Thought for the Day

"Books are to the mind as air is to the lungs."

~ Gareth L. Powell

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Day 2018

Last Saturday, I visited Oxford to join in with the Alice's Day celebrations.

For anyone who doesn't already know, Alice's Day commemorates and celebrates the first time Lewis Carroll told the tale that would eventually become that classic of children's literature, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Museums, shops and libraries all over the city hold workshops, host lectures, and arrange unique displays, in a joint venture organised by The Story Museum and The Lewis Carroll Society.

I was intrigued to see what went on during Alice's Day, and also to see if my own take on Carroll's classic might have a place within future events. So you can imagine my delight when I visited Alice's Shop to find that they already had Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland in stock!

I dutifully signed the copies they had there, and posed for photos with the staff, before heading off to Christ Church College, where Lewis Carroll taught mathematics, in the guise of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

You can see more photos from my Alice's Day in Oxford here, and you can pick up a copy of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland here.

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 - Summer Sale!

I have a few hardback copies of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 left. If you would like a signed copy, drop me a line at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

It costs £40 for a signed hardback, and that includes post and packing within the UK. (Packages going abroad will need a little extra postage paying for.)

Thought for the Day

"There should be a circle of hell for writers' in-jokes."

~ Dave Morris, gamebook author

Lost

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the legendary literary phenomenon Sherlock Holmes, died 88 years ago today. The reason I mention this is because he also wrote The Lost World, in which Professor George Challenger and his companions discover dinosaurs (and other supposedly extinct creatures) alive and well on top of a mesa in the Amazon basin of South America.

I have spent the last few weeks editing NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! And while it is clearing inspired by J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, the gamebook is as much influenced by Conan Doyle's The Lost World. During the course of the adventure, you can explore much of the Skull Island-esque Neverland, which has called for me producing a map of the place.

Just like the adventure itself, there's still a fair bit to do before it's finished, but I've really enjoyed indulging my inner cartographer again after so many years.

To get an idea of what it is like on an island lost in time, inhabited by all manner of prehistoric beasts that want to kill you (or kill you and eat you), you can now play through Tiger Lily's introduction to the adventure, which also contains another Conan Doyle reference, by downloading the extract here.

Riddle of the Runes Unleashing

I was fortunate to be among the guests who attended the launch of Dr Janina Ramirez's first* children's book, Riddle of the Runes, at Hatchards on Piccadilly last night.

When I arrived, I climbed flight after flight of stairs, following the sound of much merriment and excitement, to the top floor, where I was welcomed by the team from Oxford University Press with a glass of something cold and sparkling, which was nice.**

As well as Dr J, her family, friends and colleagues, others in attendance included Professor Kate Williams, Helen Czerski, Bettany Hughes, and Neil Gaiman, who literally popped in a minute.***

Following speeches by Liz Cross, Head of Children's Publishing at Oxford University Press, and the author herself...

Janina then spent the rest of her time sat behind a desk, signing books...

And patiently posing for photos, like this one...

Achievement unlocked: Dr Janina Ramirez calls you a legend.****

I was interested to learn that writing fiction is what Janina has always wanted to do, and was the reason she studied English Literature at Oxford. Everything else that has happened since, including her medievalist history and art history studies - not to mention her broadcasting career! - were simply a deviation from her original plan. But now she's back on track and celebrating being a bestselling children's author.

Then it was off to the pub for more merriment and lots of chat.

Much as I am enjoying Riddle of the Runes, and as thrilled as my own shield maiden is to have received her own signed copy, those of you who are still patiently awaiting Beowulf Beastslayer will no doubt be as intrigued as I am about Janina's next book, due out next March.

* Of many, I am sure!

** Not to mention most welcome. It was very hot.

*** How rock and roll is that?

**** Which is right up there with the time Charlie Higson publicly called me one of the world's leading experts in the gamebook genre.

Gamebook Friday: Tiger Lily, Heroic Hunter

As I said on Facebook at the weekend, the character who has undergone the biggest reinvention in NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! is Tiger Lily.

In the adventure, she is a heroic hunter, aspiring to join the warrior cadre of the Accala tribe. She rides a Sabretooth called Fang, and is deadly with her spear and tomahawk.

She's also the only starting character who can take on dinosaurs, and you can read her opening to the adventure by clicking on the image below.

Enjoy!