Sojourn on the Magical Island of Moths
Somewhere outside the realm of logic and reason lies the Akashic Library, its phantasmal shelves stretching off endlessly across the horizon. What forbidden secrets shall we uncover there today? Read on . . .
Here in the Connor home we spent the middle of October overcome by plague. My wife Alice came back from a retreat with a stomach virus, which she passed along to my son. Fortunately I didn't catch the bug, but I did end up emptying buckets of vomit way more than I would've liked. And even though I evaded that sickness, I managed to come down with a cold right as my wife and son were getting better. So my dream of printing up copies of Lightning Man #2 in October did not come to fruition, alas. Next month!
But, in the last couple of weeks the kids and I have made great progress working on a little something we like to call . . .
MAGIC MOTH ISLAND
Magic Moth Island is a role-playing game created by my kids, with some help from me, that the three of us are co-writing. The beautiful cover illustration above is by my daughter Blu, with mediocre block letters by me.
The game was originally inspired by our love of Mothra, though it has since evolved in weird and interesting ways. It's about a magic island, obviously, and players take on the roles of various animals, like moths, snails, and turtles. There's potentially a giant magic moth, but before you get to that point the animals have to defend the island from human invaders.
In terms of co-writing, my input is generally on the nuts-and-bolts, "You need to explain this part right here, and add a table here" level, with the kids providing the creative vision. We've been tinkering with the game for a few years, but now we are serious about getting it done for the Caltrop Core Game Jam on itch.io. The deadline is Monday, October 31.
Caltrop Core is an RPG system based on 4-sided dice. In our initial draft of Magic Moth Island the kids were going back and forth between using a QAGS-like system or a D&D-like system, so when I saw that Caltrop Core was simple, adaptable, and open for use I suggested it to them. They agreed, and now we prepare to join the Caltrop Core community.
Anyway, we're almost done! We just need to finish the last chapter and get layout done over the weekend. Fingers crossed.
OTHER STUFF I HAVE MADE FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
My lovely RPG zine Akashic Titan: Blue Bolt is now available through the Goodman Games website.
A new chapter of my surreal occultist detective novel The Lobster-Quadrille comes out every week through Kindle Vella. There's 13 chapters out so far and the story's about halfway done. You can read the first chapter here.
My other Kindle Vella story, Armistice Hawkins and the New Architects of Creation, is still on hiatus so I recommend you get caught up before new chapters start coming out.
I've got some drawings of hearts and trees and such on sale in my Etsy store. Maybe people aren't looking for heart drawings? I should add some monsters in there, people like monsters.
I write a monthly newsletter . . . no, wait, don't plug the newsletter in the newsletter. That makes no sense.
BOOKS I'VE READ SINCE LAST MONTH’S NEWSLETTER
I made sure I'd wrapped up any prior reading engagements, bought Nona the Ninth the day it came out, and dove right in. This is the third book in the Locked Tomb series, following Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth. And they're great.
The common short description of Gideon is that it's about lesbian necromancers in space, which is not entirely accurate--the main characters are not all necromancers, they travel through space but most of the story takes place on a planet, and so on--but gets the idea across. It's science-fiction, because there's space travel and an empire that spreads across colonized planets, but it's also fantasy because that empire is based around necromancy. The main character grabs you immediately, and you slowly learn more about the setting as the story continues. Just why is there a star-spanning necromantic empire, with nine houses on nine planets? The world-building is delightful and very well done.
The first book was such a crowd pleaser that you're eager for more, and then in the sequels Tamsyn Muir just gets progressively weirder. She never gives you what you want or expect, but she gives you what, in retrospect, you needed. The big question of Nona the Ninth is, "Just who is this Nona person, anyway?" I know the answer now, and maybe someday you will as well.
WHAT HAVE I BEEN WATCHING?
I watched the second and final season of Kevin Can F---- Himself and hoo boy, it's great. What if a sitcom character ended up in a crime drama? The answer will amaze you!
There's an the ancient rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek, and recently my family and I declared our loyalty to the United Federation of Planets and set out to explore strange new worlds. After being burned by The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi I did not want to watch any more Star Wars shows. BUT, I kept hearing good things about Andor, so I finally broke down and watched it. So far I've seen three and a half episodes and, friends, I am loving it. It's the space crime noir I didn't know I wanted. I can't wait to watch more over the weekend.
And I guess that's all I have for this time? Like I said, we were all sick, October's kind of a blur. Here's hoping November is better!
Your Pal,
Leighton
www.leightonconnor.com