Gamebook Friday: ACE Gamebooks at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Next weekend, I will be at the Frankfurt Book Fair, with the German publisher of my ACE Gamebooks series, Mantikore-Verlag.

For the occasion, the German language edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz has been reprinted with a new cover. The publisher is clearly hoping to appeal to the Wicked fanbase, which is fine by me.

The new German cover.

The original German cover.

The original English cover.

I had a great time at the Frankfurt Book Fair back in 2018, where Alice im Düsterland was being promoted, and I spent two hours signing books for devoted Alice fans.

Don't forget - next year I will be publishing a 10th annviersary hardback of The Wicked Wizard of Oz. So, watch this space for more details...

Happy Birthday to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published on 1st September 1900 - precisely 126 years ago today!

In 2017, I published the second ACE Gamebook, The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Whilst still available in paperback, the hardback had been out of print for some time.

Next year, to mark 10 years since the book first came out, I am going to be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a brand new hardback edition. So, watch this space for more details!

Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz

Available now from Winged Hussar Publishing in the United States is my second ACE Gamebook, The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

For the uninitiated, it's Choose Your Own Adventure meets The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by way of Dungeons & Dragons.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz is a strange sort of a book. In fact, it is a portal to another world, the Marvellous Land of Oz. As well as the book itself, you will need two dice (or a standard pack of playing cards), a pencil and an eraser. Using these tools, and a simple set of game rules contained within the book, you will take on the role of the one of the protagonists of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on a new and perilous quest as they find themselves called upon to save the world once more.

Also available now from Snowbooks is The Wicked Wizard of Oz Colouring Book.

Did you know...?

A copy of The Wicked Wizard of Oz is on display at The All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, New York.

Museum piece.

European Day of Languages 2023

Today is the European Day of Languages so it seems like a good time to share some of the foreign language editions of my books. Specifically my ACE Gamebooks.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

The Wicked Wizard of Oz

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

Beowulf Beastslayer and 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas

Dracula - Curse of the Vampire

There are more foreign languages editions coming, including Brazilian and French editions of Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, Hungarian editions of Beowulf Beastslayer and RONIN 47, the Czech edition of RONIN 47, and the Spanish language version of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland.

Gamebook Friday: Jambô Editora Livro-Jogos

Available now in Portuguese language editions from Jambô Editora are the first two ACE Gamebooks, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

You can pick up Alice no País dos Pesadelos and O Maligno Mágico de Oz direct from the publisher.

Gamebook Friday: Moon Knight, ACE Gamebooks for £1, and The Wicked Wizard of Oz USA

Three things for you this Gamebook Friday.

First of all, the reviews for Moon Knight: Age of Anubis are starting to mount up, ahead of the book's release in less than a month's time in the US. Here's what just a few of them have to say...

"I absolutely loved this! A genius way to get those who aren't such keen readers off their screens and into a great book! This will appeal to so many different people, with differing interests and all ages too." ~ 5 stars

"If you loved gamebooks, solo adventures, Moon Knight, ancient Egypt, or just want to kill a bit of time in a fun and engaging way, this is the book for you!" ~ 5 stars

"I am giving this one two thumbs up!" ~ 5 stars

"Overall, it's a positive experience for readers of all ages and I will have to look into more of these Marvel adventure books in the future!" ~ 5 stars

You can preorder Moon Knight: Age of Anubis here.

Secondly, you can now pick up the PDF editions of all the ACE Gamebooks in print so far for just £1 until the end of the month over on DriveThruRPG.

Yes, you read that correctly - £1 each.

And third, The Wicked Wizard of Oz is going to be released in the USA on 26th September 2023, courtesy of Winged Hussar Publishing.

Gamebook Friday: Les Contes tordus de Green

Which I believe translates as 'Green's Twisted Tales', which is about right.

Last year, Alkonost Editions ran a crowdfunding campaign to produce eleven gamebooks. Three of those were ACE Gamebooks and they were released earlier this year. My author copies arrived last Saturday, and they look great!

I particularly like how the character icons appear on the Adventure Sheets, where appropriate, along with the instructions linked to them. That's an idea I might borrow for future ACE Gamebook releases.

The fourth volume is a translation of the 'Making of' chapters from the hardback editions of the three gamebooks, and features designer's notes and the preliminary sketches by Kev Crossley and Russ Nichoslon.

If you are a French-speaker, a Francophile, or simply a collector of ACE Gamebooks, you can find out more about the French editions here, and pick them up from sites such as Amazon.fr.

The title Alkonost Editions will be translating next is Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, to be released some time in 2024.

Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz - Brazilian edition cover reveal!

The Brazilian edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz - or O Maligno Magico de Oz, as it is in Portuguese - will be launched this autumn at the Rio Biennial Book Fair, which is one of country's largest literary events.

The cover has been released by Brazilian gamebook publisher Jambô Editora, and here it is...

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Happy Wizard of Oz Day!

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published on this day in 1900, meaning that today is the 123rd anniversary of the book's publication.

This gives me the perfect excuse to remind you that the second ACE Gamebook was The Wicked Wizard of Oz, which is still available in PDF format here, and will be available in print again soon. 

The book is also available in Czech, French, German, and Italian.

Gamebook Friday: Extra! Extra!

Ever since I crowdfunded the first ACE Gamebook, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, back in 2015, I have tried to offer backers on Kickstarter something extra. In the case of Alice, this was my first deck of themed playing cards (which, along with bespoke dice, went on to become a feature of the series), and the first themed All Rolled Up*.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz had bookmarks that allowed you to play as different characters, including two bonus characters - the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard himself.

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! had some rather cool extras, if I do say so myself. Not only was there a cloth map of Neverland, there was also a soundtrack album, of sorts.

I upped the ante with Beowulf Beastslayer, offering backers miniatures of Beowulf and Grendel, who have been joined by Grendel's Mother, since the Heorot RPG also funded on Kickstarter.

'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas offered backers the chance to purchase some Krampus Kards, rather than the traditional Christmas cards.

High level backers of the Dracula: Curse of the Vampire Kickstarter received their books in a wooden coffin, along with a stake pencil, wrapped in black tissue paper bearing the seal of the House of Dracula.

My most recent ACE Gamebooks Kickstarter, that funded production of RONIN 47, gave people the chance to buy some posters of Neil Googe's awesome artwork (coloured by Len O'Grady), as well as the usual art prints.

I'm still deliberating as to what the next ACE Gamebook will be, but rest assured that I will look for some unusual angle when it comes to what rewards I can offer to those people who support my crowdfunding projects.

* The last project to feature one of these was TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas.

Gamebook Friday: Stormslayer and Night of the Necromancer hit Brazil

Two of my Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Stormslayer and Night of the Necromancer, are going to be released soon in Brazil by Jambo Editora. This will double the number of FF adventures of mine that are available in Portuguese.

Here are the covers for the new editions.

Also coming soon from Jambo Editora is the Brazilian edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Watch this space for more info!

Gamebook Friday: Il Malvagio Mago di Oz launching at Lucca Comics and Games 2022

The Italian language edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz - Il Malvagio Mago di Oz - is launching this weekend at the Lucca Comics and Games fair.

I'm told there will be two different cover formats, one featuring Kev Crossley's original artwork for the book, and another that reworks the art Mantikore-Verlag commissions for the German translation.

I'm very excited to be a guest of the Lucca Comics and Games 2022, as I have never been to Lucca before but also because this trip was originally supposed to happen in 2020.

However, while I am there, I am hoping to be able to drop in to The Rookery's first birthday celebrations, which will be taking place on Sunday 30th October at 7:00pm GMT.

Forthcoming Events

It feels like I am attending an unprecedented number of events between now and Christmas, so here's where you can find me and when.

Tuesday 11th October - The Super Relaxed Fantasy Club

7:00pm at The Star of Kings pub, near King's Cross, London.

Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th October - Exeter Comic Con and Gaming Festival Autumn

10:00am-4:30pm daily, at the Westpoint Arena.

Friday 28th October - Tuesday 1st November - Lucca Comics & Games 2022

Precise dates of attendance and times to be confirmed, Lucca, Italy. The Italian language edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz will be launching at this event.

Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th November - Steampunks in Space

10:00am-5:00pm daily, at The National Space Centre, Leicester.

Saturday 3rd December - Dragonmeet

10:00am-6:00pm, at the Novotel Hammersmith, London.