Gamebook Friday: Spooky Halloween Reads

It's Halloween on Tuesday, so now seems like the perfect time to remind you of my various horror-related reads that you can enjoy at this time of year.

First of all there is the ultimate horror ACE Gamebook, Dracula: Curse of the Vampire.

1897 ~ In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil,’ his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

And then there is my Cthulhu Mythos novella, The Serpent's Egg, and my ghost story, The Doll's House, both of which are available as audiobooks.

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Having had over 70 books published over the last 28 years, there are a fair few that make particularly suitable Halloween reading. Here are just a few of them...

1897

In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil’, his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

*             *             *             *

In Dracula– Curse of the Vampire is an interactive gothic horror novel, in which YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the terrifying creatures you will meet along the way to fight. Play as Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray and Dr John Seward… or even Count Dracula himself. But be warned – whether you succeed in your quest or succumb to the curse of the vampire will be down to the choices YOU make.

But do not tarry, for the dead travel fast.

Dracula– Curse of the Vampire will be the subject of November's Interactive Fiction & Gamebooks Discussion Group (Book Club) . If you would be interesting in finding out more about sixth ACE Gamebook, make sure you join the group now.

An anthologie of fine stories inspir’d by the Bard of Stratford and the Lovecraftian Mythos

Imagine if it had been William Shakespeare, England’s greatest playwright, who had discovered the truth about the Great Old Ones and the cosmic entity we know as Cthulhu, rather than the American horror writer H P Lovecraft.

Imagine if Stratford’s favourite son had been the one to learn of the dangers of seeking after forbidden knowledge and of the war waged between the Elder Gods in the Outer Darkness, and had passed on that message, to those with eyes to see it, through his plays and poetry. Welcome to the world of Shakespearean Cthulhu!

To mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, Snowbooks proudly presents fifteen stories of eldritch horror that blend the Bard’s most famous plays with Lovecraft’s most terrifying creations. But before you dip into this curséd tome, be warned – that way madness lies...

“When oblivion comes, it is forever, as endless as the slumber of those beings that lie buried beneath the roots of the world, dreaming in darkness.”

A writer’s research into the legend of the Lambton Worm takes a horrifying twist when he uncovers the true origin of the story: A legend that stirs, knowing the time for its rebirth is near.

A chilling tale of the Cthulhu mythos, written by award-winning author Jonathan Green.

"What horror dwells behind its peeling paint façade and lifeless windows?"

A young mother, struggling after the birth of her second child, starts to question her sanity when the appearance of an unwanted childhood toy rekindles unwelcome nightmares.

A chilling tale written by award-winning author Jonathan Green.

SHARKPUNK - Stories with Bite!

Had he still been alive, today would have been Peter Benchley's 81st birthday. (And just in case you're wondering why this is of significance, check out the quote below.) So it seems like the perfect occasion to remind you that a few years ago I edited an anthology of short stories called Sharkpunk.

Sharks - the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind's most primal fears. The tell-tale dorsal fin slicing through the water, the dead eyed-stare, the gaping jaws full to unforgiving teeth, the remorseless drive to kill and feed...Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea - as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus - the stories contained within are rip-roaring page-turners and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian. Covering the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and Steampunk, through to SF and WTF, these are stories with bite! Come on in. The water's fine...

You can pick up your copy of Sharkpunk here, and it's also available as an audiobook from Circle of Spears Productions, that you will find on Audible.

"I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me." 
~ Peter Benchley, author of Jaws

Short Story Saturday: An Array of Audiobooks

I must apologise for the lack of blog posts recently, other than ones relating to my latest Kickstarter, HEOROT - Role-Playing in the World of Beowulf Beastslayer. I hope to start making more diverse blog posts again, but if you like the crowdfunding ones, there's another Kickstarter coming this summer. (And there's a clue as to what it might be about later in this post.)

Anyway, today I wanted to alert you to the fact that Judge Fear's Big Day Out and Other Stories is now available as an audiobook, from Penguin Audio.

The anthology contains all four of my Judge Dredd short stories in audio format, including One-Way Ticket that originally appeared in two parts in the Judge Dredd Megazine.

But of course, it's not the only audiobooks featuring my short stories available. In case you haven't come across them, here's the up to date list of all those currently available.

Features my short story The Hunting of the Jabberwock.

Features my short story Who Walks With Death.

Edited by Yours Truly.

In other short story-related news, I was delighted to receive this in the post today...

Kaiju Rising II: Reign of Monsters was published by Outland Entertainment in 2018, and I am very grateful to the team for sending me a slipcase edition of the anthology, which includes my Kaiju vs Mech short story The Ghost in the Machine*.

* It is particularly good timing, considering what I am working on at the moment.

Review of the Year - 2020

Well, I think we all know what 2020 will be known as in the future. But for me as an author, 2020 will also be remembered as the Year of ACE Gamebooks Roleplay, which gives me a good catch-all term for both my gamebooks and RPG line.

Despite only having one major publication this year - 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas* - new foreign editions of my ACE Gamebooks continued to be released, even though trips to Italy and Germany** were both cancelled.

The ACE Gamebooks website received an upgrade, there were numerous online live playthrough of my books, and I released a 5th anniversary edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, more in line with the hardbacks of the rest of the series.

I have also continued to work on Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, although the tragically premature death of Martin McKenna inevitably delayed the book and forced a search for a new illustrator. Fortunately Hauke Kock has agreed to take on the task of illustrating my longest gamebook yet. If you've not seen it yet elsewhere, here's one of his finished images for the adventure.

2020 saw the release of a number of audiobooks bearing my name, including The Doll's House, The Serpent's Egg, and Wonderland.

Behind the scenes I have also worked on some other interactive fiction-style projects, which I expect will see the light of day next year. I had hoped to submit various short stories to various anthologies, but unfortunately just didn't have the time.***

Currently I am trying to work out which Kickstarters to run when, in order to fund production of the next ACE Gamebook and ACE Gamebooks Roleplay RPG. And between them they are going to take you to different parts of the globe... Expect to see more news before the end of January.

And on that note I would like to wish you a Happy New Year, and here's hoping for a better 2021!

* Print versions of which are available now!

** Along with their associated book launches.

*** Writing a short story takes far longer than the limited word count might have you believe.

Short Story Saturday: The Big Audiobook Giveaway!

Long time readers of this blog will know that I have self-published an eNovella called The Serpent's Egg - A Dark Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos. Well the audiobook, narrated by Mark Rice-Oxley, is now available from Audible. But better than that, I have some promo codes for the audiobook to giveaway. That's over two hours of listening pleasure for absolutely no money whatsoever!

With Halloween season upon us, you might want to download another audiobook of mine - The Doll's House, narrated by Lesley Dessalles. I have some free promo codes for this one as well.

If you would like a promo code for either audiobook, please email me at info@jonathangreenauthor.com, but please bear in mind that The Serpent's Egg in particular is most definitely 18-rated!

Short Story Saturday: Have you listened to a good short story lately?

Thanks to some recent releases, and some older titles, you can now listen to three of my short stories as audiobooks, and a whole anthology of shark stories edited by Yours Truly.

Features my short story The Hunting of the Jabberwock.

Features my short story Who Walks With Death.

Wonderland: An Anthology available now from Audible

Wonderland: An Anthology of Works Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, and which features my short story The Hunting of the Jabberwock, is available now as an audiobook from Audible from today.

From the greatest names in fantasy and horror comes an anthology of stories inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Join Alice as she is thrown into the whirlwind of Wonderland.

Within this audiobook, you'll find myriad approaches to Alice, from horror to historical, taking us from the nightmarish reaches of the imagination to tales that will shock, surprise, and tug on the heart-strings. So, it's time now to go down the rabbit hole, or through the looking-glass or...but no, wait. By picking up this audiobook and starting to listen to it, you're already there, can't you see?

Also available from Audible...

Short Story Saturday: The Doll's House

Available now from Green Man Books and Audible, as an audiobook narrated by Lesley Dessalles...

What horror dwells behind its peeling paint façade and lifeless windows?

A young mother, struggling after the birth of her second child, starts to question her sanity when the appearance of an unwanted childhood toy rekindles unwelcome nightmares.

A chilling tale written by award-winning author Jonathan Green.

“Jonathan Green will make you lose sleep." ~ Amazon.co.uk

"Seeing the name Jonathan Green on a cover of a novel, for me, sells it instantly." ~ Amazon.co.uk

Download The Doll's House from Audible here, and download the eBook from Amazon here.

Short Story Saturday: SHARKPUNK the Audiobook

I've you've not yet picked up the audiobook edition of SHARKPUNK, the first short story anthology I edited, now is the perfect time to grab a digital download of the book from Circle of Spears for £17.99, plus get a 15% discount with checkout code STAYSAFE.

Sharks – the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind’s most primal fears. The tell-tale dorsal fin slicing through the water, the dead eyed-stare, the gaping jaws full to unforgiving teeth, the remorseless drive to kill and feed…

Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea – as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus – the stories contained within are rip-roaring page-turners and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian. Covering the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and Steampunk, through to SF and WTF, these are stories with bite! Come on in. The water’s fine…

Pick up your digital download of SHARKPUNK here.

Short Story Saturday: Fabled Journey

This one rather slipped under my radar, as it actually came out in January, but available now from Remastered Words is the audio anthology Fabled Journey IV.

Here's the blurb:

"This collection of fantasy short stories are from the three winners of Remastered Words 2019 audio anthology, including a tale from Jonathan Green with "Who Walks with Death" which was first published in Legend, an anthology released in 2013 in honour of David Gemmell.

Once again, a theme has developed when there were none prescribed and each story follows a significant journey in the life of its protagonist. Whatever the direction though and wherever the roads may lead, you'll be glad of a warm fire and comfy chair whilst the fabled journey plays out."

Who Walks with Death is narrated by me old mucker Sam Burns, who was also one of the narrators on the Sharkpunk audiobook.

So if you fancy listening to one of my stories, rather than reading one, why not download Fabled Journey IV today?

It's 43 years since you thought it safe to go back into the water

43 years ago today, Jaws was released upon unsuspecting cinema-goers for the first time!

Which means that 3 years ago, this happened.

SHARKPUNK - an anthology of killer shark stories - is still available from Snowbooks in both pulped tree format and as one of those new-fangled electronic books. You can even listen to it in the bath or in the car!

Come on in. The water's fine....

You've gotta love that original Simon Coleby cover!