Genre for Japan update

Just to remind you that charity auction Genre for Japan is running until midnight BST (GMT +1) on Sunday 3rd April.

The four Pax Britannia lots have already raised £375.00 but it's not too late if you want a piece of the action. Simply click this link and you'll be taken to the Genre for Japan website where you'll be able to bid on all of them (should you so wish).

And don't forget the Abaddon editorial team - Jon, David and Jenni - are also offering their services to hopeful writers here, and their combined total currently stands at £420.00!

So good luck!

Pax Britannia Lego: The Copernicus

You've got four days remaining in which to get your hands on an exclusive Pax Britannia Lego kit that is only available to buy here.

The lunar rover Copernicus from Dark Side.

BY EIGHT A.M., Greenwich Mean Time, Ulysses and his companions had relocated to what appeared to be a scrap yard and were staring up at the bulbous cockpit of a decrepit Lunar Exploration Vehicle. The LEV’s name was still just about visible, etched onto a brass plate, green with verdigris, secured to its hull.

Copernicus

The rover looked like a Pullman carriage with a giant goldfish bowl bolted onto one end and six giant rubber-tyred wheels, each as tall as a man.

Click here to buy your Lego lunar rover Copernicus now!

Pax Britannia Lego: The Sphere

You've got four days remaining in which to get your hands on an exclusive Pax Britannia Lego kit that is only available to buy here.

Oddfellow's Sphere from Dark Side.

And yet, impossible as it might seem, here it sat, squatting upon its claw-footed stand, as tall as a man and half that again, the esoteric machinery limned in a corposant of its own making. But where the device Ulysses had last seen vanish from the bowels of Alexander Oddfellow’s house had been gleaming polished metal, the strange artefact in front of him now appeared much older, its surface crazed with a patina of age, the brass pitted and stained with verdigris.

Click here to buy your Lego Oddfellow's Sphere now!

Pax Britannia Lego: The Phantom

You've got four days remaining in which to get your hands on an exclusive Pax Britannia Lego kit that is only available to buy here.

First up is the Mark IV Rolls Royce Silver Phantom from Unnatural History.

With a screech of tyres the Silver Phantom hared away along Prince Albert Road leaving a cloud of burnt rubber smoke in its wake, as Ulysses sprinted across the road – men, women and children running screaming in disarray all around him – towards the Overground pillar, and after Jago Kane.

Click here to buy your Lego Silver Phantom now!

Genre for Japan update

After offering a walk-on part in my next novel Time's Arrow, fellow Pax Britannia author Al Ewing has upped the anti by offering the chance for two of you to appear in his next El Sombra novel Pax Omega. As Al puts it in his own words:

On the block, taking my cue from Jon Green, I’m getting competitive by offering not one but TWO chances to appear in my next Pax Britannia novel, Pax Omega. Snapping one of these up will guarantee a speaking part – you could be fighting alongside El Sombra or Doc Thunder, or against them, or something even more outlandish, but whatever you end
up doing you’re guaranteed at least one line.

You can view Al's items in the Genre for Japan auction here.

So, in response to Al's challenge I too have offered another exclusive item for auction - a poster promoting Anno Frankenstein and featuring the Vetruvian Steamfrank designed by Pye Parr. And to top it all, Pye and I will sign it for you too.

The highest bidder will receive a special promotional poster for the forthcoming “Pax Britannia” novel, ANNO FRANKENSTEIN, signed by both author Jonathan Green & the artist and designer, Simon Parr.

You can view this item here. In the mean time, here a picture of me all merched up, holding the aforementioned poster. Did I mention that there's only ten of these in existence? This really is another money-can't-buy-prize!

And if you're wondering how you go about bidding for these fantastic Pax Britannia prizes, you can find out more here. Don't forget, bidding goes live 09:00 BST (GMT+1) on Monday 28 March!

DC Universe Online

I know this has been out for a while now (since November last year) but this still looks very cool. Why can't they make a feature length movie like this?

Vlog 6 - Genre for Japan

Win a walk-on part in Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow and help the people of Japan

That's right - YOU could win a walk-on part in the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia adventure Time's Arrow, due to be published in 2012 by Abaddon Books.

All you need to do is visit the Genre for Japan blog and follow the instructions there to bid for Item 56 in their forthcoming auction that's being held to raise money for the work being carried out by the Red Cross in Japan at this time.

Find out more by following this link.

Genre for Japan

We’ve all heard the news and seen the horrific pictures coming from Japan in the aftermath of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – and no doubt we’ve all wondered how to help.

Well the guys and gals* behind Genre for Japan have come up with a way, uniting the comics, science fiction, fantasy and horror communities, to show their generosity to those who need it right now.

They're going to run auctions for genre-themed prizes donated by those in the industry. Some of the prizes already donated include a year’s supply of books from Tor, signed artwork from Solaris Books and editing/critiques from professional authors and editors. And I've made my own small contribution too.

Deadline for prize donations is 25th March with the auction set to begin on 28th March. I'll post more on this in the lead up to the auction but for now, check out Genre for Japan's blog and if you're in a position to donate a prize email them at genreforjapan@gmail.com.

* Including Amanda Rutter of Floor to Ceiling Books and Jenni Hill, ace Abaddon Books editor.

Pax Britannia Lego - available again for a limited time

Yes, the Pax Britannia Lego kits are back and available to buy via eBay.

First up there's Oddfellow's Sphere from the climactic scene of Pax Britannia: Dark Side (which, I have to say, has been going down a storm). This kit includes an incredible 8 minifigures (4 goodies and 4 baddies), including the Lego incarnation of PB competition winner Jared Shurin.

Next up there's the lunar rover Copernicus, again from Pax Britannia: Dark Side. This set contains 6 minifigures - Ulysses Quicksilver and Nimrod, in both their normal attire and environment suits, and two alien Selenites.

And then there's the Rolls Royce Mark 4 Silver Phantom, that made its first appearance in the very first PB novel Pax Britannia: Unnatural History. This set has two minifigures - the dashing dandy detective, and Hero of the Empire, Ulysses Quicksilver, and his indefatigable manservant Nimrod.

As with all good Lego kits, you can make a plethora of different models from each of the kits - or why not combine them all in one incredible Pax Britannia-gasm of steampunk-y goodness?

So don't delay and visit eBay today!

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) - a new review

Tim Cundle of Mass Movement Magazine has let me know that a new review of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) is now up on his site.

There are a few inaccuracies in the review (e.g. Queen Victoria is not 160 years old and the Curious Case of the Whitby Mermaid is resolved) but on the whole it's very positive - although implying plagiarism in a review is always going to be contentious.

Anyway, you can read the review here, and you can buy The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) here, and pre-order the seventh Ulysses Quicksilver adventure Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein here.

Temple of the Spider God

I've been sitting on this one for almost a year now (and have had to be somewhat evasive when people have asked me about the possibility online) but I can finally tell the world that I am writing the seventh title in Tin Man Games Gamebook Adventures line.

Temple of the Spider God should be released this July and you can read more via the press release Tin Man Games have put here. I will of course be updating this blog with more news as and well as well. But in the meantime, arachnophobes should do what they can to prepare themselves...

We have a winner! - update

It's been almost a fortnight since I announced a winner had been randomly selected to receive nearly a kilo's worth of books, signed by myself, just for joining my forum.

The winner was duly notified by email but I am still haven't heard back from them, nearly two weeks later. I'm going to give the original winner until Monday 7 March to get back to me and if they don't, then I'll be picking a new winner.

So, all you forum members, watch this space...

Black Library Live and Official Doctor Who book signing at the Doctor Who Experience

Two events to check out tomorrow (although probably not both because they're a couple of hundred miles apart).

The first in Black Library Live! which is taking place at Games Workshop's Nottingham HQ. It's an event that celebrates and showcases Black Library's books, audio productions and authors. Available to buy pre-release on the day will be Fall of Damnos, Victories of the Space Marines, Knights of Bretonnia, Age of Darkness, Caledor, Blood Reaver and Garro: Legion of One.

Attendees will also be able to pick up a copy of the limited Black Library Live! 2011 chapbook at the sales stand (as long as stocks last). The event runs from 10.00am until 7.00pm(!), with seminars, signings, and probably some gaming somewhere along the line too. You can find out more about it here.

Secondly is the Official Doctor Who book signing taking place at the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia Two in London tomorrow, between 11.00am and 1.00pm. Justin Richards, Oli Smith and other Doctor Who experts will be there, ready to be grilled on all things intergalactic. My Doctor Who book Terrible Lizards won't be out for a while (more on that later) but I may drop by just the same, so don't forget to bring along your copies of The Horror of Howling Hill and The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 just in case.

The signings will be held in the café area at the Doctor Who Experience. The signing is a separate event so to enter the Doctor Who Experience you will need to buy tickets, which you can do here.

Anno Frankenstein - feeling the love

It seems it's not only me who's getting excited about the forthcoming release of Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein - the guys over at Abaddon Books are too.

Follow this link to read their latest post on the subject and check out what they've got planned for the launch...

Knights of Doom

Knights of Doom is the only one of my original three Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebooks never to have been reprinted by Wizard Books. As a result it is rather hard to come by these days. I'll admit that there are a few problems with it, but its still a cracking story and many fans have found much to love about the book in the past.

You are a knight in the land of Ruddlestone. The surrounding countryside is beset by apocalyptic events which only you are capable of resolving. Using your adventuring skills and knowledge of the arcane ways of those you fight against, it is your duty to take on the Knights of Doom.

So, if you're one of those fans, you may be interested to know that a copy has appeared on eBay and its price has recently been knocked down. I cannot emphasise how rather this book is - even I only have the one copy - so, if you're a fan, this is an opportunity not to be missed.