Warhammer Wednesday: Tales from The-World-That-Was

My latest royalty statement arrived from Black Library last week*. What it highlighted to me is that a number of my old Warhammer stories - from what would now be referred to as 'The-World-That-Was' - are still available in eBook format, either alone or as part of larger collections.

If you would like a taste of my old school Warhammer writings, why not check out one of them today?

Hammer and Bolter Issue 9 contains my short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, which is one of the best Warhammer stories I think I ever wrote. Sticks and Stones appeared near the end of Warhammer's life, before it evolved into Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

* Yes, I still earn a few pennies from sales of my BL stuff.

Warhammer Wednesday: Rise of the Skaven

Black Library have been making much of their Skaven stories of late, what with the Rise of the Horned Rat in the Old World with the coming of the End Times. The chittering denizens of the Under-Empire have appeared in various of my Black Library stories including Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, the Badenov's Band story The Nagenhof Bell, and quite extensively in my Path to Victory gamebook Shadows Over Sylvania.

All of the above are available direct from Black Library, Sir Dagobert's Last Battle as part of Hammer and Bolter Issue #9, The Nagenhof Bell as part of Swords of the Empire, and Shadows Over Sylvania as its own print on demand title. Just follow the links to find out more and purchase them.

Warhammer Wednesday: Hammer and Bolter

Hammer and Bolter issue 24 is now being advertised as available for pre-order.

I was in issue 9.

Where has the time gone?!?

The Best of Hammer and Bolter is on its way

For the first time in a physical format - and 640 pages long at that! - the Keepers of the Black Library are proud to present the best stories from the first twelve issues of Hammer and Bolter magazine.

The Table of Contents is as follows:

The Strange Demise of Titus Endor – Dan Abnett
A Place of Quiet Assembly – John Brunner
Primary Instinct – Sarah Cawkwell
Questing Knight – Anthony Reynolds
The Dark Path – Gav Thorpe
Exhumed – Steve Parker
The Rat Catcher’s Tale – Richard Ford
The Long Games at Carcharias – Rob Sanders
Virtue’s Reward – Darius Hinks
Charandis – Ben McCallum
Waiting Death – Steve Lyons
The Barbed Wire Cat – Robert Earl
Hunted – John French
The Iron Within – Rob Sanders
Feast of Horrors – Chris Wraight
Action and Consequence – Sarah Cawkwell
Tower of Blood – Tony Ballantyne
The First Duty – Josh Reynolds
Grail Knight – Anthony Reynolds
Manbane – Andy Hoare
The Last Remembrancer – John French
Flesh – Chris Wraight
Cause and Effect – Sarah Cawkwell
Marshlight – C. L. Werner
Commander Shadow – Braden Campbell
The Arkunasha War – Andy Chambers
Sir Dagobert’s Last Battle – Jonathan Green
Survivor – Steve Parker
The Last Charge – Andy Hoare
We Are One – John French
Mountain Eater – Andy Smillie
The Carrion Anthem – David Annandale
The Gods Demand – Josh Reynolds
Shadow Knight – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Aenarion – Gav Thorpe
Bitter End – Sarah Cawkwell

I think you'll agree that's quite a lot of stories (including a fair few by Black Library rising star Sarah Cawkwell). You may also have happened to notice that one of the stories amongst that little lot is the Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert’s Last Battle, written by Yours Truly.

The Best of Hammer and Bolter: Volume 1 will be available to buy from this July, but if you can't wait that long to read Sir Dagobert’s Last Battle (assuming you've not read it already, of course) then you can download it here, along with the rest of Hammer and Bolter issue 9.

Hammer and Bolter: Year One

Available now from Black Library, the Hammer and Bolter: Year One eBook collects the first twelve issues of the digital magazine (inheritor of Inferno! magazine's legacy), including 36 short stories from the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, the serialised novel Phalanx plus extracts of other books and interviews.

It is the largest eBook Black Library has ever produced, and if you order this compilation now you will save almost 20% over buying each issue individually.

And of course among the 36 short stories is my own Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

So what are you waiting for? You can buy Hammer and Bolter: Year One here.

Black Library - Last Shipping Dates

Black Library have announced their last shipping dates before Christmas.

They're also offering free shipping on orders over £10. So if you're looking to buy a Loved One one of my Warhammer or Warhammer 40K novels or short stories for a bit of festive cheer, now is the perfect time to order. (You only need to order one of my Print on Demand titles to receive free shipping.) And of course there are eBooks too - which don't cost anything to post. Marvellous!

Here's the entirety of the JG catalogue currently available from Black Library.

Print on Demand titles

The Armageddon Omnibus

Iron Hands

Daemonifuge (my comic strip Ephrael von Stern - Sister of Sigmar is reprinted within)

Ebooks

The Dead and the Damned (my first Warhammer 'novel')

Hammer & Bolter #9 (featuring my short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle)

The Relic (Black Templars short story)

But Dust in the Wind (Imperial Fists short story)

Mission: Games Workshop - Brent Cross

I dropped by the Brent Cross GW store yesterday, specifically to pick up a copy of the new Codex: Necrons. It's the first proper re-vamp the Necrontyr have received in about ten years and I wanted to make sure that the project I'm currently working on is fully up to date.

I met Dimitar Petrov there but spent most of the time drooling over the new Necrons miniatures and fabulous Warhammer scenery with my own pair of Noise Familiars. There were also a number of armies on display including Goblins (as featured in my Hammer & Bolter story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle), Skaven (as featured in my Hammer & Bolter story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle) and an Empire one that included a rather grand steam tank and a tame bear among its rank and file troops.

This last army in particular got me thinking again about another project's that on back-burner status at this present time. Maybe once Project Fisticuffs is done and dusted I could dust off that other idea, as it were, stoke up the boiler and see if it still runs.

Mission: Games Workshop - Torquay

Today I visited the Torquay GW store for the first time and met the most appropriately-named GW manager ever, Elric Prynn. Elric was very welcoming and showed me the Arachnarok spider* he's painted up for this year's Golden Demon competition.

While I was there I also picked up a copy of C. L. Werner's new novella The Hour of Shadows, and the Ciaphas Cain audio book Dead in the Water.

Elric asked me what I was working on at the moment and I was desperate to tell him about my new project for the Black Library but feared that if I did I would bring the whole weight of the Inquisition down upon our heads, so I kept schtum.

So it only remains for me to say "Thanks!" to Elric once more and "See you again some time..."

* Just like the one that appears in my Hammer & Bolter short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, although Elric's was rust red and the one in my story is toxic yellow.

More JG ebook releases from Black Library

Black Library are continuing to make more and more of their products available as ebooks and that includes short stories as well as novels.

The first of my Black Library short stories made available in this way (as far as I'm aware) was But Dust in the Wind, from the Victories of the Space Marines collection. Now The Relic, my Black Templars tale from Legends of the Space Marines, it also available, either on its own, or as part of the complete anthology.

Oh, and don't forget I've also got a new Warhammer short story out now in Hammer & Bolter Issue 9.

Mission: Games Workshop - Oxford

So, I found myself in Oxford yesterday (to meet up with the guys from Abaddon/Solaris as well as the guys from SFX magazine) and, as is my wont, popped into the GW store there to say "Hi!" and generally introduce myself.

Manager Robert MacTaggart and key-timer Marcus made me feel welcome and it was great to be able to tell them that I had a brand new Warhammer story out in the latest issue of Hammer & Bolter (which can also read about here).

It was whilst talking to Rob about the new Storm of Magic expansion that I made a throw away comment about the sort of campaigns we could expect see being run in store in future, and then realised that I'd effectively just pitched a great idea for another new Warhammer story. All I have to do now is write it up for my commissioning editor and see what happens. Of course, if I do manage to sell the idea, I'll let you know in a future post.

So thanks again to Rob and Marcus, and I hope to be able to drop by the Oxford store again some time in the not-too-distant future.

Oh, and before I go, if you're in Oxford yourself, you should check out the modified Giants they've got on display at the store along with the pottery Necrons - including a Necron Tomb Stalker. And while we're on the subject of Necrons, if you have a thing for soulless robotic killing machines then you should check out my short story But Dust in the Wind which appears in Victories of the Space Marines.

JG in Hammer & Bolter Issue 9

I'm very pleased to be able to announce that my brand new Warhammer short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle has been scheduled to appear in Hammer & Bolter Issue #9. And I'm in very good company too, for not only are there stories by m'colleagues Sarah Cawkwell and Steve Parker in this issue, there's also a brand new short from ex-Warmaster of All Things 40K Andy Chambers.

You can pre-order your copy of Hammer & Bolter #9 here.

And while we're on the subject of the Black Library, if you've not read Gordon Rennie's Zavant before you owe it to yourself to order the new PoD version that's out this month - along with a totally awesome new cover.

Here's the link to the PoD edition of Zavant.

Mission: Games Workshop - York

So, the family and I were away in York for the Bank Holiday weekend and just before we had to head back down south I just managed to pop into the York GW store and say "Hi!" to manager Mike Irvin.

I was informed that the BL books have been selling very well in York and that thanks to the release of Citadel Finecast the shop had just had one of the busiest weekends in a while. I, in return, was also able to plug my forthcoming Hammer & Bolter short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

Talking of which, I think it's going to be the first piece of published BL fiction to feature a [CENSORED] and as soon as I can confirm which issue of H&B it will be in, I'll let you know here first.

Mission: Games Workshop - Winchester

So, this weekend, quite by chance I found myself in Winchester. Making the most of this unlikely turn of events I popped into the local Games Workshop store and introduced myself to Adam, the very friendly and enthusiastic manager.

I am about to commence re-writes on a brand new Warhammer tale I've written for Hammer & Bolter, and one of the models in the shop's display cabinet was of something that appears in the story. It was even the right colour. However, to find out exactly what it was you'll have to wait until Sir Dagobert's Last Battle is released at some point in the future.

Mission: Games Workshop - Salisbury

Having written on and off for first Games Workshop and then the Black Library for the best part of seventeen years* I've visited a fair number of Games Workshop stores up and down the country, as well as as far afield as Holland and Australia, but I've always been a little shy about introducing myself and admitting to the staff that I'm a published BL author. But all that is going to change, as of today!

Following the example set by other BL authors, such as James Swallow and Richard Williams, I am going to continue to visit GW stores in every town I visit (if at all humanly possible) and simply introduce myself. And I started today in Salisbury.

So thanks to Matt and Anthony for making me so welcome and taking the time to talk about everything from Space Marine Battles books and the Horus Heresy to Hammer & Bolter and Warhammer fiction. And, guys, if you're reading this, I'll see what I can do.**

Whilst in store I also made an unexpected but very welcome discovery, but more about that another time. And who knows where I might end up next? If you're a GW store manager, it could be your store. You have been warned!

* Crikey! Is it really that long?

** Nudge-nudge, wink-wink!

I is for Inferno!

For those of you who don't know, Inferno! was a bi-monthly magazine published from 1997 to 2004 by Games Workshop's publishing division, Black Library. It was launched with a teaser Issue Zero appearing as a section in the Games Workshop hobby magazine White Dwarf. Issue #1 of the actual magazine was launched shortly afterwards with Games Workshop staffer Andy Jones in the role of Editor, with Marc Gascoigne acting as Assisstant Editor (although he was later to rise to the heady heights of Publisher).

The magazine soon settled into a standard format of two fantasy and two science fiction stories per issue (although there were the occasional specials which focused on one setting in particular, such as the Gaunt's Ghosts Daniverse), but included other features such as standalone artwork, comics, cutaway diagrams, battle maps, and mocked-up dossiers, etc. With the exception of one early comic series, Inferno! published individual, complete stories, not serials. That was to become the preserve of Warhammer Monthly.

Of course, being a Games Workshop product, Inferno! only presented fiction, artwork, and comics set in the fictional universes of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, including stories specific to the Necromunda, Battlefleet Gothic, Gorkamorka and Mordheim game settings.

Now, you may not know this, but I was involved in some of the early meetings about Inferno!, only at the time it was being referred to as Carnage! I was writing colour text for the Warhammer Armies books and 40K Codexes at the time - this was back when GW HQ was in the shadow of Nottingham Castle and not some Fourth Reich Imperial Complex a mile down the road. Anyway, I remember having a chat with Andy Jones - which was interrupted by a tannoy announcement telling everyone to clean up their desks! (The things you remember!) - and he was up for having me on board, and asked me to pitch him some ideas.

Bill King was on board for the first issue (having written extensively for GW in the past and even worked in their design studio for a while) as was artist David Pugh. The story idea I had which was commissioned was about an Ultramarine and a Tyranid Carnifex (the old-fashioned version with no discernible head, four scything arms and which spat plasma, or something). It was called Salvation, and quite a lot of people liked it.

Having put together the first couple of issues, the Inferno! editorial team set about producing the promotional Issue Zero for White Dwarf and asked me to write them a short story. This time I chose (or was asked, I can't rightly recall) to write a fantasy story. So the first piece of short fiction to appear in Issue Zero - and the first published piece of Inferno! fiction ever - was my Warhammer short story The Hounds of Winter. It unleashed Torben Badenov's band of mercenaries upon the Warhammer world and eventually became part of my first novel

(although it's really a short story collection) The Dead and the Damned.

I eventually wrote a total of thirteen short stories for Inferno!, featuring such characters as Badenov's Band, the Necromundan underhive bounty hunter Nathan Creed, the Black Templars of the Solemnus Crusade, and the pyromancer Gerhart Brenned. The last of these stories, The Hanging Tree, appeared in Issue #42. Inferno! was cancelled four issues later, apparently so that the editorial team could focus on producing novels (although BL was also setting up the Solaris imprint at the time), and I for one mourned its passing. I had plenty more stories to pitch and was sorry that I now wouldn't get the opportunity to write them.

And then at last September's Games Day 2010, Hammer & Bolter was launched by Black Library's nascent digital department. Hammer & Bolter isn't the same beast as Inferno! (there's no comic strip or art, for a start, and it is currently running a new chapter of a serialised novel with every issue) but it does include short fiction - and two weeks ago, I received my first commission for it.

I'm writing the story at the moment. I can tell you that it's a Warhammer tale, currently titled Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, but at this stage I can't tell you when it's going to be released. But I have to say that I'm loving writing a new tale set within the Warhammer world - a story that I first thought of seven years ago, just as the cancellation of Inferno! was announced...

The only time one of my stories featured on the cover of Warhammer Monthly

For those of you who are interested, here's a list of my complete contribution to Inferno! which includes collaborations with the brilliant artist Ralph Horsley and a number of comic strips:

The Hounds of Winter – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! # 0, given away with White Dwarf magazine (1997) – re-printed in the anthology Realm of Chaos (2000), and (in a revised form) in The Dead and the Damned (2002)

Salvation – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction story – Inferno! #1 (1997) – re-printed in the anthologies Into the Maelstrom (1999) and Let the Galaxy Burn (2006)

The Siege of Gisoreux – Warhammer fantasy colour text – Inferno! #1 (1997)

The Doom of Kazad Grund – Warhammer fantasy colour text – Inferno! #2 (1997) – re-printed in the role-playing games supplement Dwarfs: Stone and Steel (2002, Hogshead Publishing)

Bad Spirits – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! Magazine #3 (1997) – re-printed in the anthology Status: Deadzone (2000)

Dark Heart – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! Magazine #5 (1998) – re-printed in the anthology Realm of Chaos (2000), and (in a revised form) in The Dead and the Damned (2002)

The Plague Pit – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! #20 (2000) – re-printed in the anthology Lords of Valour (2001), and (in a revised form) in The Dead and the Damned (2002)

Mama’s Boys – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! #21 (2000)

Boyz in the Hive – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! #23 (2001)

Firestarter! – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! #26 (2001) – re-printed in the anthology Crucible of War (2003)

The Nagenhof Bell – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! #27 (2001) – re-printed in the anthology Swords of the Empire (2004)

The Executioner’s Tale – Warhammer fantasy comic strip – Inferno! #28 (2002) – re-printed in the graphic novels Tales from the Ten-Tailed Cat Volume 2 (2003) and The Complete Tales from the Ten-Tailed Cat (2005)

Bad Medicine – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! #29 (2002)

The Miner’s Tale – Warhammer fantasy comic strip – Inferno! #32 (2002) – re-printed in the graphic novels Tales from the Ten-Tailed Cat Volume 2 (2003) and The Complete Tales from the Ten-Tailed Cat (2005)

Mark of the Beast – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! #34 (2003) – re-printed in the anthology Way of the Dead (2003)

Sanctuary – Warhammer 40,000 science fiction short story – Inferno! #38 (2003), and in The Armageddon Omnibus (2011)

The Hanging Tree – Warhammer fantasy short story – Inferno! #42 (2004) – re-printed in the anthology Tales from the Old World (2007)

Hammer & Bolter - Issue #2

The second issue of Black Library’s monthly digital-exclusive anthology is available to pre-order now for an astonishing £2.50!

Bursting at the seams with the best in Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 fiction, Hammer & Bolter #2 features Steve Parker's Deathwatch story Exhumed, Chapter 3 of Ben Counter’s Phalanx, Richard Ford's The Rat Catcher’s Tail, and Gav Thorpe's The Dark Path, while James Swallow faces The Inquisition.

Pre-order yours here, now.

Hammer and Bolter (a.k.a. Inferno! reborn)

Many moons ago I used to write for Black Library's bi-monthly anthology magazine Inferno! It was a great publication, showcasing new talent, publishing new stories connected with established characters, one-off comic strips and prequels (or sometimes extended epilogues) to new novels.

I contributed some thirteen short stories to the mag during its all-too-short seven year existence, mainly concerning the Kislevite mercenary Torben Badenov and the Necromundan bounty hunter Nathan Creed*, and I dreamt of the day when a whole edition would be given over to one of my creations (as had happened with Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts and Graham McNeill's Ultramarine Uriel Ventris). When it ceased publication, it was a sad day indeed...

So it is very exciting to be able to share the news with you now that Inferno! is being reincarnated, this time as a new download-only short fiction magazine called Hammer and Bolter. The logo looks like this:

I've known about this for a while now but, as duly requested, have kept it under my hat. But now the information is in the public domain I can plug away to my heart's content. There's not actually anything of mine in the new mag - at least not yet - but if it's anything like Inferno! used to be, I urge you now to subscribe. And it only costs £2.50 a month. That's less than a pint where I come from!

So, watch this space...

* Somebody once complained that I was so vain as to name Nathan Creed after myself, the similarities with the name Jonathan Green being so obvious. Well obvious to all but me at the time. The Creed part of the name came from James Herbert's novel of the same name and I just thought the name Nathan sounded quite cool at the time. Perhaps it was a subconscious referencing of my own name, but it certainly wasn't a conscious one.