It has been a while since I’ve done an update on the status of the various pies that Sentinel press has its metaphorical fingers in (either here or on Kickstarter) and so I thought I’d present a short round-up of how things are progressing and offer a little prognostication on the second half of 2016.

(remaining) Arkham Gazette #3 Kickstarter Items:

Issue #1 – Most of the articles are revised/corrected/updated.  Once I get those over to Chris Huth, we can generate a preliminary page count and make whatever adjustments are needed to avoid large blank spots or cramped pages.

One thing that has eaten up a good amount of time is updating the list of Arkham scenarios.  Considering the popularity of Arkham as a place to nominally set a scenario (were are over 60 now, including the newly released {to Cult of Chaos Members} A Time to Harvest), I have made the decision to prune the list down or a more manageable one, focusing on those scenarios that at least are partially set in Arkham, but adding clearer commentary about the locations featured in the scenario (so you can see if its mostly set around Miskatonic University, for example).  This has necessitated a bit more close reading than I had hoped, but I think the finished results will be more useful to Keepers.  I’ll include a full list of every scenario that includes Arkham in some way, but there is just not space to do up all the scenarios that assume your investigators are based in Arkham and start with a note on how to get them from that witch-haunted city to the central Amazon in a quick travel montage…

Ideally this issue will be re-released by the end of June.

Issue #2 – In a less complete state than issue #1, but will hopefully require less work since that issue was better proof-read.  I’ve revised a couple of the shorter pieces but will turn to this issue more fully once AG #1 is out the door.

Stretch-goals

Say hello to Max 🙂

• “What Lies Between the Library Walls” – this scenario of not-wholly academic horror still being revised.  Sorry.
• “The Witch Seminar” – done in outline but needs expansion.
• A mystery bonus article for our sole $150 backer – Being written; art has been assigned.
• Backer portraits: Our rat-thing backer portraits are nearly complete and Chris will soon wade into the monstrous remainder for those who paid to be made into some other type of horror.

Arkham Gazette #4:

Our next issue of the Arkham Gazette is coming together nicely.  I am hoping to have at least a draft of all the articles in by the start of June (and if you owe me something, don’t panic, but do drop me a line and let me know how your article is coming!) so we can get the issue into revision and hopefully layout by July.  Ideally I’d like to get this issue out by early August – and if forced to chose between a re-release of issue #2 and getting issue #4 out, I’ll go with #4 – in time for GenCon.

Here is a tentative list of contents for issue #4; these are articles I’ve seen a draft of at least and have a strong confidence will be included in the issue:

• “The Bones of Contention” – Kevin Ross’ short scenario set in Kingsport; a stretch-goal for our Kickstarter for issue #3.
• Ibn Shacabac – Mike Daumen’s biography of that noted Arab occultist; slightly revised from the version that went out to our Kickstarter backers.
• Visions from Yaddith – What is an issue of the Gazette without an in-depth look at a mysterious tome?  This time we look at Ariel Prescott’s dreaded (and very rare!) book of nightmare-inspired poetry about an alien world on the brink of annihilation.
• The Crawling Brother – a new… well, newish… monster, perfect for Kingsport
• Greater Kingsport – New places in Kingsport mentioned in other Call of Cthulhu scenarios or in Mythos fiction.
• The Kingsport Artist Colony – A profile of Kingsport’s distinctive community of artist and writers, with a discussion of historical art colonies, profiles of important members, a discussion of the current fractious state of the community, and Kee[er’s notes for running a campaign set among this pocket of dreamers, bohemians, and outcasts.
• “A Dancer in Sea-Mists and Star Winds” – A free-form scenario, of sorts, by Christopher Smith Adair, inspired by the stories of Wilum Pugmire and featuring alien horrors, deathless abominations, and the Terrible Old Man.
• An annotated list of Kingsport scenarios – Our perennial feature and Keeper aid; up -to-date and including a scenario from Doors to Darkness.

In addition to these articles, we may or may not have several others, including a third short scenario, a survey of the practice of gibbeting in colonial New England, a profile of Kingsport’s police department, a second tome, an examination into the cult of Tulzscha, piracy in colonial New England, and a visit by famed scientist.

The anticipated length of issue #4 will be 96 pages; perhaps a few more if all of those articles are completed…  we currently have about 35,000 words in-hand, which is about 1/2 of what we will need.  This will also be our first issue using the new 7th edition Call of Cthulhu rules, if you were curious.

Other Projects:

The man in question.

the Derleth Country  reading series:

My read-through of Derleth’s Lovecraft Country-set “collaborations” is nearly complete; I hope to post “Innsmouth Clay” this weekend, leaving only “The Watchers Out of Time” among the short stories.  I think I shall tackle Derleth’s sole-credited short stories, like “The Whippoorwills in the Hills” (and the other stories from The Masks of Cthulhu) in this first phase of the project.  I shall, however, take a break from Derleth for a while after I complete those, but will eventually return to the longer Lovecraft Country materials like The Lurker at the Threshold and the other stories from The Trail of Cthulhu (Tsathoggua preserve me, those are the Laban Shrewsbury stories… shudder) at some future date.

October-ganza 2016:

I have already begun plotting out the topics I’d like to cover.  Ideally I can get those post written well in advance of October this year so I can keep the fun arriving for 31 uninterrupted days.

The Sentinel Hill Press Patreon:

Did you know we have a Patreon?  Our backers get monthly (usually twice or even thrice) text and audio recording updates about books I’m reading relating to topics like New England history, folklore, myth, Lovecraftiana, etc.  Patreon backers also get previews of Sentinel Hill Press projects that are not posted elsewhere and help me pick my monthly book picks.  Backing costs as little as $1 a month.  We’ve got a dozen hearty souls joined so far, but I’d welcome more… if we can reach $50 a month I’ll get a better microphone!  It’s the podcasting dream.  Speaking of which…

The Sentinel Hill Press-cast:

I’ve finally cleaned up the audio for my interview with Ben Wenham and will release our next episode of the Press-cast to coincide with the re-release of Arkham Gazette #1; augmented with some news and new bits of New England folklore as well.

Future Projects:

Stranger Still:

I’m awaiting an update from Ben Wenham on the campaign’s status.

The Graveyards of Lovecraft Country:

Writing continues; I’m working out logistical issues now, reaching out to some possible additional authors, etc.  Galen Pajeau will likely be able to illustrate this book as he has done for our previous graveyards material, a prospect that pleases me greatly.  I hope to launch the Kickstarter for this in late 2016 or early 2017.

Arkham Gazette #5

A twinkle in my eye, I swear, nothing more!

Non-fiction projects:

I want to update Graveyards of Providence for Necronomicon 2017.  I also have one or two items I’m mulling over for possible future projects.

That is everything I can think of Sentinel Hill Press related.  Post a comment if you have questions, suggestions, or dreadful curses in proto-Hittite.