Well officially through the holiday, and looking forward to 2026. - Starting the year with a new position, and excited about the opportunity. - Started making a comic with my daughter (story is both of us, I’m writing, she’s drawing).

Sharing this online, because my wife isn’t on BlueSky. Got the commission of my wife’s dnd character from @mellalyss.bsky.social and couldn’t be more thrilled. Fantastic artist to work with and blown away.

Word progress, got a bunch of writing done on a work trip… now at 15,516. Went back and added two scenes to help reveal more about my two MCs.

Wow absolutely joker is absolutely insane. That is a wild new origin for the character.

Progress update - 13,810, progress definitely slowed, but I am still moving forward.

Really enjoying Jeff Lemire’s JSA, and this year one arc is absolutely fantastic!

Got feedback on my first set of pages. And it was overwhelmingly positive. I’m so excited!

@markwaid.bsky.social, first thanks for being so cool with my son at Baltimore Comicon, it was a highlight of the convention. But I have an honest question, you saw my tattoo, and now I’m getting questions, What is this guys name?

So I had some time to think more about my view on the phrase “Protect the Table” for a DM. For me, what this really means for me. Lots of people talk about their games in a form of commenting on the campaign they are running, but for me the next part is “the table.”

Progress update - I’ve hit 13,217 words, and honestly this is by far the most I’ve ever done on a novel before. I just sent the pdf to a friend of a “tone / vibe / story” check. And honestly, I’m nervous as hell.

@aboutdragons.bsky.social I have never had someone articulate my inner thoughts like Amanda Cherry. “These people were living rent free in my head, so I decided to start charging them. ‘You bitches are going to pay to live here.”

Trust and Respect are the cornerstones of a dnd table. Without those no game can last.

So I love being a forever GM. And recently due to some things, I’ve given some thought to the role of a DM and what it really means. As a DM, Job 1 is to maintain a safe place for the game to happen. “Protect the Table.”

Also, a good book recommendation. I found this when cleaning out my office. “Who is Jake Ellis” really is a fantastic espionage thriller, and a great book for anyone who likes Splinter Cell, Mission Impossible, etc.

Really excited also though, because at work I’ve gotten back to coding again, and it feels good. A colleague and I started a new GitHub organization, Bravo-Box, and it’s for solutions and repos that are designed with the intention of mission-ready sandbox solutions - github.com/bravo-box

Ok, works been absolute insanity lately, but finally getting back on the horse to writing the novel. New word count…11,865. I’m more than a little behind where I want to be, but feels good to make some progress.

Well said!

Something I learned about myself as a writer, story teller and GM for TTRPGs…. If I find that I can’t motivate myself to work on a scene or session, it’s because deep down it’s “boring,” and I need to fundamentally change it.

Honestly Ed Brubaker’s Captain America, is honestly the most definitive work on the character. It’s something I really love about comics, that a character can be one thing, and then after a while it can change so radically and be redefined.

Hot take: As a DM, one of the most important jobs you have is to maintain the safe space that is the table. The key to running a good game is making sure that people see this as a safe space.

Wow, just wow. Decided to watch Del Toro’s Frankenstein… And for the moment, all I got is… Wow.

I will say, I find always leaving them wanting more is the key to a great dnd session. Tonight they escaped an attack, barely survived, and are now standing out in front of a tavern where they can talk to a new contact in a city that’s hunting them. My players can’t wait to return to the table.

Just ran a really fun session kicking off a second campaign with a new group of players. This is what I love about DnD, finding new ways to tell fun collaborative stories.

Watched “Last Meal” with Brennan Lee Mulligan, I really found it to be especially fascinating. Some of the conversations and the ideas of value and human condition. Did not expect that at all.

DM Tip: Inspiration strikes at the craziest time. And “Sunk Planning” is a trap. I’m planning the first session of my second campaign for Friday. And had a moment where I realized how much better the session could be, and threw out all other plans.

Best organization advice I ever heard came from Adam Savage. When you pick something up ask “If I needed this, where would I go to get it.” This force you to think about where things should be to improve their use.

With Frankenstein approaching, I’ve read that book several times… Anyone got any good Gothic Horror Audio book recommendations?

Progress update, did a restructure of my outline, but still managed to hit the daily word count at 11,277.

I am considering starting to publish dnd adventures and other content in much smaller form. I had tried to take on bigger projects. But I’m starting to think the better answer is lots of smaller products.

Progress Update - I’m at 10,789 words, and honestly progress has slowed but I’m still really happy where I am, and I’m still ahead on my writing goal.

Honestly watching my daughter find joy in comics, after having so much trouble learning to read is the single greatest moment of my life.

Starting to lay out an approach to publishing things on DriveThruRPG. Think I’m going to start publishing small focused content and then aggregate it later. We’ll see how this works.

Closing highlight of @baltimorecomiccon.bsky.social , as my son was walking the floor. Asking artists to sign in his sketch book. Alan Davis (yep THE Alan Davis) flagged my son down, to come over, signed his book and handed him a Wolverine Print of his, saying “I hope you had a great show).

My favorite thing post Comicon is my 13 year old daughter and I brainstorming a web comic she wants to make together.

Well we just finished at Baltimore Comicon, and it was truly a memorable experience.

You never know who you will meet. I got to meet the art director of one of my favorite video games sly cooper.

Truly loving Baltimore Comicon today, my son got to walk around with his notebook, and so many artists were so kind. They sat down, talked with him. Did little sketches and made it an amazing experience.

@dirkmanning.bsky.social at Baltimore but couldn’t find your booth. Where are you at?

To be clear, I know these things cost money, and I am not down on creators getting paid. But I’m saying telling a 10-year-old boy, who has been looking forward to meeting a creator for weeks that he can for $80, which is an unobtainable about for him. That makes me sad.

I will say thankfully, we had two other creator interactions that were amazing. Fred La Vente, left my son saying “that is what I was hoping for.” Ron Marz left my son thinking “wow that really was cool.” After talking to him about an issue of the Phantom he’s loved for years.

Had a fantastic time generally at Baltimore. I will say part of what I saw is a sad state of affairs. My favorite memories of being younger and going to these cons, is seeing comic creators and the way they interact with fans. Signing the books we love and sharing our combined love of comics.

So excited to be attending Baltimore comicon for the first time in about 14 years.

I am loving the critical role cold opens. They really are pulling me in. That latest one “you and you, give me a death save.” Wow.

So at new years, I’m likely running a dnd game for a total of 8 players. 3 adults and 5 neurodivergent kids. Only one of the adults, and two of the kids have played before. Any tips would be helpful for herding cats.

Gotta stay strong, made a bunch of quick notes. Will work on that next.

Really enjoying writing this book, but also started to get a lot of ideas for a separate book.

Continued progress, 9,628 words, and finally moved into Chapter 2. Might need to break these up differently…but that’s a future Kevin problem.

Been moving on finally building an ambitious coding project. And I’m pretty excited about it.

Writing update - Only a little bit, but it’s been a long day, progress is progress…8,708 words. Hitting about 11% to my total word count.

Finally getting around to watching Critical Role Campaign 4, and wow. I loved Mighty Nein, but I haven’t been this drawn into a live stream since EXU: Calamity. And no shock, Brennan Lee Muligann continues to deliver.