Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu at SF Signal

The very kind people over at SF Signal allowed me to write a piece about the Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu Kickstarter and you can read it for yourself here.

Guest Author April - Lavie Tidhar

My latest novels are A Man Lies Dreaming, which is out in the UK now in paperback (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Lies-Dreaming-Lavie-Tidhar/dp/144476294X/) and is about Adolf Hitler as a disgraced private eye in 1930s London, and The Violent Century, which just came out in hardcover in the US (http://www.amazon.com/Violent-Century-Novel-Lavie-Tidhar/dp/125006449X/), which is a sort of parallel history of the 20th century with Nietzschean Ubermenschen, a love story and a murder mystery. I also just published the dual anthologies Jews vs Zombies (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jews-vs-Zombies-Rebecca-Levene-ebook/dp/B00TQT6L9K/) and Jews vs Aliens (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jews-vs-Aliens-Naomi-Alderman-ebook/dp/B00TQT6L4U/) co-edited with Rebecca Levene, which raise money for charity.

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.

Guest Author April - Michael Jecks

 Michael Jecks is a writer of historical mystery novels. Indeed he is known as the master of the medieval murder mystery.

Probably best known for his Knights Templar Mysteries, his latest book is FIELDS OF GLORY,  the first in his new Hundred Years War series, from Simon and Schuster (available in paperback and ebook format), with the second, BLOOD ON THE SAND, coming out in June as a large paperback and ebook.

Why not check out Michael's website for more information? I can also highly recommend the videos he posts weekly on YouTube. In these he not only talks about his books, but also about the nitty gritty business of being a writer, and he has some great pearls of wisdom for anybody wanting to follow in his footsteps.

Guest Author April - Ian Whates

Pelquin’s Comet

Ian Whates

Ian Whates’ first novel in three years is the opening volume of a new space opera series which takes recognised tropes and turns them on their heads.  The series is set in an age of expansion, with humanity spreading out to the stars aided by caches of ancient alien technology which they don’t fully understand.  Man has recently encountered its first extant alien culture, the Xters, and the two races eye each other warily across ragged and fairly arbitrary borders, not really competing for habitat due to physiological differences, but not trusting each other either.

The book’s unlikely central protagonist is a banker, Drake, whose constant companion, Mudball, is a cute bundle of fur mistakenly thought of as a pet.  In reality, Mudball is far more than he seems.

The crew of the freetrader Pelquin's Comet – a rag-tag group of misfits, ex-soldiers and ex-thieves – set out to claim a cache of alien technology that they hope will make them rich; but they are not the only interested party and find themselves in a deadly race against the authorities and corporate agents. Contending with enemies without and within, they are forced to do so under the watchful eye of an unwelcome guest: Drake, agent of the bank funding their expedition; a man with a past that is fast catching up with him, a man who may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

(Cover art by Jim Burns)

Guest Author April - Nik Vincent

Since both last year's novels were co-writes, I’m going to sneak in a little something extra. Smiles.

Fiefdom from Abaddon Books was a spin-off from Dan’s Kingdom strip for 2000AD, and I’d wanted to get my hands on it for long form fiction since its inception. It's always a pleasure to work with the husband, but I think this particular novel played to my strengths, and he rather let me run with it. Fear not, the novel stands alone.

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/book-reviews-latest-literary-releases/8853-book-review-fiefdom-a-kingdom-novel

I also had my first independent short story The Stranger Cards published in the Dangerous Games anthology, edited by Jonathan Oliver for Solaris. I was thrilled to find myself in some great company.

https://thebookbeard.wordpress.com/tag/nik-vincent/

Solaris has since bought my first independent novel, Savant, to be published in 2016, so watch this space.

Guest Author April - Gareth L Powell

 I have the third monkey book, MACAQUE ATTACK, which was released in January. This means the trilogy is now complete. 

The Guardian called it “Barnstorming” -  and there are links to buy it here:

http://www.garethlpowell.com/portfolio/cover-reveal-macaque-atack/

Gamebook Friday: Steve Jackson's The Trolltooth Wars Kickstarter - a guest post by P J Montgomery

The Trolltooth Wars. Those three words will be familiar to Fighting Fantasy fans. The first straight novel set in the FF universe, Steve Jackson’s 1989 book featured familiar characters and settings in an exciting fantasy adventure, in which you weren’t the hero - Chadda Darkmane was. Readers joined Darkmane on an adventure that took him from Salamonis, to the Forest of Yore, to the bizarre town of Shazâar, to the very depths of Firetop Mountain. Fan favourite characters Balthus Dire, Zharradan Marr, Gereth Yaztromo and, of course, Zagor himself, rubbed shoulders with new creations like the Chervah, Jamut Mantrapper and the sorceress, Lissamina. It also spawned a number of sequels, which all further expanded the world of Titan, and gave Darkmane new challenges to overcome.

But, if you’re reading this, you probably already know that.

My name is PJ Montgomery, and I’m a writer based in Cardiff. Jonathan has very kindly invited me to write a guest post all about my latest project, a graphic novel adaptation of The Trolltooth Wars. I’ve been a fan of the Fighting Fantasy series since, as a young child, I discovered some of the books in my school library. A few months and much pestering later, I finally managed to get my mum to buy me a copy of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Sure, that first adventure in Zagor's domain ended with death at the hands of a vampire, but it spawned an obsession within me, which continues to this day.

I’m also a huge fan of comics. This passion began a bit later, with my first issue of X-Men, but it’s burned just as fiercely. It’s a unique medium, combining clever writing and visual storytelling like no other. Comics have the potential to tell amazing stories which feed the imagination, just as well as any novel, while providing stunning images without the budgetary limits which can cause a film or television show to fall short.

Combining comics with Fighting Fantasy feels like an obvious idea to me, and where better to start than The Trolltooth Wars? It’s actually a very visual novel, thanks to Jackson’s clear and descriptive prose, combined with some excellent illustrations by FF legend Russ Nicholson. I’d had the idea to turn it into a comic a while back, but it was only last year that I actually did anything about it, and fired off an e-mail enquiring about the possibility of putting a graphic novel together. Fast forward to now, and a full script has been written, and is in the process of being illustrated by talented comic artist Gavin Mitchell.

Gavin and I have plenty of experience creating comics between us, having worked together previously on the South Wales set horror comedy, Stiffs. I’ve also contributed to the superhero anthology title The Pride Adventures, while Gavin has provided art for books like '80s horror mash-up The Samurai Slasher, and superhero book The Pride, the parent book of The Pride Adventures. So we know what it takes to produce a quality comic. The only thing currently standing in our way, is funding.

As such, we’re in the middle of running a Kickstarter with the aim of raising the money to release the comic later on this year. The money raised is all going into the book, and while we’ve had a good start, we’re not there yet. I love Kickstarter. I think it’s a brilliant site, which can help with the creation of excellent projects which may not otherwise see the light of day. I’ve backed plenty of campaigns myself (including You Are The Hero, naturally), and always enjoyed being part of a campaign, and never been disappointed with the end results. We’re hoping to provide our backers with a similar experience.

Backing the campaign will get you any of a number of rewards, including badges, prints, wallpapers for your computer, and copies of the book. There’s also the chance to get copies signed by me and Gavin, copies sketched in by Gavin, and limited edition copies signed by Steve Jackson! There are even reward levels which will get you a signed copy of You Are The Hero, and, right at the top end, the chance to be drawn into the book, appearing as one of the residents of Titan!

As for the book itself? Well, that'll be coming in at just over one hundred and thirty pages of story, sticking close to the template set by Steve Jackson. The story's the same, it's the telling which is different. Gavin's art is bringing Titan to life like never before, which means that even those who know every word of The Trolltooth Wars, from beginning to end, will be getting a new experience. This book is for everyone, both fans and newcomers. That said, there will be Easter eggs for the fans throughout, and extra material in the back. This will include some of Gavin's original character sketches, work in progress pages, and pin-ups by guest artists.

We’d love it if you could back the campaign, and get all of your friends to do so as well. We’re really excited by this book, and hope you will be too.

Help us make it a reality, and as far as we’re concerned, you really are the hero.

Short Story Saturday: The Book of the Dead

To help promote Jurassic London's The Book of the Dead - which features my story Egyptian death and the afterlife: mummies (Rooms 62-3) - I wrote a piece on the enduring appeal of Mummies for the The Speculative Scotsman, which you can read here.

You can pick up The Book of the Dead (edited by Jared Shurin) here.

Steampunk Thursday moves to Friday: International Steampunk Day 2013!

14 June is (or was) H G Wells' birthday, and as Mr Wells is one of the godfathers of the Steampunk movement, 14 June is International Steampunk Day.

And it just so happens that tomorrow is the start of Steampunk Doncaster*. In the lead up to the UK's newest Steampunk event, I wrote a guest post for Craig Hallam's blog**.

If you are going to Steampunk Doncaster, maybe I'll see you there...

* Anybody'd think they'd planned it that way.

** Craig Hallam is the organiser of the Litarium element of Steampunk Doncaster.

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specialising in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous.

Christian Schoon is a freelance writer who has worked for various film, home video and animation studios in Los Angeles, including the Walt Disney Company. Originally hailing from the American Midwest, after moving from LA to a farmstead in Iowa several years ago, he continues to freelance and also now helps rehabilitate wildlife and foster abused and neglected horses. He acquired his amateur-vet knowledge, and much of his inspiration for the Zenn Scarlett series of novels, as he learned about - and received an education from - these remarkable animals.

Today, Christian takes over the blog as part of the Zenn-a-palooza blog tour, arranged by Amanda Rutter of Strange Chemistry books. So, over to Christian...

Zenn Scarlett: A Day in the Life

 

The day starts early and dark for Zenn, well before the sun clears the canyon wall here in the deep end of the Valles Marinaris. It’s usually the voice of Sister Hild, one of Zenn’s instructors, echoing up to her dorm room from the calefactory entrance that wakes her. Dressing in a patched pair of hand-me-down coveralls, and rolling up the pant legs to avoid tripping, Zenn heads downstairs and out into the cool Martian air, crossing the cloister grounds to the refectory hall and kitchen, where she wolfs down a quick amaranth muffin and a cup of hot, bitter chicory coffee. She has a dim, fading memory of the luxurious, silken taste of real coffee, but since the Rift with Earth, something as rare as coffee is no longer found on Mars; at least, not at the co-op in Arsia City where the cloister barters for supplies. Checking the v-film flickering on the kitchen wall for any last-minute updates from her uncle Otha about the day’s activities, she sets off down one of the packed gravel paths leading to the first task on her roster of early morning chores.

Some mornings, Hamish will scuttle out from between one of the outbuildings to lend her a hand. Well, a claw. An eight-foot-tall insectoid coleopt, Hamish is in his trial period as the cloister sexton, or all-around handyman (bug). He’s amiable enough, and pleasant company for Zenn, but has a maddening habit of being unable to take the initiative or think for himself in most matters. This, Zenn knows, is due to the severely regimented coleopt culture in which he was spawned and raised, but it still rankles her. But, growing up as the only child within the mud-brick walls of the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic and training facility, Zenn is glad to have Hamish as a friend; actually, as her only friend. The xenophobic towners in the nearby village of Arsia City will have nothing to do with the cloister and its “diseased, unclean alien monsters.”

First chore of the day for Zenn is stopping outside the enclosure of their resident whalehound and taking a quick read of the animal’s vital signs. She then records the data for Otha to evaluate later. At the ‘hound’s pen, Zenn greets the 80-foot, eight-legged otter-like creature, who responds to her with his usual snuffling exhalation. She activates the remote sensor-film hanging on the chain link fence and downloads the information to the sleeve-screen stitched to her coveralls. Satisfied at the results, she climbs up the path, and heads over to the cloister’s collection of treatment pools, which now holds a recently arrived mating pair of Tanduan swamp sloos, long as battleships, snake-necked and sleek as prehistoric plesiosaurs. The female sloo raises her tubular, ant-eater-like snout into the air, waving it about to catch Zenn’s scent as she passes.

The rest of the morning is spent in checking off similar items on her list of chores. Grizelda, an ailing, single-celled cryptoplasmoid the size of a small truck, needs her weekly dose of mineral supplements. Ernie the yote, a buffalo-sized scavenger from the plains of Procyon, is due for his distemper booster. And, the highlight of the morning: a visit to the baby Kiran sunkiller floating in the huge interior of the clinic’s main infirmary building. Just a little over 60 feet long now, the sunkiller’s gas-filled manta-ray wings will eventually grow to span a distance of over 1,500 feet, enabling it to carry an entire sky-palace on its broad back. Sunkillers are, of course, considered holy creatures by the Kirans who live out their entire lives in the structures erected on the animals’ backs. Zenn fully appreciates the fact that treating one of these impressive beasts is a once-in-a-lifetime privilege for any exovet, let alone a novice. Accordingly, she spends as much free time as she can spare, which isn’t much, in the infirmary.

After a hastily consumed lunch back at the refectory, Zenn’s afternoon will be filled with books, v-films and memorization as she does her homework in classes like alien physiology, parasitology, planetary ecologies of the Local Systems Accord and other course work. Her evening chores might be interrupted by a chat with Liam Tucker, a towner boy who, uncharacteristically, has shown a sudden interest in Zenn. She finds this both puzzling and annoying. Towners are alien-hating bigots, for the most part, and she’s not sure Liam is really any different. Plus, she’s got end of term tests coming up and can’t afford to be distracted. Especially by a wise-cracking towner boy with a reputation for attracting both trouble and girls. Will her long-standing rule against forming friendships outside the cloister stand up to Liam’s annoying, distracting ways? Only time will tell.

As the sun drops below the western canyon wall, Zenn will sit down, exhausted from evening chores, to a hot supper, prepared alternately by either Otha or Sister Hild. The huge calefactory hall will echo with their voices, perhaps prompting Otha to reminisce about the days when Zenn wasn’t the sole student at the cloister school; a time before the Rift with Earth, when the voices of dozens of novices and acolyte exovet trainees filled the hall. Then, after helping clear the table, Zenn will return to her dormitory room, review the day’s notes and prepare for bed. Katie, her pet rikkaset, will most likely already be curled up on the bed. The little raccoon-like marsupial, deaf since birth but highly intelligent, will sit up long enough to silently sign to Zenn, using her deft, long-fingered paws to say “Sleep now? Friend-Zenn goes to sleep? Katie too.”

 

 

You can find out more about Christian Schoon and Zenn Scarlett here, or you can pre-order a copy of the book here.