Boot Girl

Okay, let's pretend for just a moment that GenCon never happened. That would be a terrible thing, because GenCon was actually quite fantastic for the most part. Fisherman's Wife did well, even though I am still binding and sending out the fancy versions. And it was such a pleasure to meet new people and see old friends.

The drive to and fro was loads of fun. Couldn't ask for better travelling partners than Tom and Graham. I learned so much slang, and engaged in potty humor. There were tragedies, like how I left all the unbound text of Fisherman's Wife and access to cash at home. And as if I needed reminding why I married Chris, the apple of my eye, my beloved FedExed my books, and I sold out of every one. Fisherman's Wife was mentioned in Ken Hite's "The New Hotness" column of the GenCon program. Steal Away Jordan did okay, all things considered.

I played a meaner, crueler pirate than Abyssinia from last year's Poison'd game. This time I played Seamus McShee, a woman disguised as a young man, who went from grumpy gunnery master to captain. Highlights of Captain McShee's career included ordering the cook and surgeon to cut up the body of a vanquished captain and feed him to his crew, and holding a red hot coin in the surgeon's hand because s/he disobeyed my command. Not a pleasant fellow. I also played a hard drinking space trooper Corporal Maggie "Shamrock" O'Malley in 3:16 (very much a pleasant fellow), and got through the darkest and saddest Fisherman's Wife with Ron Edwards.

But let's pretend none of that happened for now. Let's consider John McCain's $520 Ferragamo loafers. That's crazy! I mean they're okay, but he could've paid $90 for a similar pair of Kenneth Coles, and not gotten ridiculed about his footwear. And I can certainly appreciate a pair of Ferragamos.

I understand, Senator McCain, I have a shoe thing myself, rather, a boot thing. I get it from the woman who introduced me to Ferragamos, Dr. Bond, my shoe and handbag loving mom. I loves me some boots, especially lace up boots and cowboy boots. For the past few years, I've plunked down a few bucks for fashionable and comfortable boots. Not $520 a pair, but then again I know I own only one house. Maybe if things were different... Anyway, my birthday is coming up, and most years I treat myself just for the sake that I exist. A dubious reason to buy yet another pair of shoes, but there it is. Maybe if I ran for president I'd have a better excuse. This year was no different. See above, my hot new Made in the USA Lucchese western style boots. I think they're way cuter than Senator McCaine's Ferragamos.

A shared love of shoes does not a president make, though. I'm still an Obama Mama--in my freakin' awesome Night Cactus Lucchese Cowgirl boots that I got for a [relative] steal from Grapevine Hill!.

Revving up for GenCon!

Cross posted at Stone Baby Games:

I'll be at GenCon this year dividing my time between The Forge/IPR and the Ashcan Front booths, and will have games available at each: Steal Away Jordan at The Forge/IPR and Tales of the Fisherman's Wife at the Ashcan Front.

I've been hard at work on the latter. All the books will be hand-bound and full color. I'll have about 12-15 extra special editions. No two covers will be alike, and they'll have 5 extra collaged images. Tales of the Fisherman's Wife is for mature audiences. At one point I had considered making available a "clean" version, but I'm running out of time! And the design concept for the book a Japanese pillow book. In that spirit (and in the spirit of the game), the book contains sexually graphic images (classic ukiyo-e shunga).

Tales of the Fisherman's Wife is and ashcan, but I do know the game works and it's fun. Here's what makes it "ashcanny": there is an untested mechanic, which in theory sounds very fun. I want to see it in action though. While I've played the game several times, I want more play-testing. I want to know how it plays when I'm not there. Also, this game lends itself well to creating beautiful custom hand bound versions. I want to get good at it, and practice makes perfect.

So what do you get by buying a really pretty ashcan? It depends on what you do with it. Within the next six months, hopefully you'll play it. (It takes no more than 2 hours for a whole game!). Then you'll post your play report at the Forge, or Story Games, and let me know about it. Or send me feedback by email on the text or the mechanics. If you do this, you get a free pdf of the official release, a hard copy at printing cost, or a custom hand bound edition at a discount.

I have not decided on a price for either the basic or special hand bound versions. I will have pictures of some of the special ones soon, but I'm up to my ears in book binding right now. I may not post anything until after GenCon!


And here's more (what I'm not quite ready to disclose on my "buy my games" website, heh heh) : The elevator pitch for Tales of the Fisherman's Wife could well be "A sex positive roleplaying game for lovers with demons and octopuses." Yeah. It's a tough concept to market, which is another reason why it's still an ashcan. I would love it if I could sell this game in other venues beyond games stores. See ya in a couple weeks or sooner.