Well, I went to London and had a great time with everyone who came to the signing at GW Plaza on Saturday. Together with artist extraordinaire, Neil Roberts, we faced the not so huddled masses and chatted and signed for nearly three hours without letup. Lots of people had lots and lots of Horus Heresy books, which Neil and I signed and talked about how covers and books interacted, how the words influenced the art and the art coloured the words. I usually see the covers long before I get the book finished (in many cases before I even get started on it) and it’s a great touchstone to have along the way, to have it tacked to my desk and a constant reminder of what I’m writing about, what it looks like and the dynamism I’m trying to create.

Christos Reid took some pictures of the day, and he was good enough to send them to me, so here's one of me talking to him about the short story, The Last Church, while Neil sketches out pictures to give to people beside posters of his work.

And here's one featuring myself and Neil, with lots of gaming going on in the background.

It was gratifying to sign lots of Heldenhammers and Empires too, and everyone seemed pretty stoked by the news that I was starting the third book, God King. There was a good smattering of Ultramarines books, and those folk were pleased and a little unsettled by the things I was telling them about The Chapter’s Due. If you’re around in Liverpool/Leeds next weekend, I might tell them again if you’re lucky.

We were also presented with a box of cookies and a pack of jam doughnuts, which was very nice, as I was feeling very sugar-deprived that day. We didn’t eat them over the course of the day, as I always feel it’s bad manners to greet someone who’s come to a signing by spraying them with a mouthful of jam and cookie chips. In the end, Neil took the doughnuts and I took the cookies (since there were more of them and I knew I’d have to share them with Anita on the train back to Nottingham).

Anyway, at the end of the signing, I had to shoot off to Forbidden Planet to sign some more books, but before I left, Mark, the store manager of Plaza, presented Neil and I with some amazing gifts. Neil was presented with a model diorama of Leman Russ and his wolves, and I was handed an amazing model of Magnus the Red, which you can see below.

"I think you'll agree I'm far more photogenic..."

"I'm ready for my close up..."

"Okay, Russ...come and have a go if you think you're hard enough..."

Pretty good, I think you’ll agree (though the desk in my office leaves something to be desired as a photo studio, so I apologise for the quality of the pictures…). I’m told the model was made by one of the Plaza regulars, a very talented chap named Tom Payne, and painted by Cornell Kozak (apologies if the spelling of either of those names is wrong, I wrote them down on the train while holding a squirming Evan in the other hand). So if you or anyone who knows them is reading this, be sure pass on my very sincere thanks. I was very touched and absurdly pleased to get this model. Nice work, guys. I wish I’d had my camera with me yesterday, as I’d have liked to take pictures of Neil’s model, but I reckon being awake since 4am had somewhat dulled my mind to the idea of bringing it.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who came along, you made me feel very welcome and to hear people tell you that they like your stuff is fantastic, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and that I’m doing something right. Anyone who says they don’t get a kick out of that is a dirty liar. And cheers to Mark and his lads in the store for taking care of us all day with supplies of coffee and water. Until next time.

Right, see you in Liverpool or Leeds next weekend (and Cardiff the weekend after…).