The original Globe Theatre burned down 413 years ago today!

The original Globe Theatre burned down on this day, 29 June, in1613, during a performance of Shakespeare's All is True - a.k.a. Henry VIII.

A theatrical cannon fired during the play ignited the wooden structure's thatched roof, and the resulting conflagration destroyed the building in less than an hour. Incredibly, no one was killed. The theatre was subsequently rebuilt in 1614.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come tells a different story, however...

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is dedicated to Master Scott Lewis and Mistress Claire Byard - two good friends who have helped me out at various events over the years, but mainly the UK Games Expo.

When I made the dedication, I had no idea that Scott's birthday happens to be 29 June. It's almost as if it was written in the stars... by a big, nasty gribbly called Cthulhu!

Happy Deathday, Mr Shakespeare!

Today - Saint George's Day - is William Shakespeare's deathday*, so it seemed like the perfect time to remind gamebook fans that Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is available to buy now. You can even buy a signed hardback here.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu at Anne Hathaway's Cottage
in Shottery, Warwickshire.

However, before the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come gamebook there was the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu short story anthology. Check it out here and watch the video below to find out more.

 

* And possibly his birthday as well.

Cthulhu Thursday: Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu - What Dreams May Come

Available now from ACE Gamebooks is Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come, written by Jonathan Green and illustrated by Heraldo Mussolini.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on…”

The year is 1613, and England's foremost playwright is committed to finishing his latest magnum opus, Love's Labour’s Won, for his new patron, the Earl of Gloucester. However, after falling asleep while working late at the Globe, he wakes to find himself in a subtly altered world that is both familiar and yet strangely unfamiliar.

What follows is an epic quest through Shakespeare’s plays in which the Bard of Stratford is confronted by sinister eldritch forces in service of the Great Old Ones – malign beings of unimaginable power – the greatest of which is the cosmic entity known as Cthulhu.

______________________________________

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is an interactive fantasy novel, inspired by the Bard’s most popular plays and the unsettling creations of the American pulp horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

In this adventure gamebook, YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself, deciding which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the villains and eldritch horrors you will meet along the way to fight. But whether you survive your ordeal or succumb to riotous madness, will be down to the choices YOU make.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

You can buy Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come via Amazon here.

Gamebook Friday: Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu - What Dreams May Come

Coming soon from ACE Gamebooks... Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come!

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come
shown with rewards from the Kickstarter.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on…”

The year is 1613, and England's foremost playwright is committed to finishing his latest magnum opus, Love's Labour’s Won, for his new patron, the Earl of Gloucester. However, after falling asleep while working late at the Globe, he wakes to find himself in a subtly altered world that is both familiar and yet strangely unfamiliar.

What follows is an epic quest through Shakespeare’s plays in which the Bard of Stratford is confronted by sinister eldritch forces in service of the Great Old Ones – malign beings of unimaginable power – the greatest of which is the cosmic entity known as Cthulhu.

______________________________________

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is an interactive fantasy novel, inspired by the Bard’s most popular plays and the unsettling creations of the American pulp horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

In this adventure gamebook, YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself, deciding which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the villains and eldritch horrors you will meet along the way to fight. But whether you survive your ordeal or succumb to riotous madness, will be down to the choices YOU make.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare!

It is one year to the day since Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come funded on Kickstarter, but there's still time to place a Late Pledge - but only just!

I am making a few final tweaks to the manuscript, ready to start proofreading and renumbering next week. In the meantime, illustrator Heraldo Mussolini is working on producing the artwork for the book. Here are a couple of his finished illustrations.

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?"

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare!

Cthulhu Wednesday: La Oscuridad Sobre Arkham

Available now from Minotauro is La Oscuridad Sobre Arkham, the Spanish language edition of The Darkness Over Arkham. 

If you are an Iberophile, or you have a Spanish-speaking friend who you think might enjoy trying to solve a murder mystery in Lovecraft's Arkham, you will find links to buy the book here.

And of course, you can pick up the English language version via Aconyte Books.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - Post-Kickstarter Thoughts

Yesterday, the Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come concluded, having raised 152% of its original funding goal. If you helped make that happen, thank you. If you were late to the party, but would still like to place a Late Pledge, you can do so here.

I have now run 16 successful Kickstarter campaigns, but I have never done things quite the same way twice. I am always trying to refine the process, hoping to find the key that will unlock the greatest crowdfunding success. This time, that involves forking out a not insubstantial amount for targeted Facebook ads.

I don't feel I quite have the handle on such ads yet. Some appeared to do much better than others but I have no idea whether that was reflected in the actual amount raised. I still did a lot of promotion myself on social media and I wonder whether the Kickstarter might have raised just as much as it did even if I hadn't paid for any ads at all.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is my most funded ACE Gamebooks Kickstarter to date, in terms of both money raised and number of backers who came on board, but Dracula: Curse of the Vampire comes a close second, and managed to make almost as much money with close to 100 fewer backers. Is that a reflection on the source material for the adventure, or the economic pressures of the times? I don't know.

What I do know is that my ACE Gamebook Kickstarters haven't gone viral yet, but neither am I willing to shell out thousands of pounds to a marketing agency on the off chance that their input might make a significant difference. When I spoke to one marketer, everything he said that his company would do were things I was already doing myself, although I would hope that they would do a better job with targeted Facebook ads than I did.

I will need to think carefully before I settle on what will be my next ACE Gamebook Kickstarter, but I have a couple of ideas that are both things I haven't done yet within the series.

However, for the time being, I have a new ACE Gamebook to finish and some artwork to commission.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,

And with strange aeons even death may die."

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - The Final 48 Hours!

We're into the final 48 hours of Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter and are slowly creeping towards Stretch Goal #2.

It is at this point that anyone who clicked on the remind-me-later button will be receiving an email from Kickstarter, reminding them that they might what to pledge their support to Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter, so it's quite possible we will see a surge in pledges over the next two days.

However, you can do your bit by sharing the link to the Kickstarter far and wide among your contacts too. With your help, there's no reason why we can't hit Stretch Goal #3 by 2:00pm BST on Thursday 16 May, when the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come Kickstarter concludes.

Thank you for all your support.

"Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends."

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - halfway there!

Today marks the halfway point in the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come Kickstarter campaign.

It hit its funding goal within 4 days, which was amazing, but in the 7 days since it has only raised £1,230. I say only, but I am aware it is a lot of money. It's just a constant struggle to connect with new backers, and we have Stretch Goals to hit.

I have dabbled with targeted Facebook ads but have a feeling that for them to make a real difference, you really need to invest a lot more than I have.

I expect that pledges will pick up again in the last few days of the funding period, but this mid-campaign lull means that I am toying with running a future Kickstarter for even less time, perhaps just two weeks. But that's some way off yet.

You can help by sharing the project link with your friends through your socials. There will be someone you know who it just waiting to back a gamebook like Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter. As someone else pointed out on social media, Kickstarter needs a Gamebooks sub-heading because otherwise he could easily have missed it.

Next weekend I will give the campaign another push but this coming week my focus will be on the release of the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook The Darkness Over Arkham on Tuesday 7 May 2024, and the livestream of the game the very next day on Jordan Sorcery's YouTube channel.

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come has been funding on Kickstarter for three days now and, as of writing, is already 96% funded.

The most popular reward is the HAMLET paperback, with the KING LEAR hardback a not very close second, and the hardback + paperback PROSPERO reward third.

It has become clear that people are bravely and boldly backing this Kickstarter without knowing very much about the actual plot of the adventure. You can read the opening 25 sections here, but to tease you still further, the gamebook is divided into 5 Acts, which are as follows:

Act I - Ill Met By Moonlight

Act II - The Play's the Thing

Act III - Full Fathom Five

Act IV - Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair

Act V - Something Wicked This Way Comes

YOU can help Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come reach its funding goal by sharing the link to the Kickstarter page on your socials, but not just once - every day you can, please.

The Kickstarter concludes on Thursday 16 May 2024, in 20 days' time, but can we reach the funding goal before the end of this weekend? With YOUR help, we can!

Thank you for your support.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is LIVE on Kickstarter!

The eighth ACE Gamebook is now funding on Kickstarter. In Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come, you take on the role of England's foremost playwright William Shakespeare, battling the forces of the Great Old One Cthulhu. Check out the rewards below and pledge your support today.

Thank you for your support and please share the Kickstarter project link far and wide.

“I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks…”

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come launches on Kickstarter in just 4 days' time!

If you check out the preview page for the project, you will now find an active link that allows you to read the opening sections of the adventure. Not only that, there is now a handy chart that shows you exactly which rewards come with which pledge levels.

Please share the project page preview far and wide and I'll see you again on Tuesday, when I hope to livestream the Kickstarter launch on Facebook.

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

There are just 11 days to go until Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come launches on Kickstarter.

Because you are a faithful reader of this blog, you can check out the preview of the project page here.

If you are thinking of backing the Kickstarter, here are some of the rewards you might want to consider.

And even if you're not thinking of backing the Kickstarter, you can still play your part by sharing the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come project page far and wide.

Thank you for your support.