Kell Shaw

The cover for The Stonebound Heir, showing a pagoda under a field of stars.

I've reviewed a fantastic book from the SPBFO XI competition on my blog. Two young outsiders, each with a mysterious heritage, get involved in court intrigues in an Indian-themed fantasy world and quickly find themselves out of their depth...

kellshaw.com/the-rib-the-...

Yeah, Legendborn pulls off that vibe really well. It juggles a whole bunch of stuff - campus life, legendary knights, secret orders, magic, conspiracies. Best YA I've read in a while. Plus I'm watching Buffy Season 4 at the moment and there's a lot of synergy between them.

I've got a new Review of Interesting Books on my blog: kellshaw.com/blog/the-rib... -

Knights on campus!

#booksky #bookreview #urbanfantasy

@kellshaw.bsky.social

I've reviewed the first four books of the Alex Verus series on my blog. It takes a while for a series to get good, to reach a level where you can't wait for the next book, and book four, Chosen, is the best so far...

kellshaw.com/blog/alex-ve...

#booksky #urbanfantasy

I was running games for my younger #ttrpg group today at the gaming bar, Fortress, and one of them said, “They’re playing really old music.”

It was Sk8ter Boi and some My Chemical Romance.

I reflected that my version of ‘really old’ music is Buddy Holly or the Beatles.

I'm using a lot of Emma Ruth Rundle songs to get the head of my current main character, who's a three hundred year old half demon assassin. Especially 'Marked for Death'.

A display of the five books in the Vestiges of Magic universe.

I write immersive urban fantasy occult thrillers that feature queer and diverse characters having exciting, and gritty adventures. Lots of found family, explorations of identity and deep character dives. All in Kobo & Kobo Plus.

See www.kobo.com/au/en/search...
and kellshaw.com/books

@tinstargames.bsky.social I know you won't see this, but remember how we all started roleplaying in Brisbane together, and then all moved to Sydney independently? And it was always fun seeing you around the RPG scene, playing your games, seeing all the bright things you'd accomplished.

Go well.

Someone else in the universe does secondary world urban fantasy? And it's on Kobo? Wooo. *runs to check it out*

New blog post about writing, what I did last year, and my 2026 plans: kellshaw.com/blog/reflect... #writingcommunity #writesky #indieauthors

It is the year 2026, twenty years after Transformers the Movie was set. Or season 3, which was much poorer for the lack of Starscream.

Great, I’ll check it out.

I'm on an Alex Verus kick at the moment - how does Eric compare? Alex is a diviner, so can predict the future, and has a dark past (tm) which is catching up to him slowly. I'm up to book four at the moment!

My new book is out on all platforms! Reflections Upon the Anniversary of My Descent. Like Kill Bill with demons. A dark coming of age. An urban fantasy thriller. kellshaw.com/books/cambio...

#urbanfantasy #booksky

New book review on my blog: Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka. Hard magic meets urban fantasy.

kellshaw.com/blog/an-inhe...

I hate my family and my small town. Except it's bordered by strange mist, and stalked by monsters. My close friends hate me. I'm getting sucked into a dream world that doesn't make any sense. And yet, I get a cool naginata and everything seems worthwhile. (I'm playing Silent Hill F.)

Final Night, the first book in my urban fantasy series is now free (or 99 cents) until November 30. It's about a girl who comes back from the dead to solve her own murder, twenty years later... books2read.com/final-night/ #urbanfantasy, #booksky

Check out Kell Shaw

Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal

Kell Shaw is an author and avid tabletop roleplaying gamer, whose lifelong passion for fantasy—especially Shadowrun, the Lord of the Rings, and the World of Darkness—inspired him ...

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#AuthorSpotlight @kellshaw.com

I’m sure the Company would have sprung for a cyberlimb.

My character has died in Mothership. “(GM): Vangral has died from stimpak overdose”. After bleeding to death from two failed first aid rolls. Such is life in the harshness of space.... #ttrpgs #mothership

New book review! The Were Chronicles by Alma Alexander. Werewolves meets X-Men. Check out 'hard fantasy' in the urban fantasy genre; recommended read. kellshaw.com/blog/the-rib...

#bookreview #booksky

I won't swap my Pathfinder 2 campaign out for it (as that would be a lot of work, mid-campaign) but would definitely try to run again when I want some of that OTT fantasy happening.

And then you can stockpile fear tokens for cool combat manouvres. I tried it without a battlemap, but everyone got confused where things were. Plus a lot of the powers make use of all the ranges: Melee, Close, Far etc. And everyone was keen to play!

@kellshaw.bsky.social ran Daggerheart yesterday. It took a few combats to work out how it was supposed to work, but flowed well once that happened. The main thing is reacting to the player's turns with your GM move. If they fail, or roll with Fear, you get to react. #ttrpg #dagggerheart

I love Silent Hill. I've played most of them, even Homecoming and Downpour. This would be a direct riff, with weird dreams and cults and strange monsters and terrible revelations...Now to fit that into a single quickstart adventure...

Yeah, it's probably two different audiences! I do love Silent Hill, so that would be a homage to that, with a side serving of resultant weirdness...

Can't beat the classics! Hmm, if I do the cop scenario, the bad guys could be a gang of wererat art thieves....

And they're on a spaceship!

Yeah, it does make it very clear to explain to people! I think I'll end up doing two separate adventures. The police one would be easier for a short convention game, and the second one, which will be more of a Silent Hill-style sandbox, a bit longer.

What's the best idea for a quickstart RPG adventure setup?

The PCs are working for the police force, solving supernatural mysteries?

Or the PCs are drawn to a small town by strange dreams, where there is a strange cult and a mystery going on that links them together? #ttrpg #ttrpgdesign