2024 has been a wonderful year to rebuild, grow, and produce my own game. I’ve re-established a wonderful baseline for my writing practice, presented at the Gen Con Writer’s Symposium and Game Hole Con, taught an online workshop through Clarion West, and began blogging again here at FlamesRising.com. I also recently celebrated a new partnership […]

Hello, hello! I am popping in to share that I’ve updated the rules for Pinching Tarts to clarify a few, key aspects of gameplay. I ran a few sessions of Pinching Tarts at Game Hole Con XI in Madison, Wisconsin, and based on the sizes of the groups and their feedback, I’ve made a few […]

Hello and welcome to the last installment of #WitchyWednesday! Today, I wanted to dive into creatures of the night that are often associated with haunted locations, bad omens, and Halloween. At the end of this post, I’ll share a round-up of all my Witchy Wednesday posts to share and highlight the magical topics I wrote […]

Today, my Witchy Wednesday post is about magic systems and rules. When I was thinking about what topics I wanted to cover, I broached the subject with K Tempest Bradford, from Writing the Other, who encouraged me to talk about magic systems and their intersection with theme and narrative. As such, this post may resonate […]

Hey, hey, hey! I’m back from Game Hole Con XI, where I ran lots of games, led an indie game design jam, and spoke on panels. It was a very, very busy convention for me, so if we missed each other (or didn’t have more time) feel free to reach out. One of the things […]

When you conjure a witch in your mind? What do they look like? Are you picturing an older woman with deep wrinkles and gnarled hands? What’s their demeanor? Cruel, mischievous, or kind? Depictions of witches around Halloween are influenced by folk tales, like the German “Snow White” fairy tale collected and published in 1812 by […]

True to the #WitchyWednesday theme, I wanted to share historical insight about witches and witch trials in Colonial America. There are several nuances to this conversation, because there’s so many cultural aspects that intersect with the topic; additionally, definitions of the “witch” shift depending upon the decade and century. This topic is so huge, I’m […]

To celebrate Halloween this year, I’m partipating in #WitchyWednesday to highlight different subjects in magic. Today, I’m diving into tarot. Tarot’s origins are often conflated with medieval card games, like Minchiate, Tarocchi, and early poker decks, because there’s some similarities in the card art and design. There are, however, three distinct pieces within tarot’s history: […]

Love tarot? Want to get ready for Halloween? Take my writing-centric Clarion West workshop titled “How to Use Tarot for Storytellers.” This two-hour workshop will be conducted online on Sunday, September 29th and will have a seasonal theme. Unlike my other tarot workshops, this experience will also include small group exercises to help nurture collaborative […]

Hiya! I’m heading back to Game Hole Con to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons! This year, I’m speaking on panels, running adventures I designed for Pinching Tarts and Scarred Lands 5th Edition, and a fun DMsGuild.com adventure called Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese by the amazing Jamie Chan. I can’t […]

The Wishing Pool and Other Stories is a brand new collection of fourteen, masterful tales written by American horror writer Tananarive Due. Due, a multi-award winning writer, presents a bloody tapestry of Black horror across multiple timelines, ending with Afrofuturistic stories. The celebrated author’s first collection was published in 2015; now, almost ten years later, […]

This year, GenCon: Indianapolis takes place Thursday, August 1st through Sunday, August 4th. I’m presenting this year at the GenCon Writer’s Symposium and am offering a couple of workshops for ten dollars and am participating in several free-to-attend events. In addition to these events, I’ll have some wares on hand. I’m bringing print copies of […]

Guard Cards is a pay-what-you-want game aid compatible with Pinching Tarts, a Wonderland-themed PocketQuest 2024 game designed by Monica Valentinelli. The cards can either be printed out and used as half-sheets or folded in half to create cards. Guard Cards is a digital download. The game accessory is not playable on its own without a […]

If you’ve ever wanted to try Pathfinder Second Edition but had trouble finding a game, there is hope. Beginner Box Days is a week of gaming using Paizo’s Beginner Box for Pathfinder Second Edition. Starting on April 13, 2024, new players can try out Pathfinder Remastered for free as experienced gamemasters guide them through two […]

Hiya, I am breaking a review hiatus to offer a review of Loot Goblins, by Michael’s Mind Online. The creator generously offered me a review copy, and I am happy to support their game design efforts-especially since this is their first, published game on DriveThruRPG! Loot Goblins was designed for PocketQuest 2024’s HEIST theme and, […]

Though “heists” may not be FlamesRising.com’s usual horrific fare, I think you’ll agree that it’s challenging and downright scary to not only create a game for the first time-but offer it for sale as well. Thanks to Kage at DriveThruRPG.com, I got my hands on a list of PocketQuest 2024 titles from first-time game designers*. […]

I Disappeared Them is a brutal, boy meets girl love story that delves into the Periwinkle Killer’s childhood to confront the age-old question, is a serial killer designed or destined? Like Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho and Joyce Carol Oates’s Zombie, Preston L. Allen‘s immersive narrative hauntingly occupies the peculiar psychological landscape of a murderer. […]

Pinching Tarts is a caucus game of tart-stealing nonsense inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). You and your friends play Wonderland creatures who infiltrate the Red Queen’s castle to steal Her Majesty’s tarts while protecting what you hold most dear-your heart. I designed this PocketQuest game to be played without a GM. Suitable for […]

I’m extraordinarily proud of the releases I had in 2023. These games and books are affiliate-linked to pages where you can purchase or find out more information about them. Yep, affiliate links. Because I am an artist and I enjoy food. Hah! 2023 didn’t yield a ton of publications for me, but that’s okay! I’m […]

CCP Games launched EVE Online: Havoc, the latest expansion for spacefaring MMO EVE Online. Havoc adds new content and improvements that help players turn the tides of war or fan the flames of chaos on the frontlines. For the first time in the game’s 20-year history, players can now enlist with the game’s notorious pirate […]