Shrapnel Issue #1 is out!

Well, it's finally here....

Above is the cover from the new Battletech Magazine, Shrapnel. It's being distributed to the Battletech Kickstarter Backers first, then it will go on sale (I don't know when or where, or how much, or any other detail like that at this time.)

So, what is in it? Well, stories from the authors you see listed on the cover above, plus stories from Chris Hussey, Jason Hansa, and Lance Scarinci. They are all brand new stories here, including the first part of a serial story from Micheal Stackpole. Yes, they are all Old Guard writers, but you have to use what you have -- more on that below.

There are also a few articles related to the Game itself, for both the tabletop game and the RPG side of things. There are articles that give flavor to events, but can also be used as the start of an adventure for a savvy Games master. I wrote an article about Sniper Rifles for AToW RPG, to  expand the selection of weapons, giving each faction their own weapon. There is a Dark Era track that can be used by either Battletech or Alpha Strike games, and a look at a unit with ties to a legendary mercenary unit. It's is designed to appeal to everyone who is a Battletech fan, but it's mostly new stories.

I can only talk about what I wrote. When this venture was getting off the ground, I really wanted to do something that hearkens back to Battletechnology Magazine. One of the regular items in Battletechnology Magazine that I enjoyed was the "Tales of the Cobalt Coil." These were stories told by patrons of a bar in the Cathy district of Solaris City, and told in the first person for the most part. There was something about those stories that made them more intimate, and I wanted to recreate that. From this idea, Tales from the Cracked Canopy was born. Set in the rebuilt International Sector of Solaris City after the Jihad, the Cracked Canopy is a bar where anyone can walk in, enjoy some good food and a beer, watch the matches and forget about their worries for a while.

But I didn't want a copy of the Cobalt Coil, so I came up with an idea; The Memory Wall. Along the back wall of the Canopy, there are small mementos and items that have been brought in by patrons and left there. Each item has a story behind it, and each patron who leaves an item tells the tale of what that item meant to them.

Phil agreed to run with the idea, and I wrote what I think is a good story to start it off with. Blind Arrogance is the story of the death of a well-known unit, as told by one of its former members. I won't say anything more than that, but it is a sad story.

I worked out some background on the regular characters, like the employees and a few of the regular patrons, and another writer has already claimed the Canopy story spot in the next issue. I hope it becomes a regular part of the magazine, and would be a good way to break into the magazine (Hint, Hint). Maybe in a future post, if there is a call for it, I will post those series notes here on the blog.

As I mentioned earlier, all the stories were written by the Old Guard, but this Magazine isn't just for us old-line writers this is an opportunity for a writer looking to break into writing for the Universe. I have written about what to do and not to do when submitting to Battlecorps; looks like its time to revisit those pointers, bring them up to date, and repost them as time when submitting to Shrapnel.

So, how do you submit to Shrapnel? You go here: Shrapnel: The BattleTech Magazine - Fiction There is a copy of the Guidelines are there, and a portal to send your story in. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE GUIDELINES!!

That's all for now. I hope you enjoy reading Shrapnel when you get it. I also hope this becomes a great success -- it it does, it will be because of people like you.

Later!

Craig