Jan
9
“William Shattner’s Weird or What”
January 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment
I’ve had to keep this a secret for a while but I have been given the official word of what I can talk about; sorry I could not share this info with you all sooner.
This past weekend I filmed an episode of William Shattner‘s television show “William Shattner’s Weird or What” the episode that I will appear in is entitled “Ghost in the Machine.” It will air on the Discovery channel here in America sometime this spring. This is my second Discover channel appearance, in 2005 I was on their show “Twisted History: Vampires.”
The production crew was a wonderful group of men captained by director Ryan Marley. He was very skilled in getting me to relax in front of the camera and to be myself.
As the airdate draws near I will post the info, in the meanwhile, last seasons’ episodes of “Weird or What” can be enjoyed here.
Nov
17
Bare Bone Multiverse Released
November 17, 2011 | 4 Comments
Bare Bone Multiverse Released
My newest book is out, a collaborative effort with my husband, the President of Scadlcrow Games, T. Glenn Bane. He and I joined forces on this newest product, a generic role-playing system called “Bare Bone Multiverse.”
"Bare Bone Multiverse"
BBM was designed for both the experienced gamer and the new kid at the table. Using two d6 and the single most streamline and brilliant dice mechanic I have ever encountered I promise you that this game will live up to its tagline: “Smaller rules equals bigger gaming!”
What I personally love about the game is that being an experienced gamer and an author, when I create a character I have a vision of who and what that character is going to be. Nothing is more frustrating than having this idea of a character you want to play in your head and the game mechanics is not letting you get it down on paper; you end up settling for a version, watered down and washed over of this great idea that you had and end up playing a character “in the ball park.” WELL NO MORE OF THAT NONSENSE! BBM allows the player to create exactly the character they are envisioning it at character creation without having to do a lot of math, point juggling or (gasp) min-maxing.
A new gamer who just wants to sit down, roll dice and have fun? Than this is defiantly the system for you. Character creation (even for the grizzled old gamers like me who want to make deep and complex characters) takes literally only about five minutes. AND if you opt for the “Name it, Play it” character creation process, we’re talking seconds, no longer than it takes you to name a character.
For the GMs out there, here’s the catch: The Bare Bone Multiverse system will bring your nose out of the rule book where you are forever looking up rules and comparing numbers on charts while everyone else at the table is having a good time, it will free you up to do what it is you do best: tell a good story and run a great game!
Best feature of the book? The first 20 pages is the entirety of the rule mechanics, and all the good stuff is covered in about eight, so if you want to print out your digital copy, you looking at printing eight pages and not breaking the bank or investing in an ink cartridge. That covers character creation, mass combat, movement, and experience.
Second best feature? The rest of the book is a supplement for nine genres. NINE! That means you do not have to buy nine other books AFTER buying the core system. And BBM explains how to combine genres to play mash-ups. Want to play “Marvel Zombies” for instance? Just combine “Comic Book Hero” and “Survival Horror.” Like the movie “Cowboys verses Aliens?” Add “Science Fiction” to “Western Classic” and you’re there!
The feature of Bare Bone Multiverse that lots of folks like best is the “Cosmic Eye.” Basically it’s a GM tool that is used to answer questions without causing a lag in game play. Once you use it, you’ll wonder how you ever gamed without it. True Story: during a beta test of BBM at a convention a GM who was running a game in a very popular system asked us during sessions break if he could score a copy of the Cosmic Eye for use in his game.
Naturally, all the generic products from Scaldcrow Games is 100% compatible with the Bare Bone Multiverse system. Character conversion from one system, any system to BBM is easy, easy, and easy. Converting over the world you run you game in is just as easy. Promise.
Check out Bare Bone Multiverse for yourself at DriveThruRPG.com now. Electronic PDF downloads are for sale there right now and soon the print version of the book will be out as well.
Nov
2
Dark Cargo Interview
November 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment
On October 30th, Dark Cargo on-line mag ran the first of its three-part interview it did with me. Being Halloween, they published the section on Vampires and mythology. Part two which focuses on my audio book experience with Buzzy Multimedia will release on November 6th. Part three will go out on November 12th and that will be tell-all on beta-reading. Exciting stuff happening here, cruise around the site while you are there, lots of good stuff, especially on Jim Butcher and “The Dresden Files.”
Oct
25
Fox 8 Morning News Video
October 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment
If you are one of my fans and live outside of the Fox 8 morning News viewing area, good news! Here is the video of my appearance! Enjoy!
Oct
18
Fox 8 Morning News and Library Appearances
October 18, 2011 | 2 Comments
I will be appearing on the Fox 8 Morning News, the top source for news for Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point on Monday, October 24th at 9:30 am. I am very excited about this appearance and look forward to the interview.
If you enjoy what you see and have questions that you like to ask me you can always contact me through my website HOWEVER I will be appearing at the Asheboro Public Library on October 27th at 7 p.m.; it’s located at 201 Worth Street.
I will also be at the Lexington Library Saturday the 29th at 11 a.m.; it is located at 602 South Main Street.
Both events are FREE and open to the public.
Oct
12
Vampirologist, author Theresa Bane to speak at Asheboro library
October 12, 2011 | 2 Comments
Author Theresa Bane, whose expertise on all things vampire has landed her on national television programs, will talk about her work at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 27 at the Asheboro library.
Sep
10
Folktales & Ghost Stories Reviewed by Rambles
September 10, 2011 | 2 Comments
My Co-autor, Cynthia Moore Brown, received a copy of this review and sent it to me. I thought that I would share it with all of you. This is the review in whole, I’ve not added or altered it in any way.
Theresa Bane & Cynthia Moore Brown,
Folktales & Ghost Stories of North Carolina’s Piedmont
(Schiffer, 2011)
The Piedmont is the central area of North Carolina between the mountains to the west and the coastline to the east. This beautiful region is not renowned for ghost stories and folktales like other areas of the country, but that’s what’s so interesting about this book — its stories are unexpected and completely open to discovery.
"Folktales and Ghost Stories of North Carolina's Piedmont"
Folktales & Ghost Stories of North Carolina’s Piedmont is broken into chapters based mostly on cities, with one section focusing on graveyards. One section even ventures to the Carolina coast to Topsail Island (and whets this reviewer’s appetite for more nautical-themed ghost stories). Included are some nice photographs that help illustrate the setting of the chapter without detracting from the stories.
The basic approach behind this book is to capture the storytelling performances by Cynthia Moore Brown and put them to paper, with co-author Theresa Bane adding verbiage to create the context and mood of Brown’s storytelling sessions. In many instances, the authors succeed in creating that atmosphere, but unfortunately there are also several instances of the two co-authors’ voices being noticeably different. In some cases, it’s the switching from proper/correct grammar to informal/spoken-word incorrect grammar. And in a few instances, the voice obviously changes from Brown to Bane with one mentioning working at a particular library or referencing her husband. It’s not exactly jarring, especially given how the book is clearly has two authors, but it does break up the established flow of the stories.
As far as ghost stories and folk tales go, there’s always an inherent expectation of scariness. It’s worth noting that most of these stories are told to younger crowds (typically elementary schools), so beyond mentioning a missing head or someone’s murder, these stories are pretty much most-ages friendly. For those looking for creepy, spine-tingling stories of suspense, this is probably the tamest version you can find.
While this may not be the scariest collection of ghost stories and folktales, it is nonetheless an interesting grouping of stories, especially if you have even a passing familiarity with the locale. Add in the context of how these stories have typically been told, Bane and Brown certainly succeed in fostering an appreciation for the storytelling tradition. Perhaps a second or revised edition of this book could include an audio disc to add to the experience.
A Rambles Production from www.Rambles.Net
Folktales & Ghost Stories of North Carolina’s Piedmont
Jul
30
What can possibly be more exciting than getting to meet someone you admire and they are everything you dreamt they would be? Not a lot, but a real close contender would be having someone who you respect and admire professionally using a quote from your book in his! Read more
Jul
16
Newspaper article “Author Sinks Teeth into Vampire Lore”
July 16, 2011 | 2 Comments
This is a word-for-word copy of an article that appeared in the Saturday, July, 9, 2011 edition of Asheboro NC newspaper, The Courier-Tribune. I was given permission to post the article on my website by the paper, so long as I credited them and the staff writer, Andrea Cavallier as the publisher and author of the piece. I added links throughout the article to make it user friendly. I have to say that of all the interviews and articles written about me, this one is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it as well. Read more
Jul
11
“Thank You” Beta Team, We Sold the Short Story!
July 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment
I just wanted to send out a quick thank you to my Beta-Reading Team for all the help that they gave me in on the short story that my husband I wrote together, “Marko Jaks: The Prince of Lies” (working title). I know that the collective effort of all my beta readers was helpful as we just got the notice, we sold the story!