Warhammer Fest 2014

Today was the second day of the inaugural Warhammer Fest at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. It was also my birthday.

After the debacle that was last year's Games Day, I was interested to see how the new format would work. It certainly wasn't manic like Games Day used to be, and it was certainly more than just the glorified shop that Games Day was last year, but if anything it was a little too quiet, with not enough going on.

I think I viewed things differently this year, having recently organised a con myself, but what the day really lacked was a clear structure. There was plenty of middle, with different seminars going on (although most weren't miked) but no clear beginning or end, at least as far as I could see.

That said, it was great to catch up with the likes of Neil Roberts, James Swallow, Nick Kyme, Graeme Lyon and Michael Knight, along with YOU ARE THE HERO and Fighting Fantasy Fest alumni Jes Bickham and John Blanche. It was also a pleasure to meet miniature designer Seb Perbet (the man behind the new Nagash concepts) who remembered my name from back in the day! (Now that did make me feel old.)

You can see more of my photos from Warhammer Fest here. I was very pleased to pick up some more of James Swallow's Garro audio dramas, and I'm looking forward to cracking open this particular title!

Did you know...?
Dan Abnett, Steve Savile, Storm Constantine - who have all written for Games Workshop at one stage or another (for Black Library or the long-defunct GW Books), like myself - also celebrate their birthdays today?

Games Day 2013 - 19 and counting...

Yesterday I attended my 19th Games Day in a row. It was a strange beast, dramatically downsized from previous years with a complete absence of games altogether - and what's Games Day without the games?

To be honest I don't go for the games, but there wasn't much of anything else either. That said, I still didn't manage to see everything - including the new Dark Elves stuff (having written the colour text for the first Dark Elves Army book back in 1994) - because I spent the whole day hanging out with friends.

It was good to see the likes of Matt Sylvester, Toby Frost and Cavan Scott (both of whom were attending Games Day for the first time), and chat with the likes of Jes Bickham, Nick Kyme, Guy Haley, Chris Wraight, Graham McNeill, Neil Roberts, Andy Smilie, John French, Anthony Reynolds, Nik Vincent, William King (et al)*, and I also met up with Messrs Jackson and Livingstone who were attending Games Day together for the first time in a long time.

The Black Library stand had a pleasing number of PoD titles by Yours Truly for sale, including my two Path to Victory Gamebooks. I spent far too much money on event-exclusive titles and picked up a couple of audio dramas that helped pass the time in the traffic jam that took up most of the journey home. (Gav Thorpe, C Z Dunn and Andy Smilie are fast becoming masters of the audio format.)

So here's my haul from the day.

The most annoying thing is that I bought Dan Abnett's new Horus Heresy novel Unremembered Empire, later saw Dan Abnett, then said hello, and later goodbye, to Dan Abnett, and yet totally forgot to ask Dan Abnett to sign Dan Abnett's new book Unremembered Empire. Ho-hum, maybe next time.

You can find more of my photos from the day here.


* Many of whom asked me how YOU ARE THE HERO is coming along.

Games Day 2012

Yesterday I spent the day at the NEC outside Birmingham at UK Games Day 2012 - which I realised was actually my 18th Games Day in a row!

I had a great day, which began with me chatting to John Blanche - Warhammer (40K) visionary and Sorcery! artist.

 John Blanche - the master.

And it didn't end there... I also got to meet Jes Bickham - new editor of the brand new White Dwarf - and whilst chatting to him, the original editor of White Dwarf, Ian Livingstone, turned up with a folder full of archive material (including old Games Day programmes and a copy of Owl and Weasel).

Jes Bickham - new editor of White Dwarf, and the man who commissioned this...

The old and the new - no offence, Ian.

I spent quite some time in the Design Studio area chatting to the likes of Dave Andrews (former Fighting Fantasy cartographer), Jervis Johnson (living legend of games design), Robin Cruddace (author of the awesome Tomb Kings army book).

Dave Andrews - drew the maps in Out of the Pit, donchaknow?

Then it was on to the retail zone where I caught up with George Mann (BL head honcho) and Eddie Eccles (who used the word 'dozens' when describing how many copies of Herald of Oblivion he had sold), before heading over to the Black Library area for a good chat with the likes of editors Christian Dunn, Laurie Goulding, Lindsey Priestley, and fellow authors Graham McNeill and Jim Swallow.

Path to Victory gamebooks - sold quite well, or so I hear.

With time flying by, like a journey through the Warp, I headed to the Forge World area to say hello to Alan Bligh and Talima Fox, before ending the day (briefly) catching up with Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent, and saying an all too brief hello to rising star Josh Reynolds.

I came away feeling thoroughly inspired and can't wait to get started on some of the projects that were discussed today.

So here's to UK Games Day 2013!

Forthcoming Events

A quick round-up of events you can find me at over the coming weeks...

Games Day 2012
Sunday 23 September
I will be attending Games Day next weekend and - as well as wandering around checking out the participation battles, Design Studio revelations and the rest - I shall be hanging out at the Black Library stand, from time to time. So if you see me, and want me to sign a copy of Herald of Oblivion, or The Armageddon Omnibus, or whatever, do ask. Maybe I'll see you there.

FantasyCon 2012
Friday 28 - Sunday 30 September
I'm going to FantasyCon again this year (although I've got a fair bit of work to do before then!) arriving around about Friday lunchtime and leaving around Sunday lunchtime. As well as attending the obligatory Saturday night disco, I shall be taking part in the following*:

Friday - 2.00pm-3.00pm - FITZHERBERT ROOM - 'Blurring the Genre Boundaries' panel
Saturday - 5.00pm-6.00pm - RUSSELL ROOM - 'Is Steampunk Here to Stay?' panel
Sunday - 10.30am-11.00am - ROOM 134 - Jonathan Green Reading

Black Library Weekender
Saturday 3 - Sunday 4 November
I shall also be attending the Black Library Weekender. Specifically you'll find me taking part in a seminar about Gamebooks on the Sunday, 11.15am-12.15pm*, along with Christian Dunn and Graeme Lyon.

And that's your lot for now. More events and public appearances will be added as and when...


* Timing may change, so check the latest schedule/timetable on the day, if you're going.

FantasyCon Cometh...

First off an apology. I don't usually do these - I get tired of reading posts by writers apologising for not updating their blogs because they've been... er... writing - but today it's not without just cause.

I realise that I owe you a couple of posts - one about Games Day (which was awesome) and one about the House of Fear launch (which was equally awesome). And they will happen, but the thing is I've been rather immersed in my latest project (which is a good thing) and know that my time is limited because this weekend I'm off to Brighton for FantasyCon 2011.

I'll be there from Friday to Sunday, attending various panels that m'colleagues are on, attending The Big Solaris Book Event and the Dark Continents launch, and generally hanging out 'networking' in the bar. I may also stop by the dealers' room... see if there are any good deals to be made, and so forth.

Maybe I'll see some of you there. I you see me first do come over and say hello. Although, having checked out the list of 'professionals' attending the Con, I wonder if they'll actually be anybody else there at all...

Irond Hands available at Games Day

Just a quick one this morning to let you know that my Warhammer 40K novel Iron Hands will be available for sale at this year's UK Games Day on Sunday...

With Abaddon the Despoiler’s Thirteenth Black Crusade engulfing the galaxy, Iron-Father Gdolkin and his company are pulled away from the defence of Medusa to honour an ancient oath to the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trail of clues leads Gdolkin to a long-lost world, home to an ancient weapon that might turn the tide of war in the Imperium’s favour. But for Gdolkin, the quest is personal, as this mysterious planet might also contain the answer to the oldest mystery of the Iron Hands Chapter... the resting place of the Primarch Ferrus Manus.

If you can't make it to Games Day, you can order your copy of Iron Hands here.

Amongst the other Print on Demand titles on sale this weekend is Daemonifuge, which contains my Warhammer Warped Visions one-off comic strip Ephrael von Stern - Sister of Sigmar. Looking forward to checking that one out myself...

Writers on writing

To continue my semi-regular series of posts, here's a round up of writerly-type posts I've come across over the last couple of days...

In this piece, novelist Polly Courtney explains why she has dropped her publisher HarperCollins in frustration at having her books presented as chick lit.

This link will take you to a video in which author/comedian Charlie Higson talks about writing for children and young adults.

Here's an interesting piece on the growing trend of aspiring writers not being keen readers.

Sarah Pinborough talks about 'the Blur', that place where all writers dwell, on her blog.

Anyone who's ever said they want to write, but has never actually finished anything, needs to read this post by m'colleague James Swallow.

Not exactly a writer talking about writing, but out of interest the list of books for World Book Night 2012 has been published. There are a fair few genre fiction titles on the list. Let's just hope the programming schedule for the night doesn't ignore SF/F and Horror again, like last year.

If you follow the Floor to Ceiling Books blog you'll already know that Magemanda is away on holiday. Having had her trip planned for some time, she asked her friends to write guest posts for her blog. Well she's now posted the list on her blog and my guest post 'On the Stigma of Being a Tie-In Novelist' will appear, appropriately enough, on 25 September - Games Day!

To continue the theme, William King talks about how he goes about writing a tie-in novel here.

And then, just to finish things off, here's Adelie High's latest video in which Dan Abnett talks about the very process of Writing.

And in other news...

Just a couple of things to update you on...

1) Monstrous Missions

My Doctor Who book Terrible Lizards has been listed at last on Amazon. It's going to be published along with a second story but under one cover, the two-books-in-one being known collectively as Monstrous Missions. Here's what the blurb has to say about my offering:

Exciting action-packed new original fiction for younger Doctor Who fans, starring the Eleventh Doctor with his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Double-fronted books each contain two fast-paced, fun-filled adventures!

The Doctor and his friends join a group of explorers on a Victorian tramp steamer in Terrible Lizards. The explorers are searching for the Fountain of Youth, but neither they or the treasure they seek are quite what they seem!

2) Under New Management

Jamie Fry of Fighting Fantasy Collector fame, is taking over editorship* of the official Fighting Fantasy website. I - along with many FF fans, I am sure - would like to wish him well with this venture and look forward to seeing what he has planned.

3) Forthcoming Events

It looks like I'll be attending two more events than previous years, making it one of the busiest Septembers convention-wise. Here's where I expect to be next month:

Saturday 10 September - The Asylum, Lincoln - The biggest Steampunk festival in Europe! (9-11 September 2011)

Sunday 25 September - UK Games Day - The ultimate celebration and annual showcase of all things Games Workshop. As always Black Library will be there in force with a host of activities and new releases.

Tuesday 27 September - House of Fear launch - Solaris Books are bringing the ghost story home with House of Fear, which collects some of the finest writers working in the horror genre.

Saturday 1 October - FantasyCon 2011 - Solaris Books are holding a big old party, giving away various titles including House of Fear! You'll also get to mingle with the authors of your favourite genre fiction. Maybe I'll see you there. (Royal Albion Hotel, 30 September - 2 October 2011)

4) Exclamation Mark in Space!

Oh, and two galaxies colliding in space form an enormous purple exclamation mark. Do you think that God is making a point?

* Is that the technical term?

UK Games Day OK!

So, Sunday was Games Day UK and I woke early, excited at the prospect of catching up with old friends, enjoying all the news things GW has to offer and generally thrilling at the thought of immersing myself in the worlds of Warhammer and 40K for a few hours.

I arrived at the NEC before 9am, fully prepared to queue for a goodly while and then - wonder of wonders bumped into Mark of My Favourite Books. He ushered me along to join him and his wife Liz at the very front of the queue* which also happened to be in site of the Black Library stands.

At 9.40am, we were actually let in early and so I hurried with Mark to the BL sales stand, picking up a signed copy of Jim Swallow's Bloodline**. while I was there I picked up Clint Werner's latest, Wulfrik***, and Darius Hinks' Warrior Priest, along with two new audio dramas, Jim's Garro: Oath of Moment and Waiting Death by Steve Lyons.

I spent a while chatting with Christian Dunn and the Black Library Digital stand and saw my short story The Relic presented as part of an eBook on an iPad. I also caught up on all the news with Head of BL George Mann. I then dropped by the author signing stands and met Chris Wraight (author of the excellent Iron Company) for the first time but missed editor/author Nick Kyme, who was busy being interviewed at the time. I waved at Dan Abnett (which is not unusual at these things) and got to admire Xhalax's Titan Crew costume posse firsthand.

Other highlights of the day were catching the new trailer of the CGI Ultramarines movie (scripted by Dan Abnett) and seeing a tantalising sculpture on the Forgeworld stand of a Necron Tomb Stalker. The new Dark Eldar Codex looked pretty tasty too. I also had to fight to resist parting with a shed load of cash for the new Deathwatch book from Fantasy Flight Games and Forgeworld's Imperial Armour Volume IX - The Badab War Part 1.

But for me Games Day is all about the Black Library and this year's (my fifthteenth!) was awesome. So roll on Games Day 2011!

You can read more about other people's experiences of the day here, at Dan's blog, and here, courtesy of Liz of My Favourite Books.

* It's all about who you know!

** An exclusive chapbook produced especially for the day.

*** Anything by Clint is a must for me - especially if it's one of his Bad Guy Books.

BL at Games Day UK, okay?

This Sunday (26 September) Games Day UK is taking place at the Birmingham NEC. I'll be there (as a fan as well as to chat to the BL editors and authors) and if you're planning on coming along yourself, check out this visitors' map (taking careful notes of the Black Library Digitial bit - cool!).


Maybe see you there?

Games Day 2009

For those of you who didn't know, yesterday was Games Day, and a very fine Games Day it was too. It started for me pulling up in the car park next to Rick and Lindsey Priestley, to find ace author James Swallow unfolding himself from their Mini. On the way into the NEC hall I happened to then meet up with Graham McNeill and got all the latest on his five week-old Mini-Me.

Next to join the ever-growing band was the very dapper Mathieu Saintout, French publisher of the Black Library books, and his aide Julien. I then bumped into Dan and Nik Abnett and managed to say 'Hi!' which was (unfortunately) all I managed all day.

The Black Library stand - busy as ever

So, then it was into the hall. I felt very privileged to meet the fan every author wants to meet, Lady Inquisitor Xhalax, although I'm told she was in fact dressed as a very specific character from the forthcoming Blood Pact by Dan Abnett.

Everyone's a critic...

I also caught up with my erstwhile editor Christian Dunn and had a very exciting chat with him, and editor-turned-author Nick Kyme, who was savouring a biscuit at the end of a long day when I caught up with him. I also got to admire Richard Williams' banner and book-stamp, admire Neil Roberts' cover artwork up close (big shout goes out to the Zoat!), said 'Hello!' to new(ish) editor Alex Davis and even caught Ben Counter entering the create a Chaos Champion competition.

'Just hang on a minute while I put my eyes in.'

I also got to meet the new enfant terrible of the Black Library, the very cool and double-barrelled Aaron Dembski-Bowden - who said some very kind things about my Black Templar Armageddon books - and his delightful girlfriend Katie. I'm only sorry I couldn't go back to Bugman's with them to share a pint only dad-duty called.

The astonishingly well-off author Aaron Dembski-Bowden and his gorgeous girlfriend Katie.

(Only one of these statements is true.)

Outside of the Black Library I got to catch up with ace artist Adrian Smith (whose painting of Gerhard Brennend adores my office wall) and salivate over his brilliant new Space Wolves artwork, and finally got to meet the legendary John Blanche, who reminisced with me about Fighting Fantasy and Sorcery! in particular.

Ace artist Adrian Smith

I think that's probably enough names dropped for now. The only thing I'll add is that I also had an amazing Friday and was somewhere where many FF fans would kill to be. Suffice to say I got to see an original copy of the very first White Dwarf magazine and the original flowchart for Deathtrap Dungeon. I'm not boasting or gloating, I'm just rather excited, that's all. ;-)