Star Wars Mighty Muggs

Asajj Ventress (seen here) is one of the central characters of Star Wars The Clone Wars and now fans of the series - or indeed the Star Wars The Clone Wars Decide Your Destiny gamebooks - can get hold of her in Mighty Muggs form.

And she's not the only one. With everyone from Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Grand Moff Tarkin via the Wampa and Darth Maul, Mighty Muggs have got something for everyone. Why not check out my store to see which one you'd like to get your hands on?

And which of all these characters do you think might be making a guest appearance in my forthcoming Crisis on Coruscant?

Stephen Fry on writing

"Many of us wake in the mornings with a deep terrible feeling of foreboding inside us: hot lead seems to leak into our stomachs as we contemplate the day. When I’m in acting or presenter or comic prancer mode it isn’t so bad – but writing. Writing is bloody."

To read more, click this link.

The new Fighting Fantasy editions

From the offices of Icon Books this morning...


Mine's the one quite clearly visible at the bottom of the pile.

Follow the Frankincense Trail on BBC 2

This very evening, BBC 2 are showing part 1 of Kate Humble's The Frankincense Trail. Here's what the Beeb has to say about the programme:

Intrepid presenter Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route of Arabia across the amazing modern world of the Middle East in this documentary series. Her journey along the 2,000-mile trail that first connected the Arab world with the West takes Kate on a quest that's steeped in history, searing with desert heat, and full of characters and adventure.

For 3,000 years before the birth of Christ frankincense was more valuable than gold. Its sweet smelling aromatic smoke was treasured by Pharaohs and Caesars, and their insatiable demand for frankincense created a trade route from the southern coast of Oman to the Holy Lands. Vast camel caravans carried thousands of tonnes of frankincense over tribal lands - known today as Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Palestine. Following the trail across these seven nations, Kate finds modernity coexisting with ancient traditions as she discovers what it means to be a Western woman in Arabia.

Kate begins her epic journey following high in the hills of southern Oman. With her own supply of the precious resin she walks with the Al Mahri tribe - the descendants of the ancient traders - and their 300 camels along the original trail through the scorching Empty Quarter desert. Crossing into Yemen, Kate arrives at the world's first skyscraper city, where her frankincense is used at the ritual blessing of a newborn baby. From the modern frankincense trade capital of Aden to an incredible camel jumping contest, Kate journeys north and enters the mysterious Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

So why not tune in and watch this week? I know I will.

And of course you can find a potted history of frankincense in What is Myrrh Anyway?, which you can pick up here.

Stormslayer - from the back cover...

The book you hold in your hands is a gateway to a world in which YOU are the HERO! YOU decide which route to take, which dangers to risk and which creatures to fight. But be warned – it will also be YOU who has to live or die by the consequences of your actions.

There are dark powers at work in the kingdom of Femphrey. Magic more fearsome than you have ever seen has somehow harnessed the destructive might of Nature.

With time running out, you must uncover the oldest truths about the lore of the elements – only then can you command earth, wind, fire and water and venture into the terrifying eye of the storm.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - exclusive!

Here is the brand new cover for the 2009 edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, written by Fighting Fantasy legends Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The new cover has been painted by the very talented Martin McKenna and is (in my opinion) the best yet!


You can get hold of your brand new larger format edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain here!

May your STAMINA never fail!

Stormslayer - there's a storm brewing

Here it is, revealed at last for all to see, the brand new cover for Stormslayer, a brand new Fighting Fantasy gamebook out on 3rd September! Pre-order your copy here.

Hear me Tweet

You can now follow my progress with various projects via Twitter.


Either check out the updates on the sidebar or click here.

Hear me speak

For those of you living in the Ealing area (or West London in general) you may be interested to hear that I shall be at Ealing Central Library on Saturday 19 September from 2-4pm talking about writing adventure gamebooks.

Here's what the Ealing libraries website has to say:


Adventure gamebooks with Jonathan Green
Saturday 19 September, Ealing Central Library Time: 2-4pm Meet Jonathan Green, author of the fighting fantasy series of adventure gamebooks for children. Preview the latest book in the series called Stormslayer, due out soon. Find out how to write an adventure gamebook and the process from idea to publication. Suitable for ages 7 years and over. Free.


Got a bit of a promotion there. As far as I know (and I could be wrong here), I'm the only writer on the FF series producing new gamebooks at present but I can't claim to be the ' author of the fighting fantasy series'.

However, everything else is correct. I'll be spilling the beans on Stormslayer and how to go about even attempting to write a gamebook and there should be a few fun activities to take part in on the day too. So, if you're in Ealing on Saturday 19 September, why not pop along?

Perhaps I'll see you there.

Legends of the Space Marines - The Templars Return

Now that commissioning forms have been signed and sealed I can reveal that I am contributing a short story to the Warhammer 40,000 anthology Legends of the Space Marines, due to be published in May 2010.

My story is called The Relic and features the Black Templars of the Solemnus Crusade (specifically dreadnought Brother Jarold, which I know will please some people) who appeared in the Armageddon duology Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon.

It's been great to get back to the 40K milieu but it's also taken a while to re-discover my 40K mojo having not written for the Black Library for over four years!

The anthology features current Black Library authors, such as James Swallow and Richard Williams, returning writers like myself and C S Goto, as well as some first-time scribes.

The Space Marine chapters who will be appearing are as listed below, with their assigned authors alongside.


Black Templars - Aaron Dembski-Bowden & Jonathan Green

Dark Hunters - Paul Kearney

Doom Eagles - James Swallow

Mantis Warriors - C S Goto

Raven Guard - George Mann

Salamanders - Nick Kyme

Scythes of the Emperor - Richard Williams

Space Wolves - Ben Counter

White Scars - Mitchel Scanlon


I for one can't wait for next May!

Stormslayer - the wait is almost over

It has been a good few months since I first revealed here that I had written another new Fighting Fantasy adventure entitled Stormslayer. However, since then I have been unable to reveal much more about it... until now.


Stormslayer is out on September 3, which is only a few weeks away now, and next week I will be revealing the brand new covers for the first four books that will be released as part of the Fighting Fantasy re-launch.

So, watch this space over the coming week, and prepare to be amazed!

Pax Britannia e-books

I am very excited to be able to announce that Abaddon Books - publishers of the Pax Britannia series - are to produce e-book versions of their titles - starting with the Pax Britannia books!

Already available through Mobipocket are and Unnatural History, Leviathan Rising and Human Nature, along with Al Ewing's El Sombra.

And in related news, Al Ewing (recently voted one of SFX Magazine's Top 50 hottest sci-fi talents) is going to be returning to the world of Pax Britannia next year with the sequel to El Sombra entitled Blood and Thunder.

Watch this space for more details...

Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology

Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology is the latest publication next up from Rogue Blades Entertainment. It is due to be published this autumn and its editor, Jason M. Waltz, has released the contents list to get every fantasy fan slavering in anticipation.

If you follow this link you will see that Demons includes a short story by myself entitled The Pact and one called Bodyguard of the Dead by a certain C L Werner (long-time friend of this author and blog).

Demons will be available in print format and electronic format, and can be purchased here.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

Since the title recently went up on Amazon, I can now reveal that I have just finished writing a children's gamebook set within the Star Wars Clone Wars universe. It's called Crisis on Coruscant and casts the reader in the role of a padawan learner in the service of Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

Without giving too much away, I can reveal that the adventure features clone troopers, Chancellor Palpatine, Senator Padme Amidala, dramatic airspeeder chases through the planet-city of Coruscant, bounty hunters, a visit to Tatooine and a guest appearance by Jabba the Hutt himself.

Crisis on Coruscant will be published in January 2010 alongside another title, Dooku's Secret Army, and to celebrate I have set up a Star Wars page on my Amazon Associates Store to satisfy all your Jedi (or Sith) related needs.

The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 - out now!

When I was a child, annuals were the sort of present that the big man in the red suit snuck into your stocking (or in my case, a plastic carrier bag next to the stocking) at Christmas time. But no more. The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 is out now and, in case you haven't been paying attention, I've written a fair bit of it.

It's great to see the pages finally laid up properly. What was a rather ordinary-looking Word document when I emailed it to my editor is now there in print, with the official Doctor Who font and David Tennant's face all over it. And you know it's the real deal when you see genuine photos from the shows supporting the text you've written too.

Below you can see some of the pages I've contributed. It's not the biggest thing I've ever done, but it's definitely the most colourful and the annual is my first hardback too. And you can get your copy here.













If you haven't seen the new trailer for the next Doctor Who special The Waters of Mars, click here.

Evolution Expects... the expectation is over

I arrived home today to discover a parcel waiting for me, sent by those kind people at Abaddon Books, containing none other than my author copies of Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects.

I never lose the thrill of opening a carton of books for the first time and holding the finished product in my hands, feeling the smoothness of the cover, marvelling at the design work and savouring the smell of fresh print.

And the excitement was only increased today because Evolution Expects, as well as being the last book in the first Ulysses Quicksilver story arc is also the first Pax Britannia book to appear in the larger B format (rather than the usual A format).

You can see what a difference it makes in the pictures below, with Human Nature and Evolution Expects shown side by side. It will certainly give the books a greater presence on the shelf, and make them easier to manhandle when it comes to enjoying them.

And on top of all that the designers have come up with a funky new series logo to go on the spine. And there's a little extra for you the reader too. As well as Evolution Expects the novel, there's Conqueror Worm the novella, which takes the world of Pax Britannia in a rather unexpected direction.

So all that remains for me to say is pick yourself up a copy today and enjoy.

Until next time...