sophie update
i've been doing a lot, actually
sometimes you have no full time job for a while and get to thinking you’re a wastoid with no prospects who ought to be fed to the furnace as a coal substitute.
but then you write a little round-up post of your past and upcoming efforts and feel a little more like a proud member of the human race upright astride shoulder to shoulder with her fellows. life is truly a wrecking ball, swinging here and there!
here’s what’s been going on for ol’ soph:
live stuff
horrid is a bi-monthly horror fiction reading series i co-host with writer/actor/comedian/known beauty simone norman at topos too, in historic ridgewood brooklyn. past guests include jamie hood (trauma plot), zefyr lisowski (uncanny valley girls), melissa lozada-oliva (beyond all reasonable doubt, jesus is alive!), and gerardo sámano córdova (monstrilio).
our october edition is tomorrow and features just a wildly good lineup. i’ll be reading a new story about reality unraveling at a queer co-op.
also on the horror theme, i’ll be on storytime with violet: horror edition at life world next thursday oct. 30th, hosted by violet meeker, telling a true horror story about god only knows what. you can grab tickets here
games stuff
have you heard of this guy zohran mamdani? he might be the real deal.
spearheaded by cait camelia and kaif gilani of hot girls 4 zohran and directed by kyle brown watson of outpost4, a bunch of volunteer developers formed a little studio called antifun bloc to make zohran’s run, an indie arcade game where you play as zohran gathering constituents across the city, dodging misinformation, and persuading new yorkers. it’s fun! it’s good! get it on itch, or through steam (soon)!
and guess who wrote a whole bunch of dialogue, narrative, and little easter eggs for the game? why, none other than sophie.
one of the most fun parts of my creative and professional life these days is working with game studio CMYK as a writer and creative consultant. this year, they’ve published a slew of games I’ve gotten to write for, of which i couldn’t be prouder.
want to see who would win in a race, a hypnotist or a huge baby? check out magical athlete, redesigned by richard garfield (of magic the gathering fame) with stunning art by angela kirkwood.
want to bet on mascots falling on their faces and crawling across the finish line? check out hot streak, designed by jon perry (UFO 50, Air, Land, & Sea) with art by cécile gariépy.
want a charades-style party game slash inside joke generator? check out the fully overhauled monikers, or, if you’re a family man, monikers: family edition, the all-ages version.
i also moonlight as a freelancer for cards against humanity; i’m especially proud of the fill-in-the-blank stories i wrote for tales, their experimental new storytelling format.
it comes in a fine leatherbound book, with gorgeous gothic art by sophy hollington (who i also worked with on an upcoming cmyk game… shhhhhh….).
podcast stuff
i was even on some podcasts, if you want to hear how my voice training is going.
hosted by games industry vets nic tringali and brendan mcleod, paper labyrinths is a series of conversations on games, art, narrative, worlds, and design. listen to me as i dig into why i struggle with clowns, why i think dark souls is a detective game, and who the george smiley of the fromsoft universe is.
a grain of sanderson is taking on the herculean task of reading and discussing all of brandon sanderson’s (“the main fantasy guy”) work in publication order. i was on back in march to discuss the tie-in novella he wrote for the game infinity blade, and i’ll be on an upcoming episode to discuss the tie-in novella he wrote for the games infinity blade II and III, for which he also wrote all the lore. weird guy!!
“do i need to have played infinity blade or read the books to enjoy these” NOOOO we explain everything you need to know and mostly get off into the weeds of what makes fantasy stories tick. don’t worry :) you’re fine :)
i’m taking an intro to toy design class
i drew a power ranger. pretty cool!
and the rest of it
for my collected work, i have a new portfolio site (graciously and beautifully designed by izzy bulling and noah kernis). new and old work is being slowly but steadily added there as i finally finally descend into job hunting hell. good luck, sophie!
and that’s everything i’ve ever done so far! xoxo thanks love sophie