Shattered Dreams Kickstarter Announcement

 Onyx Path Publishing has announced their newest Kickstarter, Shattered Dreams the latest book for Werewolf:  The Apocalypse 20^th Anniversary Edition.  Shattered Dreams offers storytellers and players a chance to explore the ancient history of the Garou tribes and their degenerating relationship with the other Changing Breeds.  Although Gaia created each of the Fera to fulfill a role in her grand design, the Garou – in their hubris – believed they could usurp the roles of the others.  Shattered Dreams explores the causes of the War of Rage and gives players a chance to affect the outcome of the war.  Culminating in the genocide of the Grondr, the wereboars, and Apis, the wereaurochs, the War of Rage is one of the great tragedies in the prehistory of the Classic World of Darkness. 

            Shattered Dreams also discusses the Second War of Rage, the conflict between the native Mesoamerican Fera and the invading European Garou which occurred simultaneously with the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan empires.  The Second War of Rage resulted in the complete destruction of another Changing Breed, the Camazotz or werebats. 

            The previous Onyx Path Kickstarters have all been great, but Shattered Dreams is special!  I am one of the authors!  I contributed Chapter Four which details the Second War of Rage and the werewolves’ slaughter of the native Central American shape changers.  Writing for Onyx Path Publishing is a dream come true.  I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.  Not only am I going to be published, but I’ve contributed to one of my favorite games, Werewolf:  The Apocalypse.  I can’t say what it means to me to have had the opportunity to work on this project.  Thank you Stew!  I will never be able to express my gratitude to you for taking a chance on a first time writer!

            I don’t want to go into too much detail about the chapter that I wrote.  However, I was fortunate to write about a topic that I already had a lot of interest in, the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica.  I’d like to thank Dr. Steven Bunker at the University of Alabama who inspired my interest in Mesoamerica and the Spanish Conquest.  Dr. Bunker introduced me to Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America which was the main source for the tone and mood that I wanted for my chapter in Shattered Dreams.  Thank you Dr. Bunker for being a great teacher and helping a former student remember the name of that book! 

            A lot of people are involved in the creation of an RPG book including development, writing, editing, illustrating, art direction and so many other tasks, big and small.  I want to thank you all!  If I miss someone, please let me know and I will joyfully add you to the list.  First, I want to thank the other writers, Geoff Skellans, Nick May, Leath Sheales, and Nathan Dorey.  They were amazing to work with. 

            A very special thanks to the editor of Shattered Dreams who is currently fixing all of the typos, errors, and issues in my final draft.  Sadly, due to the nature of freelance writing, I don’t know who the editor is.  Nevertheless, thank you!  A big thanks to Mirthful Mike and his crew of artists!  I can’t wait to see the illustrations that you’ve created for Shattered Dreams! 

            I know I’m gushing a bit, but I really want to thank Stew Wilson, the Werewolf:  The Apocalypse developer, for helping me through this project.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy reading over my first draft, but Stew, your redlines were some of the best writing feedback that I’ve ever received!  I learned more about revising and proofreading from Stew’s redlines than I did in my entire college education. 

            Finally, a very big thanks to Rich Thomas and the rest of the crew at Onyx Path Publishing.  Your work has made the return of the Classic World of Darkness possible.   I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner. 

In any book, only so much space is available to acknowledge those who inspired us and motivated us throughout the writing process.  So, I’ll use this space for that.  First, I’d like to thank my wonderful girlfriend, Allisa, who motivated me to send in a writing sample to the Onyx Path.  Without her, I never would have had the courage to send in that writing sample.   I’d like to thank my family, especially my parents who have done so much for me.  I’d like acknowledge my great grandmother who helped raise me.  She instilled so many lessons in me and helped make into the man I am today. 

And of course, I’m saving the most important people for last:  the fans of the Classic World of Darkness, the fans of Werewolf:  The Apocalypse, and the Kickstarter contributors.  Thank you!  This book wouldn’t be possible without you!  Your loyalty and love for the Classic World of Darkness and Werewolf:  The Apocalypse specifically has made this all possible.  I hope that you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it! I can’t wait to hear about the campaigns that you will run based on the settings and information in Shattered Dreams.