Thought for the Day

"The hardest thing about being a writer is convincing your wife that lying on the sofa is work."

~ John Hughes, filmmaker (1950-2009)

Gamebook Friday: Recent Gamebook Acquisitions

Over the last few weeks I've acquired various gamebook-related items. Some of these I've purchased (at events like Dragonmeet), others are the result of Kickstarter projects I've backed, and then there are the books I've written myself.

My most recent acquisitions include my Warhammer Path to Victory gamebook Shadows Over Sylvania, the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Second Edition RPG Blacksand supplement, the Holdfast Kickstarter, and the Tin Man Games app version of Ian Livingstone's Island of the Lizard King.

If you think you would like any of the above, simply click on the relevant links.

Which would be your Top Ten Christmas movies?

It's Christmas, which means the television schedules are chock full of movies. But what about your classic Christmas movies, and by that I don't mean Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life, but those movies which take place at Christmas time? Like Die Hard (and Die Hard 2), or Gremlins, or Home Alone?

So, over to you. What would make your Top Ten of Christmas movies?

Merry Christmas! The Time of the Doctor is upon us...

Track Santa!

Father Christmas has already set out on his mammoth postal delivery session and in less than six hours time he'll be here in the UK.

You can follow his progress either via NORAD or Google, although according to one here's currently in Georgia and according to the other he's in Armenia. Just so long as he makes it to ours before morning, I don't really mind.

Tie-in Tuesday: 'Twas the Night Before Twistmas

‘Twas the night before Twistmas, and throughout Monstro City

Not a Moshling was stirring, not a Birdie or Beastie...

Christmas 2013 really seems to be the season of Twistmas. The Night Before Twistmas is still proving very popular, as is my novelisation of the Moshi Monsters Movie, The Great Moshling Egg, and the Moshipedia (which was ranked at #320 in Books on Amazon at the weekend).

And next Christmas looks like it might be the season of Twistmas too, as I have another Twistmas-themed book already scheduled for release. ;-)

Thought for the Day

"The ordeal is part of the commitment."

~ Philip Roth, American novelist

Short Story Saturday: Dreaming in Darkness makes Ginger Nuts of Horror Best of 2013

Yes, that's right, you did read that correctly. Dreaming in Darkness, the Cthulhu-inspired anthology that features my own novella The Serpent's Egg, had made the Ginger Nuts of Horror website Best of 2013.

"Dreaming in Darkness, brings together four excellent authors and invites them to have a play Lovecraft's universe. What sets this unholy anthology apart for the vast majority of similarly themed books is way in which the authors have tackled the source material. These are not just mere rehashes, each of the authors has given their stories a unique twist and voice."

To find out more, follow this link.

Gamebook Friday: Shadows Over Sylvania

These finally turned up yesterday*.

Shadows Over Sylvania is my second Path to Victory gamebook and one of the best I've ever written (in my humble opinion). Also, the way it's written you don't need to be a fan of Warhammer to understand what's going on. So come on, gamebook fans, put Shadows Over Sylvania on your Christmas list this year!

So what's going to be under your tree this Christmas?


* Only ten months and eleven days after the book was published.

Gamebook Friday: The Seventh Plague

After seeing the recent images of snowfall in Egypt (the first time such a thing has happened in 100 years) I couldn't help wondering if a certain Mummy's Curse had come in effect.

It's certainly given me plenty of ideas for a sequel (should such a thing ever happen). In the mean time you can pick up a copy of the original adventure here.

Warhammer Wednesday: Macragge's Honour

It's only available to order until 8 January 2014, so don't delay - order today!

Zombie Monday: Nazi Zombie Army - Götterdämmerung

I don't know about you, but I often feel like a zombie on a Monday. Anyway, on to the point of this post...

This week, it's all about the zombies for me, so to help get me in the mood I had a look at what people have been saying about my last zombie short story - Nazi Zombie Army: Götterdämmerung - since it was published back in February.

"So atmospheric I could smell it! Jonathan Green points his pen at the Zombie genre and delivers a satisfying romp through the foetid hordes of undead. It is a short story but it is laced with imagery and action aplenty. Two mouldering thumbs up!" (4 stars)

"I love good zombie films and war films so had to read this. Short story and straight into the action with the small sniper group outnumbered by Germans forced to take to the sewers." (3 stars)

"If you want to while away the time with an easy enjoyable read, then this is one book to fit that bill. The author writes well and is descriptive... It was a short read but well worth it." (5 stars)

"I thought that the book was cool because it was about Nazi zombies at war. My favourite part is when the zombies get killed by a giant tank." (4 stars)

You can download a copy of Nazi Zombie Army: Götterdämmerung here, and keep an eye out for more tales of the undead coming from the rotten pen of Jonathan Green, Author in 2014.

Pax Britannia: Dark Side on the Abaddon Books Advent Calendar today!

I am delighted to be able to tell you that Abaddon Books' Advent Calendar eBook offering today is my very own Pax Britannia: Dark Side.

Ulysses Quicksilver visits the British lunar colonies, searching for his missing brother, Barty, believed to be on the run from gambling debts on Earth. The clues lead our detective and his faithful butler into the path of unsolved murders, battling robots, shady millionaires and stolen uncanny inventions. Used to working inside the law, Ulysses is stalled when his pursuit puts him on the wrong side of the Luna Prime Police Force. 

But why is Ulysses’ ex-fiancée Emilia also in the colonies? Who is the strange eye-patched man following Ulysses? And what is really happening in a secret base on the dark side of the moon?

Used to meeting every adventure with a devil-may-care attitude and a snappy one-liner, Ulysses will be forever changed by the revelations he discovers on this most deadly of trips.

So if you fancy downloading a full length Steampunk novel featuring murder, mystery, industrial espionage, giant robots, and Wellsian aliens on the Moon (and for only 98p), then click this link!

Thought for the Day

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

~ Stephen King

 

Short Story Saturday: The Black Library Advent Calendar

In the run up to Christmas, Black Library are releasing a new short story every day. The theme? The Lords of the Space Marines*.

Today's story is Guy Haley's The Crusader, about High Marshal Helbrecht of the Black Templars Chapter. Those of you who follow this blog will already know that I've written a thing or two (or, to put it another way, 120,000+ words) about the Black Templars myself.

So if you enjoy today's Advent Calendar offering, why not consider purchasing The Armageddon Omnibus for yourself this Christmas, or downloading The Relic, a story about Dreadnought Brother Jarold of the Solemnus Crusade?

* Yup, more 40K. I sometimes wonder whether BL will ever publish another Warhammer short story. ;-)

Short Story Saturday: World War Cthulhu review

World War Cthulhu - the anthology of Mythos stories set at the time of the Second World War - has received a glowing review over at Hellnotes.com, with Yours Truly getting a special mention.

Jonathan Oliver has taken an obvious but welcome step in combining these two sources in World War Cthulhu, evocative (and often provocative) Lovecraftian tales set amid the authentic horrors of World War II. With stories by Jonathan Green, Weston Ochse, Simon Bestwick, Sarah Newton, James Lovegrove, and nine other highly effective storytellers, the anthology never falters regardless of the frequent shifts in landscape, mood, and theme. Every one of the stories works, and works well...

One might expect stories of perfidious Nazis performing obscene occult rituals to call forth the Lovecraftian unnameables and enlist their effort in defeating the Allies. And they are there, as in John Llewellyn Prober’s ghastly “The Death House.” But Oliver—and Cthulhu—does not play favourites. Almost as intriguing and certainly as uncomfortable are those in which the Allies succumb to temptation…and themselves seek the services of darkness. Jonathan Green’s “The Scottish Patient,” set in a dream-like England, explores this possibility. 

You can pick up your copy of World War Cthulhu, featuring my story The Scottish Patient, here.

And don't forget, The Scottish Patient is a sort of prequel to my novella The Serpent's Egg, which is one of the four stories that make up Dreaming in Darkness.

Gamebook Friday the Thirteenth

Any black cats crossed your path today? Risked walking under any ladders? Things not quite gone your way? Well, it is Friday the Thirteenth after all.

So if today's not really been your day, why not cheer yourself by playing one of my gamebooks in which Unlucky for some takes on an entirely different, more lethal meaning?



Temple of the Spider God - Tin Man Games
Cesaro Cortez, a famed explorer-conquistador, set out three years ago on his last great expedition. His ships never returned to an Orlandrian port and he was feared lost until a mysterious cargo appeared recently in Miramar. The nature of this cargo will put Orlandes in jeopardy, sending you on an epic journey to find Cortez, save the country and face your darkest fear!

Shadows Over Sylvania - Black Library
In Shadows over Sylvania you take on the role of a Vampire thrall of one of the bloodthirsty rulers of the accursed county of Sylvania. Your adventure takes place in the years following Count Vlad von Carstein’s failed attempt to become the first vampire Emperor. There are no Colleges of Magic, Konrad von Carstein is yet to seize control of the realm, and the legendary battles of Grim Moor and Hel Fenn are still in the future. Throughout the adventure to come, you will be forced to battle numerous enemies who would stand against you, both mortal and Undead. Pick up your copy, and begin your battle against the fell fiends of the domain of the dead.

Night of the Necromancer - Fighting Fantasy
Death is not the end...You are a knightly warrior, returning to your ancestral castle having been away for a number of years fighting a crusade against the forces of darkness in the Mauristatian principality of Bathoria. You are just within sight of home when you are struck down by a band of murderers. Driven by the need to know why you have been killed, and on whose orders, you rise again as a ghost. This is where your adventure begins, as you set out to solve the mystery of your own murder. All that follows occurs during the course of one night.

Curse of the Mummy - Fighting Fantasy
Helping an eccentric archaeologist unearth an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls seems like an easy task for a heroic adventurer like YOU. But when that tomb turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, and when you discover some of his followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life, YOU must act quickly. Soon you will have to learn the true meaning of The Curse of the Mummy! It will take a real hero to defeat Akharis and win the treasure. Dare YOU take on the challenge?

Bloodbones - Fighting Fantasy
Bloodbones lives! Cinnabar, evil Pirate-Lord and scourge of the twelve seas, is back from the dead and seeking revenge with the dark powers of voodoo at his command. Only YOU can stop the pirate captain and his crew of bloodthirsty cut-throats. Prepare to set sail on the adventure of a lifetime.

Warhammer Wednesday: Space Hulk and Herald of Oblivion

How cool does this look?



Space Hulk was the inspiration for my first Path to Victory gamebook Herald of Oblivion. In fact it was more than the inspiration - it was practically the brief.

I was asked to have a squad of Imperial Fists Terminators cleansing a Space Hulk and encountering Orks, Tyranids, Necrons and Dark Eldar.

So if you fancy some Terminator-on-Xenos action yourself, while you're waiting for Space Hulk, why not pick up a copy of Herald of Oblivion (making the most of the Free Shipping that's on offer at the moment)?

Tie-in Tuesday: The Great Moshling Egg

The Moshi Monsters Movie hits cinemas on 20 December 2013, but the book of the film (by Yours Truly) is already available here.

Meanwhile, my Moshipedia is garnering a slew of 5 star reviews from devoted Moshi Monsters fans.

Thought for the Day

"Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life."

~ Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter

 



AdventureX 2013

Today, thanks to YOU ARE THE HERO backer James Aukett, I caught the tail end of AdventureX 2013 at the University of East Anglia (in London, of course), and more specifically the talk given by creator and producer of 1980s kids' TV adventure gameshow Knightmare, Tim Child.

Ted Child and Yours Truly

I was able to chat to Tim briefly afterwards about Knightmare, Fighting Fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons, and then got to talk to Jon Ingold of Inkle Studios, briefly, about Sorcery! 2. It was all over after a couple of hours, but it was an interesting experience and I can tick off another of my childhood heroes that I've been fortunate enough to meet.

And the dead shall rise...

Ten months ago today, Shadows Over Sylvania was released upon an unsuspecting and unknowing public. It seems to have slipped under the radar since then, but it remains one of my favourite gamebooks (of those that I've written).

In case you don't already know, and you're new to this blog, in Shadows Over Sylvania you take on the role of a Vampire thrall of one of the bloodthirsty rulers of the accursed county of Sylvania. Your adventure takes place in the years following Count Vlad von Carstein’s failed attempt to become the first vampire Emperor. There are no Colleges of Magic, Konrad von Carstein is yet to seize control of the realm, and the legendary battles of Grim Moor and Hel Fenn have yet to happen.

Throughout the adventure you will be forced to battle numerous enemies who would stand against you, both mortal and Undead. You will also come across weapons and other useful items that may help you progress in your adventure. And then there are the difficult decisions that you will be forced to make which could well have a direct impact on how events play out later in the story.

Here's what fans have had to say about the book so far:

"Jonathan has done a great job of bringing the Warhammer World to life in a new and totally unexpected way."

"The adventure kept my interest throughout the story and the narrative was engaging and interesting to the end."

"I just can't stop playing through this adventure, there are so many twists and turns and the different bloodlines adds a interesting new aspect to the story as well as the allies system which adds a totally new layer to the game."

"Overall, this is a fantastic game book that I have revisited many times and undoubtedly will again."

"9/10 - A great game book with enough options and interesting story line to mean it is revisited many times."

"Easily 10/10, I hope there are many more to come."

There has never been a better time to pick up a copy of Shadows Over Sylvania from the Black Library since they are currently offering FREE SHIPPPING on all orders placed before Christmas.

Dragonmeet 2013

Today I dropped by Kensington Town Hall for Dragonmeet 2013 with two of the next generation of gamers* in tow.

We had barely entered the building when we bumped into Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone CBE, who were giving the first seminar of the day on the early days of Games Workshop. It was a surreal experience to later find ourselves sitting in said seminar with FF and GW artist Tony Hough, the Tin Man himself Neil Rennsion and Mr Joe Dever, the creator and writer of the classic Lone Wolf series of gamebooks.

Mr Joe Dever and Yours Truly

We weren't there for long but did manage to catch up with Graham Bottley of Arion Games (and take delivery of my copy of Maelstrom: Domesday, that I'd backed via Kickstarter), say a quick hello to Jay Wallis of Greywood Publishing, FF fans Stuart Lloyd, James Aukett and John Berry, Dominic McDowall and Andrew Kendrick of Cubicle 7, one time artistic collaborator of mine Ralph Horsley, and Paco Jaen of G*M*S Magazine. Oh, and buy a lot of dice of course**.

Tony Hough, Neil Rennison and Stuart Lloyd

FF fans James Aukett and John Berry

Graham Bottley of Arion Games

Messrs Jackson and Livingstone did reveal one interesting snippet about the future of Fighting Fantasy, involving a possible game involving miniatures of FF monsters, and possibly being crowdfunded. So, backers of YOU ARE THE HERO, watch this space...


* And maybe even games designers, judging by the way they were changing the rules of 'Loopin' Louie'.

** But then why wouldn't you?

Short Story Saturday: The Book of the Dead

Ever seen a mummified book before?

Well here's my bandaged edition of Jurassic London's The Book of the Dead (which contains my very own Egyptian death and the afterlife: mummies (Rooms 62-3)*) alongside my very own Garen Ewing signing sheet.

The limited mummified edition has already sold out, but you can pick up your own conventional softback copy here.


* I know - catchy title, isn't it? ;-)

Dragonmeet 2013

Just a quick one to let any interested parties know that I shall be attending Dragonmeet 2013 tomorrow (Saturday 7 December).

Also in attendance from the world of Fighting Fantasy will be Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone CBE, Tony Hough, Graham Bottley and Neil Rennison (and they're just the ones I know about), along with artists of my professional acquaintance Andy Hepworth and Ralph Horsley, and gamebook legend Joe Dever!

So if you're in the vicinity of Kensington Town Hall, London, tomorrow, why not stop by and say "Hi!" (but only early on because I'll be gone by 2.00pm).

Maybe I'll see you there...

Gamebook Friday: Le Maître des Tempêtes

The postman delivered yet more foreign editions of my Fighting Fantasy gamebooks at the weekend, courtesy of Editions Gallimard. This time it was the turn of Le Maître des Tempêtes (a.k.a. Stormslayer).

 Le Maître des Tempêtes

 Le Maître des Tempêtes alongside another recent foreign edition of one of my books.

The inside back cover of Le Maître des Tempêtes features adverts featuring more books by Yours Truly.

Now that Le Maître des Tempêtes is in print, Curse of the Mummy becomes the only FF gamebook of mine not to have been translated into French. I mean there's even a French language version of Temple of the Spider God!

If you are so inclined, you can pick up your copy of Le Maître des Tempêtes here.

Gamebook Friday: Nomination of the Spider God

I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact that the Android version of Temple of the Spider God is eligible for nomination in 6th annual Best App Ever Awards in the 'Brain and Puzzle Game' category.

So go here, enter 'GA7' into the search bar, and please nominate the game. The iOS version achieved a 2nd place ranking when it was released a couple of years ago. Wouldn't it be great if it could achieve 1st place this time around?

Steampunk Thursday: Frome Steampunk Extravaganza

For those of you who are interested in such things, I shall be attending the Frome Steampunk Extravaganza next year, along with Archimedes the Steampunk Robot Parrot* and my various Pax Britannia books - not to mention my now legendary Steampunk Tombola and Book Lucky Dip!


If you fancy attending yourself, you need to grab your wristband pronto!

* The original and still the best!

Nomination of the Spider God

I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact that the Android version of Temple of the Spider God is eligible for nomination in 6th annual Best App Ever Awards in the 'Brain and Puzzle Game' category.

So go here, enter 'GA7' into the search bar, and please nominate the game. The iOS version achieved a 2nd place ranking when it was released a couple of years ago. Wouldn't it be great if it could achieve 1st place this time around?