Jonathan Green's Blog, page 98

Thought for the Day

“I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”

~ Stephen King

Forthcoming Events

A couple of dates for your diary...

Essex Book Festival - Saturday 25th March 2017

I shall be appearing at the  Essex Book Festival  in Chelmsford, on Saturday 25th March 2017, as part of the  Steampunk Author Showcase , along with m'colleagues Toby Frost and Raven Dane.

If you're in the area, why not stop by? The event will be taking place from 2:30pm - 3:45pm but I shall also be selling my wares on the day, include my  Pax Britannia  books, as well as my steampunk-inspired  Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland .

To find out more, and to book tickets, follow this link, down the rabbit-hole...


Freeway Fighter Signing - Saturday 20th May 2017
Join an all-star Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks line-up at Forbidden Planet, launching Titan Comics’ Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter: The Comic on Saturday 20th May from 1 – 2pm!
Forbidden Planet are pleased to welcome Gamesmaster Ian Livingstone, artist Jim Burns, editor Jonathan Green, and creators Andi Ewington, Simon Coleby and Orlando Arocena, bringing us the first leg of a furious three-way road trip.
Celebrating 35 years in 2017, Fighting Fantasy brought together choice-driven storytelling with a dice-based role-playing system to create a world in which ‘YOU are the hero!’ The series sold over 18 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 languages.

In the new comics series, an unknown virus has wiped out over 85% of the world’s human population. Former I-400 Driver Bella De La Rosa is one of the 15% – living every day as if it were her last. Now, eighteen months after the collapse of civilisation, faced with a new world order where violence and chaos rule the Freeway. She must hone her racing skills and survive any way she can! 
Stepping away from the usual mix of orcs and goblins,  FREEWAY FIGHTER  is a road trip like no other. Dare you take it? If yes, turn to paragraph 132!


Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 - Saturday 2nd September 2017

On Saturday 2nd September 2017, a host of dedicated Fighting Fantasy fans will gather at the University of West London, in Ealing, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of  The Warlock of Firetop Mountain  by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the subsequent series of adventure gamebooks it spawned. And you could be there too!

Tickets are now on sale for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, via the official Fighting Fantasy website here.

Celebrate World Book Day by booking your ticket to Fighting Fantasy Fest 2

While school children up and down the country are marking 20 years of World Book Day , six months from today, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, a host of dedicated Fighting Fantasy fans will gather at the University of West London, in Ealing, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the subsequent series of adventure gamebooks it spawned. And you could be there too!

Tickets are now on sale for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, via the official Fighting Fantasy website here.


We are working very hard to make sure that FFF2 is similar enough to FFF1 that those who didn't manage to go last time (back in 2014) get to experience something of the same vibe, whilst also making sure that it is different enough that those who did go last time don't find themselves sitting in on talks they have heard before.

So expect new talks, new guests, new game demos, new traders, and new friends to be made, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2!

Happy St Dragon's Day!

Since today it St David's Day, I thought I would draw your attention to works of mine with a Welsh focus... or at least ones featuring dragons!

Actually, my very first published book Spellbreaker features a lot of Welsh names.

When I was starting out as a writer, I consciously tried to steer clear of fantasy cliches in my writing (although a magic sword does appear in Spellbreaker ), but one of my earlier gigs was writing an article about Dragons in Warhammer, for White Dwarf magazine, entitled Enter the Dragon .

Dragon-like creatures appear in Knights of Doom and Stormslayer , but there are not technically dragons.

There was a dragon in Warlock’s Bounty: Revenge of the Sorcerer , and there was a Zombie Dragon in Shadows over Sylvania .

I do have ideas for various stories featuring dragons, including a Pax Britannia one, but I just haven't got round to writing them yet.

I gave the old explorer's adage 'Here be Dragons' a twist with my Doctor Who novel Terrible Lizards , and I intend to revisit that concept later this year, in Neverland .

Tickets for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 go on sale on Thursday 2nd March 2017

Yes, it's the news fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks have been waiting for - tickets for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 go on sale on Thursday 2nd March 2017 at 9:00AM, via www.FightingFantasy.com!


Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 is an epic day-long celebration of all things Fighting Fantasy, taking place at the University of West London in Ealing, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, to mark the 35th anniversary of the world's premier gamebook series. Doors open at 9:00AM and the venue will close again, eleven hours later, at 8:00PM.

In the interim there will be all manner of talks, game demos, book signings, role-playing sessions, an exhibition of Fighting Fantasy art, and a host of trade stands to peruse. Guests of honour will be Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of the Fighting Fantasy series, but there will also be numerous artists, writers and other special guests in attendance.

Ealing itself is easily accessible by road, is well served by public transport links, and is only half an hour from both Heathrow Airport and Central London.

The University of West London offers a much larger convention space than the hotel which housed the first Fighting Fantasy Fest back in 2014, and boasts a lecture hall with tiered seating for 300 people. The venue also has its own cafe and bar, and both food and drink will be available throughout the event.


200 Early Bird Adult Tickets will go on sale on Thursday morning, at a cost of £35 each. These tickets will give you access to the entire event, including the trading hall, the full range of talks, guest signings, demo games, and art exhibition, for the whole day.

There will also be 50 Child Tickets on sale at £20 each. (Please note that children must be under 14 years of age on Saturday 2nd September 2017 and must be accompanied by a paying adult ticket-holder.)

Price of entry includes a collectible programme and autograph book. However, you may also wish to pre-order a separate Adventurer's Backpack containing unique merchandise, such as a Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 lanyard and event-exclusive t-shirt, at an additional cost of £25.

So make sure you instruct your goblin minions, or cast an enchantment (or, alternatively, set an alarm) to remind you to purchase your tickets at 9:00AM on Thursday 2nd March 2017 - via the official Fighting Fantasy website www.FightingFantasy.com - and maybe I'll see you on Saturday 2nd September 2017 at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2!

Tickets for Fightin go on sale on Thursday 2nd March 2017

Yes, it's the news fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks have been waiting for - tickets for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 go on sale on Thursday 2nd March 2017 at 9:00AM, via www.FightingFantasy.com!


Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 is an epic day-long celebration of all things Fighting Fantasy, taking place at the University of West London in Ealing, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, to mark the 35th anniversary of the world's premier gamebook series. Doors open at 9:00AM and the venue will close again, eleven hours later, at 8:00PM.

In the interim there will be all manner of talks, game demos, book signings, role-playing sessions, an exhibition of Fighting Fantasy art, and a host of trade stands to peruse. Guests of honour will be Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of the Fighting Fantasy series, but there will also be numerous artists, writers and other special guests in attendance.

Ealing itself is easily accessible by road, is well served by public transport links, and is only half an hour from both Heathrow Airport and Central London.

The University of West London offers a much larger convention space than the hotel which housed the first Fighting Fantasy Fest back in 2014, and boasts a lecture hall with tiered seating for 300 people. The venue also has its own cafe and bar, and both food and drink will be available throughout the event.


200 Early Bird Adult Tickets will go on sale on Thursday morning, at a cost of £35 each. These tickets will give you access to the entire event, including the trading hall, the full range of talks, guest signings, demo games, and art exhibition, for the whole day.

There will also be 50 Child Tickets on sale at £20 each. (Please note that children must be under 14 years of age on Saturday 2nd September 2017 and must be accompanied by a paying adult ticket-holder.)

Price of entry includes a collectible programme and autograph book. However, you may also wish to pre-order a separate Adventurer's Backpack containing unique merchandise, such as a Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 lanyard and event-exclusive t-shirt, at an additional cost of £25.

So make sure you instruct your goblin minions, or cast an enchantment (or, alternatively, set an alarm) to remind you to purchase your tickets at 9:00AM on Thursday 2nd March 2017 - via the official Fighting Fantasy website www.FightingFantasy.com - and maybe I'll see you on Saturday 2nd September 2017 at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2!

Thought for the Day

"The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do not say."

~ G K Chesterton

Sharkpunk Saturday: SHARKPUNK 2 Kickstarter cancelled

Unfortunately, I have had to pull the plug on the SHARKPUNK 2 Kickstarter. Despite the months of hard work, from the 26 contributing authors and myself, including some financial outlay, in four weeks the Kickstarter has only attracted 31 backers and not even raised 10% of its funding target.


I don't know what it was about the project but it just didn't gain any traction, despite the host of awesome authors involved. And although some of the support I was hoping for never actually materialised, I thought we had a great concept and some fantastic stories to share with the world.

So it was with a heavy heart that I pulled the plug today, but it needed to be done as 'Cancelled' looks better than 'Unsuccessful' on Kickstarter, and I have other projects I would like to crowdfund in the future.

But where does this leave SHARKPUNK 2 ? To be honest, right now, I don't know. I am considering re-running the Kickstarter later in the year, with slightly adjusted reward levels, and someone has suggested doing the anthology as an eBook through Amazon, but the fact of the matter is that I can't pay the contributing authors for their work without raising the money upfront via crowdfunding.

If you have any feedback regarding why you think the Kickstarter failed then do please comment on this post, whether you backed the project yourself or not, but please bear in mind that I ran a Kickstarter for the Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu anthology last year, which was a success.

So until next time...

Steampunk Thursday: Steampunk Author Showcase at the Essex Book Festival

I shall be appearing at the Essex Book Festival in Chelmsford, on Saturday 25th March 2017, as part of the Steampunk Author Showcase , along with m'colleagues Toby Frost and Raven Dane.

If you're in the area, why not stop by? The event will be taking place from 2:30pm - 3:45pm but I shall also be selling my wares on the day, include my Pax Britannia books, as well as my steampunk-inspired Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland .

To find out more, and to book tickets, follow this link, down the rabbit-hole...

Thought for the Day

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."

~ Napoleon Hill