Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - halfway there!

Today marks the halfway point in the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come Kickstarter campaign.

It hit its funding goal within 4 days, which was amazing, but in the 7 days since it has only raised £1,230. I say only, but I am aware it is a lot of money. It's just a constant struggle to connect with new backers, and we have Stretch Goals to hit.

I have dabbled with targeted Facebook ads but have a feeling that for them to make a real difference, you really need to invest a lot more than I have.

I expect that pledges will pick up again in the last few days of the funding period, but this mid-campaign lull means that I am toying with running a future Kickstarter for even less time, perhaps just two weeks. But that's some way off yet.

You can help by sharing the project link with your friends through your socials. There will be someone you know who it just waiting to back a gamebook like Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter. As someone else pointed out on social media, Kickstarter needs a Gamebooks sub-heading because otherwise he could easily have missed it.

Next weekend I will give the campaign another push but this coming week my focus will be on the release of the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook The Darkness Over Arkham on Tuesday 7 May 2024, and the livestream of the game the very next day on Jordan Sorcery's YouTube channel.

Shakespeare Saturday: Featured Review

I have Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu contributor Adrian Chamberlin to thank for drawing this to my attention, but a year after my third short story anthology was published, this review has appeared online.

It's over on DLS Reviews and I think it's far to say the reviewer like it.

You can pick up a copy here. And if you've already read the anthology, feel free to post a review here too.

Short Story Saturday: Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu

Today, 24th June, is Midsummer's Day. A year ago today Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu had yet to be published and I was teasing backers of the original Kickstarter with details of Tim Bayley's bonus story Lovecraft's Labours Lost...

Shakespeare Saturday: Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu has been out a while now, but in case you have yet to come across it yourself, it's an anthology of sinister short stories that merge the Bard's most famous plays with H P Lovecraft's most horrific creations.

And as it's the 401st anniversary of Shakespeare's death tomorrow, here's a little something I put together.

You can pick up a copy of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu here.

Sharkpunk Shakespeare Short Story Saturday: New reviews!

Two reviews for you today, one for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu and one for the recently-released audiobook version of SHARKPUNK.

Let's start with the SHARKPUNK audiobook review by Nathan Robinson:

"If you like sharks, you’ll love this. Original tales each as different as the next. If you love short horror stories, especially a themed anthology, then Sharkpunk might be worth you dipping your toe into. Already I’m hoping for volume 2, but this time, they’re gonna need a bigger book...."

And now the review of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu by SciFi and Fantasy Reviewer:

"This is another anthology on par with Sharkpunk... in terms of collecting together some quality stories. There’s an impressive range of talent on display, and a wide range of material being drawn on – not just 17 versions of Othello and Romeo and Juliet... As with Sharkpunk, there are a few tales that manage to stand out even amongst the general high quality of the anthology... In conclusion, this is another winning anthology from Snowbooks as publisher and Jonathan Green as editor, elevated even further by the inclusion of the incredible Exeunt by John Reppion."


You can buy SHARKPUNK here, and Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu here.

Shakespeare Saturday: Something rich and strange...

You could be forgiven for thinking that Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu was all about Will.i.am Shakespeare - it has been published in the 400th anniversary year of his death, after all. But it would be only half the book it is if it wasn't for H P Lovecraft's creations, and today just happens to be Lovecraft's 126th birthday.

In other news, a new review of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu has been posted online. It's a 4 out of 5 review, so that's good, but before reading it you should be aware of a few things. First of all it contains some quite significant spoilers. Secondly, if contains some quite egregious errors; for example, it attributes James Lovegrove's story to Edward Hamilton (whoever he is) and claims that Guy Haley's story is based on As You Like It (which is isn't)! 

Thirdly, it follows what I call the American School Book Report format. What I mean by this is that the reviewer precises each story in turn, giving away vital plot points willy-nilly, and spoiling any surprises for the reader. That is until she runs out of steam and then just mentions the rest of the stories in passing. Very strange, and does not make for a good review. So, I would suggest, if you're interested in reading the review at all, wait until you've read the book for yourself, and then post your review online too. (Amazon would be good.) ;-)

To review, or not to review, that is the question! (The answer is 'To review', by the way.)

Short Story Saturday: Sharks and Shakespeare

Just (another) quick reminder that you have until midnight GMT next Friday, 1st July 2016, to send me your submissions for SHARKPUNK 2. If you don't know what that means, then click this link.

My other piece of short story news for today is that the official launch arranged for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu - the ultimate genre mash-up anthology of the year - will take place on Saturday 13th August, from 1:00-2:00pm, at Forbidden Planet in London.

A number of the contributing authors and artists will be in attendance, as will a certain Bard. So jot the date down in your diary, and maybe we'll see you there.

Shakespeare Saturday: Happy Deathday, Mr Shakespeare

Today, Saturday 23rd April 2016, marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the English language's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare.

Google's Doodle of the day to mark the occasion

His impact on the English language, and indeed on our very culture (never mind tourism and the economy), is incalculable. For example, did you know that the Bard has been credited with introducing some 3,000 words into the English language? Or that at 27 letters 'honorificabilitudinitatibus' is the longest word in any of Shakespeare's works and is the longest word in the English language with alternating consonants and vowels? (It appears in Love's Labours Lost and means 'the state of being able to achieve honours'.)

And did you know that Hamlet (Shakespeare’s longest play which, uncut, would take between 4 and 5 hours to perform, with the death-obsessed Prince of Denmark himself having the most lines of any character in Shakespeare, with 1530 in total) is the most widely performed play in the world? It is estimated that it is being performed somewhere every single minute of every day.

From a very personal point of view, Shakespeare has had been a massive influence on my own work - and that was before I came up with the concept of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu.

Like many people, I first encountered Shakespeare whilst at school, reading Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare before studying plays such as Macbeth, The Tempest and Hamlet for GCSE and A-level. Later I went to university in Shakespeare's own county of Warwickshire.

My very first published book, the Fighting Fantasy adventure Spellbreaker, was heavily influenced by Macbeth, making, as it does, witches the main focus of the story. (The Bedlam Hags in particular are my take on Macbeth's Weird Sisters.)

My second book, Knights of Doom, used the driven war-hero-who-would-be-king, his fiend-like queen, and their castle home. There's even a very unsubtle reference to Banquo's ghost, in the form of Sir Connor of Achenbury.

Bloodbones (which is now available as an app from Tin Man Games, with its own soundtrack and everything!) was inspired, in part, by The Tempest, and features encounters with a monster called Balinac as well as a wizard's cell on a secluded, semi-magical island.

Night of the Necromancer drew heavily on both Hamlet and Macbeth for inspiration, the castle you explore during the adventure being name Valsinore, and includes an encounter with your own ghostly father.

So tonight I'll be raising a glass to the Bard of Stratford whilst also battling with the running order of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu.

“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” ― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal