What do editors do?

Things are a bit busy right now, in the lives of Family Green, so over the next few days I'll be handing over the blog to wiser minds than mine and sending you to read their blogs instead.

Today it's the turn of Abaddon Books' commissioning editor David Moore. Here he talks about the role of an editor and how to go about becoming one.

The Warlocks gather...

Today, the Warlock level backers gathered in Wimbledon, to have lunch with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.

Steve Jackson, Andy, Liren, Ian Livingstone, Steven, Thomas, and Jonathan Green.

The Warlocks (also known as Andy, Liren, Steven and Thomas) met at the offices of Eidos/Square Enix where they were able to get books signed by Steve and Ian. They also received a few extra gifts from their idols (including signed FF gamebooks).

Steven with just a few items from his extensive Fighting Fantasy collection.

Steve Jackson and Thomas, the Warlock of Denmark.

Andy, Steven and Steve Jackson consider the intricacies of the solution to The Tasks of Tantalon.

Steve and Ian were very impressed with the distances people had travelled for today's lunch. Andy had come from Hampshire and Steven from Hastings, but Thomas had flown in from Denmark especially, while Liren had come over from Taiwan!

Liren, the furthest travelled Warlock, with Ian and Steve, and the book that started it all.

The party then headed to a local restaurant for lunch, where many questions were asked, stories were told, and toasts were made (one to Fighting Fantasy, of course). Topics under discussion included the solution to The Tasks of Tantalon, the design of the Maze of Zagor, one backer's desire not to drink wine in case he ended up on a slave galley on the seas of Titan, using the Res spell from Sorcery! to ensure that we would all be around to celebrate FF's 60th anniversary in another 30 years, hanging out in Port Blacksand, favourite FF artists (all of whom have work appearing in YOU ARE THE HERO), favourite gamebooks, F.I.S.T. (a telephone RPG), and Steve Jackson's favourite games. Steve even wowed us with his own sorcerous trick involving a knife.

The Warlocks, along with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, celebrate 30 years of Fighting Fantasy over lunch (not at the Black Lobster in Port Blacksand, unfortunately).

All that remains for me to say is thank you to Steve and Ian for giving up their time so that the lunch could happen, and to the Warlocks themselves for their support and their company this afternoon. I had a great time and it certainly inspired me to keep plugging away at the book...

Warhammer Wednesday: Josh Reynolds on money and worth

Things are a bit busy right now, in the lives of Family Green, so over the next few days I'll be handing over the blog to wiser minds than mine and sending you to read their blogs instead.

Today it's the turn of Josh Reynolds, freelancer and rising Warhammer star, who talks about the prevalent meme adored by corporate-types, in regard to creative-types, "Pay them poorly".

Will Hill on the writing of Battle Lines

Things are a bit busy right now, in the lives of Family Green, so over the next few days I'll be handing over the blog to wiser minds than mine and sending you to read their blogs instead.

Today it's the turn of YA author Will Hill, on the writing of Battle Lines, the third Department 19 novel.

Thought for the Day

"I have seen the future and it is comics."

~ David Fickling, publisher

 

Free Comic Book Day at Forbidden Planet and Gosh! Comics

So, I was in London yesterday for Free Comic Book Day.

I headed to Forbidden Planet to meet the legend that is Ron Smith - his Dredds were the first ones I ever read - and catch up with old friends Al Ewing and Dan Abnett (knowing that I would also get to have a good chat with Nik Vincent as a result).

Al Ewing - his new novel, The Fictional Man, scored a 5 star review in SFX magazine!

 Ben Willsher - and his art.

Dan Abnett and Ron Smith - two comics legends. 

Yours Truly with the legend that is Mr Ron Smith! 

I waited my turn in the queue with David Tallerman and his girlfriend Jobeda so the time just flew by (where I also happened to bump into Warlock Steven Dean and Bibliophile Mark de Jager).

David Tallerman and Jobeda. 

From Forbidden Planet I headed to the Gosh! Comics store in Soho, where I bumped into Gary Northfield and also had a chat with Robbie Morrison about the end of Nikolai Dante and beyond.

Gary Northfield and The Terrible Tales of the Teenytinysaurs.

Free Comic Book Day isn't just about picking up some freebies and chatting with comics creators, of course; it's also about supporting the actual comics shops. I did my bit by picking up a copy of Gary Northfield's The Terrible Tales of the Teenytinysaurs (for the kids) and I N J Culbard's adaptation of H P Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness (for me).

My Free Comic Book Day stash.

Five things I didn't know this time yesterday that I do now

1. Al Ewing is writing for Marvel, but can't say talk about it.
2. Dan Abnett is writing for video games now, but can't talk about it.
3. Ron Smith is an incredibly well-spoken gentleman.
4. A certain other author and I share certain opinions about certain things (but we're not going to talk about it).
5. Robbie Morrison is annoyed that the collected Nikolai Dante runs to 11 volumes. He would rather it was 10 or 12, so that it was a nice round number.

Free Comic Book Day!

May the Fourth be with you, it's Free Comic Book Day*!

So why not join Dan Abnett, Al Ewing, Ben Willsher and 2000AD Judge Dredd legend Ron Smith at the Forbidden Planet store in central London, and celebrate by collecting a free copy of 2000AD?

* It's also Star Wars Day, of course.