Friday the 13th... Unlucky for some

Yes, I know it's not Friday the 13th today, but last Friday (which was the 13th) the shortlists for The Kitschies 2011 were announced*.

Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein was put forward for consideration by my publishers but it wasn't to be this time, although fellow steampunk author** Lavie Tidhar did make the shortlist for Best Novel - the coveted Red Tentacle - for Osama: A Novel.

The winners of the Red Tentacle, the Golden Tentacle (for best newcomer) and Inky Tentacle (for best cover artist) will be announced on Friday 3 February at the SFX Weekender***.

However, all is not lost as far as Anno Frankenstein is concerned! Oh no!

You see the Tor.com 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards are now taking votes, until until 11:59 PM Friday, 20 January.

Notice the word 'Readers' in the title? That's right, it means that you the book buying (and presumably reading) public get to choose. Basically it's a popularity contest but one that Anno Frankenstein, with the right backing, might just have a shot at.

So whaddya say? Simply click this link and in the comments section after the blog post about the awards, type the title of the novel (Anno Frankenstein), the author's name (Jonathan Green), and if you want to the name of the publisher (Abaddon Books) as well.

And it's not just Anno Frankenstein that's eligible. In the Best Short Fiction category, I have a couple of stories published by Black Library that were both published last year, the 40K story But Dust in the Wind and the Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

So, what are you waiting for? If you vote for me I'll be eternally grateful. ;-)

* Provoking no end of Internet interest such as here, here and on the Guardian website here.

** He'll hate me for saying that.

*** Good luck, Lavie!

RMS Titanic gets its own Haynes Manual

Having seen this (and the various versions for the Apollo moon lander, USS Enterprise and Dalek) I'd love to see a mock-up cover for one for The Neptune from Leviathan Rising, or the Apollo XIII from Dark Side - or Oddfellow's Sphere, the Jotun-class steam-powered tank Siegfried, the Iron Eagle or the bipedal Stalkers from Anno Frankenstein.

Anyone fancy having a go?

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.

Anno Frankenstein - the movie

Anno Frankenstein caption competition

A while ago* I ran a mini-competition to choose a motto for the Frankenstein Corps, as featured in the imminently-arriving Anno Frankenstein.

Simon Parr's design for the Corps' logo already has a motto (which translates as 'Waste Not, Want Not') but a number of inventive individuals came up with their own suggestions.

I've now, finally, drawn up a shortlist and I'm giving you a week to vote for the one you like best, via the poll that you'll find at the end of this link. And whoever you choose as the winner will receive the following unique** prize.

So, click on the caption you like best and on 5 May I'll announce the winner - at long, long last.

* Far too long ago, to be honest.

** And it really is unique. Nobody else is going to be receiving one of these Anno Frankenstein puzzles featuring Mark Harrison's cover artwork.

Born of Science... Born of Madness!*

Just opened up my subscriber copy of Judge Dredd Megazine #310 and stumbled across this...

Colour me pleased! And there's not long to go now!

* Now would that refer to the Promethean Remade on the cover? The book itself? Me?

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!

Vlog 6 - Genre for Japan

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.

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...

Pax Britannia Lego

As long time readers of this blog will know, I have a certain fondness for Lego and recently ran a competition challenging Pax Britannia fans to create a steampunk Lego scene inspired by the forthcoming Anno Frankenstein.

Well now I've gone one better, by creating some original Pax Britannia Lego kits inspired by already published books in the series. So far there's Ulysses Quicksilver's Rolls Royce Mark 4 Silver Phantom, the lunar rover Copernicus (from Dark Side) and Oddfellow's Sphere (from the climax of the same book).

The Silver Phantom

The Copernicus

Oddfellow's Sphere

If you think you'd like to own one of these kits yourself, drop me a line via info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

Anno Frankenstein - We have a winner!

My recently run Lego-themed competition closed to entries on Sunday night and I can now proudly announce that the winner of a walk-on part in my next Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein is...

Adam Sparshott

Congratulations, Adam (or more rightly Sparshott and Son). A bundle of PB-related goodies will be winging their way to you soon. And look at next year for Adam's (not inconsiderable) appearance in Anno Frankenstein.

Meanwhile, for the rest of you, here are a few of the photos of Adam's winning entry!

Pax Britannia Lego

Anyone considering entering the Anno Frankenstein competition I'm currently running should check these out.






Congratulations to Sparshott and Son! Ladies and gentlemen, the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down! They're going to be a tough act to follow!


Good luck!

Win a walk-on part in Anno Frankenstein!

I love Lego and I love steampunk, so I'm a sucker for this sort of stuff...

... which got me thinking...

It's not long before I commence work on my next Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein. And it could feature YOU!

The Prize

A walk on part in the next Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein, due to be published by Abaddon Books in 2011. It will be up to me how you appear in the book and whether you're a hero, a villain or a name on a tombstone, but your name will appear somewhere within the book.

How to Enter

All you have to do to qualify is create your own Pax Britannia scene - out of Lego! It can be from any of the already published Pax Britannia novels (mine or Al Ewing's) or the forthcoming Dark Side (which is out soon). It could even be from the as yet unwritten Anno Frankenstein, using Mark Harrison's stunning cover for inspiration.

So, if you're up to the challenge here's what you need to do:

1) Create your Lego model.

2) Take a photograph of it.

3) Email your photograph, along with your name, to paxbritannia@hotmail.co.uk.

4) Do all of this by 31 October 2010.

Good Luck!