The folks at RPGLife.com asked me to join them in an online chat on Tuesday, October 21, from 8 PM to 10 PM Central Time. I agreed, and now I’m asking you to do the same for me. Please stop by and say hi, ask questions, or just rattle my cage. I’ll type back as fast as I can.

My friend Professor Lew Pulsipher has a great essay up at GameCareerGuide.com called “The Idea Is Not the Game.” In it, he discusses the worth of ideas and then offers ideas about how to come up with them and capture them. Definitely worth the read.

My friends over at Talisman Studios have decided to give away the PDF of their Suzerain RPG core book for free. Stop on by and pick up a copy for nothing at all.

According to the Citizens of Virtue website, the Seven Virtual Virtues anti-ARG campaign associated with it launches tomorrow. I recently received a CoV press release (PDF) that details what the fuss is all about. It’s a riot, and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

My step-cousin Theresa just sent me a link to “Don’t Vote,” the best public service announcement ever. It’s hilarious. Not safe for work or kids, but funny and true.

Some states close voter registration as early as this Saturday. (In Wisconsin, we can walk in and register on the day of the election, but it’s easier if you set it up ahead of time to avoid any challenges.) If you haven’t registered yet, get going on it. You don’t have to make up your mind about your candidates or referenda yet, but if you don’t register, you lose the chance to chip in your vote on November 4. Go now.

Yes, it’s a big week for releases here in Casa Forbeck. Tomorrow (October 1) sees the release of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #4. In this issue, the Bad Bay Hackers take on the Chaos All-Stars with all the resultant tentancular mayhem you’d expect from such a matchup. Lads does his now-traditional great job of translating my words into art—or so I believe in my heart, although I’ve not actually seen any of it yet. Expect to find me in a store tomorrow, looking for my first glimpse of the interior pages too!

I’m told that issue #5 is already off to the printer too, which means this warped and twisted tale should wrap up soon. I’ll be sorry to see it all come to an end, but I hope you enjoy the story as a whole once you get to read it all. It’s been a great ride for me.

I’ve been playing around with a lot of different MMOs lately. Here’s one reason why.

A new, ongoing series of web articles about The Lord of the Rings Online started appearing yesterday on the game’s official website. The always excellent Will Hindmarch wrote the first, “Hero’s Guide to Hollin Gate,” under my editorial management. These should appear every week for the foreseeable future, with Will and I chipping in our efforts every other week. Be sure to check them out!

Today’s the big day. My novelization of the Mutant Chronicles film is officially on sale! Run on down to your friendly local bookseller and pick up a copy of your very own—or download an eBook version from your favorite online purveyor of such marvels.

As I’ve said here before, I had a wonderful time working on this book. Fred Malmberg, Jay Zetterberg Leslie Buhler, Leigh Stone, and Thommy Wojciechowski at Paradox were, as ever, a true pleasure to work with, and the same goes for Keith Clayton and Sue Moe, my excellent editors at Del Rey.

The film’s not out here in North America yet, so this is your best chance to get your hands on the story and picture it in your head instead. If you’re still on the fence, check out this short excerpt for a free taste of the whole dish.

It’s Banned Books Week this week, the annual spotlight the American Library Association throws on attempts to have books banned from libraries across the nation. Do us all a favor and read a banned book this week.

Over on Storytellers Unplugged, my pal Rich Dansky recently posted “Young Industry My Sweet Patootie, You Goldurn Whippersnappers.” It’s an excellent essay on the challenges of writing for video games and why it continues to be hard to do well even after decades of such games on the market. The excuse, of course, is that video games are a relatively young medium—which is true, when compared to things like books—but Rich chews right through that chestnut to get to the truth beneath.