the website of author and local favorite blake michael nelson | about | contact: theblakeshow@gmail.com
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NEWS AND VIEWS - FEBRUARY 2020
WRITING NEWS All right, here it is! My latest novel, The Demon in the Metal, is now available on Amazon. Here's the cover (the art is by the masterful Jorge Jacinto, who did a brilliant job): 
The novel takes place in a fantasy world somewhat reminiscent of late 18th century Europe, where the discovery of a special metal, called aurichalcum, has recently triggered a scientific revolution. Aurichalcum is used to generate heat and light, and in the construction of rifles and cannons. The book follows the adventures of three protagonists: Drom Overholt, a police inspector investigating a suspicious murder in the gloomy, London-like city of Dais Eleutrené; Luc d'Fensi, a treasure hunter who has just been hired to escort an antiquarian and his daughter (who are not at all what they seem) to a distant ruin; and Aemilia Owen, a forward-thinking young woman whose parents have just sent her to Dais Eleutrené to live with her eccentric grandfather...the man who, fifty years ago, discovered the properties of aurichalcum, and who is currently working on a top-secret project for the Eleutrinian government. These three stories eventually converge in a far-western wilderness, full of ancient ruins, dangerous monsters, and long-dormant magics. You can sample the first chapter here. Check it out! And if you like it, please consider leaving a review, either on Goodreads or Amazon; reviews are really helpful for struggling writers like me. What's next? Well, right now I'm working on Sneak, the seventh Signalverse novel; I'm hoping to finish it around the end of April and to start writing the sequel to The Demon in the Metal (called The Brassfire Fleet) in June or July. * * * * * * * * MY GAME COLLECTION I've got a little over three hundred video games in my collection now. Is that a lot? I don't know. I don't think it is -- some people have whole basements full of video games; all of my games fit on one shelf, in one corner of my bedroom. And unlike the serious collectors, I don't collect just for the sake of collecting; if I buy a game, it's usually just because I want to play it. A few of the games in my collection are worth some decent money: I've been buying games since 1990; I was pretty good about saving the boxes and manuals and things; and most of the games I purchased back in the day were sought-after RPG's and cult classics that people are still interested in. Here's a look at some of the more valuable games in my collection: 
Chrono Trigger (SNES). Bought this one when it came out, when I was fifteen years old. I'm missing a few of the inserts, but the maps and the manual are included here, and the box is in great shape. Final Fantasy III (SNES). Again, I'm missing a few of the inserts, and the manual's kind of ragged, and there's some scratches on the box, but overall it's not too bad. 
Shining Force II (Genesis). This one isn't hugely valuable, but it's in great condition. Snatcher (Sega CD). Easily the most valuable game in my collection. I bought it off eBay for $70 bucks in the early 2000's; it's worth about $500-$600 now. 
Resident Evil (PlayStation). This is the earlier long box version, which I picked up in 1997 (I think). First PS1 game I ever bought. Probably worth about $60-$70. Shining Force III (Saturn). Not sure about this one. I bought it off eBay about five or six years ago, along with a Saturn, for about $125, which I thought was a pretty good deal; alas, the Saturn didn't work and there was a very unsightly crease in the game's manual. The disc works fine, and everything else is intact, but with those condition issues I don't know what it might be worth now. 
Tales of Destiny II (PlayStation). Known as Tales of Eternia in Japan, this game had the misfortune to be released on September 10th, 2001. I saw it on Amazon for $20 a few months later, so I picked it up (though I never got around to playing it), and eventually, for some reason, it became a collector's item. Valkyrie Profile (PlayStation). Sought-after PS1 game; goes for about $125 in good condition. 
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GameCube). Bought it when it came out. Worth about $150-$200 now. Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (DS). I had no idea this one was worth anything until I stumbled across a video about rare Dragon Quest games on YouTube a few weeks ago. Apparently it's worth about $100-$125, presumably because it's the only official English release of the game. I think those ten are probably the most valuable, but I've got quite a few others that might do pretty well on eBay, too: the PS1 Lunar games, Arc the Lad Collection, Suikoden V, Dark Wizard, Final Fantasy II for the SNES, Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PSP, etc. 
Would I ever actually sell any of these, though? Well, maybe. I like having these old games around, but let's face it, you can emulate pretty much everything these days, or buy digital copies via the various digital marketplaces; there isn't much reason to hang on to actual physical game discs and cartridges in 2020, unless you're a real purist.
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