2021: A year not all that much different from 2020, truth be told.
A worldwide pandemic was/is still raging, although thankfully the death toll has dropped from 2020’s horrifying levels because the coronavirus-fighting vaccines have been doing their job (have you gotten your shot yet?). And the Earth’s human population was making progress as we try to reach some imitation of pre-pandemic normalcy, with bars and restaurants and sporting events and movie theaters and even Broadway reopening with proof-of-vaccination admittance. But then the Omicron variant popped up in the fall…
The genre convention industry was still feeling its way along, with some shows canceled and rescheduled for 2022, others sticking to CDC crowd recommendations and reopening to smaller crowds, and still others throwing aside all caution and making them into come-one-come-all logjams/potential super-spreader events. (November’s Anime-Fest in NYC, in fact, was connected to some of the first reports of Omicron-infection cases in the US.) At SWC, we opted to sit out the year, with the hope that things will be more stable in 2022. (Author Richard C. White, however, did make appearances at two venues: Awesome Con, in Washington, DC, and the Maryland Renaissance Fair.)
And, like 2020, we didn’t do a whole lot of publishing, it being hard to really promote our titles with no conventions to go to. We did, however, manage to offer a new hardcover version of one of our most popular books:
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, our how-to book for writers and gamers by bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings), gained a spiffy-looking hardcover edition over the summer.
In this nonfiction book—originally meant to be a guide for writers but quickly embraced by role-playing gamemasters—Rich takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons. (Visit its product page for ordering information.)
So what lies ahead for ’Warp Central in 2022? Well, we might have some ideas about that…so stay tuned!
In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and have a Happy New Year!
