Short Story Saturday: The Iron Code

Available for pre-order now is The Iron Code, an anthology of short stories celebrating the life of legendary fantasy author David Gemmell, published to mark the 20th anniversary of his untimely passing.

The anthology has been edited by Ian Whates and is published by NewCon Press. It includes epic tales by the likes of Dan Abnett, John Gwynne, Joanne Harris, Anna Smith-Spark, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. I also have a short in there, entitled The Wolf in Winter.

To pre-order your copy, click this link.

This month's meeting of the Super Relaxed Fantasy Club is dedicated to The Iron Code. It will be taking place at The Star of Kings pub, York Way, near Kings Cross Station, starting at 6:30pm, on Tuesday 14 July 2026.

In attendance will be James Barclay, Mike Carey, Stephen Deas, Juliet E. McKenna, Kari Sperring Gavin Smith, J. L. Worrad, and Ian Whates*. The event is free, but to reserve your place, click this link.

* But not me.

Short Story Saturday: The Iron Code

One Kickstarter only finished on Thursday, and here I am telling you about another.

Currently funding on Kickstarter is The Iron Code, an anthology of stories in honour of David Gemmell, which will be published to mark the 20th anniversary of his passing.

As the Kickstarter says, "Pick up your sword and your axe and prepare to be dazzled by some of the best fantasy fiction you will ever read." And a story by Yours Truly.

Publisher Ian Whates, of Newcon Press, asked 21 authors to write 21 new short stories to celebrate the man's life and his work. Among those contribution authors are Dan Abnett, M. R. Carey, John Gwynne, Joanne Harris, Juliet E. McKenna, Mark Lawrence, Gavin Smith, and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

By supporting this Kickstarter - which is currently 342% funded! - you will receive a copy of the book ahead of its official release date. In addition, your name will be listed in the Roll of Honour at the back of the book, acknowledging your support (unless you choose not to be included).

To find out more, click this link to visit The Iron Code Kickstarter project page.

Warhammer Wednesday: Black Library Celebration

It's rather appropriate, seeing as how today on the blog it's Warhammer Wednesday, that I should have been working on some new proposals for the Black Library this morning.

But the reason for today's post is to remind you that this Saturday, 24th February 2018, is Black Library Celebration day.

As well as being a celebration of 20+ years of fantastic adrenaline-fuelled fiction from the worlds of Warhammer, the brand new Inquisitor Eisenhorn novel, The Magos is being released on Saturday, along with Josh Reynolds’ new Warhammer 40,000 novel Lukas the Trickster.

There will be all sorts of other goodies up for grabs, including an exclusive resin Citadel miniature of Inquisitor Eisenhorn, a Lukas the Trickster model (which is usually exclusive to the GW Webstore), a commemorative collection of Black Library Postcards (featuring 100 pieces of cover art from across the history of Black Library novels), and a themed Warhammer 40,000 journal. Not only that, but every purchase made on the day will be rewarded with a free gift of a Black Library Celebration paperback containing six short stories - two each from Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy.

I will be stopping by the Warhammer store on Tottenham Court Road on Saturday (hopefully in time to pick up some goodies myself) but I won't be hanging around too long as I have another commitment on the 24th February.

And as to those proposals? You can be sure that I will let you know if anything comes of them...

Warhammer Wednesday: The Magos

I must admit, I am slightly confused as to why Black Library is celebrating 20 years since its founding this year, in 2018, when its 20th anniversary was actually last year*. But no matter the reason, on Saturday 24th February, Games Workshop and Warhammer stores around the world will be holding a celebration of all things Black Library.

As well as being a celebration of 20 years(?) of fantastic adrenaline-fuelled fiction from the worlds of Warhammer, the brand new Inquisitor Eisenhorn novel, The Magos is being released on 24th February 2018. Games Workshop and Warhammer stores will have a host of special merchandise to commemorate this special occasion, including an exclusive resin Citadel miniature of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, based on the classic Clint Langley** artwork depicting the Inquisitor in his younger days.

I hope to be able to drop into the London Warhammer store on the day but I have another commitment on the 24th February, but more about that later.

In other news, this week is National Storytelling Week. I'm trying to tell a new story of my own at the moment, but it's proving a little tricky to fit in around everything else I have to do. But there's a deadline looming and that's usually all the motivation you need.

* And I should know, seeing as how the first piece of fiction published by the Black Library was my Warhammer short story, the Badenov's Band tale The Hounds of Winter.

** Clint Langley produced the cover art for my very first novel, the Badenov's Band adventure The Dead and the Damned.

Inspirations: #2 - Dan Abnett

Dan Abnett in his office

Thought for the Day

“I know that words cannot move mountains, but they can move the multitude - we've proven that time and time again. People are more ready to fight and die for a word than for anything else. Words shape thought, stir feeling, and force action. They kill and revive, corrupt and cure.”

~ Dan Abnett, Horus Rising

Warhammer Wednesday: Macragge's Honour

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

Short Story Saturday: There is Only War

There is Only War must surely be the largest book the Black Library has ever published. 992 pages long, weighing over half a kilo, and containing 41 short stories, it is (according to the BL website), "written by the cream of Black Library’s talent", which means I'm in there. ;-)

My Black Templars story The Relic gets another reprint thanks to There is Only War, which also contains stories by the likes of Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Rob Sanders and C L Werner. To find out more about the book, follow this link.

If you'd like to own this mighty tome, you can pick up a copy here. If eBooks are more your thing, you can download The Relic by itself here.

Free Comic Book Day!

May the Fourth be with you, it's Free Comic Book Day*!

So why not join Dan Abnett, Al Ewing, Ben Willsher and 2000AD Judge Dredd legend Ron Smith at the Forbidden Planet store in central London, and celebrate by collecting a free copy of 2000AD?

* It's also Star Wars Day, of course.

Warhammer Wednesday: Gaunt's Ghosts a la Lego

As long time readers of this blog will already know, I am a fan of Dan Abnett's writing. Never was this more true that when it comes to his Black Library Inquisitor novels and the Gaunt's Ghosts series.

I didn't think it was possible to love the Ghosts more than I do already, and then I came across this via Dan's blog.

Enjoy!

The inaugural Black Library Weekender

So (just in case you've not check my blog over the last month or so) this past weekend I was in Nottingham for the first ever Black Library Weekender. And it was awesome.

I could spend ages here waxing lyrical about all the wonderful people I met, how as soon as I arrived I was nabbed to sign books, how fascinating the panels were, and what the evening ents were all about, but instead I'll restrict myself to a few photos and a list of things I didn't know before the event butI do now.

After all, I've been inspired by my two days in Nottingham in November and there's work to be done!

The weekend was as awesome as this banner suggests. 

 Matt brought along his collection of JG 40K fiction to be signed. Which was nice.

Cthulhu (courtesy of Clint Werner) and a glass of wine (courtesy of one of Graham McNeill's fans).

 These two really should have won Pitch Factor.

 New friend Matt Sylvester and old friend Rob Sanders. Fantastic to see both of them.

 Signing after the Gamebooks panel during which Christian Dunn claimed that I've written more gamebooks than anybody else. (This claim is yet to be verified.)

 Clint Werner (who sounds just how you imagine from this photo) and Yours Truly.

 

My book stash from the weekend.

Ten things I didn't know before the BL Weekender but which I do now

1) The Kingdom of Billdonia is under threat from the emerging state of Danistan.
2) Raymond Swanland can wax lyical about the merits of illustration and commercial art for ages.
3) One fan from Washington D.C. didn't have a passport when he booked his place at the Weekender.
4) Michael Knight and Christian Dunn are natural showmen.
5) Laurie Goulding does a mean Bane impression.
6) Rob Sanders may just be an Untouchable.
7) Josh Reynolds isn't the hero Black Library needs right now, but he's the hero it deserves.
8) Graeme Lyon is editing The Book of the Lion.
9) Black Library are publishing a 100 page original Horus Heresy graphic novel written by Dan Abnett and illustrated by Neil Roberts.
10) Shadows over Sylvania is out in February!

Happy Birthday to us!

As some of you may have noticed (thanks to the wonders of Facebook) today is my birthday. But not only that, it is also the birthday of my fellow Black Library writers Dan Abnett and Steven Savile. And it also happens to be Storm Constantine's birthday, and Storm just happened to once write a Warhammer 40K story for Games Workshop. So there you go.

Why not help my fellow writers celebrate their birthdays today by checking out one of their books? Just click on one of the links below to be taken to the appropriate website.

Dan Abnett

Storm Constantine

Steven Savile

Warhammer Wednesday: Warhammer Writers on Writing

First up we have Nick Kyme on the pressures of kicking off a mega-epic.

Then there's Nik Vincent-Abnett on the actual process of writing.

This one's an oldie, but a goodie - it's Nik's husband, Dan Abnett, talking about the whole 'writing thing'.

Then we have James Swallow talking about his recent trip to Chicago Games Day.

And lastly there's Graham McNeill, who's currently between books.

Enjoy...

Writers Round-up

That's right, it's time for another round-up of what other writers have been saying lately on the Internetz.

Here's my editor Jon Oliver on choosing the right story.

Here's Sarah Pinborough on happiness.

Here's Graham McNeill on where he gets his ideas from.

Here's Rob Sanders on Jabberwocky - my own inspiration for White Rabbit.

Here's Nik Vincent on people who write too much.

And finally, here's Dan Abnett on the benefits of looking out a window.

12 for '12 - Progress Report

Okay, so back at the start of the year I set out my 12 New Year's resolutions for 2012. I thought it was timely to let you know how I'm getting on. (Timely? You'll see why in a moment.) So here are my 12 resolutions again, with a status update for each one attached.

1) Read more books

Too early to really comment on this one. It's taken me ages to read a couple of books and then I've whizzed through others the same length. (This may say more about the pressures I've been under than the quality of the writing, although it was Dan Abnett's The Silent Stars Go By and Terry Pratchett's Snuff that I whizzed through.)

2) Buy fewer books

I've managed that. Far fewer visits to bookshops and far fewer packages arriving through the post from Amazon. Now I just need to stick to my guns.

3) Complete 12 projects

Now this is the interesting one. I wanted to complete 12 writing projects this year, whether they be novels, magazine articles or whatever, and on Tuesday I handed in number 12. That's right, I'm not even half way through the year and I've already finished 12 projects (although I've not written any complete novels yet).

For those of you who are interested, those 12 jobs consist of, 5 short stories, 3 children's books (for an up and coming brand), 2 magazine articles, 1 novella, and 1 gamebook app.

The challenge is now going to be if I can complete another 12 jobs before year's end. Already on the slate are 3 short stories, 2 novellas, 3 gamebooks (some of them apps), and various synopses and proposals to be written for various other things.

4) Write another gamebook App

Done. More news on that soon (I hope).

5) Get another Hammer & Bolter commission

Kind of done... I just need to write it now.

6) Get a comics commission

I've made no progress with this one at all.

7) Work up a new YA project

Certain people have shown an interest in me doing this and others have suggested it's something I should try, but again it's not something I've done anymore about just at the moment.

8) Reach 100 followers on this blog

Tick. Done. I'm actually up to 103 now. And keep 'em coming.

9) Try to get an agent

I've not even attempted to do anything about this yet. (Which is kind of connected to number 7).

10, 11 & 12) Use social media less (Facebook, Blogger and Twitter)

Hmm... I'm certainly planning my blogs more in advance, but I still frequent Facebook far too much. (And what is it with Facebook and cats?)

Twitter's an interesting one though. Strangely, I Tweet most often when I'm working. As my friend Lavie Tidhar says, it's just enough of a distraction when you're in the zone, giving you something to dip in and out of when you're slogging away at a chapter. Interestingly, if Lavie's Tweeting you also know he's working.

Lavie Tidhar - clearly not Tweeting

So there you go. That's how things stand at the moment. Three resolutions definitely completed/achieved, and another couple well on the way. Maybe it's time to review the rest.

Until next time... Oh, and enjoy Steampunk Thursday later on today. ;-)

Counting Words

Today we have various authors on the thorny subject of word counts.

First up there's Nicola Vincent-Abnett.

Then there's William King.

Next it's Sarah Cawkwell.

And lastly, Josh Reynolds.

For those of you who may be interested, during a recent school visit a child asked me how many words I'd written.

Now this is only a rough estimate, but in terms of published words I reckon I'm past the 2 million mark now. That's quite a lot, isn't it? Not as much as the likes of Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, but not a bad start, I think you'll agree. ;-)

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Warhammer 40,000 game. To find out how Black Library is marking this momentous occasion follow this link. And in other 40K-related news...

To hear about how Dan Abnett found the experience of writing his latest Horus Heresy novel Know No Fear, click here. (The interview starts at about 01.45.)

And there's an interesting insight into the writing process here by another Horus Heresy author, James Swallow.

Tony Hough, who illustrated my books Knights of Doom and Bloodbones, also illustrated the 40K universe in the early days. And he just so happens to be selling some of those illustrations here.

And lastly, I discovered the other day that The Armageddon Omnibus and Iron Hands (my 40K novels available again as Direct Exclusives from Black Library) are BL's two best-selling PoD reprint titles. Which is nice.

I first wrote for the 40K universe before the foundation of Black Library, contributing colour text to Codex: Tyranids, Codex: Chaos, Codex: Angels of Death, and Epic 40,000. My very first piece for Inferno! Magazine (one of BL's early publications) was a 40K story called Salvation.

If you're curious about my other 40K fiction contributions, click here. And of course this summer sees the publication of Herald of Oblivion, my first Warhammer 40K gamebook.

And They Shall Know No Fear...

Calth awaits...

Did you know that today is Know No Fear Day? No? Well you do now.

Inspired by Dan Abnett's latest Horus Heresy novel, Know No Fear, Games Workshop stores all over the world are running campaigns in which the forces of Chaos, spearheaded by the Word Bearers Legion, will attempt to destroy the Ultramarines Chapter once and for all.

Here in the UK a number of stores are running Know No Fear-themed campaigns for half term week too, so get yourself over the Games Workshop site and check out what's happening near you.

By the way, the Word Bearers are also the villains of my second Warhammer 40K novel Iron Hands, which is available again now as a Direct Exclusive from Black Library.

Where Ideas Come From - by Dan Abnett

Just like any example of Dan's writing, this piece, which appeared on Kaaron Warren's blog, is well worth reading.

Writers round-up

New year, new round-up, starting with...

Cavan Scott, on hating your current work in progress. Reading this, I was reminded of Tony Jordan's comment when asked if he liked writing: 'No. I like having written.'

Then there's Mark Gatiss, on turning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles, into a modern classic.

Lavie Tidhar's had a busy year, which you can read about here. And so has Dan Abnett.

Lately, inspired by New Year's resolutions, William King has written an interesting post on the subject of changing habits.

And Juliet E. McKenna has been posting on the subject of awards and self-promotion. (All I'll say on this matter at the moment is if I was eligible for the Legend Award I'd damn well make sure everyone knew about it.)

To end with, here's a comment from the Script Doctor on Facebook:

'Write what you know' is probably the stupidest advice you'll ever hear. 'Don't write what you don't know' is some of the best.