My Book List

As part of getting ready to serve as as Guest of Honor for the ConClave science fiction convention, I was asked by the organizers to provide a list of the various books I had authored! When I started going through the most recent list I had I realized it needed quite a bit of updating and, once I had done that, figured I should post it here. In any event, since 1998 I have authored or co-authored 46 titles covering many subjects and in multiple genres, including five novels or book-length works of fiction; 13 non-fiction books that include writers guides, history, and travel guides; and 28 games or game-related titles. Beyond that, I have also written hundreds of articles for dozens of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, blogs, websites, and other venues. 

NON-FICTION

Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, & Texas Hill Country (Clerisy Press, 2015)

Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction (Writer's Digest, 2013; w. Orson Scott Card)

Disunion (New York Times, 2013; w. multiple other authors)

Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, & Mayhem in the Lone Star State (Clerisy Press, 2011)

Life in Civil War America (Family Tree Books, 2011)

Ghosthunting Maryland (Clerisy Press, 2009)

Ghosthunting Virginia (Clerisy Press, 2008)

Shipwrecks & Lost Treasures: Great Lakes (Globe Pequot Press, 2007)

Civil War Armchair Reader (co-author, Publications International, 2007; w. multiple other authors)

Fire & Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953 (Savas, 2000)

D-Day: June 6, 1944 (co-author, Savas, 2001; w. Randy Holderfield)

Everyday Life During the Civil War (Writer’s Digest, 1999)

The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference (co-author, Writer’s Digest, 1998; w. Terry Brooks)

FICTION/NOVELS

Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2016; w. Jim Clunie, Brendan Cass, et al)

Opal of Light & Shadow (GP Adventures, 2016) Illustration for the cover by fantasy artist Lloyd Metcalf appears here! 

Returnto the Necropolis (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2014)

Swords of Kos: Hekaton (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2013; w. multiple other authors)

Swords of Kos: Necropolis (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2012)

GAMES/GAMING BOOKS

Men & Monsters of the Aegean (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2016; w. Clint Staples)

Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects (Pathfinder Role-Playing Game) (SkirmisherPublishing LLC, 2016; w. William T. Thrasher)

Men & Monsters of Ethiopia (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2016)

Cards & Quests Bestiary 1: Monsters of Kos (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2016; w. Todd and Allison Markello)

100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2013; w. William T. Thrasher and Clint Staples)

d-Infinity Vol. #7: Holidays & Celebrations (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2015; w. multiple other authors)

d-Infinity Vol. #6: The Mythos (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2014; w. multiple other authors)

Heroes & Monsters of the Necropolis (Cardstock Characters^TM) (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2013)

d-Infinity Vol. #5: Full Circle (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2013; w. multiple other authors)

Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2013; w. William T. Thrasher)

d-Infinity Vol. #4: Dark Future (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2012; w. multiple other authors)

d-Infinity Vol. #3: Children of the Night (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2012; w. multiple other authors)

d-Infinity Vol. #2: Lost Treasure (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2011; w. multiple other authors)

Adventures in Wonderland (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2010)

City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2010; w. Jim Clunie)

Dhanurvidya & Varman: The Arms and Armor of India (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2010; w. Alexander Melchor)

d-Infinity Vol. #1: The Adventure Begins (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2010; w. multiple other authors)

Tests of Skill v.3.5 (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr and Shane O'Connor)

Chevauchee: Rules for Battles with Medieval Miniatures (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2008; w. Robert "Mac" McLaughlin)

Skirmish! (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2008)

H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2007; w. H.G. Wells)

Experts v.3.5 (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2007; w. Paul O. Knorr)

Nuisances: Director's Cut (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2007; w. Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty, William T. Thrasher)

Gary Gygax's Nation Builder (Troll Lord Games, 2005; w. Gary Gygax)

Nuisances (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty)

Tests of Skill (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr)

Warriors (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2003; w. Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty, Luke Gygax)

Experts (Skirmisher Publishing LLC, 2002; w. Paul O. Knorr)

My Ethiopia Reading List

For a number of reasons I read very little purely for pleasure and most of what I am looking at any given time is vocational in some way and ties in with whatever I happen to be working on at the time. That is not to say that I do not enjoy those things, and often have a lot of selectivity with them, just that they tend to be fairly narrowly focused while I am involved in a particular project. Books I read or referred to before, during, or after my two-week trip to Ethiopia included: 

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese. This historical novel looks at the history of Ethiopia in the 1950s through the 1970s through the experiences of a medical doctor in Addis Ababa and the staff of the hospital where he is born and eventually practices. My mother read this book in conjunction with her own trip to Ethiopia and gave me a copy of it as an early Christmas present so that I could avail myself of it as well. It is both a fascinating work of fiction and an insight into the troubled period of history that began with the demise of Emperor Haillie Selassie's regime and the rise of the repressive Soviet-backed Derg government. 

Ethiopia, the Bradt Travel Guide (Edition 6), by Phillip Briggs. Suffice it to say that this was a very useful general-purpose travel guide and that I got good use out of it. It did not have entries for a number of places that I stayed out, however, revealing a degree of apparent bias in what the author chose to cover or not. It also contained some commentary that I think was off the mark (e.g., that the food at the Blue Nile Resort in Bahir-Dar was not good, whereas I had an excellent meal there). 

A Guide to Lalibela. 

A Treasury of African Folklore, by Harold Courlander. 

A History of Ethiopia in Pictures. Several of the vendors in Axum were peddling this book and my guide recommended I pick up a copy. He negotiated a price for me of 300 birr ($15) and said it tends to cost about 450 birr; probably paid too much for it in any case but am glad to support the Ethiopian economy in my small way. It is, in any event, a fun and useful title with lots of great information and black-and-white illustrations and has become the current bathroom book in my home office. 

The Blue Nile, by Alan Moorehead. 

Culture Smart! Ethiopia, by Sarah Howard. My brother loaned me this book but pretty much de-recommended it in favor of the much more substantial Bradt travel guide mentioned above. It did, however, include some useful information on social mores that I did not stumble across in the other book.