews of Fear-Maker’s Promise and Criminal Intent). Check out the new website: www.white-wolf.com/sas for a look recent […]
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Posted on April 4, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Yahoo Movies just posted a brand new trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army! After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an […]
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Posted on April 3, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Posted on April 2, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
I talked a bit about Midnight Roads when it was released -here- and The Harvesters makes a great companion to it. Well, now you can get a very cool Bundle of these World of Darkness products at RPGNow!
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Posted on April 1, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Practical jokes, hoaxes and other funny events mark April 1st in several countries. Publishers and fans of Horror & Dark Fantasy enjoy a good laugh as much as anyone. Here is our ongoing list of April Fools jokes, events and news, stay tuned as we update with new links.
Wizards of the Coast – The new D&D site is certainly interesting. The Name Change Promotion is a great idea!
Steve Jackson Games – GURPS Tank! and a buyout offer from Atlas Games (who incidentally is being bought by Ronin Arts, which is being bought by, you guessed it, Steve Jackson Games).
White Wolf LJ – Shadows of Iceland via Bax’s Inside Awesomeness!
Mohawk Media – Mr. T Versus Dracula by Christopher Bunting.
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Posted on March 28, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
The Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest wrapped up on the 15th and our special guest judge, Jason Blair (author of Little Fears and The Long Count), helped us sort through all of the great entries. Don’t Rest Your Head, Chill and Kult were the top mentioned games. Great Cthulhu made a variety of appearances […]
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Posted on March 28, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Sometimes rolling the dice or holding the controller just isn’t enough…This week’s Flash Fire Mini-Reviews will be exploring some of the different Live Action Role Playing options folks have for getting in character and having some fun.
Whether you are part of an ongoing global campaign like the Camarilla or just looking for a fun party game for a few friends, LARP is available in a vareity of products.
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Posted on March 27, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
“X-Files” creator Chris Carter, writer Frank Spotnitz and other crew members gathered Wednesday to discuss the TV series — and declassify some information about the upcoming film. `X-Files’ creator spills film details “While this is not a mythology movie, it’s true to everything that’s come before,” Spotnitz said at the William S. Paley Television Festival. […]
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Posted on March 25, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Paul S. Kemp lives in Michigan with his wife and preschool-aged twin sons. He is a corporate lawyer, which makes him lawful evil. He salves the pangs of conscience that arise from his career choice by imbibing ample amounts of Diet Dew and enshrouding himself in the sense-dulling smoke of Te Amo and Dunhill cigars.
He is the creator of the assassin-priest Erevis Cale and writes primarily in the Forgotten Realms setting from Wizards of the Coast (this makes him a shared world hack, true; but that’s MISTER Shared World Hack to you, bub)…
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Posted on March 21, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
We’ve covered vampires, zombies, magic and more in past Flash Fire Mini-Reviews. This week we’re going to take a look at a genre that often blends Sci-Fi with Horror and Adventure with Mystery…sometimes all at once.
Post-Apocalypse stories often show a bleak future, but can offer a bit hope as well.
The civilized world has come to an end, in the rubble the survivors battle horrors and each other in an attempt to gather resources and perhaps to rebuild their world. Post Apocalyptic settings are the subject of this week’s Flash Fire Mini-Reviews.
We’ve got a mix of games, fiction and a movie to explore this week. Each with a different spin on just what Post-Apocalypse means…
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Posted on March 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
OshCon (October 11th & 12th) has just posted sign-up forms on their website for Dealers and Game Masters. If you are thinking about checking out this great little convention this fall I highly recommend it. There are always games going on throughout the weekend. The convention includes a mix of RPGs, card games, board games […]
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Posted on March 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
A great follow-up tale to Stolze’s earlier Requiem novel A Hunger like Fire, this time we learn about some new members of Chicago’s undead society. Most of the characters in this book, with two notable exceptions, are members of the Lancea Sanctum Covenant. The two exceptions are “Earth” Baines and Aurora…but I’ll get to them a little later.
Events in A Hunger like Fire have put Solomon Birch, the ranking member of the Lancea Sanctum, in a dangerous position. A few members of the Covenant feel he is no longer fit to lead them and begin planning his removal as Bishop. Deals are made, gossip is whispered, and pawns are set into motion.
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Posted on March 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Wizards of the Coast sat down with The Darkwood Mask author Jeff LaSala recently for an interview: Wizards: How would you describe The Darkwood Mask to a reader thinking about picking it up? Jeff LaSala: It is an action murder mystery in a world where magic (or other supernatural power) is arrayed against you and […]
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Posted on March 18, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Stephen King recently made an appearance on NPR’s Talk of the Nation: To the delight of Stephen King fans, the latest installment in the Marvel comic book series inspired by his Dark Tower epic was released in early March. The illustrated saga was kicked off in the graphic novel Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born, which introduced […]
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Posted on March 17, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Mongoose Publishing has released the Cthulhutech Main Rulebook as an eBook with a reprint of the paper version on the way to stores sometime next month.
2085. Humanity faces extinction. Alien insects from the edge of our solar system, long hidden behind the façade of reality, descend to enslave us. Hordes of unspeakable horrors roll out from Central Asia, laying waste to anything in their path. The church of the fish-god scours the world for lost occult secrets to unleash terrible forces. Dead gods awaken and turn their dreadful eyes toward the Earth. And within hides a cancer, eating away at the very heart of the New Earth Government.
This is the Aeon War. This is the time of CthulhuTech.
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Posted on March 15, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Today is your last chance to get your entry posted in the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest! In one paragraph (250 words) or less, tell us what your favorite horror game is and “why.” By “game” we mean role-playing game, card game, computer/video game, or board game. It may also be alternative platforms like […]
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Posted on March 14, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Last week we talked about the most well-known vampire in the world, Dracula. The Dark Prince will probably return for another round of Mini-Reviews at a later date, since we only had the chance to check out a few of the products featuring Dracula and there are certainly many more available.
This week we are going to take a look at some great collections of scary stories. There are fiction anthologies on every subject imaginable. Fans of Horror & Dark Fantasy have many authors and publishers to choose from. Some of the authors featured in this week’s mini-reviews include Jim Butcher, Laurell K. Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong, David Wellington, C.J. Henderson, Tanith Lee and Patricia A. McKillip…just to name a few.
Here are a few anthologies that I’ve had the chance to check out recently…
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