Just a quick one today to let you know that I’ll be attending the Odyssey 2010 convention (also kown as Eastercon 2010) tomorrow (3rd April) so if you’re going to be there, hopefully we’ll run into each other and you can buy me a pint. Oh, and we can have a chat too and talk all things fantasy, sf and horror, given that’s, you know, kind of the theme of the weekend… I don’t think I have a table or any set time or place to be, but I’ll have a badge on, so if you see me, feel free to nab me for a chat or to sign a book if you’ve brought one.

 

It’s being held at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, London. If you click here you can learn more about the event and how to get to it. Hope to see you there.

 

And here’s a link to Christos Reid’s website, where you can find the answers to a few questions he recently posed me about the nature of tie-in/fanfic…

 

Cheers, and have a great Easter weekend.

This weekend, I went to Warhammer World to join thegreatcrusade.co.uk at their Path of the Traitor campaign weekend. While I only got to spend a few hours there, it looked like a lot of people were having a lot of fun, and it got me itching to get my toy soldiers out on the tabletop. It’s been a long time since I rolled a ‘to hit’ dice or made an armour save, so I may just open the cupboard under the stairs to haul out my Necrons and Ultramarines soon. I met some very nice folk there (hello, Ben, Pete, Ed, Laurie, Demetrius, Hugh…) and chatted to them about the Heresy, gaming, string theory and the existence of higher powers. All in a day’s work really. At the end of the day, the guys presented me with this T-shirt, which made me absurdly happy. Thanks for that, and see you again soon

In Bugman's Bar with my new t-shirt, courtesy of the greatcrusade.co.uk

 

On Monday I met with the lovely Gemma Noon of the Literary Project for an interview, which turned into a two and a half hour natter on books, writing, sci-fi, crap tv, great tv, a mutual love of early Buffy, pet hates and all manner of strange tangents that veered alarmingly off course, but which always seemed to come back in time to rescue the chat. It was a long, rambling conversation that I don’t envy her having to transcribe, but when that Herculean task is complete, I’ll pass on where you can find the result of our chinwag.

 

God King continues apace, and I’m about a quarter to a third of the way through it. Looking at the Black Library site, I see that Iron Warrior is now available to buy, so if you fancy one of these special, limited edition, hardback, art-filled, signed copies, head on over to snag yourself a copy. Once this thousand are gone, that’s it…finito.

 

Currently listening to Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails.

 

Currently reading Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann.

 

It’s my birthday this Thursday, so I may be generous and take the day off work, though I’m looking forward to a whole weekend off this Saturday. Though we are driving to Wales to show off the little man to his Welsh grandparents, so it’s not all rest and recuperation.

 

To quote from the David Gemmell Legend Award website, the DGLA aims to raise public awareness of the Fantasy genre, celebrate the history and cultural importance of Fantasy literature, appreciate & reward excellence in the field and commemorate the legacy of David Andrew Gemmell and his contribution to the Fantasy genre.

 

To that end, I’m again over the moon that Empire, my second book in Black Library’s Time of Legends series has been nominated for this award. Last year, Heldenhammer did very well in the final list, so I’m hoping that Empire will do even better. You can help with that by clicking here and voting for Empire. It’d be much appreciated and if we get a good placing, I’ll make sure and do something special for you all on the website! Bribery? Moi…?

 

Remember, you’ve got until the end of March to get your vote registered, so what are you waiting for, go vote!

New York Times…

It’s been hollered from the Black Library website (which is nice) but I thought I’d better mention on my own site that A Thousand Sons was on the New York Times best sellers list for mass market paperbacks. After hitting the number one spot in the UK, I’m incredibly pleased with this and am already thinking of how I can top that with my next Horus Heresy novel (or any other novel for that matter…). So thanks again to everyone who bought a copy and spread the good word of mouth online or in the stores.

 

The day I was in BL to receive the news (and a surprise cake and party) I also got a copy of The Chapter’s Due, which looks rather funky I think you’ll agree. This is the finale of this arc, though not the last we’ll see of the Ultramarines, and I’m really pleased how this one turned out, full of action, mayhem and nice character moments that have progressed nicely since The Killing Ground.

 

Iron Warrior

But before The Chapter’s Due comes out, you’ve got Iron Warrior to look forward to. It’s now appeared on the BL site, so you can look forward to a full novella based on the further exploits of the Warsmith Honsou in a hardcover, illustrated, signed, colour plate including slice of goodness. Though it’s strictly limited to 1000 copies, so you’ll need to get your skates on if you want one when the release comes…

 

Mum’s the word

It was mother’s day on Sunday, so I hope you all treated your mums to a nice meal and flowers. I had my folks visiting at the weekend to see our little boy, and the five of us went out for a lovely Sunday lunch, though I think Evan was less than impressed that he couldn’t yet have sliced beef, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

 

SFX dinner

Prior to that, myself, Gav Thorpe, Nick Kyme, Mark Newton and George Mann went out for dinner with some of the guys from SFX magazine, which was great fun, and good to put names to faces. T’was an enjoyable evening, though I left around ten as I knew I was going to get woken up a few times in the night by the little man. It’s always good to meet the folk who work in the same industry, but upon different paths, as it gives you a good insight to how the market works from other perspectives.

 

God King

I’m working on God King just now, though the progress took a little hit with my mum and dad being down. As much as they said I should keep working, it would have felt a little odd to be up here in my shiny new office while they were downstairs. My dad helped my move my behemoth desk and bookshelves from the tiny office to the spare room so that Evan could have his own room. Anyway, when we showed Evan his new room, he seemed to like it...

Anyway, my desk is great to work at, and I love having all my reference material close at hand, but it’s a complete pain to try and move anywhere. Its dimensions exist outside the normal three and the gestalt consciousness of its parts seems designed to bend the laws of physics in a gravity well around its mass. In any case, I’m writing this with a new view out my window (what little I can see through the mass of desk…) and will see how this new space affects my writing.

 

Signing this weekend!

I’ll be at Warhammer World this weekend (20th March) between 11:30 and 2pm. I’ll be there as a guest of The Great Crusade’s Path of the Traitor event, so if you’re playing in that event or are in the area, pop by and say hello.

Right, back to work… 

I went to Cardiff this weekend, though it took a long time to get there... Thanks to some spectacular signal failage, it took me six and a half hours to get from Nottingham to Cardiff (and three hours of that was getting to Derby - via Chesterfield...). Eventually I got there, and a great time was had by all, so if you were one of the supremely patient folk who waited for me to get there, thank you very much. And thanks to Steve and his guys for keeping the baying mob placated while I was horribly delayed...

Despite the long journey, I had a great time in Cardiff, with some real good chats, lots of signing and a proper long day of back and forth with fans.

I heard a lot of positive feedback on A Thousand Sons, and there's a rather nice review of the book at MyBattalion.com, which you can read here.

And another at Civilian Reader, which you can read here.

And if these reviews fire you up for reading the book, you can potentially win a copy of A Thousand Sons by visiting Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. Click here for your chance to win.

Cheers and speak to you soon.

I've hijacked the blog over at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review...

Check it out by clicking here.

Right, it’s been a long time coming, and I laughed and groaned at many of the puns, but here you are, here’s the winner of the competition I ran back in January. I asked you to mash up Black Library book titles and band names/song names etc from the world of hard rock and heavy metal, and the response was great, with everyone entering into the spirit of the thing marvellously.

 

So without further ado, here’s the entries I chose (and I make no apologies for them being comprised of bands I like…)

 

In first place is Eric Slaney with: Rynn’s World…Party Time…Excellent!

I am an unashamed fan of the first Wayne’s World film, and this tickled me.

 

In second place is Martin Kocajda with: Seventh Son of a Thousand Sons.

One of my favourite bands, a great record and nicely topical with my current release.

 

And in third place is Brendan Coleman with: Ride the Lightning King.

Again, one of my favourite bands, and a nice segue of track and title that made me smile.

 

I’ve e-mailed the winners to let them know, so if you haven't yet checked your e-mail, get in touch with me and let me know your address so I can get the books sent to you, post haste!

 

Well done to the winners and thanks to everyone who entered, you all gave me a good laugh on the train where I was reading the entries – which earned me some odd looks from passersby, but I’m used to that now.

 

And just a reminder that I’m at Games Workshop Cardiff (31 High Street, Cardiff, Glamorgan, CF10 1PU) this Saturday on the 6th of March, between 12 and 2pm. See you there!

Just a quick one to say thanks to everyone who came along to the signings at Liverpool and Leeds over the weekend. It was a great day out for me, and the traveling was made well worth it by the sheer enthusiasm and good humour of the folks who came out to play. Indeed, both signings were so busy that I almost missed my train from Liverpool to Leeds (I made it with a minute to spare) and then almost missed my train back to Nottingham at the end of the day (thirty seconds to spare).

 

Great to see some familiar faces (Dan and Simon, you know who you are) and nice to meet lots of new ones (Boo, Kash, Chipmunk…I kid you not). As I sat signing in Leeds, I looked up and had to smile as I saw that people were, literally, queuing out the door with their copies of A Thousand Sons, with lots of passers by looking bemusedly on. No doubt wondering what all the fuss was about. In Liverpool I signed an inordinate amount of books for people called Paul, which struck me as odd, until I realised where I was…

 

Anyway, if you couldn’t be at Liverpool or Leeds, I’ll be at Games Workshop Cardiff (31 High Street, Cardiff, Glamorgan, CF10 1PU) on the 6th of March, between 12 and 2pm. See you there!

Also, for your Monday morning pleasure, here’s a clip someone called Therodenne has posted on Youtube. A fan by the name of Jake Bishop sent it to me, it’s the first part of my short story Chains of Command as enacted by footage from Dawn of War. When Part II becomes available, I’ll let you know. Just to warn you, it’s in French, but has subtitles. Enjoy.

 

 

Right, off to get God King started.