What are the chances...?

I was in central London on Friday to promote Match Wits with the Kids but managed to make time to visit my favourite store - Forbidden Planet.

Whilst there (as well as checking whether they had any of my books in - which they did) I picked up a copy of Fortean Times (a magazine I dip into from time to time). To my amazement, right there, slap bang on the cover, was mention of two things that I am combining in my next Pax Britannia adventure (that being the one after Human Nature, which I'm writing at the moment).

What are the chances of that? Obviously Ulysses Quicksilver and the Denver Space Cadets meet the Earliest Americans was meant to be!

Match Wits challenges Westminster

Today we gave away free copies of Match Wits with the Kids outside the Department for Children, Schools and Families to highlight the fact that the government have declared that parents not only need to know what their children are learning at school but that they should understand it too! Easier said that done.

However, there is a solution to this problem - Match Wits with the Kids! The book is the ideal support for parents who might have forgotten what they once learnt at school and yet now find their own children covering exactly the same topics. It also updates everything to make it relevant to the current Key Stage 3 (11-14) National Curriculum.

Find out more about the event in Westminster today by following this link.

What is Myrrh Anyway? Spread the Word

If you've ever dropped by my What is Myrrh Anyway? blog, and you've enjoyed the odd snippets of Christmas info I've dropped in now and again, then why not spread the word.

Yes, that's right, I want you to help me promote What is Myrrh Anyway? This could be achieved by something as simple as an email to friends and family, including a link to this blog, or, if you have your own blog/website, mentioning it there, with a link.

Let me know how you get on (by emailing whatismyrrh@hotmail.co.uk) and there may be a prize in it for you - a signed copy of book when it comes out!

What more could you ask for?

Good luck!

The Massive Match Wits Giveaway!

How would you like to have a copy of Match Wits with the Kids, signed by the author... and for free?

Well, if you would, then make sure you're outside the Department for Children, Schools and Families (Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT) between 8.00am and 10.00am this Friday 18 July 2008.

Icon Books are going to be giving away 500 free copies of Match Wits with the Kids and I'll be there to sign them as well. All those involved in the giveaway will be wearing Match Wits t-shirts and will be happy to explain why this is the most important book of the summer.

Match Wits with the Kids - a little learning for all the family!

JG on the Sunday Schedule

This morning I was fortunate enough to be interviewed on the Sunday Schedule, on BBC London, by Lesley Joseph and Roland Rivron, live in the studio. As well as talking about my latest publication Match Wits with the Kids, I also got to test the two presenters' knowledge with a genuine quiz from the book and make an exclusive announcement, live on air.

Roland Rivron, Jonathan Green and Lesley Joseph

Lesley and Roland were both delightful and really made me feel at ease, and I think that came through in the interview. If you missed it, you can listen to it again here - the interview is about 1hr 45mins into the show.

And as to the exclusive announcement I made for the first time on the Sunday Schedule, I'll be posting more details about it here soon. So, watch this space.

JG on BBC London 94.9

Tomorrow morning, Sunday 13 July (in case you're reading this any time other than Saturday night) I am going to be on the Sunday Schedule, with Lesley Joseph and Roland Rivron, on BBC London radio 94.9FM.

If you're able to, why not tune in at around 10.30am to hear about, not only Match Wits with the Kids, but also an event linked to the book that will be taking place in central London this coming Tuesday. You really don't want to miss this!

The Quarter of a Million Mark

I realised the other day that since giving up full-time work to make more of my writing a year ago, I have written over a quarter of a million published (or to be published) words!

Back in November I was celebrating the fact that I had had over one million words published in fifteen years as a freelance writer. And now, in the space of only one year I've written another 250,000+. So, by my estimations, I should hit the two million mark in 2011!

Goodness knows how much I've written if I include my various blogs as well!

JG listed on UK Children's Books

As of today, I am listed on the UK Children's Books website, which acts as a portal to individual authors' and illustrators' websites. The site also has useful information for any wannabe authors concerning how to go about marketing yourself most effectively and getting your unpublished manuscript read in the first place.

My listing currently takes you through to http://www.matchwits.co.uk/ from where you can ultimately access all of my various blogs.

JG on Bebo

I am told that if you want to be 'down wid da kidz' – and let’s face it, some of my readership are teenagers (or as publishers like to call them YA, a.k.a. Young Adults) - then I need to be on Bebo.

So now I am.

Match Wits on REM.fm

I was interviewed by Maurice Boland today on Radio Europe Mediterraneo talking about Match Wits with the Kids. Maurice was very complimentary about the book and didn't ask me too many tricky questions.

Hopefully there will be something up on REM.fm's website in due course about Match Wits and there may be the possibility to listen to the interview in the future as well.

But for now you'll just have to settle for reading the book itself. Enjoy!

Human Nature

My next Pax Britannia novel Human Nature is now up on the front page of Abaddon Books website, along with a detailed blurb giving fans of the Pax Britannia series an idea of what to expect come December.

The Whitby Mermaid, prize exhibit of Cruickshanks’ Cabinet of Curiosities, has been stolen. But have no fear; consulting detective Gabriel Wraith is on the case. And he’s not the only one, for wherever there is a mystery to be solved, Ulysses Quicksilver is never very far away. What does the theft of what would appear to be a poorly-conceived fake have to do with the mysterious House of Monkeys? And what of the enigmatic criminal known only as the Magpie?

When Ulysses probes further into the case, he finds himself embarking upon an adventure that will take him to the industrially-polluted North of England and the fishing town where the curious creature was supposedly caught. But there are worse things awaiting him there than mermaids. The moors of Ghestdale are haunted by the savage Barghest beast, while in the abandoned mines beneath the Umbridge estate, impossible abominations lurk in the darkness, waiting. And yet Ulysses Quicksilver is about to discover that the worst horrors are those spawned by Man’s own selfish nature. Trapped within the very heart of darkness, with his body and sanity threatened, can he escape a fate worse than death with both still intact before one man’s insane quest for immortality comes to fruition?

To reserve your copy now, follow the link my own webstore at the top of the sidebar.

Visit my new store

I have recently created my own online store, with the aid of Amazon Associates, so if you would like to purchase any of the books written by myself simply follow the link at the top of the sidebar, or click here.

Human Nature - the horror revealed!

Today I am pleased to unveil the cover for my next Pax Britannia adventure Human Nature, which is out this December from Abaddon Books.



Cover artist Mark Harrison has done a sterling job once again and, as a result, the cover conveys the Cthulhu-esque horror at the heart of the story whilst not giving too much away. I know that they say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but you can in this case you can; it's horror, horror, horror all the way.

Oh, and there's a great big gribbly beastie's in there too.