**Enter a gilded age in which upstairs-downstairs drama meets existential horror.Our Brilliant Ruin is a tabletop roleplaying game set in the Dramark, a place where the last fragile remains of society live in the shadow of a dying world.**The Ruin, a preternatural force befouling everything it touches, has ravaged geography and culture alike, wreaking destructive havoc and loosing monstrous creatures. With the world plunged into rust and ruin, how will you spend the time yo...

Iridia has grown up invisible. To family, friends, co-workers, she is barely there. They haven’t noticed her in so long that the Volunteer project seems like the best method to deal with her issues. They see the potential in her and welcome her with open arms, basic training in combat and weapons, as well as etiquette for dealing with alien species.Chosen to be a Guardian on a newly re-waking world, Iridia finds that she is the second Guardian chosen and the only girl on the team.

A PELTEDVERSE NOVELA coming-of-age story in the style of Mercedes Lackey, set in a galaxy full of aliens and adventures....The Eldritch live hundreds of years, which means Sediryl Nuera Galare isn't going to inherit the management of her family's noble house--and all its rich farmland--anytime soon. So when she discovers that her world is only one among many, she doesn't hesitate to kick off the dust of her provincial estate. That it gets her away ...

In the Beginning, humans created the heavens and the gods.In cultures and religions throughout the world, trickster gods occupy a specific and unique place in their pantheon. This article, originally published in the May 2021 issue of The Stellar Beacon, explores the gifts of the trickster archetype: Not just fire stolen from the gods, but an empathetic cultural understanding of the reality of human imperfection... and, of course, the absolute necessity of...

In Old Earth's penultimate age, the corpulent master criminal Luff Imbry moves through the halfworld like a full-fleshed shark. Thief, forger, confidence man, and sometimes go-between, he maps out his illicit operations with exquisite care then carries them out with courage and panache. But, often, things don't go as Luff planned, and he must call upon a talent for improvisation and a ruthless will to survive.This collection brings together seven short stories and novelettes previo...

Luff Imbry, confidence man, thief, forger extraordinaire, aficionado of a myriad art forms, began life as a supporting character in my novel Black Brillion. He reappeared again in the same role in a companion novel, The Commons.And that should have been the end of him. In fact, in the original draft of Black Brillion, I killed him off in a rather messy fashion near the end of the novel. But my editor advised me that it was a mistake to murder the only likeable character in the book...

A poetry collection about the neutral, bad, and good insanity.

This set of world building classes provides a few tricks for both physical and cultural world building and includes exercises, examples and many questions to answer about your own work. This set of classes will help science fiction and fantasy writers, however the cultural aspects and conflicts can also work well in modern and historical fiction.This set includes:Why and HowPlaceIntegrating with the EnvironmentPersonal RequirementsRelationships

"There stands upon the horizon a new figure of self yet to be unfolded that one must...honor. All of this will be the same, but it will look and feel different upon one's return—it is important to know this now. One can stand upon a ridge high above the valley, upon a formation of jutting rocks and look over the precipice of what one has known. Even in its multitude of permutations, all looks familiar: the mountains, the fields, the skies—all of it connected to one's eyes as though by invi...

What they taught you was a lie.This is not a book summary. It's a ritual of power.Told by a voice that has walked through shadows, betrayal, and ancient truths.In this reimagined version of Robert Greene’s *The 48 Laws of Power*,you'll find:– Raw, brutal wisdom– Real-life reflections and modern examples– Dark philosophical storytelling– A unique narrator: *The Sage of Shadows*Whether you seek influence, survival, or clarit...

**"All grown-ups were once children... but only a few of them remember it."–Antoine St. Exupéry, The Little PrinceFull of insight, inspiration, and gentle compassion for our complicated modern lives, How to Live Like the Little Prince captures the brilliance and wisdom of Antoine St. Exupéry's beloved tale. Through the eyes of the iconic Little Prince, Stéphane Garnier reminds us who we were before we grew up and teaches us to once again take time to live, ...

Through the eyes of a being that has lived since before time, the universe is a laboratory of possibilities. From countless worlds spawning fascinating species, to the interactions of individuals in new societies, this creature has witnessed it all. But no other world has grasped its attention more than that of Earth and its denizens. As it observes humanity come of age, it finds itself being attracted to a certain individual that may help it usher in a new era for all; human or not.