Death at the Rectory

It’s been a long, long time but I finally have another ChoiceScript interactive story. DEATH AT THE RECTORY (iOS, Google Play, Amazon, etc) is a cozy crime mystery (with magic) which was very much inspired by the real-life rectory of St John’s Anglican in Gundagai. Here are some pics from the actual rectory:   And here’s aContinue reading “Death at the Rectory”

Madam Alchemist

This weekend is CanCon, and I have a stall there, with the tabletop version of my escape room (now called “Madam Alchemist” since it takes place in a mad scientist’s secret laboratory). I ran five play-tests during the day yesterday, and all of them went off without a hitch. I also had people approaching meContinue reading “Madam Alchemist”

Shooting Through: the escape room that comes to you

MADAM ALCHEMIST is now running in Canberra. THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING ROOM will be made available again in future.  What is the permanent location like? The permanent location is in Macgregor, within sight of the Kippax MacDonald’s and Vet. It is a room of my house that happens to also have hundreds of books in itContinue reading “Shooting Through: the escape room that comes to you”

TrailerFest 2018

Today I decided that my 2-3 (I honestly don’t know) YouTube accounts needed tidying up, so I started a fresh new channel (because that simplifies things, right?) using the MagicintheMailStories@gmail.com email account. As you may have guessed, I love doing my own book trailers. It’s so much fun! The channel is here (don’t click on that;Continue reading “TrailerFest 2018”

Magic in the Mail

The (first?) “Murder in the Mail” Kickstarter was successful, raising thousands of dollars. You can read more about that story here. As you can probably guess from the title, this led to further shenanigans. There are currently TWO “Magic in the Mail” stories in development: Magic in the Mail: Feuding Fae This is a taleContinue reading “Magic in the Mail”

Murderous Kickstarter!

The Kickstarter for the first Murder in the Mail story is now live. It’s packed with unique rewards. Most are available anywhere in the world. Murder in the Mail tells stories through letters, objects, and artworks mailed to the reader over several weeks. The first story is A Bloody Birthday. Naomi, your cousin, is killed at her own birthdayContinue reading “Murderous Kickstarter!”

Murder for Fun and Profit

The Kickstarter for “Murder in the Mail: A Bloody Birthday” was fully funded, and the story was officially launched (as part of an art exhibition) in August 2018. It is no longer available in subscription form (mailed to you over 8 weeks) but there are some packs left that you can purchase through the store,Continue reading “Murder for Fun and Profit”

My 2017: No wonder I need a lie down

What an epic year. I spent over 15 years of my life writing novels that nobody would touch, and now that it’s started to rain it’s pouring (which is a wonderful thing). I spent vast amounts of time on the Tin Man Games “Choices That Matter” app (Google Play and iOS). It’s a story hub forContinue reading “My 2017: No wonder I need a lie down”

List of all my Interactive Fiction

I make most of my writing income from interactive fiction. (As soon as I say “writing income” out loud, my fellow authors want to know more.) Most people who find me via my blog know me as a novelist, so I’ll pitch this entry as if you’re hearing about modern IF (interactive fiction) for theContinue reading “List of all my Interactive Fiction”

Steampunk Stories

I have amused myself for some years by writing a number of stories and novels in a wide range of utterly different formats. Presumably this is due to an unconscious desire to confuse and frustrate the largest possible number of my own readers. Now that the book trilogy is finished I have put together a fullContinue reading “Steampunk Stories”

Conflux 13: Day 3 (& ChoiceScript)

Today, Sunday, was my Big Day. Not only did I have a Book Launch at 2pm… …but I also ran a three-hour interactive fiction workshop in the morning. Which was seriously awesome. (So was the Book Launch. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s here.) The workshop was very biased, naturally, since it is allContinue reading “Conflux 13: Day 3 (& ChoiceScript)”

Playing Fast and Loose with History

It’s possible you’ve heard that after ten glorious months, “And Their Souls Were Eaten” is just about to have its final release posted. It’s an interactive serial story that ran for ten months with (roughly) weekly updates. The total word count is around 370,000 (you get about a quarter of that per read-through) so I’mContinue reading “Playing Fast and Loose with History”

News about “Choices That Matter” story app.

Eep, I really haven’t written for a while. In my defence, I am in a whirlwind of writing as I finish “Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten”, write the sequel to “Heart of Brass” (it’ll be a trilogy by the end of next year), and research and write [redacted] for [redacted], which is terribly exciting.Continue reading “News about “Choices That Matter” story app.”

Procrastination Technique #452: Reviews

I’ve written about reviews before, and I’m always fascinated, whether the review is positive or. . . not so much. The Tin Man Games app “Choices: And The Sun Went Out” (including the second story, my steampunk fantasy, “Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten”) has just under a hundred reviews (mostly just stars) on itunesContinue reading “Procrastination Technique #452: Reviews”

Getting into the reader’s mind

NB There are structural spoilers ahead for “Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten”, and more mid-level spoilers in the comments. Regular readers will know that I live and breathe “Choices: And The Sun Went Out”, a serial interactive story produced by Tin Man Games. (It’s a massive story app available on Android or itunes, withContinue reading “Getting into the reader’s mind”

Introduction to Interactive Fiction

I thought I’d better write an entry today in case someone is a-googling after hearing my interactive fiction interview on 666 ABC Canberra at 7:25am this morning (wheeee!) Hello and welcome. I write both novels and interactive novels. Other people find interactive fiction via the gaming community, so there are usually elements of game playContinue reading “Introduction to Interactive Fiction”

“Stuff and Nonsense” cover

    I’m learning Twine while writing a game for the IF Comp. If I want to put an image into the game, the simplest way is to link to a url. Specifically, this one. Probably. If I’m doing this right. Photographer: Jody Cherry (Exposure Studios) Hair & Make-up: Jody Cherry (Cherrish Hair & Make-upContinue reading ““Stuff and Nonsense” cover”

Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten

I’ve been working very hard on this story app for Tin Man Games all this year, and I’m incredibly proud of it. The beginning is free, and the rest costs a few dollars (or a LOT of ads if you choose that option on Android). It’s a subscription story that releases a new section eachContinue reading “Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten”