Wednesday, July 29, 2026

LitRPG Con 2026


I trekked out of the Curmudgeon Cave to the metropolis of Denver in early July to attend LitRPG Con.  It was only the second year for the Con, but there were a veritable plethora of authors that I have read and talked to so I took the extreme step of actually getting on a plane to fly to a Con.

The best part of Colorado?  The Rocky Mountains. It's unfortunate that I would not get closer than this. Many thanks to Joe Kuster for the ride from the airport to the Con.


The single most dominant brand at the Con was Dungeon Crawler Carl.  Holy moly it was everywhere.


This was my first panel, the lady on the left is the casting director for voice actors for Podium.  Next to her is Jessica Threet.  Then there are a bunch of people I don't remember, and at the far right is Andrea Parseneau.  The lady next to Andrea is the one who took over The Wandering Inn from Andie.




Saturday had a couple big-name author panels which were generally pretty entertaining.  The first was "The MC is not a Build, They're a Person".  These were the panelists.

Nick Gonella, author of Unbound.

Shawn Wilson, author of Ultimate Level 1, and Daniel Schinhofen, author of Aether's Revival and many more.


Jez Cajiao, an author I had not encountered, but who's work I have since picked up.  Give him a read.



Shami Stovall, an author I have not tried yet, and Plum Parrot, the author of Victor of Tucson.

The next big panel was "I Wrote One Cool Scene and Accidentally Started a Cult Following".  This one was a lot of fun.


That is (left to right) Drew Hayes, Dakota Krout, Ryan Rimmel, Shirtaloon(Travis Deverell), Matt Dinniman, and the moderator Michael Chatfield.

The only big panel I got to on Sunday was "From Punching Rats to Killing Gods" and it was an interesting look into how they try to keep the protagonists challenged without making them weak.

David North, author of Guardian of Aster's Fall.

Will Wight author of Cradle.

Tao Wong, author of Thousand Li, which I have not read, but probably will now.
Seth Ring, author of Battlemage Farmer and others.

Now Sunday I had a ticket for a signing by Matt Dinniman.  I'm not a huge fan of Dungeon Crawler Carl, but a friend of mine is, so I got him a book signed.


Now the best part of the con was the people.

Daniel Schinhofen with his indispensable assistant, Jenn.

Dungeon Crawler Carl cosplays were everywhere!







                                        

This lady did a "Sylvie" from System Universe which was awesome.


I got lots of loot, but the best of it was the art.  This lady is so talented.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ALemonLeafArt

These are the prints I got from her.


Rick and Evie from The Mummy.


"I am no man" Eowyn next to my Witch King helm.


Carl, "New Achievement"

Sam and Frodo at Parth Gallen.

I didn't keep this one, it was a gift, but it's from the same artist.

I also got a cloth Thror's Map.



And of course, BOOKS.  These are the signed ones I brought home.



Many thanks to the authors who gave these out.  The authors I talked to were all very friendly and appreciative of their fans.

I won't be going next year, but the rumor is that 2028 will be in Kansas City, which is a much easier trip for me.

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Review: Wolfhounds series


 

Title:Wolfhounds (Book 1: Stand Alone: Wolfhounds)

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJTCTSZ6

Author: John Van Stry

Rating:4.5/5

Comments: I am somewhat surprised this is the first review I've done for Van Stry, I've read a lot of his books over the years.  Apparently nothing recently.

 Anyway, this is the best sci-fi series I've read since Vixen War Bride.  It's a little more "action movie" where Vixen War Bride is more "war drama".

The whole series was good, I binged all 5 books in 3-4 days. 

Bedroom Activities: FTB

================================

FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Milestone post - Part 2 - 2026 so far


This is part 2 of my 1700 day reading streak milestone.

These are the books I've read so far in 2026.  The Wolfhounds series is really good, I binged the series in 5 days.

  • Objects in Motion - Inadvisedly Compelled (quite the pseudonym)

  • Blue Sunrise - Overman 

  • Creation – Oswald 

  • Proliferation – Larcombe 

  • Apocalypse Always  - Arand 

  • Goblin Gigs – Kensington 

  • Have Blaster will Travel – Sutherland 

  • Resistance (last life 11) - Osadchuk 

  • Warlock 3 – Kensington 

  • Warlock 2 – Kensington 

  • Aether’s Band – Schinhofen 

  • The Old Places – Todd 

  • Earl of DracumonCrogen 

  • War to the knife – Nealen 

  • The Legend of William Oh – Macronomicon 

  • Unintended Cultivator 8 – Dontigney 

  • Rescue the Princess – Hindmarsh 

  • Dungeon Diving 202 – Sentar 

  • The Void War - Holmes 

  • Courts -  Oswald 

  • Wolfhounds 6 

  • Wolfhounds 5 

  • Wolfhounds 4 

  • Wolfhounds 3 

  • Wolfhounds 2 

  • Wolfhounds 1 – Van Stry 

  • Ultimate level 1 – Ultimate Dreams – Wilson 

  • Breaking Point (last life 10) - Osadchuk 

  • Wasteland Rebels – Valentine/Grayson 

  • Bog Standard Isekai 1 – English 

  • Graduating with Honor – Schinhofen 

  • Heavens Reflected - 

  • Judicator Jane – Roulean 

  • Fighting past Pain – Schinhofen 

  • Iron Tyrant 4 – Ring 

  • Rallying Recovery – Tress 

  • Proportional Response – Tress 

LitRPG Con 2026

I trekked out of the Curmudgeon Cave to the metropolis of Denver in early July to attend LitRPG Con.  It was only the second year for the Co...