Gamebook Friday: Vampires, Wizards, and RPGs

Another week, another Gamebook Friday. But this one has several choice snippets of news for you. 

First of all, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire was published this week. It is available now from all good bookshops and online retailers.

 

Also released this week, on 14th October in fact, was the Polish language edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Or rather, Zły Czarnoksiężnik z Oz.

Zły Czarnoksiężnik z Oz.

And here it is next to the Polish edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland.

Lastly, but definitely not leastly, tomorrow - Saturday 16th October - is Free RPG Day.

I will be releasing two new supplements for 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas tomorrow. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King will be completely free to download, but only tomorrow, while The Christmas Owl will be given away free to subscribers to my newsletter.

If you haven't already subscribed, follow this link and do so now!

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! launches today!

At times it's felt like it's been almost 65 million years in the making, but at long last, my latest ACE Gamebook NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!, is published today!

On the 15^th April, 1912, during her maiden voyage, the RMS Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg. 1,503 people died, including passengers and crew. But 706 people survived, among them Wendy Darling and her dog Nana...

Separated from the rest of her family, Wendy's lifeboat is washed up on the shore of a mysterious island – a place lost in time – home to creatures long thought extinct, a forgotten tribe, and a boy who can never grow up.

But the notorious pirate Captain James Hook and his crew have also found their way to Neverland, and the island is angry...

In NEVERLAND – Here Be Monsters! YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the island’s strange, prehistoric denizens to fight. Play as shipwreck survivor Wendy Darling, automaton avenger Peter Pan, heroic hunter Tiger Lily, or plundering pirate Captain James Hook. But be warned – whether you succeed in your quest or meet a dire end will be down to the choices YOU make.

Will you manage to escape from Neverland?

You will be able to pick up a signed copy of NEVERLAND – Here Be Monsters! at Stand 2-640, from Yours Truly, complete with a collectible bookmark.

So maybe I'll see you there...

Riddle of the Runes Unleashing

I was fortunate to be among the guests who attended the launch of Dr Janina Ramirez's first* children's book, Riddle of the Runes, at Hatchards on Piccadilly last night.

When I arrived, I climbed flight after flight of stairs, following the sound of much merriment and excitement, to the top floor, where I was welcomed by the team from Oxford University Press with a glass of something cold and sparkling, which was nice.**

As well as Dr J, her family, friends and colleagues, others in attendance included Professor Kate Williams, Helen Czerski, Bettany Hughes, and Neil Gaiman, who literally popped in a minute.***

Following speeches by Liz Cross, Head of Children's Publishing at Oxford University Press, and the author herself...

Janina then spent the rest of her time sat behind a desk, signing books...

And patiently posing for photos, like this one...

Achievement unlocked: Dr Janina Ramirez calls you a legend.****

I was interested to learn that writing fiction is what Janina has always wanted to do, and was the reason she studied English Literature at Oxford. Everything else that has happened since, including her medievalist history and art history studies - not to mention her broadcasting career! - were simply a deviation from her original plan. But now she's back on track and celebrating being a bestselling children's author.

Then it was off to the pub for more merriment and lots of chat.

Much as I am enjoying Riddle of the Runes, and as thrilled as my own shield maiden is to have received her own signed copy, those of you who are still patiently awaiting Beowulf Beastslayer will no doubt be as intrigued as I am about Janina's next book, due out next March.

* Of many, I am sure!

** Not to mention most welcome. It was very hot.

*** How rock and roll is that?

**** Which is right up there with the time Charlie Higson publicly called me one of the world's leading experts in the gamebook genre.

Tie-in Tuesday: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin published today!

Huzzah! It's new book day!

George Mann's latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes' stories is published today. Entitled Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, itself entitled Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

The premise behind the anthology is that each story is told by one of Holmes' associates, in my case Sir Henry Baskerville, the poor put upon subject of the murder plot in The Hound of the Baskervilles (which is one of only four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

The following is taken from the book and explains why I chose Sir Henry to be the narrator of my tale.

The Hound of the Baskervilles has long been my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, so it was only natural that I would choose that as my jumping off point. This time last year I was in Cornwall, and crossed Bodmin Moor, which is allegedly home to its own beast.

This year I am in Cornwall again and on the way down visited Lanhydrock House, which could easily pass for Baskerville Hall - or even Trelawny Hall from Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

Steampunk Thursday: Steampunk Essextraordianaire III

This Sunday, 24th September, I will be attending the Steampunk Essextraordianaire III, at the Museum of Power in Langford, Essex, from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

I shall be selling my Pax Britannia steampunk novels, and my latest ACE Gamebook, The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

Since the books weren't actually delivered to the what was supposed to be the official launch at the UK Games Expo, I suppose that means that the Steampunk Essextraordianaire III will actually be the official launch.

Maybe I'll see you there. Are you ready to return to Oz?

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is published today!

Huzzah! It's new book day!

George Mann's latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes' stories is out today. Entitled Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, itself entitled Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

The premise behind the anthology is that each story is told by one of Holmes' associates, in my case Sir Henry Baskerville, the poor put upon subject of the murder plot in The Hound of the Baskervilles (which is one of only four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

The following is taken from the book and explains why I chose Sir Henry to be the narrator of my tale.

The Hound of the Baskervilles has long been my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, so it was only natural that I would choose that as my jumping off point. This time last year I was in Cornwall, and crossed Bodmin Moor, which is allegedly home to its own beast.

This year I am in Cornwall again and on the way down visited Lanhydrock House, which could easily pass for Baskerville Hall - or even Trelawny Hall from Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

New Book Day - The Wicked Wizard of Oz!

The Wicked Wizard of Oz is a portal to another world - the world of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

In The Wicked Wizard of Oz you take on the role of the one of the protagonists of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and undertake a new and perilous quest as you find yourself called upon to save the world once more.

Hunted by the Wicked Witch of the West's winged monkeys and joined by her friends – the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion – Dorothy sets off for the Emerald City. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, will you uncover the secrets of The Wicked Wizard of Oz?

YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of Oz’s strange denizens to fight. But be warned – whether you succeed in your quest or meet a dire end, somewhere over the rainbow, will be down to the choices YOU make.

Are you ready to return to Oz?

You can purchase your copy of The Wicked Wizard of Oz here.

You can download the official The Wicked Wizard of Oz Gamebook Companion, by Mark Stoneham, here.

Join the fun playing through the opening passages of The Wicked Wizard of Oz on Twitter tonight - simply search for #WickedOz.

And, coming soon...

The UK Games Expo that was and the Book Launch that wasn't

I got up at 5:00am on Friday to head to the NEC Birmingham, to get set up for the UK Games Expo. Having negotiated the increased security there, I finally got into Hall 1 at around 8:00am. Having unloaded the stuff from my car, I went in search of my delivery of books, the publisher Snowbooks having paid over the odds to get a consignment of The Wicked Wizard of Oz to the venue in time for the weekend. And that was where it all began to go wrong.

No one knew where my books were, although they were supposed to have been delivered before noon on the Thursday. I was sent to another hall, but they weren't there. I spoke to the trade liaison who confirmed he had not signed for a delivery. In the end, I contacted Emma Barnes at Snowbooks to ask if she could help from her end, which she promptly did.

I turned out that the books hadn't been delivered at all. Despite having been collected from the printer in Denmark on Tuesday, and having been in the UK since Thursday, they were still sitting in some TNT depot in Dartford. I was then informed that they had been put in a van and were on their way.

It wasn't ideal, not having the books there for the start of the Expo, but it didn't feel like an unsalvageable situation at the time. Sure, I would lose the sales from the Friday-only crowd, but I would simply launch The Wicked Wizard of Oz on the Saturday, which is the busiest day of the UK Games Expo after all. I still didn't actually know when my books would arrive, so spent the rest of the day constantly updating the TNT tracking website on my phone, but all I got was that they were still in transit.

Come 6:00pm, Hall 1 closed, and - my books still not having arrived - I went to Ian Livingstone's talk (which you can read more about on the official Fighting Fantasy blog). At the end of the talk, at 7:00pm, I went back to Hall 1 to ask if my books had arrived in the interim, which they had not. I had little choice but to head to my hotel and hope that my stock would be waiting for me the next morning at the NEC.

I awoke uncharacteristically early on Saturday morning, just after 5:00am, anxiously wondering where my books were and, updating the TNT website again, discovered they had been logged as being at the Birmingham depot at 1:43am. (The books had been dispatched at 3:00pm on Friday, when they were allegedly racing to the NEC. Taking over 10 hours to transport the books is not 'racing' in my book. It's a 3 hour journey from Dartford to the NEC.)

At least, I thought naively, the books were be on the first van out of the depot and will be delivered soon after I arrive at the NEC, if not actually already waiting for me at my stand.

I arrived, there were no books. Emma Barnes was on the case again and, after being kept on hold for a long time, spoke to a lady at TNT who told her that they only do deliveries up to lunchtime on Saturday, and now the books would likely be delivered on Monday - after the UK Games Expo was over and I was back in London. Not only would I not have stock to sell at the event, the consignment included the books I need to send to backers of the original The Wicked Wizard of Oz Kickstarter.

In a last ditch effort to get hold of the books, Emma emailed photo ID of me to the Birmingham depot (as I did not have my photo ID with me, as last time I checked you don't actually need a passport to visit the Midlands), I took what documentation I had to prove that I was at the NEC (as you would need to have proof of your address if you were picking up a missed delivery to your home), and I set off on the 30 mile round trip into Birmingham to the TNT depot. I was told that if I got there before 2:00pm I would be able to collect my books. Emma was confident that since they knew I was coming, and since TNT had messed up so badly, that they would wait for me.

I arrived at 1:55pm to finds the gates to the depot closed. Having spoken to a security guard, he said he would talk to the contact I had been given at the depot. AT 2:01pm, the gates opened and a car drove out. The man in the passenger seat first tried to tell me that I should have arrived before 1:00pm. As I argued my case, he informed me I should have been there before 2:00pm and now the warehouse was locked up and I would not be able to collect my books. So not only did I not have my books, I also missed two of the busiest hours of trading of the whole UK Games Expo.

Emma tried the TNT call centre again, only to find that it had closed, and despite numerous tweets by myself to @TNTUKOfficial I received no response whatsoever.

Having, quite frankly, lost the will, I returned to the Expo and, having sold out of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, with nothing to sell on the Sunday, I packed up and went home.

During Emma's phone call with the lady at TNT she was told that the company had opened a new hub in the UK this week, that the picking line didn't work, that their IT systems had crashed, that there were 10,000 parcels stuck and undelivered, and that they were not going to offer compensation. It is this last part that infuriates me most of all.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I probably lost somewhere in the region of £1,000 in sales because of not having The Wicked Wizard of Oz to launch at the UK Games Expo. I was also out of pocket because I had four banners made for the event (and shipped at a premium level to get them on time), I had a T-shirt made for the event (and shipped special delivery), and I was out of pocket for a night's stay at my hotel. And it is wasn't just me - Snowbooks are out of pocket now too.

But most of all, my professional reputation has been affected, and I don't know what price I would put on that. Advertising, months in advance, that I would be launching a new book at the event, and then not having the book and having to actually turn potential customers away was galling. (At a con as big as the UK Games Expo, someone may only walk past your stand once, so if you miss a sale then, you've missed it for the whole weekend.)

Looking back, I wonder, if I'd checked my emails sooner, maybe I could have got to the depot on time, except that I was at a con, selling my books, not at home on my laptop being pinged by hotmail. And at the end of the day, the trip to the depot was a trip I should never have had to make. It was TNT's responsibility to get my books to me. They failed to deliver them on Thursday, they then failed to deliver them on Friday, and made absolutely no effort to deliver them on the Saturday.

Everyone else involved busted a proverbial gut to make sure everything was ready for the The Wicked Wizard of Oz launch at the UK Games Expo, including Kev Abbotts, who designed the bookmarks and banners, Ivory Graphics, who printed the playing cards, Route1Print, who printed the banners and had them delivered to my hotel so that I would have them in time, Awesome Merchandise, who printed the bookmarks and art prints, and, of course, Norhaven, the book printers in Denmark, and Snowbooks, both MD Emma Barnes and publisher Tik Dalton, who went above and beyond to make sure the launch was a success. But we were all let down by TNT couriers.

Somebody asked on Facebook whether it was the venue's fault, due to increased security in the wake of the terror attack in Manchester, but it categorically was not. Yes, there was increased security, but the staff at the NEC were never anything less than polite, helpful and accommodating, as were the UK Games Expo staff and volunteers.

Thanks must also go to Sheila, Gareth, Simon, and Ian Livingstone, who helped keep an eye on my stuff when I was racing around Birmingham. And I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to chat to people like Fil and Paul of All Rolled Up, Joe of Osprey Games, and the guys at Cubicle 7, but after the two days I'd had, I just wanted to get home and draw a line under the whole debacle.

The banners made for the UK Games Expo (but which didn't get a showing there), designed by Kevin Abbotts and featuring the awesome artwork of Kev Crossley.

I have to say that the UK Games Expo remains one of my favourite cons, and I fully intend to be back next year, with The Wicked Wizard of Oz in tow this time. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my stand to say hello, to ask me to sign stuff (including, in one case, some very rare copies of Spellbreaker, Knights of Doom and Curse of the Mummy) and to buy my books, and it was a pleasure to meet so many of my Kickstarter backers - and Kev Abbotts especially - I'm only sorry if I wasn't in the best of spirits when we met,

You can see some of the photos I took while I was at the event here, and here's to UK Games Expo 2018!

Freeway Fighter the Comic - Launch Day!

Andi Ewington first approached me about working on the Freeway Fighter comic with him last summer. As well as coming on board in an editorial role, the plan was that I would run a Kickstarter to fund production of the comic, Andi having already assembled a team of veritable comic talent to help turn his script into a piece of glorious sequential art, including artist Simon Coleby, colourist Len O'Grady, and letterer Jim Campbell.

However, before I could get underway with setting up the Kickstarter, Andi got in touch to say that Matt Mastracci had come on board as executive producer*, providing the financial backing which meant we wouldn't need to crowdfund the comic after all.

Then began the process of creating the comic, from refining the script - making sure it worked as both a comic and a Fighting Fantasy product, linking back to the original Freeway Fighter gamebook by Ian Livingstone - to Simon producing the art, which was then coloured by Len and finally lettered by Jim Campbell.

As things currently stand, Issue #3 is well on the way to being finished, with work having already begun on Issue #4 and its variant covers.

The next piece of good news was when Andi revealed that he Matt and Ian had been in talks with Titan Comics who would being coming on board as publisher, which brings us to this very day, when Issue #1 of Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter goes on sale for the very first time. It includes an exclusive introduction by Ian Livingstone himself and a letters page featuring letters by some very well-known figures within the world of comics indeed.

If you're in or around London on Saturday (20th May 2017) why not pop along to the Forbidden Planet Megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue from 1:00-2:00pm, when the creative team behind the Freeway Fighter comic - creator Ian Livingstone, writer Andi Ewington, artist Simon Coleby, original cover artist Jim Burns, and editor Jonathan Green - will be taking part in a mass signing.

Maybe I'll see you there...

* And all because he read about Andi Ewington's dreams of publishing a Freeway Fighter comic book in YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks!