Tie-in Tuesday: Robin of Sherwood back on ITV4

Some of you may remember that back in 2016 I wrote a novelisation of the unmade Robin of Sherwood TV movie The Knights of the Apocalypse.

If you're a fan of the seminal '80s sword and sorcery TV series, or even if you've never seen a single episode before, you might be interested to know that the show is being repeated, from the beginning, from 13th July on ITV4.

Tie-in Tuesday: Robin of Sherwood and the Knights of the Apocalypse

One of the more unusual, unexpected, and unforgettable gigs of my writing career (which is 25 years young this July) was being invited to write the novelisation of Richard 'Kip' Carpenter's unmade teleplay for Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse.

Whilst writing it early last year, and immersing myself in all things Sherwood again, I was reminded of various landmarks in my life that featured the very best interpretation of the Robin Hood legend on screen, ever!

I was a teenager when the series was first televised. I remember balmy summer evenings, making sure I was back home after playing with my friends in the street to watch Robin of Sherwood, and having to draw the curtains to avoid the sunlight reflecting off the tiny TV screen. I was oblivious at the time to the fact that a fair proportion of the viewing public would be watching it for the tousled, '80s-mullet good looks of the lead actor(s)* - I tuned in to enjoy stories of action and adventure, of derring-do and dastardly deeds, of mysticism and paganism.

It was the magical and supernatural elements of the show that appealed to me the most, and what made the programme so different from all the other on-screen iterations. I thought the addition of the pagan shaman Herne was inspired, I couldn't quite believe the Baron de Belleme was about to carry out a satanic sacrifice on what was purportedly a children's show in Robin Hood and the Sorcerer, I was chilled by the appearance of Cromm Cruac, and I thrilled at the arrival of the gigantic wolf's head in The Time of the Wolf. I particularly delighted at the twist ending to the episode Rutterkin. But most of all I was blown away by The Swords of Wayland, with the angelic figure of Lucifer being summoned via the method of reversed-wax-melting.

When Robin of Sherwood was on, the Sunday morning after would find my friends and I in the local church choir dissecting the incidents of the previous night's episode when we were supposed to be getting ready to sing the anthem at the Eucharist.

Jump forward a few years and I found myself sharing a house with nine other young people in Leamingston Spa, all of us students of Warwick University. It turned out that I wasn't the only one upon whom Robin of Sherwood had made such a big impact. My friend Mike - who everyone called Bez at the time, as you do - was also a fan. Saturdays would often find us trawling the local video hire shop for shockingly-bad horror movies to watch that evening.

But one particular day we made a diversion to WHSmith, where we found Robin of Sherwood on sale in VHS format. Being poor, impoverished students, we decided to go halves on The Swords of Wayland two-parter. Taking it back to our rented house, we watched it for the first time since it had been on TV half a decade or more before - and it was just as good as we all remembered, if not even better, because our mutual friend Dave had a much bigger TV than my parents did at home.

When the time came to leave university, I somehow managed to inherit The Swords of Wayland (I'm still not sure how or why) and it inspired me to shell-out some of my hard-earned cash (I was a published author by then) to buy all three series on video, which were replaced, in time, by DVD box sets.

Robin of Sherwood had a big impact on my writing career, long before I came to write The Knights of the Apolcalypse novelisation. My first published book, the Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook Spellbreaker, features a band of outlaws, each bearing a moniker that could have easily described one of Kip Carpenter's Merries - Outlaw Leader, Scarred Ruffian, Staff-Wielding Outlaw, Veteran Brigand - and their leader just happened to be in possession of a magic swords. My second book, Knights of Doom, featured a Mercenary Champion, who looked suspiciously like Nasir when he was taking part in Owen of Clun's death game, and even some dodgy mummers.

Later, when I was working as a teacher in West London, I wrote a Christmas production about the history of Christmas**. One scene featured a mummer's play; I adapted the mummer's play from the Robin of Sherwood episode The Lord of the Trees, finished it off in the same style, the play having no ending in the show.

And the tone of the show, the quality of the writing, its heart, its warmth and its humour, has stayed with me ever since. Every couple of years I watch the shows again, in order, and I'm looking forward to introducing them to my children next time. (I listen to Clannad's soundtrack album Legend even more often***.)

Having loved Robin of Sherwood for more than two-thirds of my life (and 'loved' is not a word I use lightly) I am always wary of new adaptations and wonder how some people can dare to do Robin Hood again when the definitive version was produced back in the 1980s. But that said, I have an itch to tackle the legend myself, in my own way, by putting a spin on things. Will it be ready by the time the third Hooded Man convention takes place in 2018? Who knows, but the thing is, it doesn't really matter, because I'm the lucky so-and-so who got to write Robin of Sherwood again, 30 years after the show ended.

Talking of which, because The Knights of the Apolcalypse novelisation wasn't available anywhere outside of the original Indiegogo campaign to fund the audio version, there's no one convenient place for people to leave their comments and reviews. If you would like to do so - and reviews, no matter how brief, are always very valuable and helpful for authors - please feel free to do so in the comments after this blog post. After all, nothing's forgotten...

Here's to you, Mike! :-)


* Something which only really dawned on me when I attended my first Hooded Man convention back in 2014!

** Sound familiar?

*** The show is also responsible for my life-long love of Clannad. I think I possibly wrote Spellbreaker whilst listening to their album Legend on loop!

Looking forward to 2017...

2016 is all but done and dusted, which means we can start to look forward to what's coming up in 2017...

SHARKPUNK 2
A second anthology of killer shark stories, featuring a host of genre talent, as well as new up and coming writers. The Kickstarter to fund this will be launching early in the year.

Robin of Sherwood
Kip Carpenter's definitive re-imagining of the Robin Hood mythos from the 1980s is set to return in 2017, featuring both Robins, in a 4 disc box set. You can pre-order yours, and help make these brand-new audio dramas a reality, here.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz
A brand-new gamebook inspired by L Frank Baum's literary classic, that puts a dark, dieselpunk spin on things. It is also 750 sections long, making it my longest gamebook to date! This is set to be launched at the UK Games Expo in June.

Pax Britannia
Ulysses Quicksilver returns in a brand-new Pax Britannia short story, to be published in the Clockwork Cairo anthology, coming in 2017 from Twopenny Books.

Fighting Fantasy
First of all we have the new Freeway Fighter comic, by Andi Ewington, coming from Titan Comics, and then on Saturday 2 September we have Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, not to mention a rumoured new adventure gamebook from Ian Livingstone himself! There are even plans to produce YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, to help mark the 35th anniversary.

And that's just the stuff I can talk about...

See you in 2017!

Charitable Endeavours

Today, seeing as how it is Christmas Eve and the season of giving, Barnaby Eaton-Jones announced the total raised for charity by the Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse Indiegogo campaign. And that total is...

£18,000!

That's £9,000 each for The Sherwood Forest Trust and The British Red Cross, Richard 'Kip' Carpenter's two favourite charities.

Congratulations to all involved, and a special thank you to everyone who purchased my novelisation of the script perk.

Don't forget, you can pre-order the brand-new four-disc box-set coming in 2017 here, at the Spiteful Puppet website!

Tie-in Tuesday: Robin of Sherwood and The Knights of the Apocalypse

It's arrived! Six and a half months after I completed the manuscript, I am now in possession of copies of my novelisation of Richard 'Kip' Carpenter's Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse.

A number of people have already received theirs and have given glowing reports of the book, which is always pleasing, but the best thing I've seen online to date is this!

I'm a big fan of the Series 3 episode 'Cromm Cruac', so inevitably I love cuddly Cromm.

I loved Robin of Sherwood as a child, and it is one of those things that has influenced me as a writer, with my early books in particular often referencing elements of the show. When I was watching it on TV back in the 1980s I certainly never imagined that one day I would end up authoring a Robin of Sherwood book.

I grew up close to where much of the series was filmed and I must remember to take a copy to the Tithe Barn in Bardford-on-Avon* next time I'm down in Wiltshire, for another photo op.

One day, when I have more time, I must write a blog post about my experience of Robin of Sherwood fandom, and the path that lead me to adapt Kip Carpenter's last Robin of Sherwood script - including the part my university friend Mike played in it all - but for now all that there remains for me to say is thank you, to Barnaby Eaton-Jones for offering me this once in a lifetime opportunity, and to everyone who has been lucky enough to snag themselves a copy, enjoy! (I shall look forward to reading your reviews online.)

And remember, nothing's forgotten... Nothing is ever forgotten...

The typo that got away; 'crenulated' should of course read 'crenellated'.

* Which stood in for the interior of Nottingham Castle. (I also lived in Nottingham for two years, and visited Sherwood Forest many times.)

Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse

If you were wanting to buy a copy of my novelisation of Richard Carpenter's Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse, but you just missed out, you'll be pleased to hear that it's back on sale over at Chinbeard Books and you have until Sunday to place your order.

So what are you waiting for?!? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present from Sherwood Forest!

Tie-in Tuesday: Robin of Sherwood - The Knights of the Apocalypse

Word is that my long-awaited novelisation of Richard Carpenter's Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse will be released by the end of he month, with spare copies left over from the printing to fulfil pledges for the crowdfunding campaign going on sale through the Spiteful Puppet website.

I will, of course, keep you informed of developments. After all, nothing's forgotten... Nothing is ever forgotten.

Tie-in Tuesday: Robin of Sherwood - The CD of the Apocalypse

This arrived last night...

Now I know I'm biased, having written the novelisation, but Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse is a fantastic listen.

If you enjoyed the TV show back in the '80s, and you didn't back the Indiegogo crowdfunder, you owe it to yourself to purchase this right now!

Sherwood Wednesday: Multimedia Maelstrom!

Andrew Orton, official historian of Robin of Sherwood, has released the chapter about The Knights of the Apocalypse audio drama (available to pre-order now from Spiteful Puppet), from the revised and updated second edition of The Hooded Man Volume 2, as a free PDF download.

If you want to know all there is to know about how this special episode of the series came to be, then click this link.

Also, if you're in the BBC South region, apparently on BBC South Today this evening at 6.30pm, there will be a piece about the premiere that I attended a few weekends ago.

Update - The piece went out this evening and is now available for viewing on YouTube, and here (and the novelisation gets a mention too).

"Look, Mum, I'm on the telly!"

Sherwood Wednesday

If you would like a copy of my novelisation of Richard 'Kip' Carpenter's script for the TV movie Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse, you have until 8.00pm GMT today, Wednesday 18th May 2016, to place your pledge!

To do so, simply follow this link. And remember, nothing's forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten...

Don't worry - the book is on course to make its delivery deadline.

Tie-in Tuesday: Hooded Men and Apocalyptic Knights

The last two weeks have been busy. As well as all the usual stuff that fills up what is commonly known as 'daily life', the last two weekends I have been indulging a passion of mine... for cult '80s TV drama Robin of Sherwood*.

The May Bank Holiday weekend saw the second The Hooded Man event, organised by the inestimable Barnaby Eaton-Jones, following on from the first such event back in 2014. I joined around 300 other fans in Chepstow for a weekend of geeking out, highly entertaining interviews, banqueting, lots of laughter, and such impromptu delights as the wedding of Little John and Meg of Wickham, and a reading of a 'cut scene' that explained what happened to Marion at the end of the last series. (Fans of the show will know what I'm talking about.)

The suitably atmospheric venue for the event.

Waiting for the fun to start at The Hooded Man II.

Chepstow Castle, which featured in the series back in the '80s.

However, the highlight of the weekend had to be the first play of the trailer for the brand new audio drama Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse. I say 'brand new', but it's adapted from a script written by Richard Carpenter, the show's creator, back in the 1980s. And I'm writing the novelisation of the same script, and was even doing so over the weekend, while I was attending The Hooded Man II.

If you've not heard the trailer for yourself yet - and when I heard it, it was a real goosebumps moment for me - then you can do so here.

If you would like a copy of my novelisation, the only way you can get hold of it is by backing the KOTA Indiegogo campaign and selecting the appropriate perk. The campaign will only remain open until mid-May, so don't delay - back today!

Whilst I was at The Hooded Man II, I met Jenny Kane (who is organising TivLitFest) for the first time, and picked up the second volume of Andrew Orton's comprehensive history of the show, which now features a paragraph about yours truly. And, of course, I made new friends.

Jenny Kane, author of Romancing Robin Hood.

From Andrew Orton's Hooded Man Volume 2.

(Some of) The Swords of Wayland.

I also got to meet Judi Trott (Maid Marion) and Peter Llewellyn Williams (Much the Miller's Son) for the first time, as well as meeting Jason Connery (Robert of Huntingdon) and Mark Ryan (Nasir, and a real gent) for a second time.

But the fun didn't stop when The Hooded Man II came to an end. For just this weekend gone, I was in London to attend the premiere of the Knights of the Apocalypse audio, which included a champagne reception, a preview screening of the 'Making Of...' documentary, the first 30 minutes of the audio, and a Q&A session with those members of the cast in attendance. Andrew Orton and I formed our own writers' huddle at the back of the auditorium and ended the premiere having our photograph taken with the stars.

Waiting for the fun to start at The Knights of the Apocalypse premiere.

Robin of Sherwood's official historian Andrew Orton, fellow fans Lutine and Annette, and some bloke in a jacket and tie.

Then it was off to the pub, naturally (courtesy of fellow fan Annette's organisational skills), where yet more new acquaintances were made.

Jason Connery holding court at the Cock & Lion.

It is certainly a May that I won't forget in a hurry. After all, nothing's forgotten... Nothing is ever forgotten**.




* There are four things that really define me as a writer***, and they all come from my formative years in the 1980s - Doctor Who, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Robin of Sherwood, and Brother Cadfael mysteries.

** Especially not helping Much the Miller's Son find his way back to the nearest Tube station.

*** If you ignore all the Steampunk stuff!

Thought for the Day

"I'd rather write adult programmes for children 
than childish programmes for adults."

Richard 'Kip' Carpenter

screenwriter, author and actor, and the creator of Robin of Sherwood

1929 - 2012

"Nothing's forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten."

Forthcoming Events 2016

I am appearing at a number of different events up and down the country* over the next couple of months.

The Hooded Man II
Saturday 31st April - Sunday 1st May 2016
First of all, next weekend you'll find me attending the Robin of Sherwood fan convention in Chepstow. If you're there, feel free to ask me how my novelisation of Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse is coming along. ;-)



The UK Games Expo 2016
Saturday 4th - Sunday 5th June 2016

I will be at the UK Games Expo again this year, at the Birmingham NEC. This time with Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland in tow. The book also just happens to be up for the Best RPG Award at this year's UKGE Awards.

The Tiverton Literary Festival
Saturday 11th - Sunday 12th June 2016
I am delighted to be able to say that I shall be one of the authors attending the Tiverton Literary Festival (the weekend after the UK Games Expo). This will be my first visit to TivLitFest which this year boasts such literary success stories as Katie Fforde, Michael Jecks and Jenny Kane. I shall be selling my books - mainly Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland - at a stall on the Saturday, and giving a talk, followed by a Q&A and signing, at the Mayoral Rooms in the Town Hall at 11.30 on the Sunday.

Simply click the blue titles above to find out more about the event in question, and if you'd like me to attend your event, why do drop a line via info@jonathangreenauthor.com?


* Well, Wales, the Midlands and Devon.

Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse

On Tuesday I teased you with news of a new book of mine that will be out next Spring, and today I'm doing the same with regards to another book that will be out next Summer.

Now that the news has been released via the official Facebook page for the project, I am delighted to be able to announce that I will be writing the novelisation of Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse, based on a script written by the creator of the iconic ITV show, Richard Carpenter.

You can read the official 'press release' here.