Thought for the Day

Gamebook Friday: 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas

We've had some glorious weather over the last week or more, here in the UK, so what else would I have been doing, other than editing a gamebook set in an arctic wilderness at Christmas time?

Anyway, I am feeling rather pleased with myself this morning, as I have reached another milestone in getting 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas ready for publication. Today I finished the first pass edit, which means that I am now ready to print out and proofread the gamebook right the way through, from beginning to end. What was only supposed to be a fun 300 section festive frolic, has turned into another 500 section monster. But it could be worse - at least it isn't 900 sections long!

Once I've completed my own proofread and play-test, and made any necessary changes to the master document, I will muddle up the sections, re-structure the book, and then it will be ready to send out to the other proofreaders and play-testers.

If you missed the original Kickstarter campaign, it's not too late to place a late pledge. Simply follow the instructions here.

And if you think a gamebook about rescuing Father Christmas, featuring elves and fairies, sounds a little childish, rest assured, it is as dark and  mature as any of my other adventure gamebooks, as this reader in America recently discovered when they received their backer copy of NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

"Neverland: Here Be Monsters! is an amazing journey as one of four different characters. Will you be Wendy Darling? Maybe the classic Peter Pan? The amazing Tiger Lily? Or even Captain Hook. The characters aren't exactly like the book and movies that we've enjoyed and loved before. Rather, they are a twist on the classics. The story is enjoyable, with many options, twists, and turns. You might encounter Giant Serpents and Sabre-Tooth Tigers, or Saurian Lizards and a Colossal Crocodile. Either way, it is sure to be an adventure that you won't soon forget. If you are wanting to give modern gamebooks or choose-you-own adventure style books a chance, this is a great one to get started with."

Happy St George's Day!

Today is a day for remembering when a Turkish knight killed a Libyan dragon, thereby ensuring he would be venerated as the patron saint of England*.

When people first stumbled across dinosaur bones, they mistook them for the ossified remains of dragons. And many of those 'dragons' have made it into my latest ACE Gamebook, NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Here's what one reader had to say about it:

"A worthy addition to the series. This book will be an awfully big adventure for those looking to dive into this twist on a familiar tale." - 5 stars

And while I'm in book-plugging mode, today it also Shakespeare's deathday (and probably his birthday). To mark the occasion, why not pick up a copy of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, a collection of fifteen stories of eldritch horror that blend the Bard's most famous plays with Lovecraft's most terrifying creations?

* I wonder how many of the Brexit rabble will be hanging English flags out of their windows today, unaware that they are celebrating the achievements of someone from Turkey?

Thought for the Day: Five Things Not To Say To Authors, with Michael Jecks.

Gamebook Friday: JG on Gamebooks

For those of you who may be interest, I was interviewed recently for Phantasmagoria Magazine, about Fighting Fantasy and my other gamebooks. You can pick up a copy of the magazine here.

If was also interviewed a while ago for a Bulgarian gamebook site, Legacy of Kreya. You can read an English translation of the interview here.

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia im Deutschland

It's been a few years since my first two Pax Britannia books were published as German language editions, but now they're back, with German titles this time, and brand new cover art. And very impressive they look too!

Unnatural History is now Welt aus den Fugen, while Leviathan Rising has been rechristened Gefahr in der Tiefe.

Bother titles are due to be released on 31 May 2019, courtesy of Luzifer-Verlag.

Don't forget, my steampunk-inspired take on Alice's Adventutres in Wonderland is also available in German, as Alice im Düsterland, and can be purchased here, from Mantikore-Verlag.

The 107th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titanic

Monday 15th April 2019, mark the 107th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The events of that dark day form the opening part of Wendy Darling's adventure in my latest ACE Gamebook, NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!.

Through the day I have been playing through the adventure on Twitter, and it's not too late to join in and have your say regarding how that story develops. Just look for the #NeverlandPlaythrough hashtag, and vote for your preferred option.

Thought for the Day

"Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don't make compromises, don't worry about making a bunch of money or being successful - be concerned with doing good work and make the right choices, and protect your work. And if you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency." 

~ Patti Smith, singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Playthrough on Twitter

Monday 15th April 2019, mark the 107th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. To mark the occasion, I am going to start a playthrough of my latest ACE Gamebook, NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!, on Twitter.

So if you've been wondering what a gamebook adaptation of Peter Pan and Wendy would be like, join me on Monday, on the #NeverlandPlaythrough hashtag, to play through the opening passages of the adventure.

Gamebook Friday: Forthcoming Gamebook Events

Just seven weeks from today, I will be attending the UK Games Expo at the NEC in Birmingham. I will also be launching NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! there on Saturday 1st June (although it will be on sale on the Friday too), and selling and signing my other ACE Gamebooks throughout the weekend.

And then on Saturday 6th July I will be in Oxford for Alice's Day, and giving a lecture* at the Weston Library about Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland.

And then in August, I will be a guest of Manticon, in Germany, from Thursday 15th - Sunday 18th August.

And not long after that, it's Fighting Fantasy Fest 3 on Saturday 31st August, at the University of West London in Ealing.

And after that? We'll have to wait and see, but I will be at Dragonmeet in London, come December.


* i.e. - a talk.

Thought for the Day

"Knowing what you don’t want is just as important as knowing what you do."

~ Jeremy Strong, children's author

Gamebook Friday: NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

You may have noticed that I've not been blogging very much lately. Well this is because I've been working on three different ACE Gamebooks projects simultaneously. I've been getting Beowulf Beastslayer ready to send to the publisher for laying out, I've been editing 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas, and I've been packing up the rewards for NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

Prepping the parcels for posting.

At the start of this week I posted the books to the NEVERLAND backers, and many have started to receive them. The book isn't officially released until 1st June, when I will be at the UK Games Expo, and if I'm honest, I'm hoping a few more reviews might appear on the book's Amazon listing page between now and then. In fact, if we hit 50 reviews on Amazon, I have a little surprise planned for everyone.

The Jolly Roger Black Flag edition hardback alongside The Wicked Wizard of Oz collector's hardback.

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! has been a long time coming, and it's great to see it out in the wild at long last. I just hope that, when people come to read it, they think it's been worth the wait...

Thought for the Day

"On the same day as that lovely 5* review, I find a 3* review of another of my books, headlined: "Tedious, very tedious". This is as it should be. Some people should love them. Others should hate them. Never try to write a book that everyone will quite like!"

~ Rod Duncan, author