The Malinche News Network

No news for a whole month? That's because we've been hard at work making this holiday season special for fiction fans the world over.

To make some noise, we're proud to unveil The Malinche Gift Pack and make something available that we've never done before.

Howard has been particularly busy with Pentari: Second Dawn as well as a private project for one of the world's most distinguished advertising agencies.

In other news, Tim Jackson of Ontario's The Record covered us in the December 3, 2005 edition. The piece entitled "Games: $20 ball will amuse and amaze" shined a spotlight on interactive fiction and the virtues of text adventure games that every gamer enjoys. One of Mr. Jackson's most distinctive quotes is:

"For the iPod user in your house, Howard's games make a great gift and add a feature to the iPod that Apple did not even realize was possible."

Rob Michaud of AdventuerGamers.Com gives The First Mile the nod as a seriously good horror fest. Here are some excerpts from his glowing review of The First Mile:

"The First Mile is perfect for that late night chill-fest that's so rare in gaming today."

"Text adventures live and die by their story, and rest assured, this is a great one."

"There is a scoring system in place to award points as you play through the game, with different puzzle solutions garnering you different point amounts. This lends a nice replay value to the game as you try out different solutions in order to eke out that last point."

"...by the end, with the mysteries solved and your final score displayed, your only thought will most likely be how much you want to experience it again."

"...for the length of play time you'll get out of the game, combined with the replay factor in trying to max out your points and try different puzzle solutions, it is money well spent."

"Bottom-line: A lengthy, challenging game that will keep you glancing over your shoulder the whole time you're playing it."

Implementor Howard Sherman was a guest on the Steve Cochran Show on Chicago's WGN 720 AM this afternoon and talked to more than 1,000,000 listeners about Malinche's interactive fiction, classic games, mobile technology and much more.

Jen & Clay were filling in for Steve who was filling in for another host on the station himself and everyone had a grand time.

If you missed it, don't worry. Howard is on the air on ten more stations over the next ten days. Stay tuned for a full list of broadcast stations and times.

Back in July, Greystone was featured as one of the hottest games you can buy on Apple.Com's website. Now, just three months later, The First Mile has made the same list joining its sister title, Greystone, among the ranks of the hottest and newest products for the Apple family.

We know of no other producer of interactive entertainment that has ever made Apple's exclusive list twice within 90 days...except Malinche.

If you fall in love with the iPod Nano, the Video iPod or a PowerMac while you're there -- breathe easy! Malinche's titles can run on all of those beautiful machines! And many more besides.

As far as we know no product in the history of the Apple Product Guide was ever featured twice....until now. Our murder mystery was first featured back in July. And Greystone is back for an encore. Click the link just above and see it for yourself; The First Mile and Greystone are listed sequentially as the hottest titles you can buy for your Apple today.

That's because you can enjoy all of our titles on any computer, most cell phones, and any PocketPC or Palm device.

There you have it. Irrefutable evidence that Malinche titles deliver quality entertainment that stands up to the scrutiny of even the most diligent reviewers and industry giants.

Absolutewrite.Com has just published an interesting interview with Howard. Discover some of Howard's motivation and philosophies of writing as well as get a "behind the scenes" glimpse of Howard's completion of The First Mile.

Howard posing with roughly 2000 pounds of supplies he personally packed and shipped to hurricane victims.

The trucks pull up to load the boxes of critical supplies and get them on their way to the people of New Orleans.

With all the images of despair and dismay emanating from the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama all blasted by Hurricane Katrina, Howard thought it was high time some pictures of promise surfaced.

As Chairman and CEO of Admiral Ventures, Corp., Howard manages an impressive portfolio of businesses. One of the crown jewels of this corporate empire is Postmark Plus, an established destination for shipping, copying and other business services in central New Jersey. In response to the chaos Katrina left in her wake, Howard gave the order for Postmark Plus to process shipments to hurricane victims in the environs of New Orleans for free.

After media coverage by the Asbury Park Press, The Home News Tribune as well as all local radio stations, hundreds of wonderful people donated over 4,000 pounds (two tons!) of bottled water, canned food, clothing, baby supplies, pet food, first aid supplies, flashlights. As the supplies surged in, packed cartons were shipped out. Many crates of precious supplies have already reached survivors with much more on the way.

Volunteering himself to lead the effort, Howard is continuing to personally supervise this operation to ensure maximum efficiency in bringing food, water, medical supplies and other essentials to those in the greatest need.

All Malinche staff are pitching in so please excuse us if the response times to customer service and technical support requests are just a bit slower than usual.

Howard has never wished to co-mingle the activities of his other company, Admiral Ventures, Corp. with Malinche. But in a special situation like this, Howard has authorized an exception.

MDA, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Muscular Dystrophy has issued a warrant for Howard's capture! (Everyone relax, this is a fundraising event -- not a legal battle!)

Meryl Evans, a celebrated writer in her own right, gives The First Mile a glowing review.

"The First Mile is horror fiction, perhaps something torn out of Stephen King’s notebook. As soon as the game begins, my heart thumps harder with each move I make as I encounter a body, hear a hellhound growling, and see many empty buildings and homes."

"If you can’t get your teen to read a book and she constantly plays video games, sneak this into her computer, iPod, or Smartphone and she’ll convert and read without hesitance."

Sunday August 21

Howard will be a guest on the greater Los Angeles area's KVTA 1520 on "A Computer Show" at 8:45 PM EST. Listen live by visiting their website here.

The 10,000 watt signal from AM 1520 KVTA can be heard as far south as Mexico, as far north as Santa Barbara County, as far east as Topanga Canyon and as far west as Hawaii.

Howard will be a guest geek on "Geek Speak" on Carbondale, Colorado's KDNK (88 on the dial) at 2:15PM EST. Visit the geekspeak.net website and listen live!

Geekspeak is the Roaring Fork Valley's most popular computer show. Every Monday Chief Chairman Mark (the Mac guy), Captain Father Neal (the PC guy), live to serve your computing needs. Their glib patter, interviews and tech savvy keep their loyal listeners glued to the radio.

Resident Implementor Howard Sherman and Malinche Entertainment were both mentioned prominently in a feature article that appeared in the August 4th edition of USA Today. Read the article here.

A Free Concert in Greystone

More and more of Greystone is being torn down to make way for a massive new park and recreational facility that all visitors can enjoy. I encourage everyone to avail themselves of this singular opportunity to explore what is left of Greystone and enjoy some really good music. You can be sure that I will be there to partake of the festivities.

On a personal note I am a bit saddened by the news that some buildings have already been torn down with more structures slated for destruction. At the same time, I can't question the nobility of the project and its goal to bless the world with hundreds of acres of open land that shall harbor a myriad of outdoor activities. Greystone as it was known since the 19th century shall exist no longer. Having walked the grounds, absorbed the history and assimilated hundreds of impressions I suppose it's to be expected that I feel a twinge as Greystone Park transforms.

Fortunately, I was able to capture the heart and soul of Greystone in a glorious frame that pays tribute to the very best of humanity while simultaneously condemning man's darker side. My Greystone shall never be destroyed and shall be accessible by everyone forever after.

Howard will be a guest on New York's WABC TV on their show Viewpoint on August 14th at 5am. Check your local listings to verify the time.

If you missed Howard's appearance on Craig Crossman's Computer America last week, click here to listen to the entire hour. Howard, Craig and Carey had a lot of fun talking about adventure games for a solid hour. During the hour, one of Malinche's own customers called in and we all had a blast!

More Media Appearances are Scheduled for this month and next and will be Announced Shortly.

In case you didn't catch NY 1's excellent coverage of Malinche on TV last week, click here to view the entire segment. This clip requires the Real player.

Jacob Ogles revisits Malinche with an eye on our new iPod games. We must have made quite an impression; Malinche made front page news on Wired today!

NY 1, New York City's leading cable news channel seen by more than 3.5 million people on any given day is running a feature on Grand Implementor Howard Sherman and Malinche Entertainment on Monday night, July 25th and should run at various times through Tuesday, July 26th. NY 1 is available to all Time Warner Cable subscribers throughout all five boroughs of New York City. The resident technical wizard of NY 1, Adam Balkin, interviewed Howard this morning and everyone should look forward to a sensational piece.

This piece of news is near and dear to Howard's heart for two reasons: 1) He was born and raised in New York City and 2) His very first experience with a computer happened to be a session of Zork in a Brooklyn Radio Shack on a TRS-80 Model III in 1981. (We purposely didn't say "Zork 1" since, at the time, there was no "Zork 2" back then. Twenty-four years ago Zork was just called, uhm, Zork.)

The Tennessean, will be running a feature in their August 2nd edition focusing on Howard's philosophies and views on the effects video games have on today's youth.

Other television, radio and print coverage is scheduled and will be announced in the days ahead.

As of July 11th, Apple Computer's online product guide featured Greystone as one of the newest, hottest arrivals to the Macintosh family!

The First Mile will be featured in this Sunday's edition of the Kansas City Star.

Pick up the October 2005 issue of Maximum PC and you will find a really cool article about Malinche by staff writer Logan Decker. This issue will be on sale in September.

In other news -- Howard is returning to 91.3 FM WBNY in Buffalo, NY in the near future. Hosted by Sal "The Observer" Monaco, he will be giving away copies of The First Mile to listeners lucky enough to call in and win.

Howard will be a guest on Craig Crossman's Computer America on July 27th at 11 PM. If your local radio stations don't carry this excellent show you can listen live on the Internet by clicking here.

Howard is honored to be a guest of Computer America, America's longest running syndicated talk show dedicated to computers.

Our press release announcing The First Mile has been very well received! Here are just some of the well-known sites that have given Malinche coverage just today! Howard finds all this attention very gratifying.

Click any of the links below to read their coverage of Malinche:

Forbes.Com

KVVU TV Channel 5 in Las Vegas

KRON TV Channel 4 in San Francisco

Yahoo!

iPod Games

"Admiral" Howard A. Sherman has authorized the following disclosure of information to the public:

In a breakthrough in technology not seen in years, Malinche Entertainment will release three of its four titles for the iPod on July 15th, 2005.

Thanks to the development of proprietary technology that Malinche possesses exclusively, all of the vivid writing, exciting plot twists and unique characters you've come to expect from our titles will be available to anyone with an iPod or iPod Mini in just about three weeks.

Now you can listen to your favorite music while exploring the exotic world of Pentari, solving a grisly murder case or escaping from a town overrun by the minions of hell.

Pentari: First Light, Greystone and The First Mile will be available for the iPod for just $9.95 per title. Readers will be able to download our critically-acclaimed games and enjoy them on on any iPod or iPod Mini.

Despite Howard's best efforts, Endgame will not be available for the iPod. Endgame is too intricate and technical to be adequately translated to the iPod and still end up with a meaningful game.

Implementor Howard Sherman has been quoted in the Christian Science Monitor this month. He is honored to share the same article with legendary Infocom Implementer Steve Meretzky.

New Interactive Fiction Tutorial Launches

Over the past three years Howard has grappled with the challenge of bridging the gap separating mainstream fiction book readers from truly enjoying Interactive Fiction. Abruptly the answer came to him just today.

Available right now in our Demo Games section, The Malinche Training Academy is an actual work of Interactive Fiction written specifically for people brand new to Interactive Fiction. The Malinche Training Academy (MTA for short) assumes the player knows NOTHING about Interactive Fiction and does an excellent job introducing the concept of Interactive Fiction as well as a number of the commands an adventurer must know if they are to succeed in solving a murder mystery, commanding a navy war ship, saving a magical world from destruction or escaping alive from a town overtaken by evil.

If you have Java installed (and you probably do) you can enroll in The Malinche Training Academy by clicking here.

What may be of particular interest is that the first glimpse of The First Mile can be gained in the new Malinche Training Academy. A number of rooms in our latest title are entirely accessible - and our latest game hasn't launched yet!

"The Matawan Project"

It is of course well known that the result of The Manhattan Project was a world-changing evolution of science and technology whose impact is felt to this very day by every single man, woman and child who inhabits the earth. The reverberations of the Manhattan Project has left an impression upon humanity that will never fade with the passage of time.

"Admiral" Howard A. Sherman has just tonight authorized the public disclosure of the existence of The Matawan Project.

The Matawan Project's existence can be traced back to February 20th of this year with Malinche engineer Michael Ferrador following Howard's guidance and lead in crafting a vision of Interactive Fiction in step with the future.

Malinche is proud to announce that as of 20:15 June 1, 2005 The Matawan Project has produced its first truly successful result.

The successful outcome of The Matawan Project may very well change the world in a profound way as well.

Malinche makes history again by being the first Interactive Fiction publisher to launch an affiliate program. Anyone with a website can sign up for our program and immediately start earning lucrative commissions by referring customers to our website. For program details and registration click here.

The First Mile will launch on July 15th.

In response to some harsh comments made by a game developer recently who essentially condemned text adventure games to a premature death, Howard has taken up the cause and wrote a rebuttal that appears in JustAdventure.Com

Click here to read Howard's vigorous defense of text adventure games and adventure games in general.

Howard Sherman and Pentari: First Light take center stage in an excellent piece about text adventure games that appeared in Wired Magazine yesterday. Read the article here.

A group of talented authors have gotten together and released an anthology of their works. 100% of the proceeds of their sales will benefit tsunami victims. Click here and order your copy now.

"Admiral" Howard A. Sherman has launched Endgame Release 3 at 13:50 on 25 January 2005.

Release 3 corrects a number of small bugs and other minor issues that round out the title nicely.

Simultaneously, a brand new walkthrough for Endgame has been posted to the customers-only club on Yahoo. For those truly stuck in completing Endgame successfully just click here to visit the club. In addition, there are lots of interesting things to check out there.

All registered customers have already received their new copy as per our lifetime free update/zero-tolerance bug policy. Any Endgame customers who have not received Release 3 should email Mike Ferrador and request your free update.

No written work is ever perfect. An article just published today by the BBC shows that even the most respected institutions can be guilty of goofing. Check out this article to see what we mean.

After a rough, hard year Howard and Nadia took off on a cruise through the Caribbean over New Year's. While in Key West, Florida Howard was inspired to make a pilgrimage to the home of Ernest Hemingway, one of the 20th century's most influential writers. In Howard's own words, he walked away moved and impressed.

I was a little blown away as I entered the home this legend once occupied. I almost felt like an invader as I walked through his private bedroom and peeked into the adjoining commode. Putting that aside, the rich history and emotions I was exposed to served to spark something inside of me. Examples of this new inspiration can be found in my own home now. I used to refer to my home office as, well, an office. Now that room of the house where I create my works, balance the family checkbook and play my Atari games is now called my studio. I find "studio" much more conducive to the creative process than "office". Visit the Previews Section for the product of all this new creativity!

After our tour of the home and grounds (which are all exquisite, by the way) we made our way to Sloppy Joe's; Hemingway's favorite watering hole. Suffering from Keys Disease as I was, I was forced to stop along the way for two very strong rum drinks. Never mind the fact it was not quite 11 am at the time. We finally made our way to Sloppy Joe's where I imbibed the strongest drink on the premises (the house special margarita) and took a few moments to soak in the importance of this place and how much time Hemingway spent here, all the people he met and all the inspiration and ideas he picked up and injected into his writing.

Now comfortably buzzed the effects of Keys Disease were eased which made it easy to board the Conch Train for the tour of the island. As is often the case, we were heading back to the ship and back on our way in far too short a time.

Malinche Entertainment thinks Apple Computer Corp. makes some of the coolest computers and technology on the planet.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

Archived News

Sunday August 21

A Free Concert in Greystone

iPod Games

New Interactive Fiction Tutorial Launches

"The Matawan Project"

The First Mile will launch on July 15th.