The design essay series continues with Matthew McFarland telling us about Dust to Dust, a new story supplement for Vampire: the Masquerade from White Wolf.

Dust to Dust is a story supplement using the Storytelling Adventure System designed for use with Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, and it acts as a spiritual successor to the classic story Ashes to Ashes.

After a year of intensive development, the small indie team of Red Wasp Design have announced that their anticipated title, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land has launched on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game is a turn-based strategy RPG inspired by the works of cult horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and developed in co-operation with Chaosium, the publishers of the cult horror role playing game, Call of Cthulhu.

The game is now out on iTunes and is a universal iOS app so the same game works for iPhone and iPod Touch both SD & HD and for iPad, and carries graphics optimised for each of those platforms. It is priced $4.99, £2.99 & €3.99 for the full universal app. The game’s designer, Tomas Rawlings said, “We’ve put a vast amount of our time, energy and ideas into this game over the last year. It’s been a long journey for us because we want to get it right. We’re not a huge studio, but I hope that fellow gamers will appreciate what we’ve achieved with The Wasted Land.”

In the near future, on the western coast city of New Metropolis, an evil that has lain dormant for centuries is about to be awakened to the 21st century. Forces of darkness and magic strive to unleash a horror upon the Earth unlike any mankind can remember. The only forces capable of stopping it are rendered impotent by an age-old fear and hatred. Will humanity set aside their differences and stand as one against the darkness? Or will this be humanity’s Final Twilight?

Trinity, the first series, follows a trio of souls whose fates are intertwined. Mark Jarus, the last classically trained mage, fights the good fight as a vigilante in city overrun by crime! Kerra Neil, a young woman and skilled hunter stalking the shadows for murderers and magic-using blights upon humanity! And the enigmatic Charles Faust, whose cool and calm demeanor belie a centuries old heart of darkness and unnatural lust for power!

The author behind Abaddon’s fastest-selling title of 2011 is set to return with a follow-up novella and a brand new series.

Abaddon is delighted to announce that Chuck Wendig has signed up to write an ebook sequel to the popular Double Dead, as well as create a brand new series for Abaddon in 2013.

An October 2011 release from Abaddon, Double Dead was Wendig’s first original novel and became the fastest-selling Abaddon title to date, with a particularly strong showing as an ebook.

The design essay series continue here at Flames Rising with a new entry from author Edward McKeown telling about his novel Was Once a Hero.

Reluctant privateer Robert Fenaday searches the stars for his lost love, Lisa, a naval intelligence officer whose ship disappeared near the end of the Conchirri War . He’s joined by the genetically engineered assassin, Shasti Rainhell, whose cold perfection masks her dark past. Both are blackmailed by government spymaster, Mandela, into a suicidal mission to the doomed planet Enshar. Leading a team of scientists and soldiers, they must unravel the mystery of that planet’s death before an ancient force reaches out to claim their lives.

Double 2011 Origins Award Winner Licenses Eisner-Nominated Comic Book

Evil Hat Productions, LLC, today announced an agreement to produce, publish, and distribute a role-playing game based on the Eisner-nominated Atomic Robo comic book. The Atomic Robo RPG will be co-written by Atomic Robo scribe Brian Clevinger and Kerberos Club: Fate Edition author Mike Olson, creator of the Strange Fate version of the Fate engine.

“I’m such a big fan of the world Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener create in every page of Atomic Robo,” said Fred Hicks of Evil Hat. “When I found out they were fans of role-playing games—including Evil Hat’s own Spirit of the Century—it was clear we had a giant-sized opportunity that had to be pursued.”

Children of the Revolution is a rogue’s gallery of those Embraced “in interesting times,” to use a euphemism. In times of upheaval and turmoil those who join the ranks of the Damned can’t help but be shaped by the chaotic events around them. The transformational disruption that occurs in the world remains indelibly with the Kindred Embraced in that moment, marking him as an agent of change among Kindred society in some capacity.

One example might be the Anarch Tyler from Chicago by Night, Embraced in the throes of active rebellion and forever characterized by her opposition to tyranny. The Lasombra Gratiano, Embraced by his clan’s progenitor, committed diablerie on that sire, forming the Sabbat in the crucible of that betrayal’s aftermath. The inscrutable Inconnu Dracula, playing one sect against the other while defending his homeland against the Turk incursions. All of these are excellent examples of the sorts of Kindred who could be considered “children of the revolution.”

The Shroud of the Ancients D5 Role Playing Game is Dark Tavern Press first game. Created by Randy Miller and Roderick Edwards, it is the product more than 50 years of combined RPG tabletop gaming and over 15 years of combined adventure writing and game design. Dark Tavern’s goal is to continually create the best quality RPGs and gaming accessories possible. It is our aspiration to entice tabletop top gamers looking for an alternative to the status quo with this project and to help us raise enough money to bring the Shroud of the Ancients™ D5 Role Playing Game to tabletop enthusiasts everywhere.

Our Kickstarter goal is set at only $5,000 and this covers mostly artwork, design, layout, editing and production costs for the Adventurer’s Guide to Terrath.

FR Press is pleased to announce the release of Slices of Fate!

Slices of Fate is a unique collection featuring the works of Eddy Webb. Stories within range from the author’s nod to literary tales as in his piece “A Sheepish Trip to Yorkshire” to his more speculative work such as “The Battlefield.”

Essays include a series on two of Webb’s oldest loves: wrestling and Sherlock Holmes. Combined with several pieces of microfiction, this debut collection is an in-depth representation of Eddy’s work over the course of several years.

“Enthusiastic, creative, honest, intelligent.” – Jason L Blair, from the introduction.

Slices of Fate is available now in eBook format at DriveThruFiction.com!

Tad Williams’ new short story collection, A Stark And Wormy Knight, is available now, worldwide, as an ebook, $4.99 (or equivalent) for one month. The following story is published on FlamesRising.com with express permission of the author. Happy Holidays!

THE SUGARPLUM FAVOR (A Christmas Story)

Danny Mendoza counted his change three times in while the teacher talked about what they were all supposed to bring for the class winter holiday party tomorrow. It was really a Christmas party, at least in Danny’s class, because that’s what all the kids’ families’ celebrated.

Coming January 2012: A Collection of the Award-Winning Cthulhu Mythos Horror Fiction of John Scott Tynes

“This is pure evil, pure destruction. This is the apocalypse.” And it’s just getting started. In January 2012, Arc Dream Publishing will release “Delta Green: Strange Authorities,” a collection of the award-winning Cthulhu Mythos horror fiction of John Scott Tynes. It will be available in trade paperback from Amazon.com and Ingram Book Company, and in ebook for Kindle, Nook, iBooks and other devices.

“Delta Green: Strange Authorities” features the complete fiction of John Scott Tynes in the “Delta Green” setting, which explores the cosmic horrors of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos in a modern world of deadly conspiracies and personal apocalypse.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present an interview with the developers of Atari’s Heroes of Neverwinter Facebook game and a giveaway!

We would like to thank Peter Banks, the Director of Product Marketing for Atari, for sponsoring several Explorer Packs for fans of this game set in the Forgotten Realms and for providing us with this great interview!

Here’s the idea… What if the characters of Renfield and Igor were a pair of down-on-their-luck buddies in a world filled with monsters from classic horror lore BEFORE they worked for their respective legendary employers?

RENFIELD AND IGOR MEET DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE is a “buddy story” similar to the likes of Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello, told in the tradition of the great “road pictures” of Bing & Hope.

Reinfield and Igor are two down-on-their-luck, not so bright, unemployed common workers in Victoria London who both have a crush on “working girl” Ivy Pearson. They are in danger of losing their flat when Reinfield is approached by Dr. Jekyll to run an errand to acquire ingredients for a new formula. Elsewhere, Igor is approached by Mr. Hyde to run the same errand. Reinfield and Igor realize that they have both been hired for the same job, but they are not bright enough to figure out that both Jekyll and Hyde are the same person. They plot to go ahead and do the job for both men in order to be paid twice—and their adventures begin…

“No God commands me, yet I answer to a higher law than yours. My heart does not beat, yet it still feels. Only her word rules me, and only her smile warms my blood.” – J. Carlton, Nosferatu Harpy of Baltimore

Strange, Dead Love is a new supplement for White Wolf’s Vampire: the Requiem RPG. It is guide to the themes and props of paranormal romance, custom-fit for the World of Darkness, specifically Vampire: the Requiem. This book features a collection of world shards, ready-made chronicles with their own plot hooks and rules. As well as advice for storytelling romance, including guidance on games for two.

Strange, Dead Love was written by Jess Hartley, Monica Valentinelli and Filamena Young. You can read the Flames Rising interview with the developers Russell Bailey and Eddy Webb from October where we took fan questions about the book.

Flames Rising has an exclusive sneak preview of this new book with an excerpt called A Plague for a Dowry.

Streets of Bedlam is a pen-and-paper roleplaying game in which you play characters with histories, who’ve done bad things, who may do a few more, but who have a code they stick to, fuzzy though it may be, that guides them through life and allows them to make a difference. Everybody in this town wants something but your characters are aiming higher than most and maybe, just maybe, they’ll do some good. At the very least, maybe they’ll stop some bad from happening.

Written and designed by critically-acclaimed game writer Jason L Blair, the man behind Little Fears, Streets of Bedlam will be built around the award-winning Savage Worlds ruleset published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

In this interview I ask Jason for details about the inspirations he drew from and the characters that you play in Streets of Bedlam.

Top Cow Productions and Image Comics announced today a premiere launch event at Meltdown in Los Angeles for the Pilot Season 2011 voting period. The Pilot Season “Take Control” party invites Los Angeles fans to meet the various creative teams involved in 2011’s Pilot Season competition, get their books signed, and get the details on how they can determine the winning series this year. The event is co-sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, through arrangement with marketing firm Bonfire Agency.

Since 2007, Pilot Season has become the leading fan-driven comic event, allowing creators to compete with brand-new original properties for fan votes. This year, Top Cow released eight unique pilot issues by eight creative teams ranging from established industry pros to up-and-coming talent to screenwriters and even one NFL All Star. With all eight books in stores, voting will begin on Monday, December 5th at topcow.com, where fans can also find additional information on each title.

Matt M McElroy, Publisher of FR Press, announced today that Slices of Fate, the collected works of author Eddy Webb, will debut early December 2011.

“Slices of Fate is a collection that spans the depth and breadth of Webb’s work,” said editor Monica Valentinelli. “Arranged chronologically, this is a beautiful representation of the stories and voices Webb has to offer his readers.”

Stories range from the author’s nod to literary tales like “A Sheepish Trip to Yorkshire” to more speculative works like “The Battlefield.” Essays include a series on two of Webb’s loves: wrestling and Sherlock Holmes. Combined with several pieces of microfiction, the collection is an in-depth representation of the author’s work thus far.

Both digital and print editions of the collection will be available through online retailers like DriveThruFiction.com in early December 2011.

All zombies are created equal. All zombie stories are not.

From its humble beginnings as an indie comic book, The Walking Dead has become a pop culture juggernaut boasting New York Times–bestselling trade paperbacks, a hit television series, and enough fans to successfully take on any zombie uprising.

Triumph of The Walking Dead explores the intriguing characters, stunning plot twists, and spectacular violence that make Robert Kirkman’s epic the most famous work of the Zombie Renaissance.

Flames Rising is proud to present an exclusive excerpt from this book. The Walking Dead novels’ co-author Jay Bonansinga provides the inside story on translating the comics into prose.

Who willingly walks into a haunted house?

Ghost hunters explore dark places, investigate clues and uncover secrets of the dead. Evidence of an afterlife may prove elusive and few hunters recognize some things are best left buried and forgotten.

Suspense and intrigue lurks inside HAUNTED: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror. Unlock the clues in these eleven mysteries. HAUNTED features stories by Alana Joli Abbott, Georgia Beaverson, Jason L Blair, Alex Bledsoe, Bill Bodden, Richard Dansky, Preston P. Dubose, Nancy O. Greene, Jess Hartley, Jason Sizemore, Chuck Wendig and was edited by Monica Valentinelli.

HAUNTED is now available in Print! Normally the softcover edition sells for $14.99, but as part of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale extravaganza going on all over the web we have a special discounted price on this title from FR Press!

Get HAUNTED: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror for only $9.99 in print!

Author and game designer Matt Forbeck recently announced the 12 for ’12 project, in which he will attempt to write a short novel every month in 2012. We think Matt might have gone just a little crazy, but we’re also pretty sure Matt can actually pull this off…so Jeremy LC Jones had a little chat with Matt about the project.

Um, Matt, what are you thinking?

I’m thinking I want to write and I want to self-publish. I’m thrilled with my current publisher, Angry Robot, but there are some projects I’d like to do that wouldn’t work with them. That’s what 12 for ’12 is all about.

I’m a fast writer, so technically I should be able to handle writing 12 novels in a year, especially if they’re shorter ones like these. I’m shooting for 50,000 words each, which is what anyone participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this month is shooting for. That’s still 600,000 words of fiction in a year, but I’m pretty sure I can manage it.