Fear Nothing tells the story of 28-year-old oddball hero Christopher Snow, who lives in the city of Moonlight Bay, California, along with his hyper-intelligent dog Orson, his best surfing buddy Bobby and his late-night deejay girlfriend Sasha. Snow has XP—xeroderma pigmentosum—a very rare genetic affliction that forces him to avoid light at all costs, and will likely give him cancer later in life. His parents died under mysterious circumstances and he’s now being stalked by the shadowy characters who want Snow to stop trying to find out how they died–or else they’ll bump off his remaining loved ones.

“This is a well-written and beautifully drawn adaptation. I’m delighted with it,” says Dean Koontz.

FALLOUT is Derek Gunn’s latest book in is his Vampire Apocalypse series and it’s now available from Black Death Books in a trade paperback edition. In this military/post-apocalyptic series the Vampires rule. Humanity is enslaved in a nightmare world where those who are still alive are bred as food for the vampires and the entertainment for the vicious thralls who guard them.

According to the author this installment sees vampires pitted against vampires and the thralls use this war to their advantage. But the small band of human survivors hold a secret of immeasurable power – a coating for bullets that can kill the vampires. The thralls want it and the vampires must destroy it. But first they have to find them. Across the country another power struggle threatens them all and the doomsday clock continues to tick relentlessly towards Armageddon.

Our game design series continues with a new essay from Bill White telling us about his fantasy RPG, Ganakagok.

Ganakagok is a fantasy where characters are members of a tribe that lives in a night-time world on an island of ice who must deal with the coming of the Dawn and the changes it brings. Play involves the use of a deck of cards to generate situation, prompt narration, and inspire characters; each session produces an authentic-seeming myth of an imaginary people.

Designing Ganakagok

When people ask me what my game Ganakagok is about, I say, “It’s a fantasy.” I tell them that it’s about a people called the Nitu, who live on a starlit island of ice in a world where the sun has never risen. They live in darkness, revering the Stars, honoring their Ancestors, and marveling at the handiwork of the Forgotten Ones, who long ago wrought Ganakagok into its current form.

For Cheyenne Clark, there’s a bad moon on the rise.

There’s one sound a woman doesn’t want to hear when she’s lost and alone in the Arctic wilderness: a howl.

When a strange wolf’s teeth slash Cheyenne’s ankle to the bone, her old life ends, and she becomes the very monster that has haunted her nightmares for years. Worse, the only one who can understand what Chey has become is the man–or wolf–who’s doomed her to this fate. He also wants to chop her head off with an axe.

Yet as the line between human and beast blurs, so too does the distinction between hunter and hunted . . . for Chey is more than just the victim she appears to be. But once she’s within killing range, she may find that–even for a werewolf–it’s not always easy to go for the jugular.

Frostbite is available now at Amazon.com.

This new collection of horror scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu role playing game features five tales of horror and the weird, set within the green and pleasant land of England. Each scenario focuses upon a different time period, from the streets of Victorian London to the far future when the End is almost nigh.

Although each scenario can be played as part of an existing campaign, they also come with a set of pre-generated player characters, allowing all to be played and run with the minimum of effort.

Cthulhu Britannica is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with our interview featuring author and editor, Kerrie Hughes. Kerrie has worked on several short story anthologies including the newly-released ZOMBIE RACCOONS KILLER BUNNIES and GAMER FANTASTIC.

We’d like to share with you Kerrie’s thoughts on editing short stories, what she likes about the format, and her take on the current market.

Just in time for Halloween, we have come up with a special treat for all you horror authors and storytellers out there. We’ve put our heads together and came up with a random horror plot generator for you to have fun with.

What does it do? Randomizes horror plots, silly! Right now, we have well over 1,000 words and phrases that we’ve put into our bubbling cauldron to come up with some interesting horror plot ideas.

Madison Games Day 2 is all about the spookier side of gaming. Gamers in and around the Madison, Wisconsin area have a chance to meet new people and play new games. In addition to all the other great games, there will be horror-themed games and events.

We invite everyone in the area (or willing to make the trek) to come and play some games! There will be indie and mainstream roleplaying games, card games, and board games. If you have something you’d like to play, bring it!

Visit MadisonGamesDay.wordpress.com for all the latest information.

Castle Panic is a unique, cooperative strategy game for 1 to 6 players ages 10 and up.

Players must work together to defend their castle, in the center of the board, from monsters that attack out of the forest, at the edges of the board. Players trade cards, hit and slay monsters, and plan strategies together to keep their castle towers intact. The players either win or lose together, but only the player with the most victory points is declared the Master Slayer.

Players must balance the survival of the group with their own desire to win.

Castle Panic is available now at Amazon.com.

Want to write for games?

Think your art is ready for professional publication?

Not sure how to get your foot in the door?

Freelance writer/editor/game creator Jess Hartley shares her secrets for using conventions as an entry into the game industry.

This was originally a series of articles presented on Jess’ website to offer her experiences and advice to potential freelancers looking to make the best use of their time during the summer 2009 convention season.

Recently revised and updated with expanded information, Jess Hartley’s Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional is available now for only $1.99.

Get it today at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Hello, horror fans. As the ghost of Halloween past, I feel it is my duty to remind you that the past is sometimes more enticing than the present.

This time last year, FlamesRising.com offered you a series of treats that came in a variety of flavors.

Throughout October, several horror authors and game designers lent a hand (and even a finger or two) to record their tales describing a broad range of monsters — including ghosts not unlike myself.

Calling all zombie lovers! Crackle.com is getting into the spirit of Halloween by offering free films, previews of ZOMBIELAND and an original comedy series entitled WOKE UP DEAD starring Jon Heder (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE).

The folks over at Crackle.com are really excited to show their love for the shambling, brain-eating undead. In the first half of October, they’ll be offering zombie films for fans to legally watch on the web for free.

The end of the world has come and gone. The dead have risen, and they’ve won. No more rallying of the troops. No miracle cure or weapon. Just lots of dead people walking around. If the living dead won, what would the world be like? This collection of eighteen tales-including entries from David Wellington, Jack Ketchum, and Gary A. Braunbeck-take up the call to answer that question. People go to work. Have sex. Get drunk. Fall in love. Take revenge. Raise families. Watch TV. Laugh. Mourn. Murder. Pray. The world is dead, but life goes on.

The World Is Dead is available now at Amazon.com.

DriveThruComics.com and 2000 AD are proud to announce that many new comic book titles will be available as digital comic downloads. New comic titles from 2000 AD include: Judge Dredd, Slaine, Rogue Trooper, ABC Warriors, Alan Moore’s Future Shocks and other great characters that fans will be able to enjoy in digital format.

For almost thirty years, one man has dominated the British comic scene. He is judge, jury and executioner, a merciless, far-future lawman delivering justice with an iron fist on the mean streets of Mega-City One. He is Judge Dredd! Available now at DriveThruComics.com are Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 1, Judge Dredd: The Pit, and Judge Dredd vs. Aliens.

DriveThruHorror.com has all kinds of spooky stories, terrible tales and features some of the best horror authors available today. One of our favorite genres is the pulse pounding survival horror of the undead…zombies!

Here are just a few of the awesome zombie tales available now at DriveThruHorror.com:

Dead Science – Coscom Entertainment
Book of All Flesh – Eden Studios
Down the Road – Permuted Press
Reign of the Dead – iUniverse
The Lifeless – Coscom Entertainment

All these and many more available now at DriveThruHorror.com!

For many years, I existed in a shadowy realm that bordered on true darkness: I lived the life of a non-gamer. This world of strategy, role-playing, plotting and power unfolded in my adult years when I started to date a gamer.

It was only natural that I would look to combine this newfound lifestyle with my other passion, editing. And while you might snigger about the editing, other obsessive-compulsive grammar serfs will understand.

A ROAD TO FREELANCING
How do people land a freelancing job inside the game industry? For me, the answer was a whole lot of luck and a decent amount of editing skill.

I have a degree in journalism and have spent about a decade editing professionally. I read grammar books compulsively when I’m not working on a project. Thus, I had enough confidence and experience to bolster my resolve to walk into new waters.

Publisher New Baby Productions announces that a graphic novel adaptation of Derek Gunn’s acclaimed Vampire Apocalypse novel series is in the works. “I’m really thrilled with this new direction as I always felt that (Vampire Apocalypse) really lends itself to this format,” stated Gunn. Vampire Apocalypse was published in September 2006, and has been optioned by producer/screenwriter Richard Finney to be a feature film. A script has already been penned by Finney and Franklin Guerrero Jr. Fallout, the third book in the series, will be released this October from Black Death Books.

When I went out to see one of this weekend’s newest box office’s offerings “9”, I knew a scarce few details about it. I knew from the trailers it was CG animated, it has robots covered in burlap bags, I knew it had something to do with a post-apocalyptic setting, I knew that the #1 fan of darkness and the macabre himself Tim Burton produced it and I knew it carried a PG-13 rating. With these details I was eager to see it, and to make sure I was covering more bases since I planned to review this flick, I brought along my fourteen year old daughter with me to get her thoughts and insights. I assumed the film might have been more aimed at an audience more her age level than my own. To a point I was right on in my assumption, but in others points I was way off.

Doing some homework after paying 9 a visit, I’ve since learned that it was based off of an 11 minute silent short from new director Shane Acker as his thesis project from his grad school days at UCLA. The short film gave the world a 3-D setting, by that I mean Dark, Desolate & Destroyed.

Review by Steven Dawes

Tired of your rights as a member of the living dead being violated? Sick of people putting you down or worse, screaming and trying to smash your head with a cricket bat? We don’t deserve to be treated like this! We will no longer stand for being viewed as lesser citizens. We need to fight for our rights and demand equal treatment.

The Coalition Of the Living Dead (COLD) will gather on Saturday October 24th at 2:00 pm at the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, and lurch for our rights as zombies. COLD encourages zombies and zombie supporters to come equipped with signs and slogans to make our point. We will raise our voices and we will not be ignored. We will lurch from the capitol down State Street to the Memorial Union.

Rough Magicks

A magic supplement for the best-selling and award winning Trail of Cthulhu, written by the master of Lovecraft Lore, Kenneth Hite.

The latest eldritch tome for Trail of Cthulhu unfolds the darkest secrets of Lovecraftian magic to the shuddering gaze of Keepers and Investigators alike! Read it … if you dare!

This book assembles the core of Lovecraftian magic from hints and allusions — and blasts all certainty aside with twelve contradictory explanations for it!

Rough Magicks is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.