Jonathan Green's Blog, page 145

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO at the UK Games Expo

Surfacing again after a couple of weeks of intense SHARKPUNK promotion, I just wanted to let you know that I shall be attending the UK Games Expo this year, on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2015, and I shall be bringing the last few boxes of the YOU ARE THE HERO hardback with me.

YOU ARE THE HERO  was nominated in the UK Games Expo Awards best RPG supplement category. However because you can't actually play  YOU ARE THE HERO  it is not eligible for the award. That said, the judging panel are considering giving the book an honourable mention, so watch this space...

In other news, PJ Montgomery and Gavin Mitchell have released a new page of artwork from Steve Jackson's The Trolltooth Wars , featuring a couple of characters who will be very familiar to fans of Citadel of Chaos...

Artwork by Gavin Mitchell
... which also just so happens to have been the inspiration behind a song written by a friend of mine and his band Groan.

(I can see a couple of new chapters are going to be needed for the 40th anniversary edition of  YOU ARE THE HERO .)

Sharks by numbers

6 inches - The size of the smallest shark, the Dwarf Lantern Shark.

40 feet - The length of the biggest, the Whale Shark, which weighs up to 20 tonnes.

46 mph - The top speed of the fastest species, the Mako Shark, known as 'the torpedo with teeth'.

250,000 - Mobula Rays, members of the shark family, have been seen somersaulting in the air in balletic courtship displays. The biggest belly floppers have the best chance of attracting a mate.

20 - The number of killer shark stories in  SHARKPUNK .

22 - The number of authors who have contributed to  SHARKPUNK .

Grab your copy (paperback or ebook) today.

 Dwarf Lantern Shark

 Whale Shark
  Mako Shark
Mobula Ray
SHARKPUNK

Thought for the Day

"Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can."
~ Sir Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)

The Official SHARKPUNK Launch at Forbidden Planet, London

So yesterday this happened...


Not quite knowing how the event would pan out - there were eleven authors in attendance and myself - I prepared a few words but, as it turned out, the signing yesterday wasn't the place for them, so I'm going to post them here instead.

First of all, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who came along, keeping us all busy signing copies of SHARKPUNK , thank you to Snowbooks, particularly for the banner which everyone signed, and thank you to Forbidden Planet for hosting the event. There were shark-themed tablecloths, rubber sharks, shark teeth, shark cakes, shark biscuits, and even a huge flying shark which spent most of the time menacing the Starship Enterprise.


But most of all, I want to say thank you to the writers who contributed to  SHARKPUNK  - those who weren't able to attend the Forbidden Planet launch, as well as those who were - for taking a crazy idea and running with it.



SHARKPUNK contributors - Al Ewing, Alec Worley, Laurel Sills, Den Patrick, Rob Spalding, Andy Taylor, Andrew Lane, Kim Lakin-Smith, Ian Whates, Jenni Hill and Jonathan Oliver.
Who would have thought that a throwaway comment on Facebook about calling the genre of terrible shark movies (like Sharknado) Sharkpunk would have brought us to this moment, a month from Jaws' 40th birthday, with an anthology of shark-related stories receiving rave reviews all over the Internet?

If you weren't able to attend the launch, you can order your own signed copy from Forbidden Planet here.

Sharkpunk Saturday - Sharkpunk launches today at Forbidden Planet!

SHARKPUNK officially launches today at Forbidden Planet, London, between 1.00pm and 2.00pm GMT today.

I will be there along with publisher Emma Barnes and twelve very talented writers:

• David Lee Stone - author of the Illmoor Chronicles
• Andrew Lane - author of Young Sherlock Holmes
• Ian Whates - award-winning publisher, editor and author 
• Al Ewing - comic book master and celebrated novelist
• Toby Frost - creator of Space Captain Smith
• Jonathan Oliver - award-winning editor and author
• Kim Lakin-Smith - award-winning YA and SF author
• Alec Worley - comics writer and film reviewer
• Jenni Hill - renowned editor and author
• Laurel Sills - editor of holdfast magazine and BFS Award judge
• Robert Spalding - popular pulp horror writer
• Den Patrick - popular fantasy author

Hopefully we'll see you there.

Sharkpunk on Pornokitsch

Today, Pornokitsch - the geek culture championing website - has played host to my SHARKPUNK-related ramblings, allowing me to submit my five favourite sharks from the silver screen for their weekly Friday Five.

You can check out my list, and add your own suggestions, here.

And don't forget, the official  SHARKPUNK  launch is taking place on Saturday, at Forbidden Planet in London, at 1.00pm. And there may be cake...

SHARKPUNK - The Official Launch at Forbidden Planet

SHARKPUNK  - the anthology of killer shark stories I've put together and published by Snowbooks - will be launching at Forbidden Planet, London, on Saturday 9th May at 1.00pm GMT.

I shall be there along with publisher Emma Barnes and these very talented writers:

• Andrew Lane
• Ian Whates
• Al Ewing
• Toby Frost
• Jonathan Oliver
• Kim Lakin-Smith
• Alec Worley
• Jenni Hill
• Laurel Sills
• Robert Spalding
• Den Patrick

(Please note, unfortunately Steven Savile and David Lee Stone are no longer able to attend.)

Please share the Facebook event page, tell all your friends, and if you're in London on Saturday, why not stop by the Shaftesbury Avenue store and grab a signed book! :-)

GAME OVER - Call for Submissions

For immediate release: 

Jonathan Green // Call for Submissions 


GAME OVER 

This is an anthology of brand new material, to be published later this year by Snowbooks.

We are seeking original horror stories inspired by classic arcade games, between 5,000 and 10,000 words in length.

Rights required are exclusive World English language rights for six months, dropping to non-exclusive World English language rights thereafter, with an option for foreign language translation within the anthology should offers be made for overseas editions.

Delivery: 1st June 2015. Submissions will only be accepted by email, in Word doc format.

Payment: A share of royalties.

We want stories inspired by arcade games such as Space Invaders, Asteroids, Ghost and Goblins, Q*bert, Pitfall, Breakout and Pole Position. The stories must not impinge on any IP. For example, you could write a story about an alien invasion, or mention the arcade machine Q*bert in a story set in the real world, but don’t write a story featuring a character called Pac-Man.

We already have a number of well-known horror and games writers on board. Arcade classics to steer clear of are Frogger, Centipede, Pac-Man, Gauntlet, Tetris, Rampage, and Donkey Kong, as we already have stories based on those games.

Due to the quick turnaround on this project, formal feedback will not be given on submissions (unless they are accepted for publication), and discussions will not be entered into regarding reasons for rejection.

Please do not submit your story anywhere else, until you know of our decision, and if you are not happy working to the terms outlined above, please do not submit.

We shall look forward to receiving your stories. Please email your submission, with your Word document as an attachment, to info@jonathangreenauthor.com, and include your name, story title, and the words ‘GAME OVER Submission’ in the subject line.

May the Fourth be with you

Five years ago my first (and so far only) Star Wars adventure gamebook, Crisis on Coruscant, was published. And it's still available today to buy on Amazon.

Hmm... I wonder which one I'll go for...

Thought for the Day

"A good editor is part shrink, part bullying older sibling, part sycophantic fan, and part Santa Claus."

~ Si Spencer, writer and sometime editor