A Whole Heap of Stuff
This weekend just past was Black Library Live! 2011, and I had a great time. BL Live! is a very rewarding day for me. Most importantly, it is always nice to spend time chatting with fans and signing books. This year I was in three seminars and had two signing sessions, so it was a busy event, but that's the way I like it.
Dark Angels Fun
First order of the day was the Space Marines Battles seminar, alongside fellow authors Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, Nick Kyme, Andy Hoare and Rob Sanders, talking about the series. It was cool to hear how the other guys had approached the series, and I think it showed that even under the umbrella of Space Marine Battles, there are lots of different ways to present humanity's finest defenders.
Not only did the questions and discussion show that there are an awful lot of battles that could be covered, but there are also many ways that those stories could be told. In particular, one question was, "Which historical battle would you not want to write about?". This prompted some interesting debate amongst the authors, and the consensus emerged that perhaps some of the events from Warhammer 40,000 were just too big to fit into one novel. I highlighted the famous Battle for Macragge against the Tyranids as one that I would be wary of tackling, due not only to the amount of stuff already written about it in various places, but also the massive expectation that the readers would have.
As is the way of things, after the seminar I started thinking about all the different ways I would actually go about writing that battle… One of the best things about the series is the challenge of taking established events and portraying them in a new and exciting way for readers – something I have been learning a lot about with Time of Legends, Purging of Kadillus and now the Horus Heresy.
Caledor was available on the day.
After a bit of a break for a coffee, I was whisked back to the main seminar area for the Time of Legends discussion, with New-York-Times-Bestselling-Author-and-David-Gemmell-Legend-Award-Winner Graham McNeill, and series editor (and soon-to-be series author) Nick Kyme. The main upshot of the seminar was that the opening three arcs of the series – Sigmar, The Sundering and Nagash – were coming to an end, and we would be starting out on the next set of stories. As a transition, the Age of Legends anthology will include stories that tie in to the opening arcs as well as tales that pre-empt the next three trilogies. It was a little later on that I found out that editor Christian Dunn wanted me to write a story for this. It wasn't the only commission I found out about on the day, as I will explain later…
In summary, the next sagas to be covered will be The War of Vengeance, the Black Plague and the Wars of the Vampire Counts. The War of Vengeance, between the Elves and Dwarfs (also known as the War of the Beard), had been something I had raised with Nick in previous meetings, but he had already nabbed this one for himself, along with Chris Wraight. I'm sure the two of them will do a fine job. The machinations of the Skaven during the Black Plague will be splendidly handled by CL Werner. For those of you who can't work it out, that means I will be tackling the Vampires and all things associated. To say I was pleased by the very positive response prompted by this news would be an understatement. Since the subject was covered previously by Steve Saville in the Von Carsteins trilogy, I know I will have my work cut out making sure this lives up to expectation, but it's a challenge I am really looking forward to.
The latest HH anthology.
Lunch and a signing session then whisked me away, until the Horus Heresy seminar. Unsurprisingly, the seminar area was standing room only, and it was with a little trepidation that I took my place on the sofas next to Dan Abnett, Jim Swallow, with re-appearances by Rob, Graham and Aaron. Along with many other pre-releases, Age of Darkness was available on the day, which contains my short story Face of Treachery. It was a bit tricky talking about the novel on which I am currently working – Deliverance Lost - without giving away some of the surprise of the story, since it is in effect a prologue for the novel. Cover artist Neil Roberts also had the Deliverance Lost artwork with him, which I hope BL will be showing off in the not-too-distant future, as it is fantastic.
In some respects we all had to be a little bit vague when discussing what we were up to and what stories were coming next. This phase of the heresy is called the Age of Darkness for a reason, and covers all sorts of exciting events that haven't before been revealed – as well as a couple of the major engagements already described in the background. The series is at a very interesting stage. The majority of the existing history has been covered and we are now moving into uncharted territory. Up to this point, much of the appeal for readers has been finding out the whos and whys behind events they already know, but now that we will be introducing totally new battles, plots and encounters, the emphasis will be shifting, and there are a lot of shocks and surprises in store. This makes it very difficult to discuss an individual volume without spoiling those yet to come.
Also announced was The Primarchs, another anthology, this time of four novella-length pieces. Commissioning by the seat of his pants as ever, Christian again informed me shortly before the seminar that he would like me to contribute. I said yes. The subject is one that a lot of folks have been asking me about, and so I am happy to say that I will be writing a novella based on the Primarch of the Dark Angels, the Lion. I have no idea yet what he'll be up to, but I will endeavour to get at least a handful of revelations in there, and perhaps even an appearance from Astelan…
As has become common at this sort of event, I had as much fun with the editors and authors as I did with the fans; talking about past, current and future projects. I met lots of folks who deserve a shout-out, some of them who I have met before and others I have not. Hello to all of the Boltholers with their lovely T-shirts, it was great to meet you chaps and chapesses. I was very happy to have a chat with RedS8n, Black Library aficionado on many a forum, as well as lots of other folks who I am sure deserve to be mentioned by name.
Jokes about Christian's ambush commissioning aside, it was also good to talk to the BL editors and sales guys about stuff, and though I have a proper scheduling meeting to arrange, I can summarise a big list o' stuff what I will be working on in the coming months and years…
Currently writing: Deliverance Lost for the Horus Heresy.
Coming soon (to my schedule if not the shelves) in no particular order: A Dark Angels novel (possibly the first of a new series); Path of the Outcast; an Eldar-themed short story for the Games Day chapbook; a Vampire Wars trilogy; a Dark Angels audiobook (again, probably the first of several); a story about a space marine tea party; a novella on Lion El'Johnson; a trilogy on the Wars of the Vampire Counts and a Vampire-related short story for the Age of Legends book. I think that covers everything so far…
And of course, I will have to find time to fit in Crown of the Conqueror for Angry Robot too! As a freelance writer, there is no such thing as too busy.
