Short Story Saturday: GAME OVER

While Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland still has over two days left to run, it's time that I drew your attention to another new project of mine.

GAME OVER is a collection of horror stories inspired by classic arcade games. And in the sinister seaside amusement arcades of the British coast, as well as the surreal worlds of the 8-bit shoot-'em-ups and platformers, there is much horror to be found.

This anthology draws together a veritable High Score table of writers, including the 'Godfather of Indie Games' Design James Wallis, and BAFTA-nominated scriptwriter and New York Times bestselling author James Swallow, as well as Simon Bestwick, one of "the most important writers of contemporary British horror” (according to Ramsey Campbell), and Judge Dredd scriptwriter Michael Carroll, while games designer and one-time Warhammer Loremaster Gav Thorpe has taken a break from dragon-riding elves and the grim darkness of the far future to contribute a tale.

After swimming with sharks and lived to tell the tale, a number of SHARKPUNK contributors are back to harry us with tales inspired by arcade games as well as arcade gaming, including multi-award winning editor (and writer) Jonathan Oliver, mistress of the macabre Sarah Peploe, and co-editor of Holdfast Magazine Laurel Sills.

GAME OVER also introduces you to some writers you may not have heard of - yet! The likes of Tim Major, Alexandra Peel, George Pickett, and Adam Chillman.

GAME OVER is published by the award winning UK publisher Snowbooks Ltd and will be booting up and invading your reality very soon!

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...

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.

Writers on writing

Yes, it's time for another round-up of what other writers are saying about the process that gives them their raison d'être.

First up we've got James Swallow on how bad cover art can scupper sales of your magnum opus.*

Then we have William King on the distractions of the internet.

Next up is my editor Jonathan Oliver talking about the insecurities we all suffer as writers.

Rachel Aaron then feeds even more fuel into the fires of our insecurities with this blog post about how she went from writing 2,000 words a day to writing 10,000 words a day!

And to top it all we've got Matt Forbeck talking about the time he wrote a novel (91,000 words long) in two weeks!

Sheesh! The guy must be a machine!

I'll leave you with Rob Sanders on the subject of bad sex.**

* Note to self: really must put together a blog post on this subject myself some time.

** If I have the guts I'll produce a blog post on this myself... one day.

Writers on writing

To continue my semi-regular series of posts, here's a round up of writerly-type posts I've come across over the last couple of days...

In this piece, novelist Polly Courtney explains why she has dropped her publisher HarperCollins in frustration at having her books presented as chick lit.

This link will take you to a video in which author/comedian Charlie Higson talks about writing for children and young adults.

Here's an interesting piece on the growing trend of aspiring writers not being keen readers.

Sarah Pinborough talks about 'the Blur', that place where all writers dwell, on her blog.

Anyone who's ever said they want to write, but has never actually finished anything, needs to read this post by m'colleague James Swallow.

Not exactly a writer talking about writing, but out of interest the list of books for World Book Night 2012 has been published. There are a fair few genre fiction titles on the list. Let's just hope the programming schedule for the night doesn't ignore SF/F and Horror again, like last year.

If you follow the Floor to Ceiling Books blog you'll already know that Magemanda is away on holiday. Having had her trip planned for some time, she asked her friends to write guest posts for her blog. Well she's now posted the list on her blog and my guest post 'On the Stigma of Being a Tie-In Novelist' will appear, appropriately enough, on 25 September - Games Day!

To continue the theme, William King talks about how he goes about writing a tie-in novel here.

And then, just to finish things off, here's Adelie High's latest video in which Dan Abnett talks about the very process of Writing.

Jim Swallow's advice to the aspiring writer

M'colleague James Swallow knows a thing or two about this business we call Writing and has had many experiences - both good and bad - after than well over a decade of working freelance.

He has distilled much of what he has learnt into a number of very readable, interesting and (in some cases) cautionary blog posts which you can find over at his website here.

I particularly like Some Books Every Writer Ought To Own (Or At Least Read) and the cautionary tale Lies, Damned Lies and other PR.

James Swallow at Salute 2011

World Book Day Meme (Very Belated)

Inspired by James Swallow's example, here are my answers to the meme that was apparently doing the rounds on World Book Day.

The book I am reading: Wulfrik by C L Werner. The tale of a doomed Chaos champion and his quest to lift his gods-given curse.

The book I am writing: Time's Arrow, the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia adventure. Started it this morning, in fact. We've got something a bit special planned for this one, but more on that another time.

The book I love most: Tricky. I'm never good with 'favourites' or 'Top Ten' lists because I like so many different books for so many different reasons. However, today I'm going to go with Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. Then again, perhaps it should be Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, or I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (which actually made me cry right at the end*), or On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, or Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, or Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve...

The last book I received as a gift: Dissolution by C J Sansom, given to me by Amanda Rutter of Floor to Ceiling Books in her role as book giver for World Book Night.

The last book I gave as a gift: It was four books actually. Howl of the Werewolf by Jonathan Green, Curse of the Mummy by Jonathan Green, Pax Britannia: Dark Side by Jonathan Green, and Victories of the Space Marines edited by Christian Dunn (but featuring a story by Jonathan Green). Do you see a pattern forming here? And the recipient? One Nick Sharps who won my recent forum giveaway competition.

The nearest book on my desk: Traction City by Philip Reeve, a Mortal Engines novella written especially for World Book Day.

* Big wuss that I am.

First Line Meme

M'colleague James Swallow, has posted a list of the first lines of all of his novels.

I plan on doing the same thing. The problem is that owing to family Green current living arrangements, I don't have access to all of my novels and I certainly can't recall, off the top of my head, how they all start.

But you can have a read of James's post here, and I'll do my own version as and when.

Ultramarines - the movie!

So, this morning, I was fortunate enough to be one of a select few to be invited to a proper cinema screening of the new Ultramarines movie. Investors, fans and hobbyists, piled into the Odeon Cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue and, after an introduction by producer Bob Thompson, got to enjoy 75 minutes of pure 40K entertainment. I tagged along with m'colleague James Swallow, who is always good company, and also got to say "Hi!" to Mark and Liz of My Favourite Books.

But what of the movie itself? That's what you're all dying to know, isn't it? Well, first off, Codex Pictures have succeeded in making a Warhammer 40K movie, which in and of itself is no mean feat. It's been a labour of love for those involved, as much as anything else, and it shows.

To put it simply Ultramarines does exactly what it says on the tin. There are space marines - more than mortal, they are steel and they are doom - there's an alien world and a gothic Imperial shrine, there's a strike cruiser, a thunderhawk, a land speeder... and there's Chaos.

I would love to got into more details, but it would undoubtedly spoil the movie for anyone yet to see it for themselves. And if you've ever been even slightly curious about Warhammer 40K then you really should see it. Suffice to say the devil (or should that be the 'daemon'?) is in the detail. From words of holy scripture engraved onto bolter shells, to "how do you apply purity seals exactly?", to the etchings of Chaplain Karnak's shull-helm, to the image of the stained glass window in the reliquary on board the Ultramarines' strike cruiser, it's all there.

Dan Abnett's voice is as distinctive throughout the movie as the voices of actors Terence Stamp, Sean Pertwee, John Hurt et al who speak his words. Dan's even managed to get a few (intentionally) humorous lines in there. One in particular (regarding a bolter) raised a chuckle from the whole audience this morning.

It felt like a real privilege to see the movie on the big screen but it was also a joy to chat with Bob Thompson and Vanessa Chapman of Codex Pictures afterwards. These are people who are passionate about what they do and about doing justice to the IP. It's just a shame Codex Pictures weren't around when the made the original Judge Dredd movie. They have managed to make a film that doesn't mess with, or dumb down, the Warhammer 40K IP, and one that can be enjoyed by a 25 year hobby veteran and a total novice alike.

If you've already ordered the special edition collector's DVD you're in for a treat. If you haven't you can order it here, right now. And do order it, because if Ultramarines is a hit us fans might not have to wait quite so long for another 40K movie to come along...

"We march for Macragge!"

"And we shall know no fear!"

To finish, as they say, with a joke... The auditorium that was hosting the exclusive screening was next to the loos. So, reading the signs above the doors from left to right we had, 'Ladies', 'Gents' and 'Ultramarines'. Well, it made Jim and I chuckle.

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.

The Appeal of Warhammer 40K

If you want to discover why the likes of James Swallow, Graham McNeill, Nick Kyme, Gav Thorpe and Dan Abnett all love reading and writing books set within the 40k universe, then simply follow this link to SF Signal's Mind Meld feature on that very topic.

UK Games Day OK!

So, Sunday was Games Day UK and I woke early, excited at the prospect of catching up with old friends, enjoying all the news things GW has to offer and generally thrilling at the thought of immersing myself in the worlds of Warhammer and 40K for a few hours.

I arrived at the NEC before 9am, fully prepared to queue for a goodly while and then - wonder of wonders bumped into Mark of My Favourite Books. He ushered me along to join him and his wife Liz at the very front of the queue* which also happened to be in site of the Black Library stands.

At 9.40am, we were actually let in early and so I hurried with Mark to the BL sales stand, picking up a signed copy of Jim Swallow's Bloodline**. while I was there I picked up Clint Werner's latest, Wulfrik***, and Darius Hinks' Warrior Priest, along with two new audio dramas, Jim's Garro: Oath of Moment and Waiting Death by Steve Lyons.

I spent a while chatting with Christian Dunn and the Black Library Digital stand and saw my short story The Relic presented as part of an eBook on an iPad. I also caught up on all the news with Head of BL George Mann. I then dropped by the author signing stands and met Chris Wraight (author of the excellent Iron Company) for the first time but missed editor/author Nick Kyme, who was busy being interviewed at the time. I waved at Dan Abnett (which is not unusual at these things) and got to admire Xhalax's Titan Crew costume posse firsthand.

Other highlights of the day were catching the new trailer of the CGI Ultramarines movie (scripted by Dan Abnett) and seeing a tantalising sculpture on the Forgeworld stand of a Necron Tomb Stalker. The new Dark Eldar Codex looked pretty tasty too. I also had to fight to resist parting with a shed load of cash for the new Deathwatch book from Fantasy Flight Games and Forgeworld's Imperial Armour Volume IX - The Badab War Part 1.

But for me Games Day is all about the Black Library and this year's (my fifthteenth!) was awesome. So roll on Games Day 2011!

You can read more about other people's experiences of the day here, at Dan's blog, and here, courtesy of Liz of My Favourite Books.

* It's all about who you know!

** An exclusive chapbook produced especially for the day.

*** Anything by Clint is a must for me - especially if it's one of his Bad Guy Books.

Rebecca Levene's Cold Warriors Launch Party

So, last night I found myself in the heart of London's theatre-land at the grand-sounding Phoenix Artists Club for the launch of Rebecca Levene's Cold Warriors (Book 1 of The Infernal Game series). And what an excellent night it was too!

Not only did I get to catch up with Bex herself, but we were all treated to an extract from the book read by the very talented Magnus. As well as receiving a glass of wine on entry, I also got given my very own Hermetic Division badge!

The back room at the Phoenix was rammed with guests and fans of Bex's and Abaddon Books and I was very pleased to see copies of Pax Britannia: Blood Royal for sale - and even had to sign a few too, one of which (I believe) will be auctioned online. (I'll let you have more details about t his when I know more myself.)

Rebecca Levene, proudly showing off her latest publication Cold Warriors, with David Moore of Abaddon Books

Amongst those there for the evening were the consumptive Scott Andrews (his new book Children's Crusade was on sale last night), Jenni Hill of Abaddon Books and her very tall beau Mike, and David Moore of Abaddon too (sporting a fantastic Optimus Prime top). I also spent a long time catching up with James Swallow, talking about all things 40K, 30K, audio dramas and how space marines are really stroppy teenage boys. (James's new Horus Heresy novel Nemesis is out later this summer.) And I shared a pint with (well, actually we had a pint each) Pye Parr, ace Pax Britannia designer and (as I discovered last night) Games Workshop geek.

I also got to meet (for the first time) Tom Brown (who I once had dealings with via the Black Library), Jason Arnopp (screenwriter, novelist and journalist), and (almost) met Ben Aaronovitch (who wrote Doctor Who off of the telly in the 80s!).

But a big shout needs to go to Jared Shurin and his delightful wife Anne Perry who organised the evening, had the badges made and generally made sure that everyone had a brilliant time. I was also delighted to be informed by Anne that my reference to Richard Owen in Unnatural History is one of the few positive references she's found to the great man (he gave us the word 'dinosaur, in case you didn't know) in literature. Jared happens to be the guy who won the competition I ran recently and it was very hard not to tell him what I had in store for him on the Moon.

Anne looking at her husband Jared with suitable awe (now that he's sporting a fine Pax Britannia badge). And there's that man David Moore again...

But enough of this bloggery (and shameless name-dropping). It's time to do some work.

Until next time...

Angry Robot Books UK Launch

Yesterday I spent a very pleasant hour or so at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London at the official UK launch of Angry Robot Books. Head honcho (and my old partner-in-crime) Marc Gascoigne was there, as was Triumff author (and me old Black Library mucker) Dan Abnett and his wife, ace editor, Nik Vincent. Had a great time catching up, briefly saw James Swallow and said 'Hi!' to Steven Savile.

It all seemed to go very well and I even bagged myself a Triumff poster.

Evidence that Dan Abnett really is a writer, with pen in hand...