Jonathan Green's Blog, page 156

Thought for the Day

Gamebook Friday: All I wanted for Christmas was... YOU ARE THE HERO!

So Black Friday has been and gone, Christmas has been and gone, the New Year sales are as good as over, and still no one has bought you a copy of the critically-acclaimed* YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks . What's a gamebook fan to do?

Simple answer is drop me a line at info@jonathangreenauthor.com and I'll sort you out with one of the few remaining hardback copies of YOU ARE THE HERO , and I'll even sign it for you. Now I can't say fairer than that, can I?

The hardback and the softback editions of YOU ARE THE HERO side by side.
The books cost £40.00 each, which includes post and packing within the UK. (Overseas readers will need to pay a little bit more to acquire their signed copies.) I shall look forward to hearing from you.


* 38 five-star reviews on Amazon, at the last count.

Warhammer Wednesday: Free Shipping Ends Today!

Christmas has been and gone but Black Library's free shipping offer is still going - just. On top of that, it turns out that a couple of my Direct Exclusive titles are down to the last few copies and aren't going to be reprinted.

So if you fancy picking up a copy of the Warhammer 40,000 novel Iron Hands (there are less than 5 copies left!) or The Armageddon Omnibus* (there's a few more of those, but not many more) then follow this link.


* I'm also in the Necromunda Omnibus 2, but I don't get any royalties from sales of that particular title.

Thought for the Day

13 New Year’s Resolutions for Writersby Jeff GoinsWrite what you’re called to write. Your job is not to pander or entertain. It’s to create, to share stuff from the soul as you are moved. If others are moved, well, then that is merely coincidental. Consider it “gravy.” Your job is to write. Leave the results to the readers.Tell the truth. No matter what, regardless of what is at stake, we must write what is true — true to us and true to the world. Anything deviating from that standard is a farce.Write from the heart. Nothing stirs up the emotions of a reader quite like writing that comes straight from the heart. So don’t hold back now. This is the year where you show all your scars.Don’t take yourself so seriously. Good writing is funny. It makes the reader laugh. If all you’re writing is the facts without bits of fun thrown in, you’re acting like a reporter, not a writer. Which is fine, unless you’re called to create something that tests the boundaries of the status quo. In that case, you better start having fun.Try a new genre. Are you a business advice writer? Try memoir. A novelist? Consider writing a journalism piece. Whatever you are comfortable with will ultimately cause your art to stagnate. So honor your calling as a creative and test the boundaries a little. Push yourself and see how you grow.Write when you don’t feel like it. No excuses now. We’re counting on you to do the work. Don’t disappoint us or make excuses. Show up — at the keyboard, every day, without fail. If you do this, you’ll do what so few are able to do: turn your passion into a discipline. And then, who knows? We might actually start listening.Do your research. Read a frickin’ book, for crying out loud. It won’t kill you. And God knows we could use a few more writers in this world who aren’t merely pontificating. Tell us something that doesn’t come straight from your idea closet. We all might actually learn something.Rewrite until it hurts. Face it: you’re not that brilliant on the first draft. And the second one kinda sucks, too. That’s okay, because this is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t consider yourself done until you’ve put in at least several hours and a few drafts. At that point, you’re really writing; everything else is prologue.Shut up. Take some time and listen: to what people are saying, to what you’re reading, to what you’re writing. It’s all trying to teach you something. Pay attention, shut that big mouth of yours, and open your ears. You might learn a thing or two from your surroundings.Read widely. This isn’t just research, it’s practice. Honing your craft. Studying the masters who came before. Pick a book or two that didn’t just pop up on your Amazon referrals list; read a classic or something that has absolutely nothing to do with your chosen field. We base our careers on words, so the best thing you can do is absorb as many of them as possible from as many different sources as you can.Focus on the writing. Get off Twitter or Instagram and spend a few hours a week writing. Not your platform or your growing contingent of Internet followers, but the the thing that really matters: the writing. No one will thank you for this, which is precisely why it’s important. You will feel better, and the work will improve (promise).Break a rule. Maybe write in an unusual voice or depart from a norm you’re used to. Do something that causes others — and yourself — to feel uncomfortable. Because in the discomfort, we grow. So mess with the status quo, and see what happens. It could be good, really good.Quit stalling and get writing already! Stop reading this post or rechecking your email for the umpteenth time. Turn the phone to silent and unplug from the world for an hour and just write. It’s the simplest, hardest, scariest thing for a writer to do. Not think about writing or talk about writing, but actually write. Imagine that.

Happy New Year, Happy New Writing Career?

Could 2015 be the year you make it as a freelance writer, or that you get to create a fantasy or SF world of your own for the first time (like that of Pax Britannia ), or you get to write for one of the biggest SF (and fantasy) publishers in the world?

If that sounds like the kind of Happy New Year you would like to enjoy, then check out both Abaddon Books' and the Black Library's open submissions windows now!

The Abaddon Books submission window is open from midnight GMT on 14th January 2015, and closes at midnight GMT on 15th February 2015, while the Black Library is already accepting submissions for Deathwatch stories, and will be until midnight GMT on Monday 26th January.

So don't delay - get writing today!




PS - Matt Sylvester has written a comprehensive piece on his blog about why you should follow publisher guidelines during open submission periods very carefully.

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO at Christmas

One of the joys that Christmas brought this time was people posting pictures of the copies of YOU ARE THE HERO they received for Christmas on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, along with kind words in many cases. Here are just a few of them...

[image error] "Christmas just got better! Many thanks to Jonathan Green, Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone!"
"Guy Francis Haley and Jonathan Green - Santa brought me some fine reading. Happy Christmas everyone!"
"Thank you Father Christmas! @jonathangreen - I think I have the best bookmark too courtesy of @ian_livingstone!"
"How did Santa know?! #dungeonsanddragons #starwars #fightingfantasy #DnD5 #books #xmas"

"Now this is what I call a present!! Great book Jonathan! Thanks!"
Christmas also brought a new 5-star review, bringing the current total to 35.

"I can honestly say this is a magnificent book and will take any fan of the original books on a warm fuzzy trip down memory lane."


In other news, Bloodbones the App is now available to Android users*, and as of writing this blog post, four people have already rated it 5 stars!


* The iOS version is coming soon.

Steampunk Thursday: Luzifer Verlag

Steffen Janssen, publisher of the German editions of my Pax Britannia books Unnatural History and Leviathan Rising, would like some feedback on the books from German language readers. So, if you happen to have read my books in German, why not drop him a line here?


Oh, and Happy New Year.

Happy New Year!

What does the future hold?

As another year comes to an end, I find myself wondering what the new year will bring. For me, 2013 was definitely the Year of Moshi Monsters, while 2014 was the Year of YOU ARE THE HERO. But what will 2015 be known as in years to come?

Will it be the Year of Sharkpunk? The Year of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain? Or the Year of Steampunks vs Zombies? Only time will tell...

YOU ARE THE HERO Selfie Competition Winner

A while ago now, I ran a competition whereby I asked readers of YOU ARE THE HERO to send me their selfies. After much deliberation I am happy to announce that we have a winner!

Jam Hirons as Akharis the Accursed
Jam will be receiving a copy of Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts through the post as a prize, and an honourable mention must go to Buddy Love.

Lovin' the manicure!