Blue Flame, Tiny Stars is now available on DriveThruRPG in paperback, EPUB, and PDF.

“Stephen’s delightful memoir makes you want to travel upstream to your own formative D&D headwaters, dig out your old graph-paper maps and worn dice, and rediscover the gateway to what the author calls ‘the fantastic path.’”
—Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

“A vibrant recollection of what it’s like to encounter Dungeons & Dragons for the very first time.”
—Dan “Delta” Collins, author of Book of War and co-host of Wandering DMs

Warning: Reading this book will make you want to play D&D!

Thirteen-year-old Stephen is growing up in a mundane world until, during one fateful week in 1982, he discovers a new kind of game. It’s called Dungeons & Dragons, it’s a role-playing game, and under his best friend’s tutelage, he learns to play it. Now, he enters a world of medieval fantasy, where knights in shining armor perform heroic deeds, where monsters lurk in the shadows, and wizards wield powerful magic, where fabulous treasures lie hidden behind cunning traps, and deadly pitfalls await the unwary. In this game anything is possible, and by week’s end, Stephen knows it will change his life forever.

Praise for Blue Flame, Tiny Stars

“I recommend this book not just to fans of ‘Holmes Basic’ but to anyone who enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons. The author’s clear prose captures the excitement of those early, half-remembered adventures when everything about the game was new and awe-inspiring.”
—Zach Howard, author of The Ruined Tower of Zenopus and archivist at Zenopus Archives

“From his first glimpse of those strange dice, Stephen paints a picture of a young gamer’s friendships and adventures as he finds his way into a new world. The book is both a wonderful narrative and a personal history.”
—Tony Dowler, author of How to Host a Dungeon: The Solo Game of Dungeon Creation

“Stephen’s essays take me right back to those heady days. You will recognise many of the moments in this book, from figuring out weird dice, employing outside-the-box tactics, inventing new spells and monsters and magic items, drawing sprawling maps—but, most of all, you’ll remember the freshness of a completely new kind of play.”
—Michael Thomas, author of BLUEHOLME

“A celebration of dice, maps, friendship, and, above all, imagination—the very stuff from which the hobby of role-playing is made.”
—James Maliszewski, author of Grognardia: Musings and Memories from a Lifetime of Roleplaying

I got the second print proof last week. The color looks a lot better, outside and in. It’s a story of two friends, RGB and CMYK. One looks nice on screen, the other on paper. Perfect foils, they take turns being hero and villain.

I mentioned the too-tight margins in the first proof and thought to up the size to 5½″ × 8½″. On further reflection though, I like the smaller size for this short book. I keep the 5″ × 8″ trim size through judicious margin adjustment.

This last change made and files submitted, the book is now in process at DriveThruRPG. Blue Flame, Tiny Stars will be ready for you—barring any further complications—by mid-December.

Thank you all for your patience and for your enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to getting this book into your hands.

“I recommend this book not just to fans of ‘Holmes Basic’ but to anyone who enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons. The author’s clear prose captures the excitement of those early, half-remembered adventures when everything about the game was new and awe-inspiring.”
—Zach Howard, author of The Ruined Tower of Zenopus and archivist at Zenopus Archives

“Stephen’s essays take me right back to those heady days. You will recognise many of the moments in this book, from figuring out weird dice, employing outside-the-box tactics, inventing new spells and monsters and magic items, drawing sprawling maps—but, most of all, you’ll remember the freshness of a completely new kind of play.”
—Michael Thomas, author of BLUEHOLME

I got the print proof this week. I note for future reference: that’s two weeks from ship date, plus four days from proof submission.

The thing in hand, I think a print edition is worth the paper and the effort necessary to get it into shape. A few corrections to be made:

The background blue is supposed to match the website header. Printed, it looks washed-out.

At 0.13 inches, the spine is just wide enough to allow text. I put the title, author, and publisher (not shown) in different sizes to see how they look. In printing, the cover suffered a slight rotation, which shows in the tight space—the text creeps off the spine. Including text on a narrow spine is like casting a spell through a steel sword on Tékumel: just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Spine text to be removed.

The graphic elements, which fill the allowed (printable) space, don’t breathe on the front or back covers.

At current margins, font size, and 5″ × 8″ trim, the interior text breaks at all the right places. The font size is just right, but the margins look a little tight, and the gutter (interior margin) is far too narrow. Instead of reducing the font size, I’ll add a half-inch to the trim to widen the margins. At 5½″ × 8½″, the front and back covers also breathe.

I hope those who opt for print will agree that color on the few interior images are worth an extra buck.

Another proof is necessary. That will push release date into the holiday season, a period of increased competition for reader attention and spending money. A nice-looking product is worth it.