I’ve been exceedingly busy for a long while now, but I haven’t been able to talk about most of the work I’ve been doing.

In 2019, that changes. Here’s what I’ve got coming:

Violet Dawn

The Last People fled the legendary “world beyond” long ago; now, a young guardian leaves the only home he knows and discovers the true nature of an alien and wondrous land...

This one’s been in the works for ages. Launched in 2018, Violet Dawn is a reader-supported webcomic updating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays telling an epic fantasy story in the realm of Avadnu. This is weird fantasy with a character-driven focus–there are swords and bizarre creatures but what matters most is the souls and scars of the beings who inhabit their strange, magical world.

If you’re feeling very generous, call it The Dark Crystal by way of Michael Moorcock, or the three-way child of Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, and Ursula LeGuin. Look to role-playing games like Skyrealms of Jorune and Empire of the Petal Throne for influence, along with the comic book works of Moebius.

I’m enormously proud of Violet Dawn, and penciller Louis Sollune has done brilliant work bringing Avadnu and its inhabitants to life. Louis has been a fantastic creative partner throughout, and I can’t imagine what the comic would be without him. Editor and letterer Jeffrey Visgaitis has been a dear friend and colleague for years, and Violet Dawn is his vision more than anyone’s. Gaston Zubeldia and Frank Walls can never receive too much credit as our fantastic colorists, and Laure Henri-Garand has, with thought and artistry and diligence, translated the whole thing into French.

Violet Dawn is a project close to my heart–my history with the setting goes back decades, to when I was a freelancer hired to write for a series of Violet Dawn role-playing game books. The setting’s developed quite a lot since then, but it retains an element of wild imagination that appeals to me.

Go give it a read–after all, it’s completely free. And if you enjoy it, I urge you to click on the Support link and find a way to send us a little money to keep the comic going. We can’t do it without you, and we really want to keep going.

Violet Dawn is available to read now at violetdawn.com.

Anthem (the game) and Anthem (the comic)

On a world left unfinished by the gods, a shadowy faction threatens all of humankind. The only thing that stands between these villains and the ancient technology they covet are the Freelancers.

BioWare’s latest video game is Anthem, a multiplayer action RPG in which the player characters don suits of “Javelin” power armor to protect outposts of civilization on a mysterious world.

I spent a number of months consulting with the Anthem writing team, offering editorial feedback as well as designing and writing portions of an early iteration of the storyline. Ultimately, on a project as vast and long-running as Anthem, my contribution was a small one. Nonetheless, I’m proud to have had the chance to work with the team and hope I managed to kindle a few creative sparks here and there.

When Kismet’s family is ambushed while traveling between settlements, the young boy is rescued by one of the exosuit-clad warriors known as Freelancers. Now an orphan, it’s up to him and his adoptive sister, Jani, to build a future for themselves–and humanity–on a planet filled with danger.

When it comes to the Anthem tie-in comic (a 3-issue miniseries from Dark Horse Comics), my contributions are more immediately visible. The comic was plotted by Anthem developer Mac Walters; I worked off his story outline to create a detailed comic script for artist Eduardo Francisco and colorist Michael Atiyeh, similar to my work as scripter on the Dragon Age comics in collaboration with David Gaider.

While the comic story feeds directly into the game’s narrative (it’s a prequel, introducing characters and events seen in the game proper), it’s intended to be a relationship-driven adventure tale exploring “ordinary” life in the world of Anthem in a way that the video game can’t. My hope is that we created something fans will enjoy.

Anthem is out now for PC, Xbox, and Playstation 4. The Anthem comic book releases monthly (for three months) starting in February.

Alphabet Squadron, Book 1

On the verge of victory in a brutal war, five New Republic pilots transform from hunted to hunters in this epic STAR WARS adventure. Set after Return of the Jedi, Alphabet Squadron follows a unique team, each flying a different class of starfighter as they struggle to end their war once and for all.

It’s been a little while since my last major Star Wars project–if you don’t count my short story in From a Certain Point of View, you’d need to go back to the Rogue One novelization in 2016. But every time I wonder if I’m done with the Star Wars galaxy, something new comes along. It’s an honor and a privilege every time.

In this case, the “something new” isn’t just one book but a trilogy of novels chronicling the rise (and fall?) of the titular Alphabet Squadron of starfighter pilots. Book 1 is scheduled for release in June of this year, and while I can’t yet add a lot beyond the description below I hope folks who enjoyed my previous Star Wars novels will find something appealing here, as well. Alphabet Squadron isn’t exactly the same as tone and style as Battlefront: Twilight Company, but it’s fair to say it exists in the same tonal world.

Here’s the remainder of the description from the official website:

The Emperor is dead. His final weapon has been destroyed. The Imperial Army is in disarray. In the aftermath, Yrica Quell is just one of thousands of defectors from her former cause living in a deserters’ shantytown—until she is selected to join Alphabet Squadron.

Cobbled together from an eclectic assortment of pilots and starfighters, the five members of Alphabet are tasked by New Republic general Hera Syndulla herself. Like Yrica, each is a talented pilot struggling to find their place in a changing galaxy. Their mission: to track down and destroy the mysterious Shadow Wing, a lethal force of TIE fighters exacting bloody, reckless vengeance in the twilight of their reign.

The newly formed unit embodies the heart and soul of the Rebellion: ragtag, resourceful, scrappy, and emboldened by their most audacious victory in decades. But going from underdog rebels to celebrated heroes isn’t as easy as it seems, and their inner demons threaten them as much as their enemies among the stars. The wayward warriors of Alphabet Squad will have to learn to fly together if they want to protect the new era of peace they’ve fought so hard to achieve.

But there’s more! The Alphabet Squadron trilogy also has a sister series: Marvel’s TIE Fighter comic books, written by Jody Houser, tell the story of Shadow Wing from an Imperial perspective. Both the novels and the comics stand alone perfectly well, but add up to a greater whole. Jody and I swapped many late-night e-mails making sure we were coordinating, and I expect the final works will complement one another nicely.

Alphabet Squadron, Book 1, releases in June 2019. Issue 1 of Jody Houser’s TIE Fighter releases in April.

Storyscape and Eternal City

A single choice can change everything. Enter Storyscape, where world-class writers bring you tales of romance, intrigue, and adventure and every decision you make transforms your story. Discover love aboard James Cameron’s Titanic or confront the unknown with the X-Files. Find romance in a new city or explore a magical realm as a slave-turned-revolutionary leader. New shows and seasons drop often, so there’s always something exciting to play.

Last but certainly not least: In 2017, I joined a new company called Fogbank Entertainment as Studio Writing Director. Fogbank began as part of 21st Century Fox’s FoxNext interactive unit, and since the start we’ve been quietly working on Storyscape: a free-to-play branching narrative story platform for Android and iOS. Or, in less jargon-y terms, we’ve built an app packed with a whole bunch of interactive stories in the tradition of a BioWare or Telltale game.

This feels very much like the next stage of the branching work I’ve been doing for over a decade–a chance to apply the tools I’ve developed in branching narrative to a more “pure” story-focused experience, stretching into a variety of genres (more “mainstream” content–romance, drama, comedy–along with a mix of the usual science-fiction and fantasy work). I’ve had the privilege to build a team of tremendously talented writers and edit them on projects I could never, ever write myself. I feel like the editor-in-chief of an ambitious publishing house bringing unique voices to the world and pushing the boundaries of the medium.

Storyscape is already live in Canada with a limited slate of shows and a small selection of episodes from Meg Jayanth’s Titanic (based on the James Cameron film), Laura Jacqmin’s Life 2.0 (an original romantic comedy), and Eternal City (more on that below). It’s very much early days, and we’ve already announced Sean Kelley McKeever’s The X-Files (based on the classic paranormal investigation franchise), Drew Karpyshyn’s Edge of Extinction (a science-fiction survival story), and Meghan Thornton’s Ageless (vampiric horror) as “coming soon.” That’s just for starters.

That said, while my most important role on Storyscape has been an editorial one, I’ve also contributed as a writer…

In an ancient metropolis ruled by power-hungry factions, magic, and secrets, a single life will change everything. The City once provided for its citizens richly, but corruption lives at the heart of the Garden and the people are growing desperate as food grows scarce. From child slave to powerful elder, you will live an entire lifetime and your choices will shape or destroy this world.

Eternal City is my own Storyscape show–a fantasy epic drawing inspiration from the likes of Gormenghast and Twin Peaks. This is a very different flavor of fantasy from Violet Dawn–while Violet Dawn uses bizarre visuals and action sequences to intimately chart the course of one soul, Eternal City is about the impact of interpersonal relationships over time on a volatile world.

I’m being intentionally vague (as I trust my marketing department), but I think the project is every bit what a person would expect based on my past work. For better or worse, Eternal City is the closest I’ve come to publishing an original fantasy novel, more intricately branched than my work on Star Wars: The Old Republic, massive in scope, and with a flavor and identity all its own.

Storyscape is available in Canada now on iOS and Android. A worldwide release date has not yet been announced.