Short Story Saturday: Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu is an anthology of short stories inspired by the works of Stratford's most famous son and the literary endeavours of cosmic horror master H. P. Lovecraft.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu includes stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion. So, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare!

It's that time of year when I like to remind everyone that I edited an anthology of short stories called Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, back in 2016, featuring tales inspired by the Bard and the literary endeavours of H. P. Lovecraft.

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu includes stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion. So, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

Something Wicked This Way Comes... Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu

Today is possibly* William Shakespeare's birthday but it is most definitely his deathday.

As is traditional at this time of year, I like to remind people that you can read an alternative take on Shakespeare's life, work, and even death, in Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, an anthology of stories inspired by the Bard and the literary endeavours of H. P. Lovecraft.

Featuring stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

* I say 'possibly' because we know when he was baptised, 26th April 1554, but not actually when he was born.

Shakespeare Sunday: Happy Deathday, Mr Lovecraft!

Today is the 83rd anniversary of H P Lovecraft's death, in 1937. This event coincides with the world generally shutting down because of COVID-19.

I have seen much mention, on social media, of the fact that, whilst he was in quarantine during a time of plague, England's foremost playwright wrote not just Macbeth but also King Lear.

Lovecraft-corrupted versions of both these tales appear in the anthology Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu. In The Terrors of the Earth, Pat Kelleher gives us his squamous take on The Tragedy of King Lear, while noted Scottish author Graham McNeill, re-imagines the Scottish Play for a modern, genre audience, with his tale, Something Wicked This Way Comes.

So in case you find yourself in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, why not make sure you have a copy of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu to hand, just in case.

Happy Birthday, Mr William Shakespeare!

Today is possibly* William Shakespeare's birthday but it is most definitely his deathday.

As is traditional at this time of year, I like to remind people that you can read an alternative take on Shakespeare's life, work, and even death, in Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, an anthology of stories inspired by the Bard and the literary endeavours of H. P. Lovecraft.

Featuring stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

* I say 'possibly' because we know when he was baptised, 26th April 1554, but not actually when he was born.

Shakespeare Sunday: Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu reviewed in Horrorville Magazine #1

Horrorville is a brand new quarterly magazine, edited by Will Salmon, that introduces itself at the 'Home of Modern Horror', and I'm pleased to report that Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu is reviewed in the very first issue.

It's not the most marvellous review, giving the book 3.5 stars out of 5, but it just goes to show how reviewers' tastes can vary so greatly. While the Starburst review was a grand 9 out of 10, that reviewer didn't rate Graham McNeill's Something Wicked This Way Comes, the Horrorville reviewer calls it the stand-out story in the anthology.

Horrorville is available now from major newsagent outlets.

Shakespeare Sunday - Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Another coup for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu was getting renowned Black Library scribe Graham McNeill to pen a tale for the anthology. Having been a fan of his work for a long time, and knowing that he has written a trilogy of Lovecraftian novels, I also knew that he would be a perfect fit. And when this Scottish author said that he would like to take his inspiration from a certain Scottish play, I knew we were on to a winner.

Don’t listen to this.

Seriously, don’t.

I’m not joking, put down the damn phone or whatever the hell it is you’re listening to me on, and do yourself a favour by smashing it with the first heavy object you can find. Or if you’re somehow reading this, burn it. Find some matches and light it up. Please.

I know, I know, why bother recording this if I’m just going to tell you to smash it up, right? Well, if you know who I am, then you’ll know I’m an actor; a narcissistic, egomaniacal prick of an actor. If you don’t know me, then for God’s sake go and see a play sometime.

Still here? Have it your way then. Let me introduce myself. My name is Mackenzie Baladan, and if you’re going to stick around to listen to my last words, then I damn well want you to pay attention to what I’m going to say. So what if I ended the world? What actor could ask for a greater curtain call than that?

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill worked for over six years as a Games Developer in Games Workshop’s Design Studio before taking the plunge to become a full-time writer. Graham’s written thirty SF and Fantasy novels and comics, as well as a number of side projects that keep him busy and (mostly) out of trouble. His Horus Heresy novel, A Thousand Sons, was a New York Times bestseller and his Time of Legends novel, Empire, won the 2010 David Gemmell Legend Award. Graham lives and works in Los Angeles for Riot Games, and you can keep up to date with where he’ll be and what he’s working on by visiting his website:www.grahammcneill.com

Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Graham McNeill

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu - 5 days to go!

There are just five days left to run for the Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu Kickstarter, but why should you back the project (if you haven't done so already)?

Well, how about because the anthology will feature over a dozen brand new short stories by the likes of NYT best-selling authors James Lovegrove and Graham McNeill? Or because it will feature brand new poetry by Jan Siegel and Danie Ware?

Some of the stories have already been written, including Adrain 'Shadows of the Apt' Tchaikovsky's Something Rotten, which involves a very dark re-telling of Hamlet, and A Madness Most Discreet, a Lovecraftian re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet by 2000AD's Michael Carroll.

And don't forget, everyone who backers the Kickstarter will receive a bonus short story digital download.*

So don't delay, and back the Kickstarter today!


* And if that's not enough, you could also bag yourself a Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu T-shirt.

Guest Author April - Graham McNeill

The project taking up the bulk of my writing time just now is a Horus Heresy novel called The Crimson King, which is a direct follow up to my previous novel, A Thousand Sons.

At the end of that novel, Magnus the Red - the titular king - and the Thousand Sons legion had barely escaped the burning of their homeworld at the hands of the Space Wolves and found themselves exiled on the Planet of the Sorcerers. The Crimson King follows the remnants of the Fifteenth Legion in the wake of that battle as they seek to restore their former greatness in the face of inevitable damnation, relentless hunters and revelations from their own ranks that threaten all they once believed in.

The Crimson King will be available later in 2016, but you can prepare for that moment by reading A Thousand Sons by following this link.

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.

JG at the Sci-Fi Weekender

One week today I shall be at the Sci-Fi Weekender in North Wales, along with some of you, I hope.

You're best to check the timetables there (in case of any last minute changes) but I'm currently chairing two panels. As of writing, the timing for these is as follows:


Friday 1 March - 4.00-5.00pm
No Airships Required: Creating Steampunk Worlds. With Robert Rankin, Sam Stone and Raven Dane.

Saturday 2 March - 4.00-5.00pm
Shared Worlds: Writing into a known universe. With Gav Thorpe and Graham McNeill.


I will also be signing copies of my new Path to Victory gamebook Shadows Over Sylvania at the Black Library stand over the course of the weekend and selling my Pax Britannia titles at my own little table. I am also down to conduct a Q&A session with a certain 'star'.

If you see me, stop me and say hello, and if you see me at my stand, drop by and buy a book (or even a badge).

Maybe I'll see you there...

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!

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.

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. ;-)

Mission: Games Workshop - Warhammer World & Lincoln

That's right - two stores in one day! Go me! It was over a week ago now, however, just before Weekend at the Asylum kicked off on 9 September.

I headed up to Lincoln (where the steampunk event was taking place) via Nottingham so that I could pop into GW HQ. Whilst there I had a look round the Citadel Miniatures Hall, marvelling at all the magnificent miniatures on display there, and then popped into the on-site store.

The guys there proudly showed me their entries in the Armies on Parade competition* and I got to have a browse of the new Ogre Kingdoms Army book. The Warhammer World store was gearing up for a visit by not one but two Black Library authors the next day - the inestimable Graham McNeill and relatively new author (but old hand in terms of years with BL) Mr C Z Dunn himself, author of Hive of the Dead - the first ever Warhammer 40,000 gamebook.

So then I set off on the last leg of my journey to Lincoln. Having checked into my hotel there I wandered into town before things kicked off at the Asylum and somehow - either using some kind of homing instinct, or perhaps because my nose is just attuned to the smell of Chaos Black basecoat - I found my way to the Lincoln GW store where I was welcomed by store manager James Monk.

There I saw a magnificently painted Arachnarok spider, similar to the one that features in Sir Dagobert's Last Battle. James informed me that the Lincoln store was hosting its own Armies on Parade day the following day, and that one local had collected a huge Black Templar army and would love to meet the author of The Armageddon Omnibus. Unfortunately I was busy steampunking the next day but I hope it all went well and maybe I'll be able to pop in again early September 2012.

Which reminds me - there's only one week to go until Games Day 2011, which will be my 17th Games Day! Where has the time gone...?

* Funnily enough one of them was a Black Templars army and another an Iron Hands force.

Alt.Fiction 2011

There's barely a week to go before Alt.Fiction hits Derby QUAD, bringing you the very best in speculative fiction, including panels featuring your favourite genre authors and workshops to help you improve your craft.

I went a few years ago with Abaddon Books to launch the Pax Britannia line but have unfortunately been unable to get back since. This year is no exception (although various of m'colleagues are going), but if I was able to attend I would be checking out the following:

Saturday

10am - Military Science Fiction podcast - featuring m'colleagues Graham McNeill and Gav Thorpe

11am - The Infamous Horror Panel - including Sarah Pinborough and Adam Nevill

12pm - Guest of Honour - Dan Abnett

2pm - Steampunk podcast

3pm - Editing an anthology - featuring one of my editors Christian Dunn

4pm - The World of Publishing Panel

5pm - I'd be torn between the BBC Books Panel and the Tie-in Fiction and Shared Worlds podcast

6pm - Workshop with Graham McNeill

8pm - Audio Books Panel - featuring Christian Dunn and Dan Abnett

Sunday

10am - Is the Genre just for Boys? podcast - I have a pretty good idea what another of my editors who's on the panel, Jenni Hill, will have to say about that

11am - Genre Classics podcast - Dan Abnett again

12pm - Workshop with Dan Abnett - do you see a pattern forming here?

2pm - Torn again, this time between the Using Mythology in Writing podcast and the Comics Panel (featuring Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill and Paul Cornell)

3pm - How Not to Get Published podcast - featuring former collaborator, editor and publisher of mine Marc Gascoigne and current editor of mine Jenni Hill

4pm - What Next for the Genre? - featuring - oh, surprise-surprise - Dan Abnett

You can pore over the (very) full programme of events on offer here, and you can purchase your tickets here.

Graham McNeill on writing novels... once again

Graham's been reviewed over at Civilian Reader about his recent releases, forthcoming novels and writerly working practices in general. And it makes for very interesting reading too.

To read the interview for yourself, follow this link.

Graham McNeill on writing novels... again

More wise and interesting words from Graham McNeill on his weblog here about the perils of complacency and never forgetting the first principles of story and character.

Graham McNeill on writing novels

New York Times Bestselling Black Library author Graham McNeill has written a great post over at his website about the trials and tribulations he goes through when writing a novel. In it he confesses that he's one of those writers who can't help tinkering as he goes along and cannot bear the idea of writing 'The End' and then having to go back and effectively re-write the book.

I'm afraid I seem one of those writers who ploughs on to the bitter end then has a hell of a lot to do on the second pass. My manuscripts end up in good order (and probably all the better for the thorough going over) but you have to take a very deep breath before diving back in and battling your way through the novel for a second time when - psychologically at least - you've already finished it.

Perhaps with my next novel (my fourteenth and Ulysses Quicksilver's eighth Pax Britannia adventure Time's Arrow) I can take more of a McNeill approach to things.

Yeah, right.