Gamebook Friday: The Resurgence of the Printed Word

Apparently sales of printed books have grown for the first time in four years, lifted by the adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, as eBooks suffered their first ever decline.

Now, I wouldn't want to claim I had anything to do with the resurgence of printed book sales, but it just so happens that both Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Colouring Book would have been counted among those sales. And for anyone who enjoyed the first colouring book, there is now a second one available.

The Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland books published by Snowbooks.

We wouldn't want the sales of traditional printed books to slide again in 2017 now, would we? So, with that in mind, make sure you place your pre-order for The Wicked Wizard of Oz, which will be out very soon, also from Snowbooks.

And while we're on the subject of gamebooks, it's not too late to place a Late Pledge for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, which is slowly starting to take shape.

Gamebook Friday: Fighting For Your Fantasy

Justin McCormack has been systematically playing through my Fighting Fantasy gamebooks on his Fighting For Your Fantasy blog and has now tackled all of them.

His playthroughs make for very entertaining reading. If you would like to sample his words, and my adventures, simply click the appropriate link below.


Spellbreaker

Knights of Doom

Curse of the Mummy

Bloodbones

Howl of the Werewolf

Stormslayer

Night of the Necromancer

Thought for the Day

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”

~ James A Michener

Happy Deathday, Mr Shakespeare, and World Book Night 2017

Tonight is World Book Night, an occasion which always falls on the anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. (It's also quite possibly the anniversary of his birth, but there isn't an extant record of that, whereas there is one of his death.)

With that in mind, might I suggest you place an order for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu this evening, or if you've already got the book, read one of the short stories contained within? After all, they're very good.

Shakespeare Saturday: Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu has been out a while now, but in case you have yet to come across it yourself, it's an anthology of sinister short stories that merge the Bard's most famous plays with H P Lovecraft's most horrific creations.

And as it's the 401st anniversary of Shakespeare's death tomorrow, here's a little something I put together.

You can pick up a copy of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu here.

Gamebook Friday: JG at the UK Games Expo 2017

Six weeks today I shall be attending the UK Games Expo 2017, where I shall be launching The Wicked Wizard of Oz, my new ACE Gamebook, which was crowdfunded via Kickstarter last year.

Last year, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland received a very warm response from the expo-goers so I'm hoping The Wicked Wizard of Oz will be equally well received this year.

You will find me at stand F11, along with Mercia Books. Do stop by and say hello, and do pick up a signed copy of The Wicked Wizard of Oz while you're there. ;-)

Click to enlarge.

Steampunk Thursday: Abaddon Books Open Submission Month 2017

They did it in 2012 and 2015, and now they're doing it again in 2017. That's right, Abaddon Books are opening for submissions for the month of May.

If you fancy your novella or novel joining the same stable that publishes the Pax Britannia series, follow this link to the Abaddon Books' website where you will find everything you need to know about submitting to and writing for Abaddon Books.

Warhammer Wednesday: Audio Week 2017

I received a promotional email from the Black Library on Monday that rather took me by surprise. Apparently, this week is Audio Week 2017, and the story - or rather, two stories - serialised for the occasion are Eye of Night and Hand of Darkness by m'colleague Gav Thorpe. Here's the blurb for the two stories:

Now the funny thing about these stories, and the reason for me being prompted to write this blog post, is because the Eye of Night and Hand of Darkness are two creations of mine, even if I only really came up with the names*.

From 1994-96, after leaving university, I moved to Nottingham to become a freelance writer. It was then that I started working for Games Workshop, in a freelance capacity, writing colour text and short stories for the Warhammer Armies books and Warhammer 40,000 Codexes**. During that time I contributed words to the Epic 40,000 game as well as Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves and Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves, and Codex: Tyranids, Codex: Angels of Death, and Codex: Chaos.

It was whilst writing the interlinking stories that appeared through Codex: Chaos that I came up with the aforementioned Eye of Night and Hand of Darkness. The connected tales related the invasion of the planet Purgatory by the forces of Chaos, and at the end Inquisitor Horst discovers that the Hand of Darkness has been taken from its hiding place beneath the planet's crust.

In my mind, the Eye of Night and Hand of Darkness were powerful weapons, although unspecified, and GW took those ideas and ran with them*** when they created the backstory for the game Battlefleet Gothic, placing the alien artefacts at the heart of the story, a story which Gav is clearing continuing now.

It will be interesting to see what he does with those powerful weapons of antiquity next.

* Which, let's face it, aren't that original!

** I know it should be Codicies, but GW call them Codexes.

*** And it's not the only time this has happened.

Warhammer Wednesday: Black Library eBooks

Black Library are pushing their eBooks at the moment. Although I've not written anything for BL for some time now, some of my short stories and novels are available, either individually or as part of various eBook bundles.

If you fancy downloading an Imperial Fists vs Necrons short story, or a Kislevite mercenary novel, then follow this link to the Black Library website and take it from there.

Thought for the Day

"Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream."

~ Mark Twain

Sharkpunk Saturday: SHARKPUNK Kindle edition just £1.99

If you've not yet read the SHARKPUNK anthology, first off, what have you been doing with your time? And secondly, now is the perfect time to pick it up since the Kindle edition is currently just £1.99 on Amazon.

Don't forget, you can also download the SHARKPUNK Audiobook here.

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 Late Pledges

It's almost two weeks since YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 funded on Kickstarter, but if you missed it - or you want to add to an existing pledge - it's not too late to add a Late Pledge.

If you put in a Late Pledge you will gain all the benefits of someone who backed the original Kickstarter. For example, any physical copies of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 will be hardbacks. You will also receive the prints that come with the £20 Gargoyle reward level and above, and if you back at the £50 Calacorm reward level or above you will also receive a pair of custom-made dice.

So don't delay - get your Late Pledge in today!

Thought for the Day

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

~ Beverly Sills, Operatic Soprano

Thought for the Day

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make."

~ Truman Capote

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 - Late Pledges

LATE PLEDGES ARE NOW CLOSED!

If you missed the Kickstarter for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, or couldn't afford to back the project during its run, have no fear - you can still put in a Late Pledge*.

Here's what you need to do if you would like to make a Late Pledge to the Kickstarter:

1. Look through the list of reward levels below and select the one you would like.
2. Look through the list of add-ons and decide if you would like to add any of these to your pledge.
3. Add the cost of any add-ons to the cost of the reward level you have selected, finally adding the correct postage for your country, to calculate the total amount you will need to pay.
4. Email info@jonathangreenauthor.com, making the title of your email 'YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 Late Pledge' and listing the reward and add-ons you have selected, along with the amount of money you will need to pay, including postage. I will then get back to you with details of how to make your payment via PayPal.

Please note - you can find out more about precisely what comes with each reward level by visiting the YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 project page here.

(No postage required)

 (No postage required)

(No postage required)

(Post and packing: UK £5 - European Union £10 - Rest of World £15)

(Post and packing: UK £5 - European Union £13 - Rest of World £18)

(Post and packing: UK £5 - European Union £13 - Rest of World £18)

(Post and packing: UK £5 - European Union £13 - Rest of World £18)

 (Post and packing: UK £5 - European Union £13 - Rest of World £18)

 (Post and packing: UK £12 - European Union £33 - Rest of World £35)

  (Post and packing: UK £12 - European Union £33 - Rest of World £38)

   (Post and packing: UK £12 - European Union £33 - Rest of World £38)

  (Post and packing: UK £12 - European Union £33 - Rest of World £38)

Just 2 remaining!

  (Post and packing: UK £12 - European Union £33 - Rest of World £38)

  (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £5 - Rest of World £7)

(Can only be included with the £20 Gargoyle reward or above)

 (Can only be included with the £60 Gark reward or above)

  (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £10 - Rest of World £20)

* Probably until the end of May. I will inform everyone when Late Pledges are closing.

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has funded on Kickstarter!

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has funded on Kickstarter, raising an incredible, 35th anniversary-worthy, Fighting Fantasy-tastic

£27,335!

And that's no April Fool!

Thank you to everyone who backed the project or helped spread the word - I really couldn't have done it without you.

Now I just need to write a book worthy of such a magnificent crowdfunding effort, but then with so much happening in Fighting Fantasy's 35th anniversary year, that should make my job a little easier.

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has 6 hours to go on Kickstarter!

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has just 6 hours to go on Kickstarter, so if you've been considering upgrading your pledge, now would seem like a good time to do so - just make sure you do so before 1:00pm today!

Pledge at the £20 Gargoyle reward level (or above) and simply add £15 to your pledge to receive a second copy of the book.

Pledge at the £60 Gark reward level (or above) and add £40 to your pledge to receive a second copy of the limited edition hardback.

Add £120 to your pledge to receive the Golden Fleece canvas print of Chris Achilleos's cover art for the book.

Since YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 reached its fourth stretch goal yesterday, everyone who pledges to receive a physical copy of the book will also receive:

1 x art print of Chris Achilleos's cover art for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2
1 x art print of John Blanche's painting of Kharé - Cityport of Traps
1 x art print of Leo Hartas's painted map of north-west Allansia
1 x MP3 download of music inspired by Fighting Fantasy gamebooks

On top of that all copies of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 will now be hardbacks rather than softbacks.