Wednesday 30 December 2009

JG's Review of the Writing Year

2010 is almost upon us, so I thought I'd take a look back over the year and see how I've done writing-wise.

Well, first off, this was the year of two Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Having not written one since 2006-07, January saw me writing Stormslayer, lined up as the only new title in Wizard's relaunch of the series which took place in September this year.

Next up on the writing roster was the Official Doctor Who Annual 2010, of which I ended up writing about a third (getting the longest writer credit in the book, if you care to look). That was great fun and meant I had to watch a lot of DW re-runs "for research purposes". Ah, life is hard...

Then came my fourth Pax Britannia title for Abaddon Books - Evolution Expects. This saw print in the summer and included the original novella Conqueror Worm, which I had also written this year. (I also wrote a very short short story which is still waiting to see print...)

During the summer I managed to write a short story for Black Library (Games Workshop's publishing imprint) which was the first work I had done for them in about five years - and there's more to come next year. The Relic, a Black Templars/Armageddon story, won't see print until April when the Warhammer 40,000 anthology Legends of the Space Marines is published.

I also managed to squeeze in writing a Decide Your Destiny gamebook for the Star Wars The Clone Wars franchise. It's called Crisis on Coruscant and is due to be published in January. What's exciting about this book is that it has a certain degree of unique online content that's been developed to go with it. (Look out for more news on this and links in the New Year.)

This autumn saw me writing my second FF gamebook of the year (and my seventh to date), Night of the Necromancer, due to be published on 1 April (I kid you not). This was a lot of fun to write, partly because ace artist Martin McKenna agreed to illustrate it, and seeing what he produces from my art briefs is always a joy.

And then came Blood Royal, the fifth Ulysses Quicksilver/Pax Britannia adventure and the first in a new story arc for the dandy agent of the throne. It was due to be published in time for Christmas, but for various reasons (including a change of book distributor in the US) it's now slated for an April release (with the sixth UQ/PB book - Dark Side - out two months after that).

I was expecting to spend November and December writing another book for a popular franchise, but due to a bit of a 'jobs for the boys' situation (the first I've knowingly encountered in my writing career so far) I missed out, which was a shame. Instead I put my mind to work on various proposals, including something wholly original, and as a result I'm suddenly finding myself inundated, with not enough hours in the day to manage everything I've been asked to do.

What is definite for next year is two more Pax Britannia novels, three novellas, another Warhammer 40K short story and a new non-fiction book. Beyond that, it's too early to say, but my New Year's writing resolutions are going to include showing my original idea to a few agents/publishers, trying out again for a popular periodical and simply being more efficient in my writing - so I can get more done!

So, to sum up, this year I have written five books - two FF gamebooks, two novels and a Star Wars The Clone Wars DYD - a third of an annual, a novella, a short story and numerous blog posts.

As I said, I've got plenty lined up already for 2010 (I never was very good at saying "No" to paid work) and hope to write between two and four novels, a non-fiction book and possibly my first... but it's too early to talk about that really.

So, in the meantime, here's to 2010 and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Pax Britannia Appreciation Society

Have you enjoyed the Pax Britannia novels published by Abaddon Books? Do you appreciate dipping into the latest El Sombra or Ulysses Quicksilver adventure? Have you ever thought, "I wish there was a group that I could join to show my appreciation of all things Pax Britannian?"


Well, thanks to the sterling efforts of Adam Sparshott, there is now a Pax Britannia Appreciation Society that you can join on Facebook. Simply follow this link to find out more.

Tuesday 29 December 2009

Bienvenue a Croisade pour Armageddon

According to this blog's sitemeter, it has a few regular visitors from Belle France, so, if that's you, this post may be of interest to you.


This January, French publishers Bibliotheque Interdite will be publishing Croisade pour Armageddon, the French language edition of Crusade for Armageddon (funnily enough).

Other titles of mine that have already been translated into French include The Dead and the Damned (Mort ou damne), along with the Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebooks Spellbreaker (Le Sépulcre des ombres) and Knights of Doom (Les chevaliers du destin).





Friday 25 December 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Here's hoping that Father Christmas brought you everything you hoped for and that you and yours have a happy and memorable Christmas.

Wishing you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes

Jonathan Green


And, in case you missed the post earlier in the week, here's a present from me.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Bloodbones - new review

Found this great, succinct review of Bloodbones online today.

By far the greatest Fighting Fantasy gamebook of all. Not too long, not too short, not too hard, not too easy. Perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean or good ol' FF in general.

Remember, Bloodbones is being re-packaged and re-published in a brand new edition in 2010!

Monday 21 December 2009

Night of the Necromancer - more teasers

What's this?


What's going on here?


Where's this?


And who is this?

Merry Christmas from Pax Britannia and Abaddon Books

Glad tidings I bring, to you and your kin...

Those very generous people at Abaddon Books have a seasonal gift for all eBook readers this year - a FREE Pax Britannia short story, by me, entitled Christmas Past. This special edition also has a couple of extras tucked away inside, including news of some upcoming titles.

Go to www.abaddonbooks.com/download and you can be the proud owner of a little seasonal madness from the world of Ulysses Quicksilver and Pax Britannia too!

Yo, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

Friday 18 December 2009

Stormslayer - Beauty and the Beast

Came across this online today...


It's a painting of the Manticore that appears at the start of Stormslayer (my most recently published Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook). It's by a very talented artist called Angeline and I for one am very impressed.

And here's the original illo by artist Stephen Player.


You can see more of Angeline's work at her blog Follow the Muse and at her gallery at DeviantART. I checked it out myself and came across this...


... which I can't help thinking is Larni the Huntress and her Sabretooth taking on the Yeti, who also appear in Stormslayer. So colour me pleased! And here's the original illo by artist Stephen Player...


If anyone else comes across any other Stormslayer-inspired illos, do let me know, and I'll post them here.

Only 7 days to go!

Are you excited yet?

I am. Can you tell?

Anyway, to help get you in the mood, here's Al Ewing's Pax Britannia-inspired very Abaddon Christmas...

Enjoy!

Thursday 17 December 2009

What is Myrrh Anyway? The Ultimate Christmas Quiz

With Christmas just over a week away and with the prospect of little more than repeats or seasonal versions of the same old shows on the TV, there couldn't be a better time to sit round with friends and family and take part in the Ultimate Christmas Quiz!

Wednesday 16 December 2009

New review of Evolution Expects at Mass Movement Magazine

As the title of this post says, there's a new review of Evolution Expects, this time from Mass Movement magazine.

The bits I like are 'Part James Bond, part Indiana Jones, and part David Dickinson (yeah, seriously!)' and 'there are several neat set-pieces that would translate well to celluloid if anyone ever mustered a budget to try and recreate this in Hollywood, namely a show-down with clockwork spiders in an underground bottling plant and the destruction of a giant weather station hovering over Smog-smothered Londinium Maximum' and 'the series is quite addictive, in a cheap ‘n’ cheerful potboiler kinda way'.

You can read it for yourself here.

Monday 14 December 2009

What is Myrrh Anyway? Now on Facebook!

You can now follow my Christmas updates, as inspired by the book of the blog What is Myrrh Anyway? on Facebook. Do pop along and become a festive fan.

Twitter next...

Gamebook Adventures - one to watch

Coming to an iPhone or iPod Touch near you in January are two new adventure gamebooks! Tin Man Games, an Australian Based company, are launching Siege of the Necromancer and An Assassin in Orlandes for your favourite iDevice in the New Year.



































Featuring original artwork to accompany the games you will also have to shake your iDevice to roll dice and determine the outcome of particular encounters. I would suggest that all FF fans keep a look out for these games. I'm hoping to get hold of them myself and will post a review here in due course.

Until then, you can find out more here. You can also follow Gamebook Adventures on Facebook and Tin Man Games via Twitter.

Thursday 10 December 2009

A Very Abaddon Christmas

Abaddon Books, the publishers of my Pax Britannia series of books, have made an exciting announcement today regarding a festive treat they've got planned for their loyal readers this Christmas. Check out their news blog here for more details.

Croisade pour Armageddon


Now this website gets hits from all over the world, and I know of at least one German gentleman who enjoys reading my Pax Britannia novels. But any French fans out there might be interested to know that Bibliothèque Interdite will be publishing a French edition of the first of my Black Templar novels (taht I wrote some time ago for the Black Library).

Crusade for Armageddon translates as Croisade pour Armageddon and it will be out in January 2010. So I think that's now at least five books due out next year that are either by me or feature my work.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

JG on BBC Radio WM this Friday

With only 16 days to go until Christmas Day itself(!) you're going to start finding me popping up from time to time in the media.

First off, if you live in the Birmingham area, you can listen to me on Ed Doolan's show on BBC Radio WM on Friday 11 December, between about 1.15 and 2.00pm. I'm going to be on talking about the origins of familiar Christmas traditions and fielding questions from callers.

So, why not call in with your own burning Christmas-related query and I'll do my best to help!

The Fighting Fantasy Newsletter

The latest official Fighting Fantasy newsletter is out and it's a bumper Christmas edition. Night of the Necromancer gets a mention, as does my Christmas book What is Myrrh Anyway?!

Check it out for yourself here.

Unnatural History - SFcrowsnest's 16th most popular book of the year!

I'm feeling rather pleased with myself right now, to be honest. The reason is I found out today that Unnatural History (the very first Pax Britannia adventure, starring dandy action hero Ulysses Quicksilver) is at number 16 in SFcrowsnest's top 100 Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction Books of 2009, as voted for by SFcrowsnest.com's readers.

(In case you don't know, SFcrowsnest is author Stephen Hunt's popular online SF, Fantasy and Horror magazine, which polls its readers every year to assemble a "top 100" books list.)

And in at number 34 was Al Ewing's El Sombra, so well done that man too! And if you enjoyed El Sombra, you'll be pleased to here that the sequel - Blood and Thunder - will be out next year!

Bizarrely Unnatural History and the Pax Britannia series were launched at Alf.Fiction in Derby a couple of years ago. And Stephen Hunt was also there promoting The Court of the Air. It really is, as they say, a small world...

Oh and I'm also feeling chuffed because Emerson (a.k.a. Zeo-X) Tung's rendition of the Steam Golem from Stormslayer has made it into Design Your Way's Best collection of robots illustrations. So champagne all round, I feel! Don't you?

Friday 4 December 2009

Pax Britannia for your eReader

You can now pick up all of my Pax Britannia books for your eReader. To find out more click here.


One of the most gratifying things about this news item is Andy Severn's comment about the third Ulysses Quicksilver adventure: "I’ve just finished reading the BRILLIANT Pax Britannia book Human Nature..."

Gotta be happy with that!

Night of the Necromancer - the first peak

Today I am very proud to reveal the first sneak preview of Martin McKenna's illustrations for my latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook Night of the Necromancer.


Night of the Necromancer will be published by Wizard Books 1 April 2010. Martin will also be producing the cover for the book, so prepare to be amazed.

Thursday 3 December 2009

Night of the Necromancer news

Be here tomorrow (Friday 4 December) at 3.00pm for a sneaky peek of what Martin McKenna has produced for Night of the Necromancer (the new Fighting Fantasy gamebook coming in April 2010) so far. You won't want to miss it I can promise you...

Here's to 2010

Due to Blood Royal being delayed, I now have four new books coming out in 2010 - and that's just for starters!

First off I have Crisis on Coruscant, my Star Wars The Clone Wars Decide Your Destiny adventure gamebook, which will be released on 28 January.

Then in April there's Night of the Necromancer, my new Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook (released on 1 April - no, this isn't an April Fool's joke!), followed by Blood Royal, the fifth Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia steampunk adventure later the same month.

And then, after only a few short weeks, Dark Side, the next UQ PB adventure is due out on 16 June.

And that little lot only takes me up to the summer!

So, see you in 2010!

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Star Wars - The Clone Wars

My first Star Wars The Clone Wars Decide Your Destiny adventure gamebook Crisis on Coruscant is out in January 2010 and you can already pre-order it here.

If you've ever wanted to battle garbage squid on Coruscant, pilot a space freighter, infiltrate Jabba the Hutt's Palace on Tatooine or battle the evil Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress, then this is the book for you, young padawan!

Blood Royal & Dark Side - prepare for a new story arc

For various reasons (including Abaddon Books getting a new book distributor and possibly also because I just finished the final version of the manuscript today), the next Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia adventure, Blood Royal, will not now appear in the shops until April 2010, but I think you'll find it's going to have been worth the wait.



For one thing, it kicks off a new story arc for the dandy detective which will continue to be developed in next June's Dark Side, in which Quicksilver takes a trip to the Moon - steampunk style! But before then there's vampires, werewolves and clockwork killers to enjoy in Blood Royal, so why not reserve your copy now?