World Book Day 2026

As it is World Book Day, I thought I would draw your attention to four gamebooks that may be of interest to you.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come was published last November. YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself as he navigates the nightmarish worlds of his plays and comes up against very servants of the Great Old Ones.

Here is what one reviewer had to say about the adventure:

"An absolute joy to flit through the worlds of Shakespeare as you fight your way through to hopefully a successful conclusion. Each read through bringing a little more insight and a better chance to make it out to the other side. This is a fast paced story as you are constantly being thrown from one story to the next and new paths and options unfold before you."

You can buy the paperback of Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come here, and you can buy a signed hardback direct from me here.

The Kingsport Metamorphosis was published in February and is the third title in the Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks series.

A mysterious letter summons you to the seaside town of Kingsport, where dreams leak into reality, to a wealthy estate transformed into a place of unspeakable nightmares. Curious as to why the reclusive Elijah Harcourt has summoned you to his home, you are unsettled when you discover Harcourt’s purpose is far more nefarious than you realized, leaving you and his guests with riddles to solve if you are to survive. As each hour passes, your companions meet terrible fates, forcing you to navigate a spiderweb of betrayal.

Here's what one reviewer has had to say about this adventure:

"Another solid entry in the series (this one stronger on parlor-room mystery vibes than on cosmic horror vibes, though these are present too) from gamebook maestro Jon Green."

You can buy The Kingsport Metamorphosis here.

Valiant is the first Warcradle Studios Gamebook and will be published on Saturday 7th March 2026.

It is the Dystopian Age.

YOU are Valiant, an agent of the Crown Ministry of Intelligence, an unsung hero, working in secret to keep an unstable world from igniting into all-out war. Victoria may reign as Queen, but it is the super-science of the Enlightened that dominates the world thanks to their discovery of otherworldly technologies. The great global superpowers strain against the uneasy detente that exists between them. All it takes is the right agent in the wrong place, so after a secret mission goes disastrously wrong, all that stands between a shadowy conspiracy and global ruin is YOU!

Her Majesty is counting on YOU to end this threat.

Only YOU can save Queen and Country - and perhaps the world! 

When asked which release she was looking forward to most in 2026, Warcradle Studios' Game Development Manager Sophie Williams, who worked closely with me on the adventure, had this to say:

"Valiant! I love choose-your-own-destiny books. Play as a Crown spy in the Dystopian Age whilst navigating a story packed with adventure, deciding how you would deal with the challenges ahead, yes please!"

Finally, the 5th anniversary collector's hardback edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is currently funding on Kickstarter.

1897

In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil’, his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

The new edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire has a red cover, with black lettering, and known errata have been corrected. The book will also include the names of everyone who backs this latest Kickstarter.

Those who back the campaign will also receive some unique rewards including a collectible bookmark, a pair of black Dracula-themed dice, a set of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork from the book, and a golden pin badge in the form of Count Dracula's crest.

The Kickstarter. is running until Thursday 19th March 2026 and, as of writing, is almost 50% funded already.

Dracula: Curse of the Vampire 5th Anniversary Hardback funding on Kickstarter now!

The Kickstarter campaign to fund a 5th anniversary edition of the hardback of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is now live!

There are only two rewards on offer - one comes with one 5th anniversary collector's hardback and the other includes two 5th anniversary collector's hardbacks (perfect if you are looking for a gift for somebody else, or an investment for yourself).

Each hardback comes with a collectible bookmark, a pack of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork from the book, a pair of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire themed black dice, and Dracula's crest in the form of a gold-plated pin badge. Each book will also be signed by the author, and everyone who backs the Kickstarter will have their name appear within its pages.

Ebook and signed paperback editions of the adventure are available as add-ons.

To find out more and pledge your support today, click this link.

Gamebook Friday - Dracula: Curse of the Vampire

The Kickstarter campaign to fund a 5th anniversary edition of the hardback of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, including the bonus chapter brimming with desginer's notes and artist's sketches, launches on Tuesday 3 March 2026, at 1pm GMT.

First published back in 2021, Dracula: Curse of the Vampire reimagines Bram Stoker's classic as an interactive adventure. YOU play as one of three Vampire-Hunters - Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, and Dr John Seward - or even as the eponymous Count himself.

At 1,000 sections, it is the longest gamebook I have written to date and is illustrated throughout by Hauke Kock.

Some of Hauke's illustrations from the adventure. (Click to enlarge.)

While the book is still availble in paperback and as an ebook, the hardback has been out of print for a while. So, to mark the 5th anniversary of the publication of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, I am running the forthcoming Kickstarter. Where the original hardback featured a black cover with red lettering, the new edition will have a red cover with black lettering.

The original Dracula: Curse of the Vampire alongside a mock-up of the new edition.

Each hardback comes with a collectible bookmark, a pack of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork, a pair of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire themed black dice, and Dracula's crest in the form of a gold-plated pin badge.

Each book will also be signed by the author, and everyone who backs the Kickstarter will have their name appear within its pages.

Remember, the Kickstarter campaign goes live on Tuesday 3 March 2026, at 1pm.

Gamebook Friday: Words in Watchet Literary Festival

Tomorrow, Saturday 21st February 2026, you will find me at the Words in Watchet Literary Festival. 

At 11:30am, I will be giving a talk about Writing Fantasy Gamebooks, and signing copies of my books afterwards, at the East Quay Creator Space, Harbour Road.

You can find out more and book your ticket (although entry to FREE) here.

So, if you're in the area and would like to find out how I turn a story idea into an interactive gamebook, like Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come, or how I plotted the latest Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, The Kingsport Metamorphosis, why not pop along?

 

Gamebook Friday: Valentine's Weekend sale now on!

 The ACE Gamebooks Roleplay Valentine's weekend sale is now on.

You can get any ACE Gamebook or RPG for 50% off on DriveThruRPG from now until Sunday. So, what are you waiting for?

Tie-in Tuesday: Arkham Horror Investigators

With the release of The Kingsport Metamorphosis, the official Arkham Horror website has shared the downloadable Investigator character sheets for the Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks series.

Remember, the USP of this series is that you can play through any adventure as any Investigator.

So, those currently available to download from ArkhamHorror.com are...

The Kingsport Metamorphosis
Jacqueline Fine, the Psychic
Lucius Galloway, the Dreamer
Lola Hayes, the Actress

The Tides of Innsmouth
Silas Marsh, the Sailor
Kōhaku Narukami, the Folklorist
Marion Tavares, the Trawler

The Darkness Over Arkham
Agnes Baker, the Waitress
Nathaniel Cho, the Boxer
Rex Murphy, the Reporter

Bonus Investigators
George Barnaby, the Lawyer
Stella Clarke, the Letter Carrier
Skids O'Toole, the Ex-Con
Amanda Sharpe, the Student
Sister Mary, the Nun (released to mark the publication of The Kingsport Metamorphosis)

These are the 14 Investigators available to download from ArkhamHorror.com.

However, there are two more Investigators available - Jenny Barnes the Dilettante, and Joe Diamond the Private Investigator - whose character sheets can be found in the graphic novel The Terror at the End of Time.

So, I think you will agree, the Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks offer endless replayability, and any Investigators that might be released in the future will also be compatible with any existing adventure in the series.

How's that for variety?

Gamebook Friday: The Kingsport Metamorphosis and other Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks

The Kingsport Metamorphosis, my latest Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, was published on Tuesday and I recieved a copy of it on Thursday.

The Kingsport Metamorphosis, with cover art by Joshua Cairós.

I have had one AHIG published each year since 2024, meaning there are now three in print*.

It struck me the other day that back in 1995, I had three Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks in print and this felt like a real achievement. In fact, when Curse of the Mummy was published, I only had three books published in total.

The Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks have come out over the same period of time, but today I am a full time writer and other titles have also been written and published during the last three years, including YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, and the ACE Gamebook Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come.

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"If gamebooks be the food of love, play on."

Antony Johnston, author of Can You Solve The Murder?

Even though The Kingsport Metamorphosis is my 86th published book (not including reprints and omnibuses), I still get excited when I get to hold a copy of one of my books for the first time. I am particularly keen to give The Kingsport Metamorphosis a read myself, to see if I succeeded in what I set out to do with this adventure.

If you have ordered The Kingsport Metamorphosis, or any of my other Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks - such as The Darkness Over Arkham, or The Tides of Innsmouth - when you've had the chance to give them a read/playthrough, please do post a review online.

* Three and a half if you include The Magpie and the Bat.