Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz

There is just over a week to go until the funding period for The Wicked Wizard of Oz ends and there is still almost £2,000 to raise.

If you're a fan of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, or my Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, then you'll want to back The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

Kev Crossley, who will be illustrating the book, has finished the line-art for his version of Dorothy, and Oz backer, Kevin Abbotts has already coloured it digitally.

Kev Crossley's line-art of Dorothy Gale.

Kevin Abbotts digital colouring of Kev's line-art.

Remember, one of the rewards is to receive a colouring book of artwork from The Wicked Wizard of Oz, which you can either select by itself or add to any other pledge. Check out the POLYCHROME reward - and tell all your friends!

Wellsian Wednesday: Happy Birthday, H G Wells!

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the British Father of Science Fiction, Herbert George Wells. Wells is, of course, most well known, in the modern era, for his novels The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells' original stories have been adapted time and time again, and have inspired countless other tales, including my own. I have an idea for a spin-off from The War of the Worlds that I would like to start work on in the next year or two, but The Time Machine has already massively influenced an already published work of mine - or should I say works?

What started off as a fun idea for a one-off short story expanding the world of Pax Britannia, back in 2008, ended up becoming the core element of trio of Ulysses Quicksilver novels - Dark Side (2010), Anno Frankenstein (2011) and Time's Arrow (2012). I hadn't realised just how much The Time Machine had influenced Anno Frakenstein in particular until I re-watched the 2002 movie version recently, as I introduced it to my children for the first time.

My Wellsian celebrations will continue today with Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds on today's playlist, and possibly a viewing of the 2005 movie adaptation later this evening.

If you happen to be the Woking area today, watch the skies!

Thought for the Day

The Wicked Wizard of Oz two weeks in

The Wicked Wizard of Oz Kickstarter has now been running for two weeks, and with just over half the time left for the project to run we are almost three-quarters funded.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz has been receiving some love online recently from numerous sources. SFX Magazine tweeted about the project on Wednesday.

On Thursday both Starburst Magazine and the guys at Geek Syndicate gave the project a plug, with the Geek Syndicate piece being particularly complimentary about my previous crowdfunded gamebook, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland. The project also got a plug at the end of this week's Nerd Vs World podcast (at around the 37:50 mark).

Thanks are also due to Megara Entertainment, for sharing the project with their own gamebook backers and, of course, a special mention must go to Scifind.com, who previewed the project before it even launched on Kickstarter.

Remember, Kickstarters only succeed if enough people get to hear about them, so please consider backing the project yourself, but even if it's not your thing, please spread it among your friends, because it might just be theirs.

Thank you.

Roald Dahl 100

"A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it."

~ Roald Dahl, author (1916-1990)

Thought for the Day

“Never give up... No one knows what's going to happen next.” 

~ L. Frank Baum

Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz

The Wicked Wizard of Oz has been running for only 6 days and has already attracted 99 backers and is 59% funded.



If you've not backed the Kickstarter yet, check out the rewards and pledge your support today!