By Kevin Siembieda

Happy Thanksgiving

I don’t know about you, but around here, Thanksgiving Day seems to kick off the holiday season that culminates with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and ends with New Year’s Eve. I’m not talking about holiday sales season – though Palladium does have its annual Christmas Surprise Package and a couple special offers for the weekend through Cyber-Monday – I’m talking about the energy that comes with Christmas and related holidays. There just seems to be something festive and joyful about this time of year. I like that part of the holidays a lot.

I hear some people grumbling about the commercialization of the holidays, but you know what, don’t let that part get to you. Enjoy the good stuff. Actually, stop and think about – maybe even talk about – the things you are thankful for. Particularly the people who bring love, joy and laughter into your life. Make sure you tell them how much they mean to you. How much you love them.

Life is hard. It doesn’t matter how much you work at being a good person and always doing the right thing, you still face challenges and heartbreak. Sometimes crushing heartbreak. And when those dark days hit, it is your friends and loved ones who are there to cry with you and help lift you back on your feet. During the holidays, let them know how much they matter to you. Send a card, give them a call on the phone (not just a text or email, though those are welcomed, too), and when you see them in person, give them a big hug and a few words to acknowledge their importance to you. You won’t be sorry.

As for gifts, sure it’s nice to give out presents. I love giving people presents. But you know what, they don’t have to be big and expensive. I’ve found that a small, thoughtful gift is plenty to tell someone they are remembered, loved and appreciated.

I wish I could call each and every one of you to say thank you and wish you and your families the best for the holidays. I can’t, so we do the next best thing: we offer the Palladium Christmas Surprise Packages and go the extra mile to sign the books when asked to do so – thousands of them – and we are delighted to do it. When I can, I add a little note or a drawing. And we do it all with the genuine intention of putting smiles on your faces in a gesture of gratitude. You guys are the best.

While Palladium has faced its share of challenges and tragedies, it is you who have made the battles all worthwhile. We love what we do for a living, and the people we make the games for. That’s you. You’ve brought us joy and friendship I never imagined when I started Palladium Books back in 1981. I’m thankful about many things: Great friends, great experiences brought to me through role-playing games, new friends, new challenges and opportunities, and the truly wonderful life I have enjoyed because of you.

Happy Thanksgiving! On behalf of everyone here at Palladium Books – may your lives be joyous and filled with good health, dear friends, prosperity and great times at the gaming table.

By Kevin Siembieda

A lot is going on as we look toward 2016 product releases and schedules. That has made this week a strange hodgepodge of things. A lot of talking, planning and telephone calls to a wide range of people; work on a number of ads and promotional pieces, some convention planning, picking and shipping Christmas Surprise Packages, as well as working on The Rifter® #71 & #72, and bits and pieces of work on Rifts® Heroes of Humanity and The Disavowed, among other things. Some pretty exciting stuff is brewing.

UPDATE: Rifts^® Chaos Earth^® Resurrection^™ – Ships November 25

Our printer is shooting to get Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ in our hands just before Thanksgiving or right after. I approved the proofs this Monday and they look great. The Chuck Walton cover and interior art are powerful and evocative, and the borders we used add to the overall feel of the book. The story, characters, and monsters will leave you trembling or muttering, “wow.” Everyone who sees this book (Tags from Canada being the most recent) is wowed by it. Even Alex, who usually doesn’t say much about a book after it done, said to me yesterday, “I really think Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ is going to surprise and impress a lot of people.”

I think so too. Taylor White focused a lot on creating a horror atmosphere. There is a constant sense of the bizarre, fear and apprehension. We tried to write the book in such a way that the reader will keep thinking to himself, “What’s this?” and “Oh my gosh.” There are a lot of Rifts-style twists, too: The different mechanized zombies, the Transmission, an ancient doomsday machine, dark magic, insanity, the battle to stop the zombie plague, the way the zombies are made and function – it is all designed to be suspenseful and terrifying. Gamers who love getting into “role-playing” are going to eat this book up! And it’s not just limited to Chaos Earth®. You can easily port the entire scenario to any world setting.

See the full description elsewhere in this Update. Also check out the TWO free previews of Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ available on DriveThruRPG.com. The book ships November 25, 2015.