I basically invented Pokémon back in 1988.

No, that’s an exaggeration. I co-created Pokémon with a classmate back in third grade. On the heels of my “robot phase,” the two of us would fill looseleaf pages with a menagerie of bizarre creatures.

Sadly, I can’t recall what a single one of those monsters (or aliens?) looked like, but I strongly suspect none of them resembled Pikachu. And we had no means of catching or trading the creatures. These raw deposits of our young imaginations could only be shared with each other as we exchanged pages to admire the other’s handiwork.

But these prototypes, lost to time and landfills (or did we recycle back then?), served their purpose. The sheer joy of coming up with strange creatures has endured throughout my life, taking different forms over the years: failed superhero narratives, eventual fantasy novels, a webcomic, and, most recently, tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs).

Neither my self-made TTRPG (The Curse of Er’Mah’Gerd) nor my freelance contributions to Goodman Games’ library of adventures and reference books have come close to Pokémon’s market penetration, but when I think back on all I’ve accomplished over the past 10 years or so, I am more than satisfied with my creative output.

More importantly, I am excited about what lies ahead.

Monsters, Monsters, and More Monsters

On my birthday in 2020, I attended an open call webinar in hopes of getting my foot in the door in the TTRPG space. Goodman Games was looking for writers, editors, and play testers, filling out its freelance roster for a huge project on the horizon—a book filled with more than 500 new creatures for adventurers to encounter.

Of course, I wanted to contribute monsters of my own, but I also realized that everyone would be vying for the writer positions. Given my experience with editing and my keen eye for spotting grammatical and formatting irregularities, I opted for the chance to edit instead. It was a strategic move—and one that has paid off.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The project—Dungeon Denizens—kicked off in early 2021. To say it was a crash course in Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition mechanics would be an understatement. Yes, I learned a ton while editing roughly 300 monsters for that book and a few more other Goodman Games books besides.

In addition to my editing skills, I contributed a single creature of my own to Dungeon Denizens: the consuming coin, a metal construct that cannibalizes other currency in one’s purse and, when discovered, attacks using an arsenal based on the flip of a coin (heads or tails!).

The book was a colossal project as evidenced by the fact that Dungeon Denizens didn’t start shipping to backers until the end of 2024. I got my copy in December, more than four years after I auditioned for the gig. It was worth the wait!

In November, Goodman Games announced a sequel, and I’m pleased to report that Dungeon Denizens II will include 20 original creatures from yours truly, including a sloth demon, a dragon with arachnid-inspired abilities, and the most dangerous puffin ever conceived. (Eat your heart out, Pikachu!)

If you’re reading between the lines, you’ve realized that my gambit paid off. In addition to ongoing editing work for Goodman Games, I’ve wormed my way into a writing role as well. I’ll share those projects as they are announced and released, but suffice it to say, I’m currently working on a project that lets me draw from the worldbuilding and character development skills I have honed as a novelist.

Speaking of Books…

People have asked me about my next novel, and my admittedly glib answer has been I’m not sure if there will be one. Long story short, I’m incredibly proud of the novels I’ve published but have no desire to dive into another one right now. (Long story here.) Even the “mid-apocalyptic” fantasy setting I’ve been toying with over the past couple of years, The Last City of Mirth, is on hold indefinitely. It could end up being a game or a novel or something else entirely. I don’t know, and I’m OK with that.

I went into 2024 expecting it to be a “light year.” I had just started a new job and expected my side hustle would take a backseat for a while. Although I did work far fewer hours for One Million Words last year, it was still more time than anticipated, and much of that was spent on freelance work—not only for Goodman Games, but also Necromolds and a mobile action roleplaying game (ARPG), which I hope to be able to promote in a couple of months. It was a profitable year both in terms of income and output.

I could blame many freelance opportunities for the neglect of this blog, but that would be only partly true. The fact of the matter is I had no interest in promoting my work because I was having too much fun doing the work. That’s a marketing no-no, but if I learned anything last year, it is that enthusiasm is essential for me creatively.

That’s as true of smudged looseleaf doodles as it is for beautiful hardcover books.