Fighting Fantasy at the UK Games Expo

The hotel's booked, the necessary weekend pass has been negotiated, so I can now confirm that I shall be attending this year's UK Games Expo in Birmingham (over the weekend of 4-5 June) helping Graham Bottley of Arion Games promote the Fighting Fantasy brand.

Graham will be there to talk about (and sell) the newly revised edition of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG and between us we'll also have some Fighting Fantasy books to sell. So, if you want to see why people have been raving about the new AFF RPG, or you want to replace your dog-eared copies of Titan and Out of the Pit, or you want me to deface a book for you with my signature, or you just want to chat about the Good Old Days, then why not drop by on Saturday or Sunday and say "Hi!"

Maybe I'll see you there. Until then...

M is for Monster but H is for House of Fear

When I was a young, aspiring writer, I never seriously considered becoming a horror writer. And yet, last week I sent my story for the House of Fear anthology to Jon Oliver at Solaris and am this week writing another horror story for a new short story collection about phobias. And then, of course, last year my explicit tale of horror Incubus appeared in M is for Monster.

Well, M is for Monster is available for sale again here and I'll sign every copy purchased. And if you need persuading, here's a review of my short story that appears in the collection:

Erotic with a seductively blasphemous undertone from the very outset, Green's sexually charged short throbs with a thick and somewhat unsettling tone of darkness... What gradually transpires is a powerfully unnerving tale of horror, with many unspoken questions left unanswered, creating an altogether more powerful tale. Certainly one of the most atmospheric and unsettling tales in the anthology - and for that, possibly one of the best additions.

But back to the subject of my short story for House of Fear (released in the UK and US this October by Solaris Books). It's called The Doll's House and is my take on the traditional haunted house tale. In it I set out to make a story set in a nondescript Edwardian terrace on a bright sunny day as unsettling as anything set at the witching hour on Halloween. My editor made very few changes and the only alteration I had to make was to add one word. This is almost unheard of, and I like to think it bodes well for how the story's going to be received elsewhere.

That said, it's not a nice story. Not at all. Here's what my editor wrote in his email after reading the story for himself for the first time. "Ooh, that's a right nasty little shocker." And from an editor inured to the ways of horror, that's got to be recommendation enough.

The Behemoth from Bloodbones

Ace artist Tony Hough's been at it with Photoshop again, this time colouring the Behemoth from my fourth Fighting Fantasy gamebook Bloodbones.

I always loved this particular image. I imagined this sea monster as looking like something drawn in the ocean of some Renaissance map of the world and Tony got the look spot on with his design - and the crow's nest and splintered mast stuck between the leviathan's teeth finished it off nicely.

You can see more of Tony's coloured Bloodbones images here, and don't forget you can buy his artbook Fragments here.

Fright Night

I loved the original Fright Night when I saw it back in the 80s - especially the guy full of meal worms, or grubs, or whatever it was. Well here's the trailer for the 2011 version staring (among others) our very own David Tennant!

Peter Vincent David Tennant style

The new TJARDIIS from IKEA

Iron Hands - update

I know that some of you had a bit of a shock the other day, after following up my post about Iron Hands being made available again, due to it being listed as costing £20.00.

Well the Black Library website has been updated with Iron Hands' new cover and the correct price - £13.99 - which I'm sure you'll agree is much more agreeable.

So, what are you waiting for? With original copies of Iron Hands retailing for up to £60.00 elsewhere order your copy from Black Library's Print on Demand range here.

Iron Hands - available again!

Iron Hands - my second Warhammer 40,000 novel, first published in 2004 - is available again as part of the Black Library's Print on Demand range.

The book's been given a face lift and you can order it direct from the publisher here. And in case Adrian Smith's fantastic artwork isn't enough to sell it to you, here's the blurb from the back cover:

With Abaddon the Despoiler’s Thirteenth Black Crusade engulfing the galaxy, Iron-Father Gdolkin and his company are pulled away from the defence of Medusa to honour an ancient oath to the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trail of clues leads Gdolkin to a long-lost world, home to an ancient weapon that might turn the tide of war in the Imperium’s favour. But for Gdolkin, the quest is personal, as this mysterious planet might also contain the answer to the oldest mystery of the Iron Hands Chapter... the resting place of the Primarch Ferrus Manus.

It's alive!

Having evaded border patrols and armed checkpoints, the package finally arrived this morning via covert operative. Now safely secured within the Department Q bunker I can at last reveal to the world the monster I was busy building for around four months between October last and February this year.

And here it is...

I'm really pleased with how the book's turned out and anyone curious to know how Simon Parr's Vitruvian Steamfrank has been used need wonder no longer...

Anno Frankenstein really is a beast of a book. In fact, it's so long that there wasn't any room at the back for an exclusive short story this time. But have no fear, Favoured Son will appear coupled with the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure Time's Arrow (but more on that another time).

All that remains for me to say here is congratulations once again to Adam Sparshott (whose Lego masterpiece earned him a not insignificant role in the book) and if you've not already seen it, here's the promo trailer that should wet your appetite for the adventure to come.

Don't forget, you can pre-order your own copy of Anno Frankenstein here.