Jonathan Green's Blog, page 82

Warhammer Wednesday: The Magos

I must admit, I am slightly confused as to why Black Library is celebrating 20 years since its founding this year, in 2018, when its 20th anniversary was actually last year*. But no matter the reason, on Saturday 24th February, Games Workshop and Warhammer stores around the world will be holding a celebration of all things  Black Library .

As well as being a celebration of 20 years(?) of fantastic adrenaline-fuelled fiction from the worlds of Warhammer, the brand new Inquisitor Eisenhorn novel, The Magos is being released on 24th February 2018. Games Workshop and Warhammer stores will have a host of special merchandise to commemorate this special occasion, including an exclusive resin Citadel miniature of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, based on the classic Clint Langley** artwork depicting the Inquisitor in his younger days.

I hope to be able to drop into the London Warhammer store on the day but I have another commitment on the 24th February, but more about that later.


In other news, this week is National Storytelling Week. I'm trying to tell a new story of my own at the moment, but it's proving a little tricky to fit in around everything else I have to do. But there's a deadline looming and that's usually all the motivation you need.


* And I should know, seeing as how the first piece of fiction published by the Black Library was my Warhammer short story, the Badenov's Band tale The Hounds of Winter.

** Clint Langley produced the cover art for my very first novel, the Badenov's Band adventure The Dead and the Damned.

Thought for the Day

"The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story."

~ Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)

Short Story Saturday: Kaiju Rising II

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II is now into its final two weeks of funding and still has half the money it needs left to raise.

If you've been considering backing this Kickstarter project - which features a brand new story by Yours Truly, called The Ghost in the Machine - then you may be interested to learn that some new rewards have been added, along with a couple of stretch goals.

Outland Entertainment are now offering a limited edition hardcover of Kaiju Rising II , with a hand made slipcase from Two Tone Press. These will be signed, numbered, and extremely limited.

Furthermore, they are offering a limited edition hardcover of Kaiju Rising I with a matching hand made slipcase!

This will be your only chance to get a hard cover edition of Kaiju Rising II .

If the Kickstarter raises $16,000 (or more), the book will feature seven pieces of artwork. If it reaches $17,000, it will feature another seven pieces of artwork!

Outland Entertainment also have a few other things they're cooking up to roll out over the last half of the Kickstarter. So pledge your support today, and keep an eye out for more announcements!

Burns Night Book Plug

"A wealth of information guaranteed to keep you in whiskey at any pub. A wealth of information for both Scots and those who wish they were."

That's what one reviewer had to say about Scottish Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scotland the Brave, my book about all things Scots published by Skyhorse Publishing back in 2010.

And seeing as how it's Burns' Night tonight, today seemed like the perfect time for another shameless plug!

Happy Burns' Night!

"A wealth of information guaranteed to keep you in whiskey at any pub. A wealth of information for both Scots and those who wish they were."

That's what one reviewer had to say about Scottish Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scotland the Brave, my book about all things Scots published by Skyhorse Publishing back in 2010.

And seeing as how it's Burns' Night tonight, today seemed like the perfect time for another shameless plug!

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II - Ask the Authors Anything!

There is a special event taking place today, from 6.00pm GMT, on Facebook. It's an 'Ask the Authors Anything!' party in connection with the new monster-sized anthology of kaiju stories,  Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II .

Here's the schedule:


As I'm based in the UK, and will be asleep when it's time for the last minute questions, I'm going to stop by when I can, earlier on, so feel free to leave me a question about my story,  The Ghost in the Machine .

The Kickstarter to fund production of the book is 37% funded, with just over two weeks left to run, so please help spread the word about  Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II .


Other contributors to the book include Lee Murray, Melanie R. Meadors, Cullen Bunn, Kane Gilmour, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Jeremy Robinson, Nick Cole, Steven Diamond, Marie Brennan, Mari Murdock, Sabrina Vourvoulias, Zin E. Rocklyn, Dan Wells, and M. L. Brennan.

The awesome cover art for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II by Tan Ho Sim.

Thought for the Day

“I’m not a prophet. Let’s get rid of that idea right now. Prophecies are really about now. In science fiction it’s always about now. What else could it be about? There is no future. There are many possibilities, but we do not know which one we are going to have.”
~ Margaret Atwood

Gamebook Friday: Onward Adventurer

The latest episode of Starburst Magazine's podcast Brave New Words - #2.27 Onward Adventurer - is available to download for free from iTunes. The reason I mention this today is because not one, not two, but four of my books get a mention. I say a mention, but they are actually discussed for a good 40 minutes or more, which is nice.

The books in question are YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 and 2 ,  Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland  and The Wicked Wizard of Oz . Fighting Fantasy Fest 1 and Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 also get a mention. (And when I say a mention...)

There is an interesting discussion concerning how well, or not, the artwork of the Fighting Fantasy books has dated, although I completely disagree with one of the panel who thinks that there were some poor artistic decisions made in the YATH books and who argues that if you are writing a history of something you should consider reworking iconic images associated with it. (And we all know how well that's gone down with some FF fans with regards to Scholastic re-imagining classic images from the FF gamebooks.)

I'm pleased to say that the panel are suitably wowed by the look of the special edition of  The Wicked Wizard of Oz , and are especially impressed by Kev Crossley's designs for the playable characters, although the same panellist misunderstands that the Scarecrow isn't The Grim Reaper but A Grim Reaper, and it would have been nice if somebody had actually read/played through the book before reviewing it.

You can listen to the podcast for yourself here.

           

Steampunk Thursday: Neugieriger und Neugieriger*

Germany, are you ready for Alice im Düsterland ?


This German translation of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is coming later this year from Mantikore-Verlag .


* Or as Alice would say, "Curiouser and curiouser!"

Thought for the Day: Blue Monday

Writing books is, "lonely and demoralising and you're often in tears," says celebrity children's author David Walliams who has raked in over £11 million pounds from his children's books.

#nicerproblemstohave
Not as lonely and demoralising as reading about another celebrity 'author' pocketing a tidy advance and later enjoying massive sales due to their celebrity status as opposed to any discernible talent. That's what leaves me on the verge of tears!