The House of Stories

I wrote this ten years ago (heavens!) as part of a Phantom of the Opera fan event. It’s a short piece of fiction set during the formative years of the eponymous character and is connected to the character of the novel as opposed to any of the movie or theatrical interpretations. It is also the […]

Ramblers… let’s get rambling

First things first, if you have any interest in roleplaying games at all then go at once and subscribe to the Grognard Files. Don’t wait, delay or hesitate just go subscribe. I’ll tell you just why in this post but you may as well be downloading your first episodes while you read. The Grognard Files […]

Joshua, Genocide and the General

Originally published on my defunct LiveJournal page, now with added thoughts I’ve always regarded Story as a powerful force, using that rather simplistic term as a catch-all for myth, metaphor, internal-dialogue and other aspects that I’ve rarely bothered to sit down and define. A while ago, when I first discovered this blogging business, I wrote an […]

A Step Beyond Context – Amazon Sale!

Yes folks, the debut novel is marking the first anniversary of its release with a special ONE WEEK ONLY sale at amazon.com and amazon.co.uk – from 8am on 26th March until April 2nd you can pick up this reality-shifting novel of intrigue, adventure, magic and manners for less than a dollar (or less than a […]

The Magus and the Munchkins

“What the hell is that annoying sound?” I asked. “Munchkins. Singing. Sorry about that.” “Munchkins as in…” Wizard of Oz, yes. Sorry again. Not what you were expecting I’m sure.” “Well quite. I was expecting some sort of profound revelation about the nature of the universe, not just an irritating ear-worm from a musical. So […]

Clocks of ancient splendour

A new bit of roleplaying technology that I’ve fallen in love with is the idea of “clocks” – simple visual representations that the GM can present to the players to show the passage of time or the acceleration towards a goal or consequence. Typically they’re simple Pie-Chart type things (sometimes prettied up) with a number […]

“You’re a shaman, Harry”

“I’m a — what?”

Misdialled

I like a nice hot shower to help me recover from a heavy night out, and last night had been one of the heaviest. It had been the birthday of the girlfriend of a friend of someone I worked with so naturally I wanted to help her celebrate. It would be rude not to. About […]

The False Knight on the Road

I’ve recently rediscovered my collection of folk music, a genre I like for the narratives contained in the songs, if not for the affected nasal drone that some singers affect for some reason. Listening this lunchtime I shuffled upon “The False Knight On The Road” which is on the face of it an encounter between […]

Impulse Buy

I don’t buy from Internet ads. I really don’t. I totally get that the commercial realities of modern life require, under the capitalist model, that to get things means you have to spend other things, so that the people who make the first things can take the things you give them and use them to […]