Happy World Book Day 2009!

In case you didn't already know, today is World Book Day. So, seeing as how I now make a living from my books, I thought I would let everyone know about the different sorts of books I write and present something of a back catalogue for your perusal.

Pax Britannia

I am currently writing a series of steampunk science fiction action/adventure novels for Abaddon Books, featuring dandy hero of the British Empire, Ulysses Quicksilver. There are currently three books in the series - Unnatural History, Leviathan Rising, Human Nature - with a fourth, Evolution Expects, published in May, and with more to come after that. To find out more about the world of Pax Britannia click here.

Fighting Fantasy

To date I have had five Fighting Fantasy gamebooks published. They are Spellbreaker, Knights of Doom, Curse of the Mummy, Bloodbones and Howl of the Werewolf.

Doctor Who

So far I have written a Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny interactive adventure gamebook entitled The Horror of Howling Hill and have contributed to the 2010 Official Doctor Who Annual (published this August).

Sonic the Hedgehog

I have also c0-written two Sonic the Hedgehog adventure gamebooks, Theme Park Panic and Stormin' Sonic.

Warhammer

I have written three fantasy novels set within Games Workshop's Warhammer world. They are The Dead and the Damned, Magestorm and Necromancer.

Warhammer 40,000

I have also written three science fiction novels set within Games Workshop's far future medieval universe of Warhammer 40,000. There are two books about the Black Templars and the Armageddon Campaign - Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon - and a stand-alone adventure entitled Iron Hands.

Non-fiction

I have written a number of non-fiction books as well. The most recent of these are Match Wits with the Kids, Go, Go Crazy for those Bones and What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

As well as books I have also had published various novellas, short stories, comic strips and magazine articles.

I also go school visits and library talks. If you would like me to come into your school or local library to talk about any of my books or the writing process in general, please email me at paxbritannia@hotmail.co.uk.

Note to self

I would rather be confused for ten minutes than bored for five.
— Jimmy McGovern (TV writer)

Writer 1.0

'To err is human--and to blame it on a computer is even more so.' Robert Orben

Human Nature reviews

The reviews of Human Nature are starting to come in now. Following on from the one that appeared in Death Ray magazine, there's one in this month's SFX magazine and on Graeme's Fantasy Book Review.

I particularly like the line in the SFX review which says, 'As usual, author Jonathan Green gets mileage out of his monsters, with big action set-pieces that read like Things We'd Like to See in a rip-roaring summer movie if the creature effects were good enough.'

If you'd like to read the whole review for yourself, you need to pick up a copy of the March 2009 edition.

Thought for the day...

I found this over at Steve Parker's blog. It's a quote is from E.L. Doctorow, the American author and editor, and it sums up the whole writing experience (which I think applies particularly well to novel writing):

It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

Safe driving!

A world without words

Surely a world without words would be the worst thing a writer could imagine, his stock in trade stolen from him; that which gives him pleasure and purpose denied him. So, imagine how Sir Terry Pratchett feels right now, having been diagnosed with PCA, a form of Alzheimer's Disease for which there is (currently) no cure.

Having heard about Sir Terry's condition on the news some months ago I was one of millions who sat down to watch the first part of Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's, on BBC2 last week. Not only was it a fascinating - learning more about the illness - and moving programme - the moment when after a long day the author tried reading from his new book in front of a crowd of dedicated fans - but it also gave an insight into another writer's world - all the Discworld paraphernalia cluttering his office with its six screens ('Because there isn't room for eight!') and the whole publicity machine of which Sir Terry is a part.

The part that really made me smile, though, was when Sir Terry's wife and assistant went through a list of symptoms of dementia and came to the conclusion that the list actually described a writer, so how could they tell the difference?

Part 2 is on tonight, BBC 2 at 9.00pm. If you missed Part 1, you can watch it again here. To find out more about this programme click here.

More news from Abaddon

More news from Abaddon Books regarding the first releases from Rebellion's publishing imprint for 2009. Two Pax Britannia novels get a mention, Human Nature (which is out now) and Evolution Expects (due in May). Read all about it here.