Two Years?

Li'l Malhavoc really gets into his 2nd birthday cake. Illus. Stan!

Ever get to the point where you've been doing something for a while and then when you think about how long it's been, that span of time seems both too short and too long to be real? That's how I feel when I think about the fact that Malhavoc Press is now two years old. On the one hand, I can remember the conversation Sue and I had in the car one night about how we should start our own "publishing imprint" like it was yesterday. On the other hand, it feels like -- with 15 products under our belts, a number of awards, our own upcoming line of licensed miniatures, and so much more -- it couldn't be only two years ago.

When I think about all the late nights working on a product, spending the extra effort to make things really good rather than watching a movie, playing Morrowind, or whatever else... I guess it was worth it, even if it didn't always seem that way at the time.

Why is it worth it? Because I'm living the dream, man. The American Dream. I'm doing what I love, and I'm doing it the way I want it. Sure, I was doing what I loved back at Wizards of the Coast, but with Malhavoc Press it's all on my own terms. At a big company like Wizards (and TSR before it), you write a great product, you write a terrible product, sales are great, sales are bad -- your paycheck's still the same at the end of the week. Heck, nine times out of ten, as a designer at a place like that, you don't even know the sales figures for the products you work on.

Malhavoc Press is just Sue and I. We decide what we're going to produce, what the cover's going to be like, how we're going to promote it, and everything else. If we make a mistake, we pay for it -- but if we do well, we reap the benefits. We are, to a small extent at least, directing our own destiny.

And you know, it's worth it because -- and this may sound corny -- I like the idea of making the name Malhavoc Press synonymous with quality. I like that we've published products that make people happy, that make them feel satisfied in their purchase. I like that maybe we've contributed to someone's game session, and in a small way to that person's desire to come back next week and play again.

It's so very appropriate that as you read this, and it's so close to our actual 2nd Anniversary (May 25th), Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed is on its way to the printer. Our biggest book yet, and certainly our most high-profile one. We've poured more time and effort into this product than any other book we've produced. In fact, I'd say that this product is second only to the development of 3rd Edition itself as far as how much energy I've devoted toward it -- and I'm not done. Not really.

As we go into Malhavoc Press' third year, you're going to see a lot of attention devoted toward Arcana Unearthed. Lots of web enhancements, free adventures and support, and more.

It looks to be a very cool year.

What was Monte thinking one year ago? Read his first-year anniversary musings.