Nine Worlds Geekfest 2013

At around 3.00pm today, the first ever Nine Worlds Geekfest gets under way at the Renaissance and Radisson Hotels in Heathrow, just outside London.

If you've not heard about this yet, (a) where have you been? and (b) you can find out more about the epic event here.

I am attending as part of the Steampunk contingent, who will be based in the Windsor Room at the Renaissance Hotel. I shall be selling my books (and other wares, including beer-flavoured fudge this time!) as well as taking part in various other events over the course of the weekend.

Here are the current timings of specific Pax Britannia/Jonathan Green-related goodness, but as with all such events, timings are inevitably subject to change, so best to check the Nine Worlds website for the most up to the minute info and at the event itself, just to be sure.

Saturday 10 August
3.15pm - Steampunk & Fiction - a panel hosted by Yours Truly and featuring Robert Rankin, Raven Dane and Stephen Hunt. (Windsor Room)

Sunday 11 August
11.45am - 1.00pm - Meet the Authors - book readings and signing session featuring Yours Truly, Raven Dane and Toby Frost.
1.00pm - 2.00pm - Signing at the Forbidden Planet stand.

I shall look forward to seeing you there!

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia goes to Germany

Okay, so I know Ulysses Quicksilver has been to Germany before (in Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein) but he's never been to Germany quite like this before...

The exciting news (that I've been sitting on for the best part of a year) is that German publisher LUZIFER-Verlag has acquired translation rights for Pax Britannia: Unnatural History, the first of Ulysses Quicksilver's gonzo Steampunk adventures. And here's the, quite frankly awesome, cover of the German edition.

Thanks to Ben Smith of Abaddon Books and Steffen Janssen of LUZIFER-Verlag for making this happen, and let's hope that German readers enjoy Ulysses' adventures as much as readers in the UK and the US have done so far.

Who knows, if sales are strong enough, there may well be more German editions of  Pax Britannia books in the future.

Time's Arrow - Who Lives? Who Dies? YOU Decide!

Voting closes today to decide the fate of Ulysses Quicksilver in the latest Pax Britannia novel Time's Arrow.

Part 1 Red-Handed has been out for a couple of months now and fans have been reading of the British Agent of the Crown's latest exploits, then going online and voting for how they would like the story to continue in Part 2 Black Swan.

So if you've not yet voted, don't delay! Ulysses Quicksilver's fate lies in your hands!

Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow

The news has gone public at last. Today Abaddon Books announced its plans for Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow - the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure - written by Yours Truly. And the buzz is already building.

Of course I've known about this for a while, but then it was my idea. And it seemed like such a good idea at the time...

But in all seriousness, I'm very excited about this project and can't wait to see how people react to the concept and what they make of Part 1 of Ulysses' French vacation. And as far as I'm aware, this is something of a first in the world of publishing, and one that makes the most of the e-reader revolution.

Just make sure you're along for the ride. It's going to be amazing!

The Summer of Steampunk!

Abaddon Books - publishers of the Pax Britannia series of steampunk novels created by Yours Truly - has announced the Summer of Steampunk and launched an official Facebook page for fans of the series.

You can read more about Abaddon's plans for the next couple of weeks here, and check out the Facebook page here. And then there's news of an exciting new development in genre publishing to come...

Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Just a reminder that I will be at the Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum in Brentford tomorrow from 11.00am until around 3.30pm. I will be there selling and signing my Pax Britannia books. I will also be reading from one of my books at 1.00pm with a Q&A session to follow afterwards.

If you're in the area, why not drop by? A number of the steam engines in the Steam Hall will be running during the day and there is the The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition to visit of course.

Maybe I'll see you there...

JG and Pax Britannia on SFX.co.uk

If you check out the front page of SFX.co.uk right now (as in Sunday night) you'll see that top of the latest articles list (above one about detestable Doctor Who companion Melanie Bush) is an interview with me about The Ulysses Short Story Collection.

Dave Bradley (editor of SFX magazine) conducted the interview with me earlier this week via email and you can read the results here. I don't only talk about writing short stories during the course of the interview; there's also stuff about steampunk, novel writing and eBooks.

I'm very proud of the three stories in the collection - Fruiting Bodies, Vanishing Point and White Rabbit - which were all especially selected by myself, and it would appear that other people are discovering they like them as much as I do. And for 69p you can't really go wrong, can you?

Happy Steampunk Day!

Yes, it's June 14th which means it's International Steampunk Day!

And to celebrate all things steampunk, why not check out the most recent Pax Britannia releases from Abaddon Books?

Pax Britannia at the Greatest Steampunk Exhibition

The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition is the largest exhibition of Steampunk art, craft and engineering in the UK. It opened last weekend, on Saturday 4th June, at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in West London. The includes Steampunk exhibits from all over the world, ranging from paintings and artworks through costumes and fabrics to machines and engines, together with sound installations and short films. Many of the exhibits have been specially created for the exhibition and have never been seen before.

The exhibition is running until Monday 29th August, and visitors to the exhibition will be able to enjoy all the other attractions of the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, including the giant Victorian pumping engines which will be operating most weekends. These will all be complemented by a range of Steampunk books and other products which will be available in the Museum shop during the exhibition.

And I'll be there, as part of a Steampunk creators' day, in a fortnight's time, on Saturday 25th June, selling, signing and reading from my Pax Britannia books, which will be available to buy from the museum bookshop.

So if you live anywhere near Brentford, why not pop along and check it out? More details about the exhibition can be found here.

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.

Vote Pax Britannia for Steampunk book of the year!

Steampunk.com has launched its search for the 'Steampunk Book of 2010'. All that you have to do to nominate a book (or books) is leave their names, one per line, in a comment on this post at Steampunk.com. But what to nominate...?

Well, technically four Pax Britannia books (all of which qualify) were published in 2010 - Blood Royal, Al Ewing's Gods of Manhattan, Dark Side and The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus. But, according to the rules of the competition, technically any Pax Britannia book so far published would qualify.

So, if anyone feels like sharing the love for the alternate steampunk universe of Pax Britannia, go for it! And just let me know here.

Let's make Ebenezer's Carol No.1 this Christmas!

The plan:

To get Ebenezer's Carol, by The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, to No. 1 in time for Christmas. A proper steampunk Christmas song for Christmas No. 1!

What we need to do to achieve this:

1) For Ebenezer's Carol to chart it needs to sell roughly 8,000 copies. The single needs be downloaded as a single, and not as part of the A Very Steampunk Christmas EP. It's available now from iTunes, eMusic and Amazon.

2) So, forward this message to all your friends (be they steampunks or otherwise) but remind them that they must buy the song by itself for it to get into the singles chart.

3) Blog about this, post a link on your Facebook page, Tweet about it, but most importantly - buy the single Ebenezer's Carol!

4) Arrange events themed around this, call the local press, use your contacts - whatever you've got - and we could really make this happen!

This is a chance for steampunk fans to really make themselves heard and make a difference for the future of Christmas. The fate of Ebenezer's Carol and Christmas music itself is in your hands! Let's make Christmas 2010 a Very Merry Steampunk Christmas!

Wondering what to get the Steampunk in your life this Christmas? Well wonder no more...

What do you get the steampunk in your life this Christmas? Why, some exclusive Pax Britannia merchandise - that's what!

You can buy beermats emblazoned with the motto "Feel Better With Dr Feelgood's Tonic

Stout"

Dark Side notebooks

Dark Side mousemats

And even a Pax Britannia T-shirt* bearing the motto "Action and Adventure in a New Age of Steam!"

Just visit the Pax Britannia Christmas store here.

* Only available in large, I'm afraid.

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!

Ghosts of Manhattan

I should start this post by saying that I haven't read George Mann's Ghosts of Manhattan (although I do fully intend to read Al Ewing's Gods of Manhattan). However, this review made interesting reading.

Now to pick up on a few points...

Steampowered cars. Check. Golems. Check. A dank Noir NYC. Check. Twisted people. Check. Strange gadgets. Check...

And then there's this review, which has the following...

Ghosts of Manhattan is an unashamed homage to Batman.

Sorry, which book are we talking about here? Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects (published a full year before Ghosts) features the aforementioned steam-powered cars, a golems, twisted people, strange gadgets and is an unashamed homage to Batman. The only thing it's lacking is the dank Noir NYC setting.

Now, call me paranoid but...

Or perhaps it's simply a case of, great minds think alike... fools rarely differ.

Sexy, Sexy Steampunk

Thanks to Jenni Hill of Abaddon Books for this one. So, over to Jenni...

'Pornokitsch are also running a Sexy Steampunk Competition - comment there and nominate your favourite sexy steampunk characters to be entered into a prize draw. I notice that nobody has nominated our very own Mr. Ulysses Quicksilver, yet! Nor any one of his many lovely female companions from the Pax Britannia series. It's an outrage, say I, an outrage!'

Steampunk - takes you back to the future

'Speculating on the possible futures of bygone ages is both easier than predicting what's coming tomorrow, and more fun,' says David Barnett over at guardian.co.uk.

He goes on: 'It could be argued – and people have – that the 19th century was quite exciting enough without these speculative bolt-ons, but nevertheless, 20 years after The Difference Engine was published, it appears to be back with a vengeance. Two recent anthologies – Steampunk, edited by Jeff and Ann Vandermeer, and Extraordinary Engines, from Solaris Books – whetted genre fans' appetites, and steampunkish novels are following at a rapid rate: Stephen Hunt's series of books that began with the Court of the Air; Dan Simmons' literary fantasy Drood, in which Charles Dickens begins to suspect the hero of his unfinished novel is up to no good; and George Mann's Affinity Bridge novels all spring quickly to mind.'

What about Pax Britannia, eh? There are five PB books out already and another three due this year! And there are more planned! And it is steadily building up a loyal following... You get the idea.

If you would like to show your allegiance to Pax Britannia, then send your name and address to www.paxbritannia@hotmail.co.uk and I'll send you some Pax Britannia badges and try to include your name in passing in a forthcoming Pax Britannia adventure. Now, you can't say fairer than that, can you?

Have your say

It's a wet Tuesday morning in West London and I'm feeling reckless, so here goes nothing...

As you may well already know, the next Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver is entitled Dark Side in which our dandy detective-hero travels to the Moon. Now I already know what's going to happen - obviously - but here's your chance to possibly influence how the story progresses.

To put it simply, what would you like to see happen in a Pax Britannia steampunk adventure on the Moon? Now I'm not promising that any of your suggestions will make it into the finished book, and you may well come up with something I've already thought of myself, and anything that does make it in will obviously be copyright Abaddon Books/Rebellion Developments, so if you do suggest anything, you'll be giving up your moral rights to the ideas and all that...

So, if I haven't scared you off, drop me a line by replying to this blog and we'll see what happens. You might just find your idea making a cameo appearance...