Ember Dev Blog, Part 37!

Well, it’s a new year with new challenges. The Bestiary has shipped as a PDF (along with the adventure “A Giant Pain”). Both of these are in hardcopy proofing right now, and the proof for AGP got mailed out today and is in the capable hands of the USPS. …I’m not sure if that’s sarcasm. We’ll see.

GAME GOBLINS
I’ve reached out to Game Goblins in Little Rock, AR to see about getting into their store. My friend Ezekiel Nail is buddies with one of the managers there (or the location in Conway, AR… I never got the story straight), and he asked a few questions on my behalf. The kindly manager provided an email address for the owner, and I sent a nice letter begging to meet and show him what we’ve got. I really hope this works out. Every time I try to get into a new location, it gives me the jitters. I’m playing the waiting game again.

PUBLIC GAMES
Let’s see… what else? I’ve been running games semi-regularly this past year as health and time allowed at a little bookstore called Eclectic Geekery in Walnut Ridge, AR. Unfortunately, they’ve closed their physical location and I no longer have any physical presence of any kind anywhere. The good news is that NEA Gamer’s Guild has started a second Game Day at the Lawrence County Library Meeting Room, and I’m able to offer a game there on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Along with the Craighead County Library Game Day in Jonesboro, AR, that puts me out in the public eye in two locations on a regular basis.

WAREHOUSE 20 LAUNCH
I’ve ordered a ton of product for a product launch at Warehouse 20 in Pocahontas, AR! Right now the location is closed for a remodel, but it is set to reopen on February 1st. We were supposed to do this a year ago, but a raft of health problems kept me from following through. I’ve spent considerable time in the hospital and on bed rest at home, and I’m beside myself wanting to get out there again.
However, when I paid a visit last week, the owner, Norm, was less than delighted to see me. Let me tell you about Norm. He’s my age, but about 3 inches taller and has a decidedly tough-guy biker vibe. There is a lot of Norm. If there’s anything that can be said about him it’s that he isn’t deficient in confidence. I can see where he could come off as an intimidating and scary fellow. Fortunately for me, I don’t care about stuff like that anymore.
I showed up exhausted from a game that day, cold, tired from having been up since 4:00 AM, and wearing a walking boot from surgery where they removed some bone they didn’t like. I was not my best self to say the least. Norm wanted to know where the hell I’d been and told me he thought I’d decided not to follow through. I’d sold a copy of the Player’s Guide to his son and never came back, and if I thought he was mad, I should hear what his boy had to say. All I could do was to agree with everything he said and tell him I’d let his son yell at me if it would make him feel better. But I was here now, and I hadn’t forgotten him. I’ve never stopped wanting to do that product launch, and I had ordered all kinds of product and t-shirts for staff and all kinds of stuff. But then the health goblins came for me. Heart stuff… eye stuff… foot stuff… trying to get people to help stuff… And then there’s the matter of being unable to reach Norm to tell him any of this. I tried. A lot. It was not my proudest moment, but it may have been one of my best. If he threw me out then he threw me out. I told him the truth, took full responsibility, and admitted that I didn’t move heaven and earth to make things happen because life demanded otherwise. But here I stood, willing to do this if he was.
He eyed me up and down for a minute before shaking my hand and agreeing to talk to me on the 1st so we could work out scheduling. He’s got a few things on the calendar next month. My lovely assistant and good friend Danielle has said she’ll help me with the launch. She’s super personable and nice to look at. I’m sure the nerds will be fascinated and afraid.
And she has red hair. Oh my good god she has red hair. ^_^

CONCLUSION
That’s all I can come up with for now, and I’ll be posting more as soon as it happens. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all again really soon!

-Alan

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