Newsletter #4: A Year in Review
and I'm hoping it isn't too mushy. also, a giveaway for newsletter subscribers if you're into that!
Hi all,
What an amazing year it’s been. I’ve completed a lot of projects, and I have a lot more coming too. I think it’s a good time for a recap!
This year was a really big year for me personally. I broke off a six year long relationship, cancelled my wedding, and threw myself into seeing my friends again after a long time of not being able, travelling, working in the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had, rediscovering the things that I used to enjoy…
I don’t normally talk about my personal life with people who consume my work. But I’m making an exception because I learned some important things about my writing too.
I learned that I can’t hope to write at the same pace as other people. I have so much life to live now that I wasn’t living before, and I can’t always take the time to shut myself off from the world and write 10k words. I don’t have the energy to manage big projects (having the wonderful Matt managing the kickstarter and fulfillment for Hieronymus has taken off so much burden) and I need to accept help when I need it. I learned that I can’t force myself to write things that I don’t want to just because I need to pay bills. I do need to pay bills (desperately), but I need to write what I love, otherwise I’ll burn myself out and I won’t want to write at all. This has to be a passion for me, not a side hustle.
So here are my writing goals for 2023. 2022 was the year where I rediscovered myself - 2023 is the year I rediscover my love of writing and ttrpgs. That means a lot of experiementing with new systems, trying out new games, and it probably means a lot of hopping between projects, working on whichever one I’m feeling like at the moment, without keeping up the conveyor belt of ‘products’ on a schedule. I’m so excited to share that journey with you all!
One more thing. This year I’ve had to spend so much time figuring myself out. That’s meant my project timelines have sometimes slipped, I’ve missed emails, I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve leant heavily on all the freelancers on my projects being able to work around my disorganisation. So a big big thank you to everyone who has held patience with me throughout all of that. Next year will be better.
A winter gift…
Here’s the first in what’s hopefully a long list of things I’m writing for fun rather than profit. I’ve made you all a free winter themed adventure/pocketmod. It’s designed for Chris Bissette’s Under The Floorboards, and can be downloaded here on my itch (you can print it and fold it into a pocketmod yourself! A physical version can be purchased for a couple bucks on twelvepinspress.com, or I’ll be throwing one in for free with any other postal order on the website!
And a giveaway!
To celebrate getting through 2022 intact, I’m going to give a seasonal gift to one of my substack subscribers. I’ll post you signed print versions of every one of my games (that has a print version.) All you need to do is fill out the google form here, and be subscribed to this newsletter! I’ll be checking! The giveaway will close next weekend.
And if you don’t win, here’s a 10% store discount anyway. Use the code PROMO10 on twelvepinspress.com
What we achieved this year
And finally: an actual year in review. Here’s a non exhaustive list of stuff I got done.
Finished writing, printed and fulfilled Sleeping Above A Stolen Crown
Edited the whole of Intergalactic Kammerjager (and another project yet to be published)
Successfuly crowdfunded Hieronymus, and got it all the way through layout (fulfillment completing early next year.)
WON A GOLD ENNIE for Uncaged Volume IV! And I couldn’t be sharing it with 20 other more accomplished writers.
Brought out a print edition of The Witch of the Westmoreland.
Launched an imprint and an online store with Twelve Pins Press, making my physical copies so much easier to fulfil.
What’s in store?
I think 2023 will be the year that I finally finish my Series of Unfortunate Events inspired RPG. I’m trying to take inspiration from a lot of other children’s and young adult novels as well… Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, all of the new dark academia genre…
Don’t hold your breath because it’s a big project. But I have cover art and everything, so I’d best get a move on!
I have a cyberpunk storygame inspired by Detroit: Become Human and My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days album, with lesbian androids and trans ex-cops trying to atone for their policing past in the works. If that’s your cup of tea, then you might be just like me.
Finally, I also have a new Lancer adventure in early playtesting mode right now. I’ll leave you with a snippet of setting text so you can get excited…
…By far the strangest phenomena of the Scatter is the Curios. Whoever was here in the Old Era built great floating objects of all different shapes and sizes, giant treasure chests the size of cities used to store riches and technology of unimaginable complexity. Technology that each of the four corpo-states is desperate to get its hands on.
The Curios are protected by impenetrable forcefields that open up once in a blue moon, and only for short periods of time. Calen-techs measure and predict their opening, and sell that knowledge to the highest bidder.
In the Scatter, timing is everything. If you’re still inside a Curio when it closes, you’re there til the end of your days.
Thank you for everything, and have a wonderful New Year.
Laurie