Warhammer Wednesday: The Magos

I must admit, I am slightly confused as to why Black Library is celebrating 20 years since its founding this year, in 2018, when its 20th anniversary was actually last year*. But no matter the reason, on Saturday 24th February, Games Workshop and Warhammer stores around the world will be holding a celebration of all things Black Library.

As well as being a celebration of 20 years(?) of fantastic adrenaline-fuelled fiction from the worlds of Warhammer, the brand new Inquisitor Eisenhorn novel, The Magos is being released on 24th February 2018. Games Workshop and Warhammer stores will have a host of special merchandise to commemorate this special occasion, including an exclusive resin Citadel miniature of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, based on the classic Clint Langley** artwork depicting the Inquisitor in his younger days.

I hope to be able to drop into the London Warhammer store on the day but I have another commitment on the 24th February, but more about that later.

In other news, this week is National Storytelling Week. I'm trying to tell a new story of my own at the moment, but it's proving a little tricky to fit in around everything else I have to do. But there's a deadline looming and that's usually all the motivation you need.

* And I should know, seeing as how the first piece of fiction published by the Black Library was my Warhammer short story, the Badenov's Band tale The Hounds of Winter.

** Clint Langley produced the cover art for my very first novel, the Badenov's Band adventure The Dead and the Damned.

Thought for the Day

"The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story."

~ Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)

Short Story Saturday: Kaiju Rising II

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II is now into its final two weeks of funding and still has half the money it needs left to raise.

If you've been considering backing this Kickstarter project - which features a brand new story by Yours Truly, called The Ghost in the Machine - then you may be interested to learn that some new rewards have been added, along with a couple of stretch goals.

Outland Entertainment are now offering a limited edition hardcover of Kaiju Rising II, with a hand made slipcase from Two Tone Press. These will be signed, numbered, and extremely limited.

Furthermore, they are offering a limited edition hardcover of Kaiju Rising I with a matching hand made slipcase!

This will be your only chance to get a hard cover edition of Kaiju Rising II.

If the Kickstarter raises $16,000 (or more), the book will feature seven pieces of artwork. If it reaches $17,000, it will feature another seven pieces of artwork!

Outland Entertainment also have a few other things they're cooking up to roll out over the last half of the Kickstarter. So pledge your support today, and keep an eye out for more announcements!

Burns Night Book Plug

"A wealth of information guaranteed to keep you in whiskey at any pub. A wealth of information for both Scots and those who wish they were."

That's what one reviewer had to say about Scottish Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scotland the Brave, my book about all things Scots published by Skyhorse Publishing back in 2010.

And seeing as how it's Burns' Night tonight, today seemed like the perfect time for another shameless plug!

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II - Ask the Authors Anything!

There is a special event taking place today, from 6.00pm GMT, on Facebook. It's an 'Ask the Authors Anything!' party in connection with the new monster-sized anthology of kaiju stories, Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II.

Here's the schedule:

As I'm based in the UK, and will be asleep when it's time for the last minute questions, I'm going to stop by when I can, earlier on, so feel free to leave me a question about my story, The Ghost in the Machine.

The Kickstarter to fund production of the book is 37% funded, with just over two weeks left to run, so please help spread the word about Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II.

Other contributors to the book include Lee Murray, Melanie R. Meadors, Cullen Bunn, Kane Gilmour, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Jeremy Robinson, Nick Cole, Steven Diamond, Marie Brennan, Mari Murdock, Sabrina Vourvoulias, Zin E. Rocklyn, Dan Wells, and M. L. Brennan.

The awesome cover art for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II by Tan Ho Sim.

Thought for the Day

“I’m not a prophet. Let’s get rid of that idea right now. Prophecies are really about now. In science fiction it’s always about now. What else could it be about? There is no future. There are many possibilities, but we do not know which one we are going to have.”

~ Margaret Atwood

Gamebook Friday: Onward Adventurer

The latest episode of Starburst Magazine's podcast Brave New Words - #2.27 Onward Adventurer - is available to download for free from iTunes. The reason I mention this today is because not one, not two, but four of my books get a mention. I say a mention, but they are actually discussed for a good 40 minutes or more, which is nice.

The books in question are YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 and 2, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Fighting Fantasy Fest 1 and Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 also get a mention. (And when I say a mention...)

There is an interesting discussion concerning how well, or not, the artwork of the Fighting Fantasy books has dated, although I completely disagree with one of the panel who thinks that there were some poor artistic decisions made in the YATH books and who argues that if you are writing a history of something you should consider reworking iconic images associated with it. (And we all know how well that's gone down with some FF fans with regards to Scholastic re-imagining classic images from the FF gamebooks.)

I'm pleased to say that the panel are suitably wowed by the look of the special edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz, and are especially impressed by Kev Crossley's designs for the playable characters, although the same panellist misunderstands that the Scarecrow isn't The Grim Reaper but A Grim Reaper, and it would have been nice if somebody had actually read/played through the book before reviewing it.

You can listen to the podcast for yourself here.

         

Steampunk Thursday: Neugieriger und Neugieriger*

Germany, are you ready for Alice im Düsterland?

This German translation of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is coming later this year from Mantikore-Verlag.


* Or as Alice would say, "Curiouser and curiouser!"

Thought for the Day: Blue Monday

Writing books is, "lonely and demoralising and you're often in tears," says celebrity children's author David Walliams who has raked in over £11 million pounds from his children's books.

#nicerproblemstohave

Not as lonely and demoralising as reading about another celebrity 'author' pocketing a tidy advance and later enjoying massive sales due to their celebrity status as opposed to any discernible talent. That's what leaves me on the verge of tears!

Short Story Saturday - Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II

Just a quick reminder that  Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II is currently funding on Kickstarter and is already at 30% (as of writing).

Steampunk Thursday: The Charles Dickens Museum

On the twelfth day of Christmas I visited the Charles Dickens Museum in Holborn. Despite having lived in West London for over 20 years, this was my first visit and I couldn't have timed it better, since the house was decorated for Christmas.

Unless this is the first time you have visited my blog, you may have noticed that I've been a little bit obsessed with Dickens' A Christmas Carol of late. Unsurprisingly, considering the season, the museum was hosting an exhibition about the most famous Christmas story in the world (after the Nativity), which included costumes from the recent film The Man Who Invented Christmas, and delved into the origins of the story.



If you've not been before, and you're down London way, it's definitely worth a visit. You can see the actual desk and chair that Dickens wrote at in his study, along with his personal collection of books.

It may not be Christmas any longer, but the first Scrooge and Marley (Deceased) tale, The Haunted Man, is still available as an eBook from Amazon, and I fully intend to write further stories over the coming year, as long as there's enough support for the books.



On a side note, is it just me or is The Carol of the Bells absolutely everywhere now around Christmas time? Ten years ago I don't think I'd even heard of it, but now it's everywhere, in adverts, on TV shows and film soundtracks... there's no getting away from it. Not that I'm complaining, I think it's great - especially this version.

Warhammer Wednesday: Black Library Open Submissions

Exciting news, Black Library fans! Not only is the Black Library open for submissions from new authors, but Inferno! magazine is coming back!

For anyone who doesn't know, Inferno! was a bi-monthly magazine packed full of comics, short stories and artwork. During its run, I had thirteen short stories published in the magazine - set in the worlds of Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, and Necromunda - along with a couple of comic strips. This led to me writing novels for Black Library, which eventually led to me writing Doctor Who books and creating the Pax Britannia for Abaddon Books.

Incredibly, 2018 marks two decades of the Black Library and to celebrate Inferno! is being given a new lease of life as a collection of short stories, penned by new authors and old, and showcasing the best works from across our many universes, including Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40,000, Necromunda and Blood Bowl.

If you think you have what it takes to write for the Black Library, now's your chance! You can find out more about the kinds of stories the editorial team are looking for, how long you have to submit ideas, and how to format your submissions, plus full terms and conditions, here.

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II launches on Kickstarter today!

 Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II launches on Kickstarter today.

Thought for the Day

"I'm growing increasingly convinced that genre (fantasy, sci fi, etc.) are more window dressing than category and that the stories are more broken down into heists, coming of age, revenge story, etc. So, you know, stuff to keep in mind when you're writing. The genres are loose enough to fit the kind of story you want to tell. Build the genre around the story."

~ Sam Sykes, American epic fantasy author

Short Story Saturday - Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II

I am involved with a new Kickstarter project but just for once I'm not running it. The Kickstarter in question is being run by Outland Entertainment to fund production of a second monster-sized anthology of kaiju stories, called, appropriately enough, Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II.

I was thrilled when Nick Sharps, the project's creator, invited me to contribute a short story, which is something wholly original and not set in any of my existing ongoing worlds.

If you're a fan of my short stories, you may be interested to know that there is a unique reward on offer. If you would like your name to feature in my story, The Ghost in the Machine, then you need to select the 'Jonathan Green gets Stompy!' reward.

Other contributors to the book include Lee Murray, Melanie R. Meadors, Cullen Bunn, Kane Gilmour, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Jeremy Robinson, Nick Cole, Steven Diamond, Marie Brennan, Mari Murdock, Sabrina Vourvoulias, Zin E. Rocklyn, Dan Wells, and M. L. Brennan.

The project launches on Tuesday 9th January 2018 and you can check out the project's preview page here.

The awesome cover art for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters II by Tan Ho Sim.

Gamebook Friday: NEVERLAND Late Pledges

Just a reminder that if you missed the Kickstarter for my latest ACE Gamebook NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! you can still put in a Late Pledge*.

Here's what you need to do if you would like to make a Late Pledge to the Kickstarter:

1. Look through the list of reward levels below and select the one you would like.
2. Look through the list of add-ons and decide if you would like to add any of these to your pledge.
3. Add the cost of any add-ons to the cost of the reward level you have selected, finally adding the correct postage for your country, to calculate the total amount you will need to pay.
4. Email info@jonathangreenauthor.com, making the title of your email 'NEVERLAND Late Pledge' and listing the reward and add-ons you have selected, along with the amount of money you will need to pay, including postage. I will then get back to you with details of how to make your payment via PayPal.

Please note - you can find out more about precisely what comes with each reward level by visiting the NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! project page here.

 (No postage required)

 (No postage required)

 (No postage required)

 (Post and packing: UK £6 - European Union £16 - Rest of World £22)

  (Post and packing: UK £6 - European Union £16 - Rest of World £22)

   (Post and packing: UK £6 - European Union £17 - Rest of World £24)

   (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £6 - Rest of World £8)

    (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £6 - Rest of World £8)

    (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £6 - Rest of World £8)

    (Post and packing: Free in the UK or if included with another reward - European Union £6 - Rest of World £8)

* Probably until the end of January. I will inform everyone when Late Pledges are closing.