Gav Thorpe's Blog, page 17

Interview with Masters of the Forge – July 2016

Listen to an interview with the guys at Masters of the Forge podcast, where we discuss the genesis of The Beast Arises series and its structure as a defined narrative, and my contributions to the series – The Emperor Expects, and The Beast Must Die.

Listen To The Interview

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

July 2016 – Q&A

This is a compilation of questions that have been emailed and messaged to me recently.

If you want to ask anything, you can post a comment here or get in touch through the contact page (and newsletter subscribers can just reply to any of my emails).

Ilya asked on email: Hello Gav! Nice to text email to you! Could you please help me with next questions: 1) Did Lion have a beard and mustache? Or he had a clean face during his lifetime? 2) Do you have information about your short story “Acceptable Losses” cannot found this on Goodreads

It’s Party Time!

Everyone grab a glass, it’s party time! My website and newsletter are 1 year old!

*Sets off party popper*

Launched just over a year ago it was a big decision for me, as it involved a lot of outlay in the form of web design and management, graphic design, and newsletter package, not to mention employing my lovely partner Kez to keep everything ticking over. And because I don’t actually sell books myself, I have no visibility as to whether any of it makes a jot of difference when it comes to the bank balance.

Which is why I’m not judging its success on royalties figures, but on the feedback I get from the people who read my blog or newsletter, who have appreciated my writing advice articles, and have welcomed my books pages as a structured resource for everything they want to know about a particular title.

Newsletter

I’m slowly getting to grips with my monthly newsletter, finding a balance between gushing about the geeky stuff that has caught my attention recently and shameless self-promotion. The Kickstarter section always goes down well, and people seem to appreciate hearing about the behind-the-scenes side of being a freelance word pirate.

One thing I’m enjoying more than I expected is giving newsletter subscribers the ability to just reply to any of my newsletters. Not only do the emails provide a very welcome source of procrastination they’re also helping me re-connect with my hobby.

At the time of writing:

I have 1,044 subscribers, of which a surprising amount come from Norway (takk alle sammen).
I’ve given away six signed books in the bi-monthly draw, including Angels of Caliban, Ravenlord, Raptor CD, Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan, The Unforgiven, and the very heavy (and expensive to post) Ultramarines anthology. The next prize is the hardback of Deliverance Lost – must stop offering up these heavy books!
111 people haven’t clicked the “Confirm Subscription” link in the sign-up email (check your spam folders people!).

Website

My last post on the old Mechanical Hamster website gave a few statistics about my old site. At the time of writing, one year on:

I have posted 150 new blogs (and thanks to Kez, actually remember to promote new books I have coming out).
The site has been viewed 53,594 times, mostly from the UK and USA.
On the best ever day there were 923 views, when I published my “More Dark Angels Secrets Revealed” blog.
The website which has driven most traffic to my website is Warseer.com – thanks guys!
The most popular post was my Author’s Notes for Warbeast.
Three people have found my site by searching for “hamster diet plan”. One can only assume they were disappointed.

What’s To Come

There are a myriad of ways I want to develop the website and newsletter but, as always, time is the bugbear (or carrion crawler, or maybe some kind of gnoll (I think I might be craving some old school D+D…)). We’re still honing the content for the newsletter to try and make sure it stays relevant, and I’d like to find a way to engage more people in the comments section of my blog to hopefully inspire me further with the hobby (if you have any suggestions how I can do this please, ummm, comment below…).

A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment or give feedback, whether it be in person at an event, in reply to a newsletter, or through my various social media channels. I’m intending to issue a survey in the next month or so to establish just what people do and don’t like about the website and newsletter, so your help with that when it comes would be very much appreciated.

I’d be remiss not to thank Kez for keeping everything running smoothly, and gratitude to Darren Turpin for doing all the crunchy behind-the-scenes work to ensure nothing falls off or goes >sproink<

So here’s to a good first year, and an even better second year, and let us remember the fabled motto of Bugman’s Rangers:

Meinz Abeir!

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

Interview with Combat Phase – July 2016

Listen to an interview with the Combat Phase podcast where we discuss in depth Angels of Caliban, including the Lion, the end of Imperium Secundus, and the character of Luther.

My interview starts at 29:02.

Listen To The Interview

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

The Beast Must… Let You Know What To Expect

The Beast Must Die – my second contribution to, and book eight in The Beast Arises series – was released on the 16th July. If you haven’t started the series yet, here’s what people had to say about The Emperor Expects (book three, and my first installment in the series).

You can also read an extract here.

“Now that is a cliffhanger ending. Gav Thorpe did a great job and delivered the first great entry in this series.” 5 out of 5 Stars

– Michael Butler, Goodreads

“This book series is just getting better and better with each entry. Gav Thorpe here has introduced new character, fleshed out existing ones, and taken the story arc into a place we have no idea where it go go next. I await the next title hungrily.” 5 out of 5 Stars

– Rob, Goodreads

“The characters are a strong part of this book. They are truly… – human. Yes, that’s exactly it – Gav has created a believable characters who are truly alive on each page… Gav Thorpe – you are now an amazing and fan friendly author in my view. And I can’t wait for the ‘Angels of Caliban'” 5 out of 5 Stars

– Andrey Nalyotov, Goodreads

“Gav Thorpe’s crafted absolutely gripping and nail-biting, tension filled moments on the bridges of the Navy vessels, it feels as if you are along for the ride, nothing forced, no unnecessary words or conversations among the characters.” 5 out of 5 Stars

– Anonymous, Amazon

“There was a great variety of action in this book. From personal combat and system wide ship conflict to the political machinations of the High Lords of Terra. The multiple threads of this story converge in to a shock ending that means I can’t possibly avoid buying the fourth story in the series.” 5 out of 5 Stars

– IuchiAtesoro, Amazon

“This book has only slightly over two hundred pages. The advantage is, of course, that it can be read from cover to cover pretty quickly, and this is not negligible given that the story is exciting. However (and here is the rant!) and because it is exciting, I ended up wanting more, much more…” 5 out of 5 Stars

– JPS, Amazon

“Keeps the story moving from Multi-character views. Great addition to the book series!” 5 out of 5 Stars

– David Anderson, Amazon

“Stayed up late to finish #TheEmperorExpects. Bloody hell. I did not expect that ending. Just brilliant. Well done @DennisHamster.”

– Ryan @MajorRawne, Twitter

“If there were any lingering doubts about how good this series was going to be, consider them essentially dispelled by this book… It’s great stuff, and the cliffhanger at the end? Well…it’s a big one.”

– Michael Dodd, Track of Words

Buy The Beast Must Die

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

Art of The Beast – Interview With Victor Manuel Leza

Artwork for The Beast Must Die, by Victor Manuel Leza

I am very lucky to have many talented artists produce the book covers for my Black Library work, including the art for The Beast Arises series, by Victor Manuel Leza. I particularly like how The Beast Arises has been presented as a series – it’s unlike any other Black Library work I have on my shelves, and really makes an impact when you see them all together.

I asked Victor if he would answer a few questions about his work for Black Library.

You can see more of Victor’s work at his website www.victorleza.com

Gav: The Beast Arises features 12 covers, each with a unique character – can you tell us a little about the commissioning process, did Black Library give you a list of subjects or did you pitch ideas? How has it been working with Black Library’s art and design team?

Black Library became interested in my work and asked me if I was familiar with the world of Warhammer 40K. This would be the first time that I’ve illustrated it, but I’ve followed the Universe since I was a teenager and I’m a great collector of art books and magazines about Warhammer 40K. To have a chance to illustrate it had been a desire in my mind from a long time ago. Black Library proposed the themes of each cover with a profusion of details and visual references as inspiration. They were very accurate in their descriptions; Warhammer 40K characters are filled with an iconography and very specific details. The suggestions they gave really helped my work.

Gav: As well as illustration you also work in graphic and character design and I think that shows in the sharp vignette pieces you’ve done for The Beast Arises. Combined with the minimal cover graphics, they really jump off the shelf. What was it like working on single characters rather than a whole scene?

I guess every type of illustration has its advantages and disadvantages. In an illustration of a massive battle you can feel overwhelmed by hordes of characters but perhaps the central character loses prominence. In a scene with a solitary character, the reader can better focus on the expression, dress and personality that conveys the central character. In each different design you emphasize different things but I think both are compatible and suitable for the world of Warhammer 40K.

Artwork for The Emperor Expects, by Victor Manuel Leza

Gav: Were you a fan of Warhammer 40,000 before working for Black Library? How did you first encounter the universe?

Since I was 11 years old I bought the magazine White Dwarf and numerous artistic material related to Warhammer: art books, catalogues, books about different miniatures awarded in the Golden Demon Awards… etc. Being part of this now is a great joy.

In the creative process I mix photomontage with digital painting. Photographed family and friends and especially myself to properly capture facial expressions, realistic lighting and body and hands poses. Also commonly I photograph all kinds of clothes, swords or toy guns which can then be digitally adapted to a world of epic fantasy.

Gav: What do you like most about working with the Warhammer 40,000 images?

Visually it is one of the world’s most extensive, varied and epic fantasy settings that exists. They are full off action, passion, violence, fantasy and detail. It’s great to illustrate a world that has been built by different authors over the years with much aesthetic detail. Visually it is rough and savage and I like that.

Gav: Like the story, the covers are spread across a whole range of Imperial Institutions and aliens – from Assassins to Eldar, orks to Adeptus Mechanicus. How has it been, having a whole series to illustrate? Have you got a favourite cover from the series?

I think my favorite is the huge ork Warboss for “The Shadow of Ullanor”. I always wanted to work in a big murderous ork with one of those giant claws! Each cover has had its difficulties. Especially those with characters with faces covered by helmets. I love making faces and facial expressions; but sometimes it is good to alternate with the mystery that comes with a character who has his head covered. I think that variety is good for the whole of the covers.

Thank you very much to Victor for taking the time to answer my questions. You can see more of Victor’s artwork on his website www.victorleza.com, but you can also click on the images below to see other examples of his work in more detail:

I’m hoping to interview more artists in the future, so do let me know in the comments if you’ve enjoyed this insight into the artistic process for The Beast Arises series. And if you haven’t seen it already, you can read the interview with Neil Roberts about his work on Angels of Caliban, and The Horus Heresy in general, here.

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

Extract of The Beast (Must Die)

Apologies to those who came here looking for my new aftershave, “Extract of The Beast” – what on earth were you thinking?

The Beast Must Die – book eight in The Beast Arises, and my second contribution to the series – hit the shelves on Saturday. If you’re still undecided whether to pick it up, have a read of the extract below to help you make up your mind.

“An approaching thunder silenced the discussion and all eyes turned to the great doors of the chapel. The Lucifer Blacks parted swiftly as a handful of commanders from the Adeptus Astartes entered, their armoured boots striking deafening drumbeats across the broken tiles. They were a few individuals, but each was the avatar of a martial power deemed so strong it had been divided, their might judged too much for a single hand to wield. And now that edict was being reversed, and might yet prove a greater threat than the orks.

Space Marines. Each dwarfed the chapel’s occupants: just the seven present were capable of killing everyone within, including the Lucifer Blacks. Except Vangorich, of course. At any given heartbeat he knew precisely which of the four escape routes he might use should the Adeptus Astartes decide that pandering to the pride and ambition of these mortals was too much effort.

Captain Valefor of the Blood Angels. Wolf Lord Asger of the Space Wolves. Chapter Master Odaenathus of the Ultramarines and Grand Master Sachael of the Dark Angels, both newly arrived on Terra, fresh come from battles in the darkest reaches of the galaxy. Their Chapters bore the names of the greatest Legions from the Heresy War, and carried that distinction well.

With them came High Marshal Bohemond of the Black Templars and Chapter Master Quesadra of the Crimson Fists. Both had earned glory in the battles against the orks thus far, each creating a legacy worthy of Rogal Dorn from whom their gene-seed had been created. Others were continuing the fight, in the Sol System and beyond.

And with these lords of the Space Marines arrived the last of Dorn’s sons, the remaining survivor of the Imperial Fists. Captain, Chapter Master and, lately, Lord Commander Koorland, who had resumed the use of his wall-name, Slaughter. His ochre plate had recently been repaired and repainted, but the injury of war and loss was borne in his eyes. Dark, distant, they looked upon the High Lords as though surveying pieces of furniture. A necessary but uninteresting feature of the environment.

And then came Vulkan, and suddenly the mighty halls, kilometres-long processionals and cavernous chapel did not seem so large after all.

The primarch filled the huge space, and not just with his gigantic physique; the raw presence of the Emperor’s warlord was like a force that swept all before it. A few of the High Lords stood up on reflex, some bowed, and all but Vangorich averted their gaze, however briefly.

His armour, plate worthy of a demigod and forged by his own hand, was burnished dark green and gold. In one fist he bore a hammer the size of a Lucifer Black and many times more deadly. His skin was ebon, as dark as a starless night, save for two eyes that glittered like rubies.

They found Vangorich immediately despite his attempts at being inconspicuous, effortlessly identifying and locating the greatest potential threat in the chapel. He flinched at their silent interrogation, his unfettered reaction providing the answer they sought. A hint of a smile creased the primarch’s lips for half a heartbeat. A challenge, almost.

He knew.”

If you enjoyed this, you can read the full extract over at the Black Library website.

Buy The Beast Must Die

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

The Beast Must Die – Author’s Notes

********

Spoilers! If you haven’t finished book seven in The Beast Arises series yet, you might want to bookmark this page to come back to later. You have been warned…

********

Recently I wrote an article regarding how to write a novel that is part of a continuing series but also has a distinct story in its own right. That was very much the case when it came time to write The Beast Must Die for The Beast Arises.

It’s quite straightforward to contrast my experience with The Emperor Expects and The Beast Must Die. Put simply, a lot can happen in 200,000 words! The number of plot threads and character arcs going into Book 3 was small – Grand Master Vangorich and Inquisitor Wienand, Koorland and his companions, and a few sub-plots. By the time we get to Book 8 this has exploded with threads involving Mars, Iron Warriors, multiple Chapter Masters and, quite significantly, Vulkan.

There was a lot to absorb in terms of plot and characterisation but I had one advantage over some of the other authors penning titles in the latter parts of the series and that came from the editors’ brief for the book. The Beast Must Die is almost 100% focussed on a single thread of the story – the first battle of Ullanor. While other events unfold, the book zooms in on one very specific incident, being the Imperium’s response to the revelation that the Beast has been launching its attack from Ullanor, believed wiped of the orks during the last days of the Great Crusade.

So the bulk of the book concentrates on the space marine characters – Koorland, Thane and Bohemond in particular – and through their viewpoints and a couple of new arrivals from the Adeptus Mechanicus and Astra Militarum we see events on the ork world unfold. It is a pivotal moment in the whole series, a narrative fulcrum upon which turns the remaining story.

Full Throttle

One thing that was clear from the outset was that the story was going to be action-heavy, revolving around a single huge campaign to eliminate the Beast. It was important to me that we didn’t just end up with 50,000 words of fighting without any internal conflicts and character progression that we would expect in any other story.

I took my cue from Mad Max – Fury Road and got my head round the ideas of ‘action as narrative’. Quite often, particularly in blockbuster films, action takes place between the scenes that tell the story of the characters. We have set-pieces sprinkled throughout the narrative pillars to provide eye-candy that only advance the plot a little but don’t really tell us anything about the characters. In contrast, the battles of The Beast Must Die are non-stop, like Fury Road, and through that near-constant action we learn what we need to know about the characters, their plans and motivations. They are space marines, after all, and often their weapons do the talking.

(In particular I greatly enjoyed writing about Bohemond and the Black Templars as they transition towards embracing their faith in the Emperor at odds with the secular Chapters around them.)

The Primarch in the Room

The other major factor that had to be taken into account was the present of Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders. Now, I’ve had a bit of experience with Primarchs in the Horus Heresy series, but it was important that Vulkan was presented in a different context for the 32nd Millennium.

Here we have a character that has literally seen the Imperium since its inception, from the glory days of the Great Crusade, through the darkness of the Heresy Wars, and into the institution it has become 1,500 years later. Fans often speculate what the Emperor would think of what becomes of the Imperium in the 10,000 years following his internment into the Golden Throne. Vulkan’s perspective gives us a little idea of what that might be.

The period of The Beast Arises is fascinating to explore as we see the Imperium moving away from the vision of the Emperor toward the more superstitious, religious, zealous behemoth we know and love from the 41st millennium. Vulkan stands as an example of the time and values that came before, faced with the end of everything he fought for, caught between knowing that mankind cannot be ruled by space marines and the inevitable conclusion that by themselves they are making a terrible job of it… We have seen in previous volumes that he has withdrawn from the Imperium, seeking to make his own way in this world, but events of The Beast Arises thrusts him into the centre of the Imperium again – somewhat reluctantly.

In his interactions with Koorland and others we get a glimpse of how perspectives change and how the Primarchs have moved from revered generals and warlords to figures of myth. Vulkan’s presence is a challenge to the High Lords of Terra, even if he harbours no ambitions to rule, and as the Imperial Fists Successor Chapters skirt dangerously close to reforming as a Legion the return of a Primarch must be a concern for all that wish to maintain the stability of the Imperium. We are reminded, again, that the Imperium was brought low not by an enemy from outside, nor even the weakness of ordinary humans, but by the machinations of Space Marines and their commanders… That could never happen again, right?

Plus, we get to see Vulkan smashing foes in a way that no other Imperial warrior can provide, and that is always fun! (ref – ‘action as narrative’!)

I hope this has given you a little glimpse of my thinking for The Beast Must Die. If you’ve enjoyed this blog, you may also like to read my Author’s notes for The Emperor Expects, Angels of Caliban, and Warbeast.

Do let me know if you’ve found this interesting – and if you have any questions about The Beast Must Die, just add a comment below, or get in touch via my contact page.

Buy The Beast Must Die

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

The Beast Must Announce Competition Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition to win a signed copy of The Beast Must Die, I’ve had some proper belly laughs at the entries.

There have definitely been a couple of themes emerging. Maybe the picture of Sammy holding a copy of the book led many of you to provide children related entries, but I have no idea why there was also a dancing theme – not something you’d usually associate with orks! Kudos to those who tried to get the edge by posting dog pictures – I am indeed a sucker for our fluffy four legged friends. Anyway, without further ado…

The Winner is….

@DennisHamster #thebeastmust REALLY regret allowing da boyz to vote on the so called "wrecksit".

— Jon Quennell (@MobRulesJon) July 10, 2016

Well done to Jon for coming up with a very ‘relevant’ entry. Maybe we should let The Beast run the country for a while, it couldn’t do any worse… Jon – I’ll be in touch shortly to arrange delivery.

There were over 160 entries for #thebeastmust competition, all of which are listed below, but here are some of my favourites:

Matt Smith ‏@Thee_Other_Matt

#thebeastmust receive at least 1 Valentines day card that isn’t from his mum… damn it @vidpui [@vidpui won my previous #theemperorexpects competition with this entry]

Joseph Ward @iosefward

#thebeastmust be patient for the Emperor’s response to his valentine’s card. [very clever]

Northern Invasion ‏@AOSBatrep

#thebeastmust switch off its TV set and do something less boring instead… [I love the 80s nostalgia in this one]

d_efty ‏@d_efty

#thebeastmust respect Belle’s independence as a woman but still be charming, proactive and attentive to her needs [I think there may be some confusion as to which beast I was referring to]

Clare Pearson ‏@claretclare81, Jonathan Quinn ‏@jrq40k, Kyle Banbury

#thebeastmust, he must, he must increase his bust! [This one was submitted three times!]

Andrew Lindsay ‏@A_Bar_Knight

#thebeastmust remember that to ere is human, to WAAAAAGH, divine.

Jon Quennell ‏@MobRulesJon

#thebeastmust find true love before the last petal falls

Dan Findlay-Robinson ‏@FRBlackSheep

#thebeastmust apologise for breaking his neighbours Wall. It was his last one too…

Shaughnn Lee-Capua

#TheBeastMust abide.

Mike Brooks ‏@MikeBrooks668

#thebeastmust avoid getting caught up in a costly legal copyright battle with Brock Lesnar.

Dave Barker ‏@KeeperOfTheHDB

#thebeastmust finish painting all of the models he owns before buying any more![Some good advice from Dave Barker that no true hobbyist would follow!]

If you didn’t win, thank you very much for taking the time to enter – you can still buy a copy of The Beast Must Die when it hits the shelves tomorrow (and if you’re in the Leicester or Burton-upon-Trent areas, you can get yours signed at the GW stores next Saturday). A big thank you also to Anders for allowing me to use pictures of his painted minis throughout this blog post – he’s been so inspired by The Beast Arises series, that he’s recreating battles with his Black Templar and Ork armies.

Buy The Beast Must Die

If you want to win more signed books, you can also sign up to my newsletter, where I randomly pick a subscriber every other month to receive a copy of one of my latest releases. This month’s prize is the hardback of Deliverance Lost.

The full list of entries

Dave Barker ‏@KeeperOfTheHDB

#thebeastmust faff about with prisms all evening! [with image below]



#thebeastmust read Angels of Caliban?

Angelic Round-Up

It’s nearly a month since Angels of Caliban was released, and now all the promotion has quietened down a bit, I thought it would be useful to re-cap on all the resources available on my website.

I’ll wave a flag to highlight the interview with Neil Roberts. I’m a huge fan of Neil’s artwork, and I was thrilled to have him answer my questions on the blog.

I’ve also added the links below to my Angels of Caliban page if you want to come back to it later and don’t want to scroll through all my blog posts.

ANGELS OF CALIBAN RESOURCES

Homework! Books You May Like To Read Before Angels of Caliban
Main Characters of Angels of Caliban (and other Horus Heresy era stories)
Five Teasers About The Novel
The Story So Far (Contains Spoilers!)
What is Angels of Caliban About – An In-Depth Look
My Author’s Notes for Angels of Caliban
Interview with Horus Heresy artist Neil Roberts
My Music Playlist for Writing Angels of Caliban
Angels of Caliban Q&A

In addition you can listen to these podcasts where I talk about Angels of Caliban, amongst much else:

Radio Free Isstvan
The Independent Characters
40k Theories
Forge The Narrative
Eye of Horus Podcast

There are more podcasts to be released, so keep an eye on the interviews section of my website to hear more.

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**