It is January 6, 2010, and this is my first Murmur of the New Year.
The year is starting out action packed.
Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad.
There is a great deal of positive energy in the air and activity going on that could lead to some good things for Palladium.
Online Sales have been good. They aren’t through the roof or recordbreaking, but they are solid. Heck, if sales stayed at this level for the rest of the winter, we’d be in pretty good shape, but they aren’t likely too.
Distributors placed a number of restock orders which were welcomed and helped keep Julius busy in the warehouse.
Only 9 days to order your Christmas Surprise Package.
http://www.palladiumbooks.com/Merchant2 ... _Code=XMAS
Time is running out fast. After January 15, you have to wait till next Christmas season to take advantage of this fantastic deal! If you've been meaning to order one, you better act quickly! Post-Christmas Grab Bag sales are coming in fast and strong.
In other news & developments
Power outage and computer issues. Palladium lost power for three hours on Wednesday last week. No big deal, except that it messed up Wayne’s computer. He’s spent the better part of the last several days trying to recover lost data files, figure out what went wront, and get the computer up and running 100%. He was still working on it last night when I went home around 8:00 PM, so I don’t know if he’s fully restored and up and running, or not. More cost and loss of work time we didn't need, but what can you do?
Marshaling the troops. First order of business was contacting my agent and a couple of reps and making sure they start the New Year with both feet on the ground and running. I’m happy to say that they are pumped up and working to get Palladium’s I.P.s into new market areas. It will be interesting to see where it all goes. Palladium’s agents and reps seem to be very enthusiastic and motivated, especially about Rifts®,Nightbane®, and Ninjas & Superspies™, but other properties as well.
Next was communication with several freelancers about various projects. I still need to speak with several and keep a number of projects moving along in development.
Ideas have been burning through my skull like crazy lately, and I made notes for two possible new series of books and a few books already in the pipeline. That’s what I get for taking a couple days off over the holiday and getting a little rest.
Some unexpected opportunities. A couple of business associates and one unknown gent have raised some interesting possibilities. We are exploring them now. Maybe they’ll lead to something and maybe not, but it’s cool to see so much interest and excitement about Palladium Books and it’s intellectual properties (I.P.s). More on these if and when they get any traction and go someplace for us.
The Rifter® #49 is at the printer and should ship around January 18, 2010. It is another great issue.
The Rifter® #50 is in development and coming along very nicely. 3-4 of the articles are already in with many more coming. This will be Palladium’s expanded anniversary issue with “official” and “optional” source material, 128 pages and a cover price of $14.95; material will span the Megaverse.®
Rifts® Dimension Book: Dimensional Outbreak™ is in full swing. I’ve been editing and rewriting away, though I’m not getting as much work on it as I’d like, due to other thing going on these first six days of the New Year. I can tell you, fans will love it. I’ve also made more notes for Heroes of the Megaverse® and I’ve reviewed Jason Richard’s Chaos Earth™ First Responders manuscript (another title slated for 2010 release).
The Rifts® Vampire sourcebook™ is one of many titles under development even as you read this.
Though we have other titles to come out first, and we have not been talking about it much, Warpath™: Urban Jungle™ is still on Palladium’s radar and is an RPG we’d very much like to see released this year. So don’t think it has been abandoned just because we aren’t talking about it.
We’re starting to gear up for the 2010 Palladium Open House. It's coming up fast and we need to get everything lined up and ready. I want to make it truly epic this year, and that also means smooth operations, maybe a surprise guest, and fun, fun, fun. It looks like a lot of Palladium creators will be in attendance and we have all kinds of special events being planned, special items for the auction (some things I even forgot I had buried away), and a great time for everyone.
http://www.palladiumbooks.com/Merchant2 ... e=POH-3DAY
The 2010 POH is less than FOUR months way, so if you’re thinking about coming, start making your plans NOW. And please pre-register as soon as possible so we can make the appropriate plans and schedule enough games for EVERYONE. Thank you.
POH Game Masters and games needed. The sooner the better.
Palladium Freelancers, let me know as soon as possible if you are planning on attending. Thanks.
I’m the guest on the Gateway to the Megaverse live podcast, Monday, January 11, 6:00 PM.
This will be my first podcast of the year and we’ll talk about what’s coming and . . . well, everything and anything. Call in or email your questions. Remember, the podcasts are recorded and available to download and listen to any time.
Dad and Arlene are holding their own for now.
There are other titles being worked on, and stuff going on, but I don’t have time to talk about all of them. I will cover more in the Friday Press Release and much more in the Monday Podcast. Gotta get back to work on Dimensional Outbreak™
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Game Designer & Whirling Dervishy
© Copyright January 6, 2010 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, 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, 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.