Beware the aquatic undead

More news from Abaddon Books regarding their Tomes of the Dead series and Twilight of Kerberos. To find out more, follow this link.

FIghting Fantazine

One of the things that was making demands on my time a month or so ago was an interview for a new Fighting Fantasy fanzine now called - appropriately enough - Fighting Fantazine. I believe the interview is actually going to be split over two issues.

A mock-up of the first issue's cover

The fanzine will be released online in August, in preparation for the Fighting Fantasy re-launch in September. Oh, and I've now seen the final cover for Stormslayer and it's a doozy. Unfortunately I can't reveal it to you yet but when I get the all clear you can be sure that a post will be swiftly forthcoming so that you can see how 'cool' it is too.

You were expecting someone else?

Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects is out now and available from all better bookshops. I was very pleased to find a full page advert in both 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine this week which I have reproduced here (in case you missed it).


And the reviews are already starting to come in too. You can read what Graeme Flory of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review has to say about it here. And you can pick up your own copy here.

Happy reading...

What time is it? Vermintime!

Another writer from the Black Library stable (and a good friend of mine*) C L Werner now has his own website. Launched only this month it's called Vermintime and very smart it looks too.



If you want to know about anything and everything Werner-wise, it's the place to go, with everything from a complete bibliography to news of upcoming projects and (from late August) a visitor forum too.

So what are you waiting for? Check it out here. And if you haven't read anything by C L Werner yet**, why not?

* A friendship that could only exist in this age of Internet communication, seeing as how I have never met or spoken to the man but we have conversed on many an occasion.

** I'm currently reading Blood For The Blood God, by C L Werner (I kid you not).

Legends of the Space Marines

Watch this space...

Dante's Inferno trailer

Just before I go...

If you're a fan of gaming, the fantasy genre or just people battling demons of preposterous proportions, and you've not yet seen the trailer to the new Dante's Inferno game then you owe it to yourself to take a look at this.

The video game, which is being produced by Electronic Arts, was subject to a Hollywood bidding war, which ended with Universal Pictures winning the right to develop a big screen movie adaptation. The property is a modern interpretation of the famous poem written by Dante Alighieri in the early 1300s. The narrative poem describes Dante’s imaginary journey through the nine circles of hell where he see the damned being punished for the sins they committed on Earth.

Radio Silence

If you drop by this blog over the next couple of weeks and think it's been a while since it's been updated, have no fear, I haven't given up blogging. It's just that I'm off on holiday for a couple of weeks and won't have access to the Internet. So play nice while I'm away and remember, if you break anything you pay for it. ;-)

Dave Allsop

A while ago now I wrote a series of posts about the short stories I had written. I got as far as number 4 (a story called Dark Heart) and as yet the series has yet to be continued. However, if I had got as far as short story number 12 you would have heard me mention the name of Dave Allsop already.

I have recently been revisiting the Black Templar Space Marines of the Solemnus Crusade for an upcoming (and rather unexpected) project and looked up my Templars short story Sanctuary which originally appeared in Inferno! magazine #38. The accompanying illustration of Chaplain Wolfram battling genestealers was by Dave Allsop and was a really rather fine piece of work.


So I looked him up on the Internet and found this... But be warned, it's not for the faint of heart. I particularly like his paintings of a Putrid Leech and a Tooth Golem along with his cute Cthulhu characters (that can be found here).

Giant robot invades Japan

Nothing sums up the relationship between the Japanese and robotics than this.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain on Nintendo DS

Exciting news, Fighting Fantasy fans! Aspyr Media and Big Blue Bubble have partnered to launch Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for Nintendo DS™.

Based on the legendary book series by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a first-person fantasy role-playing game that takes players on an elaborate adventure through the Firetop Mountain Keep, the scene of the first entry in the renowned literary line.

To find out more click here and here.

I want to know who this bad boy is!

The Lost Symbol (a.k.a. The Uninspired Title by Dan Brown)

The (after all the fuss frankly underwhelming) cover of the new Dan Brown book The Lost Symbol was revealed yesterday at the Waterstone's store in Picadilly and from the looks of the video it was a wholly... underwhelming experience.



What I love about the video is that the store appears to be practically empty. One customer walks past at the end, completely ignoring the grand ceremony that was just taken place a few feet from her. And the echoing acoustics suggest that there weren't too many in attendance even on behalf of The Press but it's the half-hearted "Woo!" that really makes it for me.

Is this just sour grapes because Dan Brown's made an art of making a fortune out of not a lot of talent? No, I just think it's funny. Anyway, all the best artists are only appreciated once they're dead. *Gulp!*

An update

We're over half way through 2009 now (where did the time go?) so I thought it an appropriate moment to give you an update on what you can see in print from me between now and Christmas.

First up there's Evolution Expects, my fourth Pax Britannia novel featuring dandy adventurer and agent of the crown, Ulysses Quicksilver. More steampunk action than you can shake a sword-cane at.


Then, in August, there's the timely release of The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010. I've contributed about a third of this and I'm excited to see how many puzzles and factual write-ups have turned out.


Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology - this should also be out in August and features an original short story by myself entitled The Pact.


Stormslayer, my sixth Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook, hits the shelves in September and it would be an understatement to say that I'm looking forward to how this one is received by the established fans and new readers alike.


The American edition of last year's Christmas offering What is Myrrh Anyway? is out around October/November time. It's being published by Skyhorse Publishing and it's called Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas. I've set up a new blog to accompany its release which you can access here.


And then, just in time for Christmas (if I pull my finger out) is Blood Royal, the fifth UQ PB adventure and the start of a new four-book story arc. You're not going to want to miss this one.

And then in the new year... well, let's just say, there's plenty more where that came from...

Angry Robots make thier bid to conquer the world

In case you missed it, Wednesday last week (1 July) saw the official launch of the first books from the Angry Robot ™ manufactories.

Angry Robot is a new imprint from HarperCollins dedicated to the best in modern adult science fiction, fantasy and everything in between. British-based but selling worldwide, its mission is to produce books that appeal to everyone, from post-Dr Who and Xbox fans to long-time genre enthusiasts.

To find out more about how the launch came and went, click here.

A new book, a new blog

Yes, as I have a new book coming out at the end of the year (the American edition of What is Myrrh Anyway?) I've got a new blog to support it.


You can find the Christmas Miscellany blog here and my brand new American Christmas Store here.

Watch this...

Ever wondered how those yellow fruit that look like curved cucumbers are made? Well, click this link to find out.

Fragments - The Art of Tony Hough

Bloodbones and Knights of Doom illustrator extraordinaire Tony Hough has set up his own blog, mainly as a way of keeping fans up-dated more regularly with his current projects.

Over the last year or so, Tony has been getting to grips with Photoshop and the results are astounding. I particularly like this image of Mother Arachne.

To see more examples of Tony's work, follow this link to his blog. But be warned, some of the work on display there is not for the faint-hearted (or anyone under 15, probably).

Enjoy.

The Restless Dead

Fans of zombie movies everywhere, boy have you got a treat coming! Out imminently in the country is Dead Snow, featuring brilliant one liners and frozen zombie Nazis, and come October there's Zombieland (which was the name I had for a personal project which I might have to re-think now).

How cool do these two movies look? (Be warned, the following feature presentations are not for children, or the squeamish!)