Read Something.
Biblioteca del Cangrejo
In 2021, James Ernest started publishing works of short fiction right here. Some of these works are game-related, and some are not.
If you like what you see here, please encourage James to add more. He has been writing short fiction ever since he could write.
Welcome to the Library.
James Ernest is secretly a writer who makes games. You can see this on the cover of almost anything he has published. His first formal game design was Tishai, a game at the center of a fantasy novel he outlined in high school, about a kingdom at war with demons. He never finished the novel, but he finished the game.
James is also an accomplished technical writer, as you can tell once you get to the rules of his games. His first game-industry job was to compile the digest of the official Magic: the Gathering Usenet group, and his second such job included re-writing the rules for Magic four separate times.
Once in a while, James completes a new work of short fiction and adds it to this library. The most ambitious of these items is the ten-part novella, Ten Cards Up.
If you want to read more by James Ernest, look for his published books including:
Contact Juggling: Ernest Graphics Press, 1991 / 2011
Contact Juggling: ebook, 2011
Dealer’s Choice: Lone Shark Games, Second Edition 2021
Cheapass Games in Black and White: Cheapass Games, 2019
Brian and John: The Book: Webcomic compilation, 2011
Brian and John: The Book: ebook, 2011
Ten Cards Up: The Story of Canyon Red
Canyon Red was no adventurer, no card sharp, no smooth talker. Just a street kid with a singular talent: to predict the winner of a card game, when no one else could.
Ten Cards Up is a novella set in the world of Carrisor. James wrote this ten-part story during Covid, and posted it here in 2022.
It follows a uniquely talented gamer, who has a gift for predicting the winner of a popular gambling game, and it mentions several original games that you can find at Crab Fragment Labs.
Read the story here!
The Vines Characters
This page is a description of the characters and setting of the Vines Deck. It’s completely irrelevant to the game, but might be of interest for fans of the universe.
The Cottage War
The story of the Cottage War is part of the backstory of the Vines deck. It’s completely unnecessary, which is what makes it so great.
Writing Prompts Vol. A
Several years ago, I bought a book filled with interesting writing prompts. I replied to the first five prompts immediately, but never picked it up again.
One Hundred Lies, Vol.1
BRIAN: John, have you ever started your own blog? JOHN: No, but I will tell you a lie about it. (1640 words)
The Devil’s Walk
Jereal is an angel. A literal ethereal mystical being. And when he noticed that I was stuck at home and bored, he decided to introduce himself. (7700 words)
Henry at the Diner
There was a thick smell of fried food that even this rain couldn't beat out of the air, and Henry couldn't resist going back inside. (725 words)
Into the Catacombs
We forged a bond that would last through the fall, into the following spring, and even for a short while after she killed me. (6700 Words)