I feels weird posting a Gav Thorpe newsletter as I was pretty much the founder member of the 'Lynch Gav for that Chaos Space Marine Codex' club...but I like him now...because hobbyists are fickle...that's why...
Hello!
Thank you for signing up to my newsletter at gavthorpe.co.uk. If you have received this email in error you can unsubscribe with the link at the bottom of the mail. In this newsletter:
- The True Story of Christmas - Tzeentch Loves Algebra
- Caliban and Beyond
- Daffcon 2016
- Interrogator Chaplains Required
- Q&A with Mengel Miniatures
- Kickstarter News
- Blog Post Round-Up
- Competition Winner
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The True Story of Christmas - Tzeentch Loves Algebra
While there are some that do not think the build-up to Christmas should start until there is a D in the month, in our household the Season of Goodwill started a week or two ago. Christmas lists have been written and distributed, stamps have been bought for the cards and the inevitable tangle of family and friends visiting and being visited has been (mostly) unraveled to accommodate everyone.
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And for Black Library authors, Christmas also heralds the Advent Stories. One story or audio from Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar each day between Dec 1st and Christmas. Last year I wrote a fun little short audio entitled Holder of the Keys featuring Chief Librarian Ezekiel and a Fallen warrior, and a Horus Heresy story called The Value of Fearabout a loyalist Night Lord fighting alongside the Raven Guard. |
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This year my entry – Lord of the Cosmic Gate – is an Age of Sigmar offering. Some subscribers may recall that at the most recent Black Library Weekender there were ‘Platinum’ ticket holders. One of the perks of this VIP status, as well as dinner with the authors, a bag full of all the new and exclusive releases and some quality time with the editors, was that they would each be killed in a BL tale. I’ve been ‘mortalising’ friends in books for years, and it’s often something you’ll see offered as part of charity auctions and such. My (un)lucky victim was a lovely chap called Richard. Richard has spent many years working in armed forces logistics so my original idea was to have ‘Richard’ as a Departmento Munitorum official whose companion accidentally brings down an orbital bombardment on his own position due to a misplaced digit in the firing solution.
However, I was asked to contribute an Age of Sigmar story, so that idea has been placed in the round file. Instead we have the first Age of Sigmar story about mathematics. And possibly the last. Rikjard, a Sorcerer of Tzeentch, pitches his might and intellect against a Slaan Starmaster and its army of Seraphon, in an attempt to unravel the ultimate equation that will reveal the secrets of the universe and the key to Tzeentch’s kingdom.
At this time of year it is also important that we remember there are many people for whom Christmas is a time of struggle and hardship. Whether elderly and alone, refugees fleeing from war, the homeless and the forgotten, there are those that may not have much cause for celebration during the festive season. For this reason, I am donating all royalties for Lord of the Cosmic Gate to the UN Refugee Agency’s Winter Crisis Appeal. |
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This month I took a look back over the endeavour that was the Legacy of Caliban trilogy. Like all series, it takes a little while to get used to the fact that it is finished – a project that began over three years ago.
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I am very happy with the way things turned out – but there are always lessons to be learned, things I would do differently. Much like The Sundering, the end result of the Legacy of Caliban is that it would have been even better to have planned six books! Everyone I have spoken to wanted more – more of Azrael, More of Annael and Telemenus, more fighting, more intrigue, more... everything.
For those that would like to know more about the Dark Angels and my thoughts on them, please have a look at the two blog posts I put together answering fans’ questions about the Dark Angels.
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Daffcon 2016
Tickets are now available for Daffcon, a new multi system gaming convention happening at Firestorm Games in South Wales, 8-10 April 2016. Daffcon aims to be a convention for all the small games that are out there - so basically anything that isn't Games Workshop (though they are allowing what were the specialist games) or Privateer Press. I'm hoping to attend the whole weekend.
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Interrogator-Chaplains Required
Speaking of questions and answers, I would like to extend a unique opportunity to you, my newsletter subscribers. By simply hitting ‘reply’ you can send me an email with any question you want. As well as replying to you (because I’m polite like that) I will be compiling all of the questions you send into a special blog post. I'll also include the best question(s) I have been asked in a new Q&A section of the newsletter.
You can ask about anything – Dark Angels, Horus Heresy, my games development work, history at Games Workshop, favourite tea etc.
So, if you have a burning need to know something, just get in touch.
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Q&A with Mengel Miniatures
Over the course of the trilogy [Legacy of Caliban] you got to write pretty much every major player in the Dark Angels stable, including Cypher. Who was your favourite to tackle and who was the trickiest to write?
I liked them all, but I suppose Asmodai was the most fun - he's unstable and zealous, but it would be easy to write him off as an unthinking maniac. I liked being able to introduce just a little bit of sympathy for him, to show why he cannot compromise and why that might be a good thing in some circumstances. Getting him to play off against the far more manipulative Sapphon turned out to be an excellent opportunity. The hardest was Sammael, simply because his character traits of bravery and daring translate nicely to battle scenes but I had to show how it affected his behaviour away from the battle, without him coming across as a rash idiot.
This is one of many questions from an interview with Mengel Miniatures, which will be going live on Monday 30th November. |
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If you keep up with my blog, you'll know that I have a bit of a Kickstarter habit. The latest game to get my backing is Side Quest, an all-in-one fantasy ‘dungeon crawler'. The campaign has already tripled its original target, and there are still 11 days left to back it. |
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Competition Winner
One of the perks of subscribing to my mailing list is that you get entered into the bi-monthly draw to win a personalised, signed copy of one of my books. This month's winner is Martyn Blundell, who will shortly be receiving his CD of my Horus Heresy audio Raptor. The next winner will be announced in January.
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