Shakespeare Sunday: Less than 2 weeks until the official Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu launch

Two weeks yesterday sees the official launch of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu at Forbidden Planet in London, on Saturday 13th August at 1.00pm (GMT).

Register your interest in attending now on Facebook.

We already have a number of authors and artists who have confirmed that they will be attending, including Andrew Lane, Ian Edginton, Adrian Chamberlin, James Lovegrove, Ed Fortune, Malcolm Barter, Tony Hough and Neil Roberts. So keep spreading the word and maybe I'll see you in two weeks' time.

While we're gearing ourselves up for the official Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu launch, behind the scenes we're also busy preparing all the rewards that will be going out to backers, including T-shirts, art prints and the eShort Lovecraft's Labours Lost. 

But most exciting of all is that we are expecting delivery of the paperback by the end of the week. Once the books have been checked in at the distributors they will then be sent out to backers. Fingers crossed that they arrive on time!

So until next time...

Gamebook Friday: Official Fighting Fantasy Colouring Books - YOU are the Colourist!

Now available from Snowbooks, are the first four Official Fighting Fantasy Colouring Books!

The adult colouring book craze has been gaining momentum over recent months, but you have never seen a set of colouring books like these before.

A4 format, they feature the black and white line art from the FF gamebooks The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Forest of Doom, Deathtrap Dungeon and City of Thieves, by the fantasy art legends Russ Nicholson, Malcolm Barter and Iain McCaig. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain also features the cover art of Martin McKenna.

The books are available to buy from here in the UK, and from here in the US.

Thought for the Day

Shakespeare Sunday: Shall I compare thee to an Elder Thing?

Last Shakespeare Sunday, I previewed the last of the 15 stories that appear in Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu. But it's not only short stories that are to be found within this rather wonderful cover...

Shakespeare wasn’t only a playwright, he was a poet as well, most famous for his 154 sonnets, and so Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu also features two Lovecraftian-themed sonnets. 

First there's Nimue Brown’s What Dreams May Come, and then there's Danie Ware’s The Green-Ey’d Monster. Both form a fitting tribute to the Bard of Stratford whilst at the same time honouring Lovecraft’s literary legacy.

Don't forget, the official book launch of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu will be taking place at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London on Saturday 13th August between 1 and 2pm, and you can register your interest here.

Gamebook Friday: YOU are the Colourist!

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone present

Fighting Fantasy Colouring Books

  

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks have sold over 17 million books worldwide, in over 30 languages. YOU were the hero in stories such as Deathtrap Dungeon, The Forest of Doom, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and City of Thieves, fighting monsters and foes with a pencil, two dice and an eraser. And now –

YOU ARE THE COLOURIST!

Bring your favourite wizards, monsters and fantastic settings to life, colouring the original emotive illustrations by artists Iain McCaig, Malcolm Barter and Russ Nicholson.

About the authors

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone co-founded iconic games company Games Workshop in 1975, launching Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer in Europe. They co-authored The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,which was published in 1982, and went on to write over 20 titles in the best-selling Fighting Fantasy gamebook series. Ian became Executive Chairman of Eidos in 1995 where he launched global video games franchises includingLara Croft: Tomb Raider andHitman. Steve became a Director of Lionhead, the award-winning video games studio best known for developing Fable.

About the illustrators

Russ Nicholson is an illustrator of Fantasy, well known for his contribution to the Fighting Fantasy series, including the first such book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. He has also produced illustrations for Games Workshop publications, including White Dwarf Magazine, and more recently has worked with Le Grimoire, Scriptarium, and Tin Man Games, amongst others.

Malcolm Barter studied Illustration & Design at Ipswich School of Art. He has freelanced in Publishing, Editorial & Advertising, notably illustrating Ian Livingstone’s classic Fighting Fantasy gamebook The Forest of Doom. His recent work has included more Fighting Fantasy, having been tracked down and lured back by French publishers in 2013.

Iain McCaig is an award-winning artist and one of the most sought-after conceptual designers working in the entertainment industry today. His work includes the landmark designs for Queen Amidala and Darth Maul, for Lucasfilm, as well as several Fighting Fantasy covers, and the internal illustrations for the seminal City of Thieves and the bestselling Deathtrap Dungeon.

Martin McKenna has illustrated covers and internal illustrations for twenty-two of the Fighting Fantasy series from Puffin Books/Wizard Books. He also produces concept and production art for computer games, and film and television productions, which have included the BAFTA-nominated The Magician of Samarkand for the BBC and Gulliver's Travels for 20th Century Fox.

About the books

Available 28th July 2016  |  297 x 210 mm | Published by Snowbooks http://snowbooks.com

Available worldwide from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Snowbooks.com and all good bookshops

9781911390039 • The Warlock of Firetop Mountain Colouring Book • £9.99, $14.95 • paperback

9781911390046 • The Warlock of Firetop Mountain Colouring Book • £25, $40 • hardback

9781911390053 • The Forest of Doom Colouring Book • £9.99, $14.95 • paperback

9781911390060 • The Forest of Doom Colouring Book • £25, $40 • hardback

9781911390091 • Deathtrap Dungeon Colouring Book • £9.99, $14.95 • paperback

9781911390107 • Deathtrap Dungeon Colouring Book • £25, $40 • hardback

9781911390077 • City of Thieves Colouring Book • £9.99, $14.95 • paperback

9781911390084 • City of Thieves Colouring Book • £25, $40 • hardback

Pre-order at http://snowbooks.com/ff

Read more at www.fightingfantasy.com

Thought for the Day

Shakespeare Sunday: Pat Kelleher - The Terrors of the Earth

The last story to be previewed from Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu is Pat Kelleher's The Terrors of the Earth. I first met Pat when we were both working for Abaddon Books, the imprint for which I created the Pax Britannia steampunk series and Pat wrote the No Man’s World trilogy.

Pat and I got chatting about Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu back at Edge-Lit last year, when I was there promoting my first short story anthology SHARKPUNK. Pat has taken King Lear as the inspiration for his story, The Terrors of the Earth, and here's an extract...

Gazing out through rheumy eyes at his three daughters, gathered courtiers, nobles and servants, Great Leyh’r, son of Bladud, son of Lud, King of the ancient Isle of Albion, sat throned in Troynovant’s Great Hall.  

Outwardly, he bore the stately manner of a King of Albion. Inside he howled like a man condemned, beating at the confines of his cell, unable to escape his fate; a fate thrust upon him by Divine Right of Succession and the Blood of Albion that ran in his veins. He had seen some fourscore years, threescore of those upon the throne of Albion, the previous score in the company of his father, King Bladud, and his dark obsession, of which the rule of the kingdom was but the least of it. 

Leyh’r felt the ineffable yoke of his office press down upon him like the years on his back that weakened his sinews, agued his bones and misted his sight. If he could bear it a little longer he might yet do some good, even though he must still carry the heavier portion of that burden alone toward death.

Pat Kelleher is a freelance writer. He served his time writing a wide variety of TV licensed characters, across a bewildering array of media, has several non-fiction books to his credit and a collection of children’s stories published by Bloomsbury. His No Man’s World series of pulp sci-fi novels is published by Abaddon Books, along with his Gods and Monsters e-novella,Drag Hunt. He also worked on Sniper Elite 3, the latest in the video game series from Rebellion and has short stories published by Tickety Boo Press and the award-winning Fox Spirit Books.