Galaxy Zento wants YOU!

This is what is about to happen.

Many of you have been reading the Showcase Short stories and I thank you.  Now to step it up a notch.

Starting this weekend I will be posting a short story series I'm calling GZ Legends. I plan to post a part 3x a week.

And we need YOU to help it get around. Share links, share on facebook, give it a twitter tweet, email it, whatever it takes. We need to make some noise! Can you make some noise?

We need to see likes climbing on the Facebook page. If you "liked" Galaxy Zento, make sure to pass it around. Make sure to check it out regularly because the kid gloves are OFF.

Yesterday we recieved a response from an agency checking out the Chessmen novel and Galaxy Zento. While they wrote they were highly impressed with the world building of both, they still had to decline.  What's awesome about this is that I made them take about four extra weeks to struggle with that decision. That tells me I'm doing something right and it's time to light a big ol bonfire with this. You can help!

Not only do we need the likes on the facebook page, but COMMENTS! We want your interactivity, right here on this blog and right on the facebook page! Chime in and be active with us!

Where does Galaxy Zento really expect to go?

Current goals are as follows!

1: Publish at least one series of novels (but more are in writing phase and planning right now!) and currently that's the Chessmen series. Unlike GZ Legends, you will only see excerpts of the Chessmen.

2: Publish several games based on the GZ universe. This includes a revision of the current role playing game (which may be tested ONLINE in post by post format) and a card game.

3: Graphic Novels are on the table for discussion but require more from an artist that I am capable of. So that is in idea stage.

4: Circulate to all of you and go the convention circuit with even more cool products to show off for GZ and all it's original characters and alien races.  This includes Gencon, Dragoncon, Wizard cons, and Comicons.

5: Finally, I want to do good things with Galaxy Zento to give back. That's why I will be contacting Autism agencies and offering the support of Galaxy Zento and it's creator (me). I don't know what that will entail right now, but I'm going to do it.

For some of this, I'm sure I'm going to be needing a new Galaxy Zento team of people willing to put into this as it's built. So be watching. And even if that doesn't happen, I'll be right here building!

Products and T-shirts are already available and will help support efforts of Galaxy Zento.

So watch closely, and remember, you will want to know what happens next!

Galaxy Zento News January

There certainly is a lot going on with the GZ project.  We’ve come a long way and there’s way more to do yet! But how far have we come now? Well, here are the stats:

Facebook: (as of this update) LINK

67 Likes

258 photos (includes 11 pics of the legendary table and 61 photos of the custom miniatures; the other 186 are all illustrations)

Photos also include the work of 3 guest artists and 2 requests.

DeviantArt: LINK

20 Watchers (that’s kind of like “likes” on FB)

223 of the same pics posted (not as many of the custom miniatures posted)

1759 page views in 2 months

3 guest artists are from DeviantArt

All of the in color work is available for purchase in all sorts of ways through DA. You can get photo prints, post cards, mouse pads, magnets, mugs and more.  Other venues are being considered as well.

Blogspot:

32 posts

2 followers (that’s like watchers and likes) though I know many more are reading and viewing than that.

Miscellaneous:

Anti-bullying poster that was posted with one online project and donated to my son’s elementary school. You can see me with my son’s Principal in the photo above.

Autism education poster shared on internet.

Mixed in with all of that are lots of awesome comments from all of you. Your support has been great and I thank you!

What I’m doing now: Currently I’m sending two GZ short stories to the Writer’s Journal fiction contest. Results will be posted when we get them a couple months or so.  I’ve finally ironed out the query letter (these things are not easy) and I’m sorting through a list of agents. Time to launch query letters!  I have a list of illustrations and I’m working through those as I go. As a special project for Black History Month, I plan to do some of my black characters. I’ve been asked a few times if I have them and yes I do.

Also on my artwork, I’m practicing more use of the digital program to touch up my drawings and get them into a cleaner black and white digital look before I color them in. You can see the results. Speaking of this, it’s time for…

SPECIAL PROJECTS:  I have a few meant to create interaction with GZ for many and any of you out there. Check these out.

Guest Artist: Always open and ready to challenge you. All you have to do is draw any of my characters in any medium you choose (from crayons to oil paints) and you’ll be featured on all mediums as a guest artist. If you are a professional or striving as such, I’ll make sure people know where to find out more about you. I only ask that there are no adult themes.  By posting all the digital black and whites, there’s even an opportunity for you colorists out there.  You can even print out a black and white from Deviant Art, color it, scan it and send it. It’s that easy so have fun!  For people with their own OC’s you can do your characters with mine and I’ll return the favor. Or draw one of mine and I’ll draw one of yours.

Spotlight Requests: Want to know more about one of my characters? Let me know and I’ll do a Spotlight Article in this blog! If I’ve already done it, I’ll get you the link.

Art Requests: I’ve already done Jojo versus Monolith and Durgan against a horde of demons. What would you like to see? Shoot me your request and I’ll work it into the schedule and see what I can do.

Characters: Recently, I was talking with CJ from DeviantArt and discussed the role playing game. CJ asked if he could roll up a character and so, after digging some stuff out of storage, I said okay. More on his character later. What I am considering is the possibility that others may have a character rolled up in the GZ universe.  I don’t have a lot of time for that right now, but it’s a consideration. Of course, all characters made for GZ are property of GZ and for entertainment purposes only.  Have to post that legalese ya know.  More on this as ideas develop.

BACK BURNER: The website is currently on the back burner. Just haven’t been able arrange the funds to launch it. It’s not cancelled, just has to wait until it can be paid for. Until then, there’s plenty of action going on.

So that’s the news for now. I hope you’ll continue to watch and be involved. As new stuff happens, we’ll be sure to let you know!

What are PCs? Roleplaying days

I mentioned before that Galaxy Zento has a fully printed role playing game and has been played by myself and friends for a long time. Since 1987 to be precise. I've added a new folder section at the fan page for Galaxy Zento, called PCs.

The deal: If my players could make and play an original enough character in my gaming universe, I would add that character to the published files. Of course, waivers had to be signed and so forth, but just about everyone liked that idea. If the game ever became published out in the full market, they would know their character was in it and it was their influence in the game, immortalized forever.

Some still wanted to play a Zento version of their favorite comic book characters and that was okay, but rarely. I've had lots of great players over the years and very cool characters played by them. Some of those characters may even show up in then novels. In any case, they are a permanent part of the Galaxy Zento universe.

In my next blog, I want to share how I would like to make Galaxy Zento more interactive for it's style while I write the novels. I did rewrite the first two chapters of Chessmen and it looks and reads much better. And, as said before, please like my page on Facebook!

(Autism is a real condition, please learn about it and support autism education)

How it started

I loved drawing characters and monsters ever since I was a kid. I got in a lot of trouble in school for doodling instead of doing my class work. My hero fantasies were my escape in many ways from tough times.

While I attending Job Corps in the late 1980's out in Utah, a new idea for my characters came about. I decided to incorporate them into my own role playing game. I couldn't afford the cool Dungeons and Dragons books that others had. Beyond that, I was taught by my Godfather to make my own games. He felt my artistic abilities would be best utilized that way and he was right. I made all sorts of my own games as a child. Now I would make the biggest one I had ever made.

I had no idea what I was doing or getting myself into. I didn't know the first thing about designing character statistics. What I knew, was how to tell a story. In all the years of developing and playing my game (called Galaxy Wars back then) what my friends came around for most of all, were the stories. They were stories they got to take part in, but that was the key point to the game.

I was often criticized for not writing these stories rather than playing them out as a role playing game. They were right, I held myself back. Now the books are well under way and this will change. I still have bound copies of the game now called Galaxy Zento. We even took it to Gen Con. With some basic improvements it could be a great role player. But first, the novels. Those need to be done now.

So now I have so many characters and stories to share, that is why this blog is under way and the Facebook page I hope you all will follow. I will also be doing some spotlights in this blog with info you may see on the website once it launches... or not. Only by following along will you know.

Facebook fan page link -Hover your cursor before these words for a link that refuses to show.