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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:
- Hello!
- Heirs of the Laughing God - A Deadly Wit
- Butt Identification!
- The Imperium Wouldn't Work Like That
- Q&A - Talking to Myself!
- Blog Round-Up
- Upcoming Events
- Submissions Alert - Black Library
- Kickstarter - The Little Game Master
- Hard Drive Hot List (or, My Current Projects)
- Bi-Monthly Competition Winner
Hello!
First of all, apologies that this is your first newsletter of 2018. Belated Happy New Year. A combination of work, family illnesses and circumstance meant that I just didn’t have time to put together the January newsletter so took the decision to leave it until now.
Another consequence of the time pressures has been on my January and February writing plans. It had been my intent to finish work on an original fantasy novel I started nearly four years ago. Having arranged a break between delivering Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari book 2) to Black Library and starting my next project for them (a multipart audio called Our Martyred Lady) I was hoping to get the book finished. It’s already 45,000 words long and needs 30,000-35,000 more. Over halfway then.
I spent a few days working on it, but it quickly became apparent that between my other projects and the insertion of Real Life Events into my schedule that I simply couldn’t spend time on writing that was not attached to a looming deadline.
With great reluctance I had to abandon the pretence of getting the novel finished, but I am determined that I am going to make it happen sooner rather than later. If nothing else, the brief time I spent with the project reassured me of two things:
1. This is the book I want to write.2. What I’ve already written isn’t total garbage.
One of the reasons I like to get stuff finished quickly is that it stops me from second-guessing too much. Having had years to sit on the idea for this book, and having actually written the first half, I’ve periodically gone through doubts about the characters, the plot, whether the setting or even the whole approach of the book is right.
Added to that are the new ideas that have built up in my head in the meantime, each with sharpened elbows out trying to make space in my brain. Given that I’ve had a plot and a plan for this book settled for some time it’s almost ‘done’ in my head and that makes it far less appealing than some of the more nebulous concepts vying for my attention.
And on top of that, as an original fantasy this book will need to be sent out to agents and hopefully editors, sold on its own merits to the discerning book business. The downtime between the last chance I had to write it and now left me wondering if this was the best book to pitch now. Was another of my ideas better for the market? Would this appeal to my current audience and maximise the currency of being the David Gemmell Legend Award winner?
More importantly, if this book does sell and more are wanted, this is the series and the characters and the world I’ll potentially be spending a lot of time with over the coming years. Am I happy promising more beyond this book and have I left myself the scope to develop the ideas in the future?
All of which is nonsense in the grander scheme of things. Write the book. Sell the book. Plans and schemes are all well and good, but an agent is first and foremost going to look at the synopsis and the manuscript for this book and decide if they like it and can sell it.
And I am confident on all accounts that I am writing the right book. Just not at the moment.
Gav
Heirs of the Laughing God - A Deadly Wit
I had great fun writing this Harlequins audio drama, and the voice actors have done a great job of bring humour to the story. You can read an interview about A Deadly Wit over on the Track of Words website.
"The charismatic Great Harlequin, Duruthiel, leads his troupe on a daring raid of an ork settlement. Urging them forth with bold eccentricity, the Red Swan proclaims fate as the guiding hand for the Masque of the Fading Dawn. But as Skyweaver jetbikes invade the night skies, his attempts to overthrow the great warlord become increasingly reckless. It soon becomes apparent that this is more than just another performance for Duruthiel, but a battle for honour and freedom."
A Deadly Wit was released as both CD and MP3 on 17th February.
Butt Identification!
Watch me set the 2018 world record for butt-identification (of the miniature kind), in this video podcast from AusHammer.
We also talk about Age of Sigmar, handling reviews, and my history with Games Workshop.
The Imperium Wouldn't Work Like That
Clearly I need to be more controversial on Twitter if I want to gain new followers - this recent tweet proved very popular.
You can read all the responses by clicking the button below.
Newsletter Q&A
I've been rubbish at replying to questions recently too - so much so, that I've had to ask myself a question for this month's Q&A!
Gav asked: How is your new miniatures game, Big Stompy Robots, coming along? It sounds great!
I'm glad you asked! After a brief hiatus, I'm back working on the rules, and hope to send out a Stompy Newsletter soon with an update.
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.
Blog Round-Up
You can find out which of my books were most popular at UK libraries in 2016/17, in this blog post about Public Lending Rights.
I talk about writing Aeldari, whilst trying to avoid spoilers for Ghost Warrior, in this Forge The Narrative podcast interview.
Upcoming Events
- 5th April 2018, Book Signing, Warhammer World, Nottingham
If you are coming to any of these events, do come and say hello.
! Submissions Alert !
It's the one that everyone has been waiting for - the Black Library submissions window!
Announced back in January, you have until April 10th to pitch the story you have always wanted to write, to the Chaos Demons - sorry, I mean Editors - at Black Library.
All the information you need is over on the Warhammer Community site, including a handy Q&A and advice from established authors. You can also read my Three Top Tips for Black Library Submissions by clicking the button below - it's an old post but still relevant. Also keep an eye on my blog in the next week or so as I'll be posting specifically about this submissions opportunity.
Kickstarter - The Little Game Master
A children's book that introduces kids to the endless possibilities in the world of table top role playing games. There's little chance of my son not becoming a geek, but I'll be backing this Kickstarter just to make sure.
The Little Game Master is a book about five friends who, when confronted with boredom, are drawn into the world of table top role playing games. They quickly realize the opportunities for fun and adventure that are available in their own minds.
The project is already funded and many of the stretch goals have already been met. You have until February 25th to back it.
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
- Frontier Worlds - Hostile Takeover (Snowbooks)
- Ashes of Prospero (Black Library)
- Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah (Black Library)
- Strontium Dog (Warlord Games)
- Big Stompy Robots (Original Game)
- Sword In Ritual Splendor (Original Fiction)
- Our Martyred Lady (Black Library)
- Wild Rider (Black Library)
- Tabletop Game Background (TBA)
- Very Exciting But I Can't Tell You! (Black Library)
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 (belated) January winner of the Warhammer Chronicles Omnibus edition of The Sundering is Ross Knill-MacArthur from the UK. The next prize will be a signed copy of Ashes of Prospero.
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