It’s traditional for most writer’s blogs to begin with an apology for the gap between posts, citing busy schedules, impending deadlines, playing video games and the like (I'm guilty of all of the above...). So I’m going to dispense with any such apology and get straight to what’s been happening since last I posted. Which was just before Christmas last year…oops.

At the time I was hip-deep in writing Courage and Honour, the fifth Ultramarines novel, but I’ve since finished that and now have six lovely hardback copies of that novel sitting on my shelf. I’m very pleased with how the book turned out, as it neatly brings Uriel and Pasanius back to their Chapter with a bang. With the books that follow the events of the Ultramarines Omnibus, I wanted a definite sense of escalation between each novel. The Killing Ground only features Uriel and Pasanius, while Courage and Honour involves the whole of the 4th company. The final book in this arc…well, you’ll need to wait and see, but there’s gonna be a whole lot of Space Marines and a whole lot of action. Think Warriors of Ultramar. Times ten.

To explain that a bit more, I conceived Courage and Honour very much as a back to basics Space Marine story. I’d had a blast with Dead Sky, Black Sun and The Killing Ground, dropping Uriel and Pasanius on a daemon world and then bringing them back to a planet threatened by the ghosts of its past. They were fun novels to write and allowed me to tell stories that veered from the conventional beaten track of the Astartes, but now it was time to tell a story with Space Marines doing what they do best. Which is stomping alien butt six ways from Sunday in all manner of insanely violent ways. The decision of where to set this novel and which alien butt needed to be stomped came from a chance reading of a line in Nightbringer, where Inquisitor Barzano muses that it’s crazy for Humanity to be fighting one another when so many threats loom on the threshold – Orks, Tyranids…and the Tau. Going back over Nightbringer (a novel I wrote nearly eight years ago!) was an interesting experience as I was able to see how I’ve grown and developed as a writer since then. I have a lot of fondness for Nightbringer, partly because it’s my first novel, but also because it works a number of disparate threads into a satisfying whole – many of which I was able to revisit in Courage and Honour. Have a read of the new book for yourself and see what you think. And if you’re coming to Black Library Live! on April 11th, I’ll be doing a reading from Courage and Honour, so come along and have a listen.

Continuing the theme of all things Ultramarines, issue 3 of Defenders of Ultramar is out now. Dealing with an Ork invasion of Espandor, this series fills in some of the backstory of what’s been happening with the 4th company since Uriel’s exile, and which slots neatly into one of the key threads in Courage and Honour. Almost like I planned it, eh?

And in a seamless segue, I received my trade paperbacks (and hardbacks, which look very fine) of Fire and Honour, the first series of comics I did for Boom! Studios. I think I might bring some of them along with me to Black Library Live! and see if there’s any nice people there I can give them away to…

That’s what I’ve been working on, so what, I hear you cry, am I working on at the moment? This month, I have mostly been working on Empire, the follow up to Heldenhammer, the first novel of the Sigmar trilogy of Time of Legends novels. I handed in the first half of the manuscript on Friday, and I have to say I think it’s going really well. I’m enjoying my return to the haunted forests of Sigmar’s empire, and it’s been a breath of fresh air after the gloomy, gothic darkness of the grim darkness of the far future. It’s also refreshing to take characters we know from the well known aspects of their history and tread new ground. These are tales of Sigmar you don’t know, which makes telling them all the fresher, which can only be a good thing.

Beyond Empire, there’s a few interesting morsels in the distance - potentially another Starcraft novel with Blizzard - and my upcoming collaboration with Dan Abnett on our Prospero duology. You’ll have seen Dan’s book, ‘Prospero Burns’ on the Black Library site, but if you haven’t already heard, mine is to be called ‘A Thousand Sons’, and will focus primarily on the Legion of Magnus. It’s still early days, but the idea we’ve come up with is that each book should stand on its own merits and be enjoyable without needing the other to fulfil its narrative. However, the full scope of the story should only be really appreciated by reading them both (think of the ending to Back to the Future 2…and I promise I’ll explain that if you talk to me in person ). It’s going to be a complex project, but one that we have some fantastic ideas to develop and some fascinating revelations to play with. These novels will have all manner of ramifications, while still maintaining the existing mythos – which is going to get the conspiracy theorists scratching their heads – as if Mechanicum didn’t do that enough! All I’ll say is that everything you think you know about the razing of Prospero is simultaneously right and wrong. Depending on your point of view.

The Starcraft project is still a little nebulous, but from the conversations I’ve had with the folks at Blizzard, it sounds as though it’ll be very exciting and give me a chance to get beyond the game and go deeper into the characters that populate its universe. I’m excited by both projects, and there’s some other stuff in the pipeline that I can’t wait to get started on…Honsou…cough, cough…but they’re for later in the year – a time when I’m going to be busy with something else closer to home, but I’ll save that for another blog entry.

The early part of the year is always quiet for signings, but next month I’ll be out and about a few times, so hopefully I’ll see some of you at one of these signings. No doubt there’ll be others, but these are just the ones I know about so far... I’ll be in Paris on the 19th of April for Games Day France, which is always a great day, and one that I’m looking forward to immensely. Then in May, I’ll be at Games Day Baltimore, before returning to the USA at the end of the month for the New York Book Expo. In between those two trips on the 16th of May, I’m doing a signing in one of the Manchester stores, though I’m not sure which one or when during the day. I’ll let you know closer to the time the exact details of what’s going on.

And while I remember, be sure to drop by the David Gemmell awards to vote for Heldenhammer. Voting closes soon, so make your vote count! You can find out how at: http://gemmellaward.com/page/2323348:Page:6781

Beyond work, it’s been a busy old time at home, as my girlfriend has moved up to live with me, and we’re currently reshaping the house and trying to fit two people’s belongings into one building. That’s never an easy thing to do, but it’s proving to be (mostly) pleasingly simple and stress free.

On the reading stand: I’m just about to start a book called The Book Thief, a novel about which I’ve heard nothing but good things. I’ve just finished this month’s Empire magazine, which has successfully whetted my appetite for Terminator Salvation, despite it being helmed by McG, he of Charlie’s Angels infamy.

On the hi-fi: I recently discovered a website where the album downloads are incredibly cheap, and went on a buying binge. Twenty-eight albums later I stopped hitting the ‘Buy Entire Album’ button and have been largely listening to a lot of Rammstein. It’s great music to work to, because it satisfies my heavy rock urges, without distracting me with English words that might leech into my consciousness via rock osmosis. So if Empire seems like an unduly angry novel, you know why.

Recently seen: Watchmen, which was ace. Go see it just for Rorschach’s line of the show: “You don’t understand…I’m not locked up in here with you, you’re locked up in here with ME!”

And now responses to stuff on the last post...

Xhalax: Hope you enjoyed Fire and Honour, it was my first series for Boom! Studios, and I learned a lot from that, which stood me in good stead for Defenders of Ultramar. How's that one getting on now that you've got to episode 3...?

Matt F: Yeah, next time I get out to Oz, I'll make sure we can hook up for a blether!

Sam: From what I saw, I think you're going to like what THQ is doing with Space Marine. Hopefully by now you've had your copy of Mechanicum and that you enjoyed it. I now have my paperback copies of The Killing Ground, and very fine they look too. And thanks very much for the link, I enjoyed the new song immensely!

Shad: Some high praise indeed! Yeah, Legion is a very good book. Even though I knew the revelation Dan was planning for the novel's end, my jaw still hit the ground when I read it. Only a great storyteller can make you do that. What we've got planned for the Prospero duology will, I hope, do the same. Hope the postman didn't get away and that you've now read and enjoyed Mechanicum. And Fulgrim as a play...I think its a story well suited for it, so let me know if you get to do it, I'd certainly come and see that production...

Mike: Not a problem, I'm always happy to sign books that folk have been good enough to buy, especially in a nice place like Toronto. You will definitely be seeing more of Honsou (if you haven't already in Planetkill and Heroes of the Space Marines) and the story of Perturabo is one that I've toyed with suggesting to the editors at BL towers, but haven't had much of a chance to really get to grips with. Don't rule it out, but don't expect it any time soon.

Dju: Thanks for the timely reminder of the David Gemmell award (and hopefully I'll see you in Paris in a month or so - with some news...).

Gildor: Ah...with that wish, you're going to like one of the story threads in Courage and Honour... As to the spelling of Isstvan/Istvaan, well it swings back and forth because it appears in various guises throughout the old GW literature, and depending on which one I check (as my memory isn't what it used to be) it gets copied as the one I read last. Glad you liked Mechanicum, and if we were to see the Knights of Taranis again, I don't think that would be a bad thing. Certainly, I liked writing those two guys, so I think there's some scope for them to reappear further down the line in a 'take back Mars' kind of way.

Caleb: Glad you liked Mechanicum, and I'm sure there will be an Iron Warriors book in time, though my dance card is pretty full at the moment. As to the Emperor's plans being revealed, well, they're coming to light with every meeting we have to discuss the future of the books, and there's exciting times ahead, that's for sure. As to the Blood Angels, I'm not sure when they'll appear, though I would suspect sooner rather than later. And if I get back to Oz, I'll be sure to let everyone know where I'll be so I can sign some books for you guys.

Elenaria: That's great you enjoyed The Last Church. It was a real departure for me to do something without gunfire and chainswords, that revolves around two guys just talking. The challenge being making what could have been dry and staid into something interesting and revealing was what gave me the spur to write that story. It was a challenge to write, and hopefully it leaves some conflicting emotions in your head when you get to the end.

Matt: It was getting perilously close to being left to next Christmas, but with time on my hands in Wales...here you go, a shiny new blog entry!

Anyway, that’s all for now, so I’ll be back sooner rather than later with some updates on how Empire is getting on and where I’m going to be if you fancy getting your book scrawled with a pawprint.

Until then.

Graham