- Hello!
- A Brief History of the Deathwatch
- Newsletter Q&A
- Coming Soon (Azrael, and The Thirteenth Wolf)
- Corax - Extra Reading
- Upcoming Events
- Kickstarter - Occult Detective Quarterly
- Blog Post Round-Up
- Submission Alert - Ride The Star Wind
- Hard Drive Hot List (or, What I'm Currently Writing)
- Bi-Monthly Competition
Hello!
Over the past couple of years I have had, on and off, a conversation with various colleagues and friends regarding ‘legacy’. Talking to other game creators and writers I am often struck by the intensity and passion they have for a particular project, and the frequency with which this accompanies a statement along the lines of ‘I just had to write this’, or, ‘I’ve been wanting to create this for years.’ I’m a little jealous of that, because as much as I throw myself into each game and story and book I write, I have never had the feeling that any of them are ‘the one’ thing I need to do before I die.
It more practical terms in makes it very hard for me to decide what to work on if I don’t have an obvious outlet already lined up (such as a Black Library commission or an anthology submissions window, for instance). I cited an example in my last newsletter, of trying to decide what demo game I would like to run for the ROBIN event next year. The same is true when I consider working on non-Black Library fiction; of the many ideas that cram into my brain which ones do I really want to develop?
It’s an impossible choice of course. The one I pick is the one I will develop a passion for, but when faced with an empty page that begs to be filled, it’s hard to narrow down all of the possibilities into the one I want to spend time on.
What tends to happen is that I end up heading toward the subject I think I ‘should’ do, or that I ‘can’ do. And I need to content myself with that, because maybe doing all of the cool things is my passion, not just one of them. I need to get my head around that idea, that I am fortunately in the position that I don’t have to pick one thing and go for it. In the hopefully many years still left to me I will get the opportunity to explore even more ideas.
I understand that it’s all a fallacy, of course, and that a plethora of creations is as much of a legacy as one lifelong ambition achieved. I am also aware that, having worked on Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 for over twenty years I have already achieved the dream I harboured as a teenager. (In that vein, I would still love to do something with my other major youth inspiration – 2000ad. It would be great to work on a game based on Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog or Rogue Trooper!)
There is no such thing as a perfect idea. My life won’t be defined by a magnum opus but a catalogue of forty, maybe fifty years of work. Fellow author Jim Swallow has said before, ‘Ideas are your currency, you need to spend them,’ so perhaps I need to worry less about what I’m going to do and just get on with doing it…
A Brief History Of The Deathwatch
In case you missed it, this month I wrote a blog entitled A Brief History of the Deathwatch, charting "how I made up a thing 16 years ago and now amazingly it’s currently the hottest trend in 40K."
As noted in the blog, the first fiction to include the Deathwatch was Kill Team, the second book in my Last Chancers trilogy (and subsequently Mission: Purge and Mission: Annihilate).
Newsletter Q&A
This one on Twitter got a little lost in the Warp but I came across it the other day, from Rob: Have you planned how the Dark Angels get from where they are now in the HH to where they are in 40k?
Kinda… I have some ideas, some of which have been discussed with the editorial team and others not. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and assume which books I may be writing in the future, and I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘plan’ more of a vague treasure map covering points of interest along the way. However, Legacy of Caliban was written with the assumption that a fair few of these ideas will become reality at some point, whether it’s me writing them or someone else.
If you want to ask a question, just reply to the newsletter and I'll get back to you as soon as my schedule allows. I'll pick a question to go in the next newsletter, and combine them all into a blog post for the website. Click the button below for the full Q&A round-up for October.
Coming Soon
The limited edition Azrael is published next year, but will be available early at Black Library Live! on the 19th November.
The Thirteenth Wolf is my next Horus Heresy audio drama, and will be available at the end of November (if you're receiving this newsletter, you're already in with a chance to win a copy in my bi-monthly draw).
Corax
Following the publication of Corax earlier this month, I published a few related blogs you may have missed:
Upcoming Events
Do come and say 'hello' if you are attending these events (and feel free to bring any books you'd like me to sign).
Kickstarter - Occult Detective Quarterly
"Occult Detective Quarterly is an exciting new venture for enthusiasts of those who dare to probe beyond the Veil, those who face the psychic, the supernatural and the strange. Arrogant amateurs, scholars and philosophers; hardened detectives, and innocents who have no choice - these are the characters who will fill our pages."
Something a bit different this time, Occult Detective Quarterly (ODQ), brought to my attention by fellow Black Library author Josh Reynolds. This new quarterly print and e-version magazine has already funded, and they are a smidgen away from their first stretch goal.
Unfortunately for fans of Josh the pledges that included his eBooks have already gone, but there are plenty of titles from other talented authors still available.
Blog Post Round-Up
This month I blogged about seeing the Mastodon vehicle I created in my novella The Lion, become the latest awesome 'mini' from Forgeworld, with the release of the Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport.
I also gave a brief overview of the publishing journey, which may be of particular interest for anyone who has been accepted via the Black Library open submissions window (or hopes to be in the future).
Finally, here's a blog about a new wargaming event to be held in Nottingham next year - Red On Blue In Nottingham (ROBIN).
! Submission Alert !
I've received several messages of thanks for the submissions information included in the last two newsletters, so I'll try and make this a regular feature.
Entitled Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera and the Cosmic Weird, Broken Eye Books are looking for "tales that combine space opera with cosmic weird horror, either set within the Cthulhu Mythos or inspired by it.
"Send us into space, away from earth, and bring the weird! Give us adventure and wonder, spaceships and monsters, tentacles and insanity, determined struggle and starborne terror. Whether sprawling in scope or tightly focused and personal, make sure to give us a taste of the greater universe of your story, such as the culture and politics. Make us long to know more of your universe."
They are paying 8 cents per word for short stories of 3-6,000 words, and flash fiction of less than 1,000. The deadline is January 31st 2017, so there's plenty of time for you to put pen to paper.
One of the most common questions I get asked is "What are you working on?", so here's my (sorry, sometimes cryptic) list of works in progress, plus future releases.
Hard Drive Hot List
- Primarchs Series - Lorgar (Black Library)
- Cryptid Clash - Conquest of the Nu-world: Ban-manush versus Buru (18th Wall Productions)
- Phoenix Lords - Jain Zar (Black Library)
- Sharkpunk 2 - Peregrinus Cibus Cedimus (Snow Books)
- Scrape To Victory (Black Library)
- Vengeance of the Immortal (Black Library)
- Horus Heresy - Grey Raven (Black Library Advent Story)
- Horus Heresy - Valerius (Black Library Advent Audio)
Bi-Monthly Competition
All subscribers to my mailing list are entered into the bi-monthly draw to win a personalised, signed copy of one of my books. The next winner, to be picked in November, will receive a copy of The Thirteenth Wolf - my forthcoming Horus Heresy audio.
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