Thoughts about stuff

[Kevin]

Thoughts about stuff

The new Press Release is up with the latest on sales, book production and Christmas Grab Bags.

Dad . . .

I spent two-third of Wednesday with my Dad. He’s in pretty good spirits and enjoys me taking him to breakfast, then chemo, then home to his apartment where he, Arlene and I talk for 2 hours or so. He needs to hold the chemicals in his bladder for 2-3 hours and it helps if I keep him occupied and distracted. Time passes quickly with me visiting and he doesn’t dwell on the process. I had to cut my visit short by an hour yesterday because I forgot to take my allergy pill. After an hour, the cat fur and dander were killing me.

Arlene seems to be doing well also, so we are feeling pretty positive on the health front at the moment.

It’s been nice spending more time with my father, and I’m thinking of surprising Hank by making Wednesday mornings an ongoing, weekly breakfast get together even after chemotherapy ends.

Decisions: Bring Wayne back next week or not?

Sales are up for the second week in a row. I know Wayne Smith is itching to get back to work and I want to bring him back on the payroll as soon as possible. I’m just a little afraid to do so this quick.

Sales have been soooo up and down all year long, that I’m afraid a lousy sales week or three is coming around the corner. It shouldn’t. Christmas Surprise Package orders continue to come in at a steady clip (we’ve gotten 105 in two weeks!), and folks are still picking up copies of Mysteries of Magic™ and other Palladium Fantasy® titles. Heck, we’ve been selling a little bit of EVERYTHING, which has been wonderful to see. The Rifter® #48 is at the printers, Robotech® Shadow Chronicles is back in print, and I’m fast at work on the Dead Reign™ sourcebook (wait till you see the cover . . . wow). On top of that, we usually have a strong Christmas season — so I can probably bring Wayne back next week without too much concern. Arrgh, I hate the uncertainty.

I told Wayne I wanted to wait and see what the weekend sales were like before I made the ultimate decision, so he’s on hold till Sunday night or Monday morning. Sorry Wayne.

Christmas Surprise Packages

I’ve read through and annotated all 105 Christmas Grab Bag orders. I want to say thank you for the words of support, warm regard, input and ideas. They are appreciated. I also promise to try to make each Surprise Package as fun and loaded with stuff as possible.

I’ve also drawn some sketches for the Grab Bags, and did my illustration for the Special 2009 Print Set for the Grab Bags (Bradshaw, Dudley and Mumah are still working on their art). My one print started out as a sketch for a grab bag guy, but I was hot drawing and the next thing I knew I was putting hours into it and it became my print piece. However, I still want to do my original idea, and both actually complement each other, so I’m going to do two illustrations for the print package. Of course that means me having to sign 1000 prints instead of 500. Sheesh, I must be a glutton for punishment. But I think people will like the end result so it’s worth it.

Kathy’s Daughter

Kathy Simmons’ daughter, Tina, had surgery today to remove a couple tumors from her bladder. The surgery went well. We should get the results next Tuesday. With my Dad dealing with bladder cancer, we’re all nervous that Tina could have cancer too. She’s only 32 years old and is pretty worried. We are all praying for her and hoping the tumors are benign, or any problems that may exist have been caught early and taken care of fast and permanently. Praying it all turns out for the best.

Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer & Game Designer
Palladium Books®, Inc. – 28 years of RPG Publishing

© Copyright October 1, 2009 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.

Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, Dimensional Outbreak, Fleets of the Three Galaxies, Mysteries of Magic, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.

Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.