Jonathan Green's Blog, page 86

Gamebook Friday: NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! one week in

The NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Kickstarter has now been running for a week, and in that time it has achieved 70% of its initial funding target and a few column inches in the genre press, such as this piece on SciFind.com and this one on Gamebook News .

However, there is still a long way to go if the book is to be the fully illustrated beast we all want it to be, so keep spreading the word and encourage people to join the NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Facebook group - the more who do, the greater the rewards will be for those people who back the project.

Which level will you back at?

Thought for the Day

"A book is a dream that you hold in your hands."
~ Neil Gaiman

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! launches on Kickstarter on 2nd November

The Kickstarter for my latest ACE Gamebook launches at midnight tonight!


If you've read Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland or The Wicked Wizard of Oz , you'll know the sort of thing to expect, only this time I'm mashing together J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World .

If you're a fan of Peter Pan then you'll love this re-imagining of the story, which features all your favourite characters - Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling, Tiger Lily, Captain Hook and Mr Smee. And if you're not a fan of Barrie's original then you'll love this new, darker take on the story, which also features fleshing-eating fish-people, marauding morlocks, and dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs.


At 11:40pm on the 14th April, 1912, during her maiden voyage, en route to New York City, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and in the early hours of 15th April the passenger liner sank. 1,503 people died, including passengers and crew, but 706 people survived, among them Wendy Darling and her dog Nana...

Separated from the rest of her family, Wendy's lifeboat drifts for days until it washes up on the shores of a mysterious island - a place lost in time, home to creatures long thought extinct, a forgotten tribe, and a boy who can never grow up.

But the notorious pirate Captain James Hook and his crew have also found their way to Neverland, and the island is angry...


The first 100 people who back the NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Kickstarter, to receive a physical copy of the book, will receive a free download code for my Gamebook Adventure Temple of the Spider God , courtesy of Tin Man Games, and the first 10 people who back to receive the deluxe hardback will also receive a pair of steampunk goggles!

Not only that, but if you encourage your friends to join the NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Facebook group too, and the total number of members reaches 400, everyone who backs the project to receive a physical copy of the book will also receive a hardback copy of the Explorer's Journal - an artefact encountered in the game!

There are also a limited number of Early Bird rewards that include a pre-release play-test copy of the adventure.


So you know what to do - spread the word and I'll see you at midnight!

JG at ArmadaCon this weekend

I will be one of the guests attending this year's AramadaCon , which is taking place at Future Inns in Plymouth, from Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th November.

On Saturday 4th November, in the Main Hall during the day, I will be giving a talk entitled 'How to Write an Adventure Gamebook', while on Saturday evening there will be a live read-through of a Fighting Fantasy adventure.

And on Sunday 5th November, again in the Main Hall, I will be giving a talk about my Pax Britannia steampunk novels, and may also be taking part in a writers' panel.

I will also have a table in the Dealers' Room, where you will be able to buy copies of my history of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks,  YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 and 2 , as well as my ACE Gamebook, The Wicked Wizard of Oz .

YOU ARE THE HERO - Parts 1 & 2
The Wicked Wizard of Oz

Tie-in Tuesday: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin published today!

Huzzah! It's new book day!

George Mann's latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes' stories is published today. Entitled  Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes , it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, itself entitled  Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin .

The premise behind the anthology is that each story is told by one of Holmes' associates, in my case Sir Henry Baskerville, the poor put upon subject of the murder plot in  The Hound of the Baskervilles  (which is one of only four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

The following is taken from the book and explains why I chose Sir Henry to be the narrator of my tale.


The Hound of the Baskervilles  has long been my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, so it was only natural that I would choose that as my jumping off point. This time last year I was in Cornwall, and crossed Bodmin Moor, which is allegedly home to its own beast.


This year I am in Cornwall again and on the way down visited Lanhydrock House, which could easily pass for Baskerville Hall - or even Trelawny Hall from  Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin .


Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

Thought for the Day

"Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it."
~ William Faulkner

Tie-in Tuesday: Tales of the Lost Isles available now!

The Ghost Archipelago has returned.

A vast island chain, covered in the ruins of ancient and otherworldly civilizations, the Archipelago appears every few centuries, far out in the southern ocean.

At such times, pirates, adventurers, wizards, and legendary heroes all descend upon the islands in the hopes of finding lost treasures and powerful artefacts. A few, drawn by the blood of their ancestors, search for the fabled Crystal Pool, whose waters grant abilities far beyond those of normal men.

It is only the bravest, however, who venture into the islands, for they are filled with numerous deadly threats. Cannibal tribes, sorcerous serpent-men, and poisonous water-beasts all inhabit the island ruins, guarding their treasure hordes and setting traps for the unwary.

This book of fiction collects all-new stories set within the Ghost Archipelago, including my own A Nice Little Nest Egg.

You can order your copy of  Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago: Tales of the Lost Isles , edited by Joseph A. McCullough, here.

Thought for the Day

"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt."
~ William Shakespeare

The Wicked Wizard of Oz at GamesFest 2017

Just a quick reminder that this Saturday, 21st October, I shall be attending GamesFest 2017.

GamesFest  is a one day tabletop gaming convention based in Tring, in Hertfordshire, that aims to introduce new tabletop games alongside some well loved classics in an informal atmosphere. Gamesfest events continue to gather fans and plaudits as they encompass war-gaming, RPGs, board games, comics, cosplay and much more.

It's been a while since I first attended GamesFest but the event is now firmly established in the annual convention calendar, providing a platform for new entrants and a great day out for all those attending.

So why not come along, participate and try something new?

I'll be there selling my ACE Gamebook The Wicked Wizard of Oz, as well as YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 & 2 . And I also hope I'll be able to preview the forthcoming NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters.


You can find out more about the event here.

Thought for the Day

“But for my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.”
~ Jane Austen