My Patreon Is Live

After months of consideration and more than a little work, I've launched a Patreon page to support myself and the projects I'm working on over the next few years.

Why are you starting a Patreon Page?

The simplest, shortest answer is that the industry is changing, and if I don't change with it, I won't survive.

The much sunnier answer is that I wanted a new platform where I can bring everything I'm doing together, and Patreon offers a great new home, where people who have been telling me that I charge too little for my books can correct that problem themselves and receive extra content in exchange.

Stabilizing a volatile career is another potential plus to Patreon, which would make it easier for me to release novels and other things.

Will Your Podcasts, Updates, and Free Novels Cost Something Now?

Most podcasts will be free, and there will be many more of them since Patreon puts me on a release schedule. Updates on writing progress will be free as always, an available there, and anyone who joins my Patreon will receive all my free books and something more. So, only the location of the free stuff will change.

Are You Dropping This Blog?

I will link everything that is available to the general public on Patreon here, so your subscription and attention on this page isn't wasted.

Are You Still Going To Contribute To Your Facebook Page and Participate on Twitter?

Yes. Larger posts, audio, video, and articles will be on Pateron and the other social media platforms will have links to them.

Will There Be Pateron Exclusives?

Yes, at least two a month are planned. Stay tuned.

Will You Still Publish Your Books As You Have Been?

Yes, in fact I will be publishing more per year if things with Patreon go well.

What Is Patreon?

There's a YouTube Video that explains that pretty well, give it a watch.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support thus far. You've purchased my books, talked about them with friends, family and online, and done so much more. I appreciate everything, and Patreon will ensure that I offer more to get excited about on a more regular basis.

Take a look, here's the link: www.patreon.com/randolphlalonde

Tabletop Role Playing Game Development Continues

Last week I finished writing the first section of the fantasy novel I've been working, but before switching back to Spinward Fringe full time, I thought I'd take another look at the role playing game I started designing last year.

For everyone who doesn't know, a Table Top Role Playing Game involves pencil and paper, character sheets you can hold in your hand, and a variety of dice (I love dice...). It's a game where a Game Master guides a group of players through an adventure she or he has written in advance.

In a fantasy Tabletop RPG, players may assume the role of a fighter, a wizard, a ranger or rogue (there are a lot of other character types, those are the most common). They make characters, filling out character sheets and then assume the roles like actors who don't get out of their seats often.

I spent over 20 years as a game master, and have created a few custom game systems before. Creating a new system from scratch is a lot of fun for me because it's a huge challenge. It has to be different enough from the other role playing games out there, and it has to be a great system on its own to be worthwhile. Role playing systems also have a tendency to become extremely complicated, and that's one thing I'm resisting, making the system harder to put together.

This role playing system is being designed to adapt to the world of Brightwill (Fantasy), Dark Arts (current day Supernatural), and Spinward Fringe (Space Opera / Science Fiction Adventure).

When I finish the core rules I'll be releasing them for free in a copyrighted book. By Saturday I'll have enough of the basics finished so a player can create a character and be ready to play in less than an hour. I'm really excited to continue development on this, and It'll keep going even as I turn most of my attention towards finishing Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11: Revenge.

I'll also be launching my basic Patreaon site next week, and I'm working to get copies of my books in hand so I can offer signed copies by the end of the month. There was a delay because Amazon isn't offering authors the option of ordering bulk copies for a discount, so I'll be using another company to get copies soon(ish).

I'm so excited about Patreon, it'll give me one place where I can unveil a lot of things this year, and I hope it'll open up more opportunities to entertain you.


RL