Dungeons & Dragons & Me

Hi  ,

As anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter knows, Dungeons & Dragons is a big part of my life. For several years now, I've been running games for my kids, my nephews, and friends. I love the storytelling, especially the unpredictable nature of the outcome when you have a group of five or six players all contributing their ideas, but also I just like the social, interactive aspects of it (as opposed to more passive entertainments). And of course I love the excuse to be creative in a fantasy setting. 

So it's with a good deal of excitement that I announce that this week sees my first professional contribution to the world of role playing games. Yes, in addition to my other "first"--my tie-in novel, Star Wars: Pirate's Price--this year I did my first bit of writing for a second franchise I've loved since I was a child. I've written a short story for a Dungeons & Dragons adjacent company called Kobold Press.

I say adjacent because Kobold Press makes game products--settings and adventures--that can be played using the Dungeons & Dragons rules. They aren't Wizards of the Coast, the makers of D&D, but they are one of the biggest third party companies. And they have a new setting and adventure book out this week called Tales of the Old Margreve, which is a gazetteer-of-sorts to their big, spooky forest, together with all sorts of adventures and encounters set therein. As part of this new offering, they put out a smaller booklet called the Margreve Player's Guide. This is a book for players of the game that gives them new character options, new spells, etc... And my short story, "How to Rein Your Griffon," opens this book! And that's not all! I've also co-authored a subclass and a background, my first bit of actual game design mechanics! 

Now, I'll be honest--this isn't something for people who don't play Dungeons & Dragons to be interested in. My story isn't something that you need to seek out apart from an interest in Kobold Press and their world. But if you do play D&D, I cannot recommend this, and everything from Kobold, highly enough! So please do check it out.

I've also been writing bits for the Kobold blog for a while, talking up their current releases. Those with an interest in their products are encouraged to follow the link for a look at what they do!

Meanwhile, I had three exciting Hoover city school visits recently--Bluff Park Elementary School, Deer Valley Elementary School, and Harriette W Gwin Elementary School. And I've seen the cover of my next book for Penguin Random House. I hope that my next email can tell you more about that, but for now, all I can say is that we're looking at Summer 2020 for the release! 

That's it for now. Take care and have a good week, 

Lou Anders

Check out the Thrones & Bones series trailer!

Achievement Unlocked! With Skyborn, the Thrones & Bones trilogy is complete! 

Read "How to Rein Your Griffon" - my first D&D-related short story! 

"Pirate’s Price is a rarity among Star Wars stories." --Entertainment Weekly

Board the Millennium Falcon for exciting tales about Han and Chewie’s adventures with the infamous pirate Hondo Ohnaka – including their first meeting! A “Flight of the Falcon” tie-in!

"The pace is swift and there’s action on every front." Booklist

Nominated for
a Beehive Book Award,
a Golden Sower Award,
a Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award,
a Young Hoosier Book Award.

“Anders presents a captivating world.” —Kirkus Reviews