Jonathan Green's Blog, page 53

The Krampus Kalendar: B is for the Box of Delights

The Box of Delights  is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield, remembered as much for the BBC's 1984 dramatisation of it. In the story, Kay Harker returns from boarding school only to find himself mixed up in a battle to possess a magical box, which allows the owner to go small, go swift, experience magical wonders contained within, and travel into the past.


The dramatisation is noted for its Yuletide atmosphere (it is set during Christmas, after all) and has become something of a nostalgic treat for followers of cult TV. The seasonal theme music is Victor Hely-Hutchinson's wonderful orchestral arrangement of "The First Noël" from his Carol Symphony.

If you've never seen it, it's worth checking it out, and if you remember it fondly from your childhood, as I do, enjoy the following clip as you take a trip down memory lane and recall a creepy children's Christmas classic...


I have made my own homage to  The Box of Delights  in 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas, and will do the same in 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas, which is currently funding on Kickstarter.

   
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's  Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts  today!

The book is also available in the United States as  Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas .

      

Thought for the Day

“Sometimes there are just too many words filling up space and not enough emptiness left for thinking. I keep a little emptiness inside for when I need it.”

~ Sarah Pinborough, The Language of Dying

The Krampus Kalendar: A is for ADVENT Sunday

I was hoping that Day 1 of this year's Krampus Kalendar would be A is for Available from Amazon, but it looks like it's going to have to be A is for Alternative Arrangements. (The unavailability of
'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas on Amazon seems to be a problem at the book distributors end, which we're working hard to resolve.)

But fortunately, today happens to be Advent Sunday. The period of four weeks leading up to Christmas is called Advent, from the Latin 'adveneo' meaning ‘to come’. In this context it refers to the coming of Jesus, and so in the Christian Church has always been a time of preparation, in expectation of the Feast of the Nativity.

In many households the days left until Christmas are counted down with the aid of an Advent calendar. The first Advent calendars, as we would recognise them, were made in the middle of the nineteenth century. Even before that, however, German Lutherans were already marking off the days of Advent by some physical means. In some households this meant lighting a new candle each day or hanging up a religious image, but could be something as simple (and cost-free) as marking a line in chalk on the door of the house. If candles were used, they were mounted on a device called an Advent clock.

The first recognisable Advent calendar, however, didn’t appear until 1851, and even then it was a handmade creation. There is some debate as to when the first printed calendar appeared. Some say that it was produced in 1902 or 1903, in Hamburg, Germany; others claim that it did not appear until 1908, and that it was the creation of one Gerhard Lang, a printer from Munich. And although it might seem like a more recent addition, Advent calendars replete with chocolate treats have actually been around for at least half a century, and were certainly available by 1958.


'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas makes the perfect stocking filler, while 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas is currently funding on Kickstarter.

   
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's  Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts  today!

The book is also available in the United States as  Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas .

      

The Krampus Kalendar: A is for Advent Sunday

I was hoping that Day 1 of this year's Krampus Kalendar would be A is for Available from Amazon, but it looks like it's going to have to be A is for Alternative Arrangements. (The unavailability of
'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas on Amazon seems to be a problem at the book distributors end, which we're working hard to resolve.)

But fortunately, today happens to be Advent Sunday. The period of four weeks leading up to Christmas is called Advent, from the Latin 'adveneo' meaning ‘to come’. In this context it refers to the coming of Jesus, and so in the Christian Church has always been a time of preparation, in expectation of the Feast of the Nativity.

In many households the days left until Christmas are counted down with the aid of an Advent calendar. The first Advent calendars, as we would recognise them, were made in the middle of the nineteenth century. Even before that, however, German Lutherans were already marking off the days of Advent by some physical means. In some households this meant lighting a new candle each day or hanging up a religious image, but could be something as simple (and cost-free) as marking a line in chalk on the door of the house. If candles were used, they were mounted on a device called an Advent clock.

The first recognisable Advent calendar, however, didn’t appear until 1851, and even then it was a handmade creation. There is some debate as to when the first printed calendar appeared. Some say that it was produced in 1902 or 1903, in Hamburg, Germany; others claim that it did not appear until 1908, and that it was the creation of one Gerhard Lang, a printer from Munich. And although it might seem like a more recent addition, Advent calendars replete with chocolate treats have actually been around for at least half a century, and were certainly available by 1958.


'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas makes the perfect stocking filler, while 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas is currently funding on Kickstarter.

   
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's  Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts  today!

The book is also available in the United States as  Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas .

      

Gamebook Friday: 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas is live on Kickstarter!

'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas  is now funding on Kickstarter.


It is a rules-lite RPG, designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation, inspired by the legends and literature of Christmas, as well as the  ACE Gamebook   'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas .


If you're going to Dragonmeet on Saturday, you will be able to have a look at a sample chapter from the RPG, as well as some of the artwork that will appear in the book. And while you're there, you can get your  'TWAS  gamebooks signed by the illustrator Tony Hough and myself.

The trade hall will be open from 10:00am, and you will find the ACE Gamebooks  stand in the north-west corner, next to Atlantis Miniatures.

Early Bird rewards on offer for 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas

Hopefully it hasn't escaped your attention that  'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas  launches at midnight on Black Friday, 29th November.

'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas  is a rules-lite RPG, designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation. It is inspired by the legends and literature of Christmas, as well as the  ACE Gamebook   'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas .


The RPG is available in three formats, PDF, softback and hardback.



If you back before Krampusnacht, the 5th December, you will benefit from Early Bird discounts, which will be active for some of the rewards.
You can also pledge to receive print copies of  ACE Gamebook  that inspired the RPG, if you haven't got it already.




But if you back within the first 24 hours, you will receive a bonus adventure encounter along with a bonus fully playable character, for no extra charge!
The crowdfunding campaign will run until 11:59pm on the Longest Night, 21st December.

Warhammer Wednesday: Journey of the Magi

A review of my new Warhammer 40,000 story, Journey of the Magi , appeared on Track of Words this week. In summary:

"Come for the sorcerous action, stay for the enjoyably bleak sense of satisfaction."

You can read the full review here , and you can buy Inferno! Volume 4, in which the story appears, here .

Thought for the Day

“I love the book. I love the feel of a book in my hands, the compactness of it, the shape, the size. I love the feel of paper. The sound it makes when I turn a page. I love the beauty of print on paper, the patterns, the shapes, the fonts. I am astonished by the versatility and practicality of The Book. It is so simple. It is so fit for its purpose. It may give me mere content, but no e-reader will ever give me that sort of added pleasure.”

~ Susan Hill, author of  The Woman in Black

Gamebook Friday: 'TWAS the Book Launch and 'TWAS the Roleplaying Game

A week tomorrow, on Saturday 30th November, ACE Gamebooks will be attending Dragonmeet 2019 , under the brand's own name for the first time.


I will be there, of course, but so will Tony Hough, my sometime collaborator and the very talented artist behind the illustrations in 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas , which is launching at the event.

So come along to Dragonmeet, at the Novotel Hotel in Hammersmith, and get your books signed by both of us. The trade hall will be open from 10:00am.


Talking of 'TWAS , the roleplaying game inspired by the gamebook is coming back to Kickstarter. The campaign will launch on Black Friday, 29th November, and run until the Longest Night, 21st December.


'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas  is a rules-lite RPG, designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation. It is inspired by the legends and literature of Christmas, as well as the  ACE Gamebook   'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas .


The RPG is available in three formats, PDF, softback and hardback.



If you back before Krampusnacht, the 5th December, you will benefit from Early Bird discounts, which will be active for some of the rewards.
You can also pledge to receive print copies of  ACE Gamebook  that inspired the RPG, if you haven't got it already.




But if you back within the first 24 hours, you will receive a bonus adventure encounter along with a bonus fully playable character, for no extra charge!
So put the date in your diary now, and I'll see you again on Black Friday!

Thought for the Day

"I think the most important thing when writing a novel is to find out who your characters are. Once you start getting to know them, everything else will fall into place and the plot will be determined by the way they act and react."

~ Gareth L Powell, author