Jonathan Green's Blog, page 11

Doctor Who at 60

I couldn't let the landmark 60th anniversary of the world's longest running science ficiton TV show go without a mention.

Ten years ago I was watching The Day of the Doctor at the cinema with my kids. Today, I've watched a couple of old episodes from the Third Doctor's era*. And at the weekend I will sit down to watch the first of the 60th anniversary specials.

Tom Baker was my first Doctor, although I later saw quite a few of John Pertwee's adventures when they were repeated on BBC2. I have been a fan ever since. I found things to enjoy about every era, and while I didn't appreciate Chris Chibnall's stint as showrunner, I still watched every episode. But I am optimistic for David Tennant's return and whatever comes after.

When Doctor Who wasn't on TV, I read Virgin Books New Adventures. I even pitched one, although it was politely rejected.

My involvement with Doctor Who as an author didn't begin until 2007, when I contacted Puffin Books about writing a Decide Your Destiny Doctor Who gamebook. This lead to me being commissioned to write The Horror of Howling Hill. Over the next decade I wrote for the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, and contributed to Doctor Who: 100 Illustrated Adventures and wrote the lion's share of the Doctor Who Annual 2010.

Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny: The Horror of Howling Hill (2008)

The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 (2010)

Time Lord Quiz Quest (2015)

Terrible Lizards (2016)**

Doctor Who: Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken (2016)

Doctor Who: 100 Illustrated Adventures (2017)

My involvement with Doctor Who also lead to me meeting numerous Daleks and one Steven Moffat.

Who knows if I'll ever write anything for Doctor Who again, but if the chance does arise, I would love to. After all, it's Doctor Who, isn't it?

* It's interesting how many episodes' cliffhanger endings involve someone pointing a gun at the Doctor.

** First published as part of Monstrous Missions (2012).

Moon Knight: Age of Anubis - out today in the UK!

Moon Knight: Age of Anubis is out in paperback in the UK today!

When N’Kantu, the Living Mummy, escapes his sarcophagus and steals an artifact that turns swaths of mankind into zombies, Moon Knight steps in to save the day… But is hampered by an eager Egyptologist whose choices seem to influence his personalities and strengths. As Moon Knight and the Egyptologist chase N’Kantu from the streets of New York to navigating traps, tricks, and riddles within an ancient temple in Egypt, the two uncover an evil ritual that will begin a battle between gods over the power of life and death. Only the Egyptologist holds the key to unraveling the dark plot… everybody’s lives are in their hands!
“If you loved gamebooks, solo adventures, Moon Knight, ancient Egypt or just want to kill a bit of time in a fun and engaging way this is the book for you!” A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives
“This was an absolute joy to read (over and over again) and I think even when you've perfected the route, you could easily come back to this one later on and do it all over again with the same enjoyment!” Amazon.co.uk
“Jonathan Green's skillful storytelling, the interactive gameplay elements, and the incorporation of the Marvel universe make it a must-read for those seeking an immersive and interactive reading experience.”Goodreads
To buy your copy of  Moon Knight: Age of Anubis  follow this link .

Gamebook Friday: Black Friday Week Sale

For some reason, Black Friday has gone from being one day, to a whole weekend, and now a full week. So, in anticipation that you might want to grab yourself a bargain before Christmas, the ACE Gamebooks' Black Friday Sale is on now at DriveThruRPG!

GamebookFriday: Moon Knight, a Conclave of Dragons, and William Shakespeare

My author copies of Moon Knight: Age of Anubis arrived this week and I'm delighted with how my first Marvel gamebook has turned out. Remember, the paperback is available now in the US and is released in the UK on 23rd November 2023, but the global eBook is available everywhere now.

In three weeks' time, I will be attending Dragonmeet, at the Novotel London West, on Saturday 2nd December 2023, sharing a table with Sir Ian Livingstone. I will also be signing copies of Moon Knight: Age of Anubis at the Aconyte Books stand while I am there.

And last of all this week, in case you missed the announcement on Wednesday, the next ACE Gamebook is going to be Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come. Sign up here to be kept up to date with developments.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Today marks the 400th anniversary of the printing of the First Folio.

Published in 1623, seven years after the death of its author, it was the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays. Without this achievement, we would have lost half of his dramatic work. 
The 400th birthday of this foundational book seems as good a time as any to announce my next ACE Gamebook which will be coming to Kickstarter next year - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come .

Some of you may remember the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu anthology of short stories I edited back in 2016. At the time I teased the gamebook , saying that it would be coming to Patreon. But plans change and now I will be funding production of the book via Kickstarter.
To sign up to be notified of future developments, please click on the image below .

Gamebook Friday: DestinyQuest Raiders

Michael J Ward's latest DestinyQuest project is currently funding on Kickstarter. DestinyQuest Raiders: Tides of Terror is different from the previous five Destiny gamebooks because you lead a team of four adventurers through the story and there are no dice to roll.

To find out more, follow this link to the Kickstarter.

Gamebook Friday: Spooky Halloween Reads

It's Halloween on Tuesday, so now seems like the perfect time to remind you of my various horror-related reads that you can enjoy at this time of year.

First of all there is the ultimate horror ACE Gamebook, Dracula: Curse of the Vampire.

1897 ~ In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil,’ his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

And then there is my Cthulhu Mythos novella, The Serpent's Egg, and my ghost story, The Doll's House, both of which are available as audiobooks.

Gamebook Friday: O Maligno Mágico de Oz

The Wicked Wizard of Oz is now available in Brazil, in a Portuguese language edition, from Jambô Editora.

Here's my unboxing video of O Maligno Mágico de Oz.

In other news, last Saturday's International Gamebook Day was a great success. If you missed any of the interviews that were broadcast on the day, you can watch them at your leisure here, on The Storymaster's Tales YouTube channel, including one with gamebook godfather Sir Ian Livingstone himself!

Gamebook Friday: International Gamebook Day 2023

Tomorrow, Saturday 14th October 2023, is International Gamebook Day, and the schedule has been announced.

Our host is Olly Mc, of The Storymaster's Tales fame, and the Guest of Honour is Sir Ian Livingstone, whose interview will go live at 7:00pm BST.

If you check out the Facebook event page, you will see that the links for the video interviews have been posted already.

I will also be making an appearance, at 6:00pm BST, talking about my horror-themed ACE Gamebooks and my Marvel Multiverse Missions gamebook Moon Knight: Age of Anubis.

So, maybe I'll see you tomorrow...

Visit the International Gamebook Day 2023 store here.

Warhammer Wednesday: Warhammer eBooks

Monday saw the release of Krakenbane's Curse, a new Age of Sigmar short story by Yours Truly. 

A few of the short stories I have written for Black Library over the years are available as digital eShorts and three of the six novels I have written set within the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes as eBooks. Why not check out one of them today?