In the News: Beowulf Beastslayer!

Beowulf Beastslayer finishes its run on Kickstarter at 1:00pm this Wednesday - Halloween!

Which means there's still time to pledge your support and receive one of the heroic rewards that are on offer to backers.

Just in case you need a little more persuading, various articles about my new gamebook have appeared on various websites, which are worth checking out.

First there's Gamebook News, which posted a piece the very day the Kickstarter launched.

Then there's Starburst Magazine, which posted an interview with me about the book.

And most recently - today, in fact - Paul Hardacre's more in-depth interview was posted on Geek Syndicate.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz two weeks in

The Wicked Wizard of Oz Kickstarter has now been running for two weeks, and with just over half the time left for the project to run we are almost three-quarters funded.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz has been receiving some love online recently from numerous sources. SFX Magazine tweeted about the project on Wednesday.

On Thursday both Starburst Magazine and the guys at Geek Syndicate gave the project a plug, with the Geek Syndicate piece being particularly complimentary about my previous crowdfunded gamebook, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland. The project also got a plug at the end of this week's Nerd Vs World podcast (at around the 37:50 mark).

Thanks are also due to Megara Entertainment, for sharing the project with their own gamebook backers and, of course, a special mention must go to Scifind.com, who previewed the project before it even launched on Kickstarter.

Remember, Kickstarters only succeed if enough people get to hear about them, so please consider backing the project yourself, but even if it's not your thing, please spread it among your friends, because it might just be theirs.

Thank you.

Tie-in Tuesday: Lovin' the Kraken

Apart from one rather strange review, in which the reviewer seemed put off by the smell of the book more than anything else, my latest Doctor Who gamebook Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken has been receiving a lot of love online.

First there's this review by blogger and book critic Kathryn White.

And then there's this one, written by Antony McGarry-Thickitt, over at Geek Syndicate. I particularly liked this bit:

"I always consider it a good sign when I see Jonathan Green’s name attached to any interactive fiction project. Green has a long and successful record writing these types of books and so I was reasonably sure that Night of the Kraken would be a solid adventure in its own right. I wasn’t wrong."

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO reviewed

It's been a couple of weeks since YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, was released on an unsuspecting public, and with all the Kickstarter backer copies having been sent out into the wild now, the book has begun to receive some reviews, and very favourable they are too.

Geek Syndicate has this to say about the book: "You Are The Hero is a magnificent work that manages to be objective and passionate about the series it discusses. A more fitting tribute to the series that saw me through my youth I can’t really imagine." 4.5/5

Lew Stringer, the comic artist who provided a brand new Derek the Troll strip for the book, reviewed it both here and here. Lew said that the book, "looks very interesting because it seems to be written for both Joe Public and the hard core gamer, which can't be a bad thing... The book is well illustrated throughout with numerous images, including many full page book covers without the cover copy so that you can fully appreciate the art."

Games designer Jake Thornton even gave YOU ARE THE HERO a mention over at Quirkworthy.com.

Realm of Chaos 80s loved the book! "The book is a joy! An absolute joy! Even if you have a slimmest interest in FF this book is worth buying. Every page brings a new memory, a new fact and a bigger, broader smile!"

Starburst Magazine had this to say: "Green has produced a beautifully edited and firmly present account of a phenomenon that for some is as important as Transformers or Star Wars and yet has been pretty much overlooked by the mainstream. If you’ve recently become reacquainted with the idea of turning to page 400 and want to know more about this strangely British fandom, then this is the best place to start." 8/10

Corehammer.com also liked it: "You Are The Hero is an absolute triumph. It is a love letter to a cherished memory, written with a scholars knowledge and a fanboys heart."

And then there are the 22 5-star reviews on Amazon.co.uk*,  the 5-star review on Amazon.fr, and the 5-star review on Waterstones.com**.

If you would like to pick up a physical copy of the book, you can do so here. However, if ebooks are more your thing these days, you can download a digital copy of YOU ARE THE HERO here. And if you enjoy it, feel free to add your own review online.


* As of writing. ;-)

** That has mysteriously vanished!

FIGHTING FANTASY FEST around the Internet - Part 2

Word continues to spread about FIGHTING FANTASY FEST.

There's a piece here on Geek Syndicate...

Another post here on Lloyd of Gamebooks...

A mention here on Reddit...

And a post here on the Fighting Fantazine blog.

Check out the links, buy a ticket, and tell all your friends to buy a ticket too. ;-)

What do Geek Syndicate and author Emma Newman have in common?

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath, that's what.

Both Geek Syndicate and Emma Newman recently very kindly invited me to write a guest blog post about the murderous miss for their respective sites. The irony is that they both went live yesterday.

You can check out Emma's blog here, and the Geek Syndicate site here.

Freestyle Bane

Does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak.



(Courtesy of Geek Syndicate.)

SFX Weekender 3 - one week to go!

There's only one week to go until the SFX Weekender 3 beams in to Pontin's Prestatyn. Are you excited yet, 'cos I sure as hell am!

To help get you fired up about the Weekender, head over to the Geek Syndicate and check out their audio interview with SFX Editor-in-Chief David Bradley.

Among the things you'll learn from David are that there are eight actors attending the premier SF/F event, along with some 50 writers and artists (Yours Truly included). 2000AD will be celebrating its 35th birthday there and the Kitschies Awards Ceremony will also be taking place on the Friday night. And on Saturday night Robert Rankin will be hosting the SFX Awards whilst later on Craig Charles will be DJing like last year.

So are you excited now? If you are, I hope you've already got your ticket because the event sold out weeks ago! And if you have got your ticket, maybe I'll see you there.

Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects on Scrolls

At the SFX Weekender back in February I was interviewed by Dion Winton-Polak for the Scrolls podcast. (You can read about it here.)

Well I get a mention on the most recent Scrolls podcast too, over at the Geek Syndicate. The subject under discussion is 'Heroes' and Ulysses Quicksilver, along with my fourth Pax Britannia adventure Evolution Expects gets an honourable mention.

UQ is described as 'a wonderfully built character' whilst my writing is described as 'like watching a film', which is very flattery and very satisfying to hear.

If you want to listen to the podcast yourself, follow this link and listen from about 44 minutes in.

JG on Scrolls at the Geek Syndicate

Dion Winton-Polak of Scrolls has kindly let me know that the interview he conducted with me at the SFX Weekender 2 is now available to listen to via podcast over at the Geek Syndicate.

Follow this link and scroll down to 'Scrolls Chapter 12, Part 1: Author Interviews'. I make a couple of appearances throughout the recording, and at the start you can hear my frankly ridiculous (but honest) answer to the question "How many books have you written?"