The 3D Printing Professor and Son

Today, I was interviewed by the 3D Printing Professor and his son.

It came about like this. The 3D Printing Professor, who has a channel on YouTube where he dispenses wisdom about, what else, 3D Printing, has a son. And the son is a big fan of my Thrones & Bones series, each book of which has a playable board game (designed by me) in the appendices. So the son makes a 3D printed version of my game Thrones & Bones. And it is awesome.

I see said game online, we chat. It comes out I'm a very enthusiastic newbie to the 3D Printing world, and we decide to do an interview.

So...

We chat about my books, my games, gaming in general (board games and RPGs), we argue about dice verses coin tosses, we talk about 3D printing, we talk about Doctor Who, and then I play a game, across the interwebs, of Thrones & Bones with his son!

It was a blast, and you should check it out!

A History of the Continent of Katernia

This is not a book trailer. This is something different.

All three novels in my Thrones & Bones series contain substantial appendices. In these, you will find rules for board games from my world, timelines, song lyrics, even a recipe.

In Nightborn, there is a detailed history titled "A History of the Continent of Katernia." When Listening Library was recording the audiobook of Nightborn, they very kindly and thoughtfully had our amazing narrator, Fabio Tassone, record this as well, just so we could do something fun with it later.

So here is that "something fun." Please understand that while we have copious illustrations of the characters and creatures in the Thrones & Bones series, artwork that can be repurposed in service of events that occurred hundreds or thousands of years before the time of my novels is in short supply. Still, Fabio Tassone's audio narration is masterful, and there are several very cool images accompanying it. Also note that some of the information herein could be considered "slightly spoiler-y" for the novel Nightborn. With those caveats, here we go:

Thrones and Bones Stop Motion

This is the Coolest. Thing. Ever. 

Students playing Thrones & Bones, the board game from my novel Frostborn, in stop motion.


The Jarl wins in part two:

Thrones and Bones: A YouTube Fan Review Trailer

This wonderful book review/trailer made my morning.

Meet the Author: Lou Anders Interview with PSJA KTRI TV

Recently, I toured the southern tip of Texas in support of the release of Nightborn. While I was there, I was interviewed by Celia Torres, Producer/Reporter for PSJA KTRI TV. That interview is now online at YouTube and Vimeo. The students I spoke with on my tour were especially wonderful, so please make sure to stay through the end of the interview, where kids from the schools I visited ask me questions!

The Song of Helltoppr

Helltoppr is an evil draug, an undead warrior who appears in the novel Frostborn and menaces my heroes. We get a snatch of "The Song of Helltoppr" in the book, and the full lyrics are printed in the appendices. When it came time to writing the song, I enlisted the help of my nephew, Jonathan Anders, who not only helped me compose the lyrics, but performed the song as well at the party for my book launch. Now, through the magic of YouTube, you can hear "The Song of Helltoppr" too.

Reflections from the Road: NYCC video on YouTube

Filmed at New York Comic Con courtesy of Suvudu, I talk about Frostborn,the Thrones & Bones board game, Viking helmets, and... my fear of oatmeal.

SFF180's Mailbag Monday (on Tuesday)

Thank you SFF10 of the very nice Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) shout out and kind words on yesterday's edition of Mailbag Monday!

This is a Sheng

This is a Sheng, one of the oldest Chinese instruments, dating back to 1100 BC.
And it is totally awesome.

The Motown Version of David Bowie’s “Starman”

Thanks to John DeNardo, a Motown Version of "Starman" from some alternate timeline:

The Best of Spock

First: The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins:



Then: Old Mr. Spock v New Mr. Spock Audi Commercial



Because I need them together in one place.

Oblivion Trailer 3

Trying hard not to get my hopes up too high on this one, but damn...

Beck Reimagines David Bowie's "Sound and Vision"

Beck and 160 musicians "reimagines" David Bowie's "Sound and Vision." The results made me gasp.

What Makes a Hero?

A Great TedEd video from Matthew Winkler, summarizing Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. Well worth your four and a half minutes.

Aadu Pambe

Thanks to Joel Shepherd for cluing me in to Avial. Here is there song "Aadu Pambe". Putting it here so I don't lose it. And to share with you.

5 Questions to a Great Story

As part of Wake County Public Libraries' Write On @ Your Library series, Vampire Empire authors Clay and Susan Griffith discuss five questions to create a great story.

Photo to Concept Art in 15 minutes (speed x3)

Jonas De Ro recorded this video (speed up x3) to show how he went from a photo to a finished piece of concept art in 15 minutes. It's pretty inspiring to see:

Adele's Skyfall

The new Bond theme for the forthcoming Skyfall. I actually hear shades of Thunderball in this:

Good Old Girl

Marian Call says she didn't have the TARDIS specifically in mind when she wrote "Good Old Girl," but there was obviously some timey-wimey stuff going on when she wrote this:



"Good Old Girl" appears on the album Got to Fly.

Painting Process: The Making of "Omens"

Cynthia Sheppard is a wonderful artist, who, incidentally, did our covers for Mirror Mazeand Hunter and Fox.

In this YouTube video, she shows us the process for creating one of her paintings. It's a fascinating and beautiful 10 minutes well worth your time.