Modern Papyrus 2021 – A Year In Review for Author Daniel Ottalini


Goodbye 2021, may ye stay in the past where you belong. Welcome 2022! Today I want to briefly review some of the awesome successes I’ve had this year, and share some plans for the year ahead. I have a Writing New Years Resolution to accomplish this year!

This year saw me transition somewhat from writing full length novels and novellas to adventure modules for role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Part of this was to allow me to complete more writing projects faster, and part of it reflected a shift in my interests and a connection between work I was already doing, and an effort to capitalize off it. It also lets me expand my writing styles, explore new characters and concepts, and improve my story design skills.

But let’s get down to business. What exactly did I write this year?

Reflections of Brass, my paperback anthology of my three ebook novellas, was released in November through Amazon Print On Demand Services. I’m excited as every part of the Steam Empire Chronicles now has a paperback version available for people to read!

I also published seven (!) different Dungeons and Dragons / Role Playing Adventures through DMs Guild. I had been working on several of these projects in 2020, and finally took the plunge to publish them, and I’m really glad I did! Here’s a summary of the work! (Over 100,000 words worth of work, and 250+ pages of awesome things!)

  1. Lost Temple of the Thunder Bringers (See the Announcement Post Here) – A Jungle Campaign module featuring a 12 room jungle temple with treasure, enemies, traps, and much more! Plus a hidden village with four custom NPCs, four awesome magical items, and four bonus battle maps and encounters!
  2. Along the Triboar – Additional Adventures in Phandalin (See the Announcement Post Here) – An expanded module to support Level 5 Characters in the Phandelver Valley with two of my old settings updated and combined! This PDF includes a module and setting for Clearing Lomewood Castle, as well as an additional campaign setting for Fort Lomewood. Inside are detailed maps of the interior and exterior of both Lomewood Castle and Fort Lomewood, as well as detailed descriptions of unique and individual NPCs, as well as links to existing NPCs from the Lost Mines of Phandelver.
  3. Siege Rules & the Invasion of the Phandelver Valley (See the Announcement Post Here) – substantial upgrades are finished on my IotPV module, including custom battle maps, stats for different siege engines, defensive buildings, a sample play through and a campaign linked to the Lost Mines of Phandelver beginning missions!
  4. Wyvern Tor Revisited (See Announcement Post Here) – This is an upgraded and reorganized version of my old free version of Wyvern Tor & the Temple of Zumash dungeon exploration. Featuring new maps, player props, and even magical item stats, this 18 page module is great for the beginner Lost Mines of Phandelver Pact setting, or any setting where you need a subterranean temple.
  5. Kohtumine: The Great Gathering of the Ships (See Announcement Post Here) – The folk of the sea – pirates, traders, priests, merchants and warriors – all gather to elect the next Lord or Lady of the Oceans. Join the politicking free-for-all with three all new factions, seven encounter maps, ship stats lines, unique ship upgrades, and mission hooks for parties of all levels. This nearly 50 page adventure setting module is setting neutral. Have ocean, will travel (to the Kohtumine!)
  6. A Field Guide to Temerrit – (See Announcement Post Here) In this guidebook you will find a map for each town, featuring points of interest, as well as a handful of NPC contacts for PCs to visit. Additionally, plot hooks and storylines are provided for each town, as well as an overarching storyline for DMs wishing to utilize the entire province, or just a single settlement!
  7. Tales from Temerrit: The Fall of Palrom the Usurper – (See Announcement Post Here) Prepare yourselves and your characters to take on the infamous Usurper, Vincent Palrom. The Oathbreaker Paladin has torn Temerrit apart, and the province stands on a precipice. Will you join the resistance and fight back against the man seeking apotheosis, or does the call to power beckon you forward, crushing the scattered forces of good. Plot hooks, new maps, unique character backgrounds, an in-depth story and an all new introductory campaign make The Fall of Palrom the best adventure setting available yet!

I’ve had a lot of fun making these, and I’m excited to share more with you in the future! Which brings us to my writing goals for 2022.

  • Write and publish something for at least six months this year (so publish six (6) new things this year!)

That’s it! That’s my goal. I’d love to try and push myself to do a full dozen, but I also want to be able to focus on completing commissions for my terrain side hustle, as well as eventually work on a new installment for the Steam Empire Chronicles. I’m also planning to eventually combine all the Temerrit Tales into one massive print creation that I can bring together and get bound and printed.

Thoughts? Ideas? Recommendations? Let me know!

Coming Soon: Reflections of Brass Print Anthology & Cover Teaser!


I’m pleased to announce the coming publication of Reflection of Brass, my print anthology composing the novellas Antioch Burns, Roma Aeronautica, and the Last Gladiator, along with a sneak peek at my forthcoming novella, tentatively titled A Brief History of New Caesaria. I’ll be doing some cover teases all this week and next, along with a blog blitz to share writing new and old! Here’s today’s first piece of artwork!

Summer Smashwords Sale!


You know it! All my novels and novellas are on sale this Summer for 25% off! (besides Brass Legionnaire and Roma Aeronautica, which are already a steal at the low low price of just 99 cents!) Use the code SSW25 at checkout to get 25% off all my ebooks from July 1st through 31st! Check out my novels and novellas here now!

New Anthology Coming & A Summer Event Announcement!

A new print anthology of my virtual ebook novellas is coming soon!


You heard that right! In response to all your demands, I’ve decided to take all three of my amazing ebook novellas – Roma Aeronautica, Antioch Burns, and the Last Gladiator – and turn them into a printed anthology. While I don’t have any new material to include yet, I’ll sneak a few other tidbits into this anthology, such as a preview of the History of Rome and the New Caesarian Colonies. This anthology should be available this summer.

Speaking of Summer – Mark your calendars! I’ll be at the Maryland Renaissance Festival again this year (Tentatively, based on Maryland CoVID rules!). I’ll be at the Renaissance Festival to sign this newest anthology, plus all my other books, on Saturday, September 4th, 2021. I’ll be back with more information in the future!

Until then, remember to hit that subscribe button and follow this blog for more updates on this, my Dungeons and Dragons adventures & modules, and more!

Year of Accountability – June 28th-July 5th, 2020 – Camp NaNoWriMo Progress on the Novella!


Greetings all!

This is a combination post for both my Year of Accountability Project and my Camp NaNoWriMo Progress! I’ve been working on the novella pretty heavily over the last few days, and reached the first major milestone! 10,000 words! I’m excited to share a brief except from the short story in the novella below, but first I wanted to also share the goal for next week.

Goal for this week: Reach 10,000 words in the ‘Colonia’ book – Goal Achieved!

Goal for next week: Reach 20,000 words!

Remember that my novels are on sale for 25% off for  Smashword’s Summer Sale, going on now! Stay at home and read my books! Subscribe to the blog for more news and updates!

Read on to discover more!

Continue reading “Year of Accountability – June 28th-July 5th, 2020 – Camp NaNoWriMo Progress on the Novella!”

Happy 4th of July! Smashword’s Summer Sale Ongoing!


Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a safe, socially distanced, and mask-wearing day.

Missed getting your copy of my novels during Smashword’s Give Back Sale? Their annual Summer/Winter Sale is on now! Get my novels on Smashwords for 25% off! Stay at home and read my books!

NaNoWriMo – 7200 words!

Some more progress for the next novella in Camp NaNoWriMo, and Roman meets Nortlander in far away Iceland!


Here’s another Camp NaNoWriMo Update! I missed yesterday’s, but that’s fine. I’ve already been getting some good feedback from my beta readers as they look at the (very imperfect) writing that is underway. Today’s writing looks at some of the first Roman explorers to reach Nix Insulam – Otherwise called Iceland – and their encounters with the Nortlanders who were already there.

  1. Total amount of words: 7,197
  2. Progress today: 1,607 words
  3. Goal: 50,000 Words

If you like what you see, remember that you can get my latest novella – The Last Gladiator, on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords! Onto some of today’s writing. Remember, this is the roughest of rough drafts, but any critiques are always welcome! Click beyond to see today’s snippet!

Continue reading “NaNoWriMo – 7200 words!”

Happy Camp NaNoWriMo! Today’s progress!


Hi all,

Here’s today’s first writing progress from Camp NaNoWriMo. The goal is to post a snippet of each day’s work. That way, you can see progress!

  1. Total amount of words: 5590
  2. Progress today: 1,424 words
  3. Goal: 50,000 Words

If you like what you see, remember that you can get my latest novella – The Last Gladiator, on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords! Onto some of today’s writing. Remember, this is the roughest of rough drafts, but any critiques are always welcome!


Foreword

Greetings reader, I hope you enjoy my trifling effort to summarize some of the most critical events in the history of the colonization of New Caesaria. I was commissioned by the Byzantium College of Warfare to compose this volume of primary resources on the development of New Caesaria. Exploring the time period from discovery to initial exploration and colonization efforts to the present day, it is my foremost desire that this volume sheds some light on the westernmost reaches of our Empire’s power. As always, all dates in this passage are in ‘After the Emperor’ – A.E. (although some sources use A.D. – Ad Dominum, especially those from Christian sources, and others use P.I. – Post Imperator, as in traditional Latin, rather than the more evolved version used today. But I digress…)

I make no promise of extensivity; rather I have pulled from the most original and noteworthy resources. Some may question my inclusion of so-called “barbarian” accounts of colonization. To them I say that Rome has always worked hard to integrate the people, including those ‘less civilized’, around our empire. We like to think of Rome as the most enlightened in the world, but as a nation we have much to learn from our neighbors.

Certainly, their ways, methods, and language are foreign to us. In some cases, such as the Aztlan Dominion, their methods are abhorrent and bloodthirsty. Others, such as the republican traditions of the Hausonadee Confederacy, leave much to be admired. I would be unable to tell the true story of our colonization efforts without their truth.

A Map of the Nova Caesarian Colonies!


Some new maps for your pleasure. I’m excited to have these be part of my next project – a Brief History of the Colonies of New Caesaria! Which map do you like better?

Colonies of New Caesaria(1)Colonies of New Caesaria(2)

Colonies of New Caesaria(3)Colonies of New Caesaria(4)

Last Few Days to Preorder The Last Gladiator and Enter the Giveaway!


Act now to preorder your copy of my latest novella – The Last Gladiator!

Available on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords!

Continue reading “Last Few Days to Preorder The Last Gladiator and Enter the Giveaway!”

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