Sunday 31 March 2013

Beowulf - The Gamebook!

“Listen! We of the Spear-Danes in the days of yore, of those clan-kings, heard of their glory, how those nobles performed courageous deeds!”

I am delighted to announce that BEOWULF BEASTSLAYER has been mentioned today on SFX.co.uk. In fact, there's not just a mention - there's a full-blown interview with me about the project.


You can read the interview for yourself here (and thanks to Dave Bradley for making it happen).

In other BEOWULF BEASTSLAYER-related news, it looks like I have both a publisher and an artist on board for the project, so the Kickstarter to fund production of the gamebook is gradually moving closer to launch.

And in case you'll still wondering just what exactly BEOWULF BEASTSLAYER is, it's a Choose Your Own Adventure-style re-telling of the Anglo-Saxon epic. In the book you will play the part of the eponymous hero battling such monsters as Grendel, Grendel's mother and a dragon, as well as sea serpents and all manner of other creatures along the way. Will your adventure follow the course of the original story or will you carve out a new epic all of your own?


To express your interest in this project, please visit the BEOWULF BEASTSLAYER Facebook page, click 'Like', and share the link with all your friends.

Clemency Slaughter at EasterCon

Mr Ian Whates, the man behind NewCon Press, is currently taking part in the geek-fest that is EasterCon - or rather EightSquaredCon, in its current guise - up in Bradford for the Easter weekend.

 
He's busy promoting various projects - including the anthology he's edited, Solaris Rising 2, and his own short story collection, Growing Pains - and will also have some Clemency Slaughter postcards on the NewCon table.

So if you're up in Bradford for the weekend, why not pop along and say "Hello!" and then pledge your support to Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath?

C is for Cover

Pledge £250 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter campaign, and you could become the proud owner of the original cover art, created by Tom Brown, for Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath.

 
Yes, this original pencil drawing by Tom Brown really could be yours!

Don't delay - get your pledge in today!



Saturday 30 March 2013

M is for Masterpiece

Pledge £250 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter campaign, and artist Tom Brown will produce a colour portrait of you in the Clemency Slaughter style.

Now if you though yesterday's featured reward was cool, you've got to admit that this one is even cooler!

Don't delay - get your pledge in today!



Friday 29 March 2013

P is for Portrait

Pledge £150 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter campaign, and artist Tom Brown will produce a pencil portrait of you in the Clemency Slaughter style.

Now you've got to admit, that's a pretty cool reward! It's so cool, in fact, that SF writer Ian Watson (the man behind Steve Spielberg's AI) has already pledged at this level.

Don't delay - pledge today!


Thursday 28 March 2013

Clemency Slaughter and Nerd Vs World

I enjoyed a most pleasant evening on Tuesday, in Oxford, taking part in the recording of the latest Nerd Vs World podcast. I had been invited by Mr Simon 'Spindles' Potthast, whom I met at the Sci-Fi Weekender*. Also in attendance were Mr Brendan Gylee, whose baby Nerd Vs World really is (and master of the hot drinks cabinet), and Mr Ady Wilce, who supplied some most welcome Yum Yums that kept us** energised during the course of the evening.

We ended up talking for a good couple of hours about everything from Star Wars chopsticks and retro kids TV to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter, Pax Britannia (and Steampunk in general) and must-see movies***. You can listen to the podcast here.

The Nerd Vs World podcasters: (from l-r) Ady, Brendan and Spindles.

The guys have very kindly offered to have me back again, at some point in the future, an offer that I plan to take them up on.



The evening's musical interlude was provided by The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, who also wrote this.


* In the video/slideshow, he's the one dressed as Professor Severus Snape.

** Well, me.

*** I was surprised none of the guys had seen Gareth Edwards' sublime Monsters. If you've not seen it, get hold of a copy and do so without further delay!

The Picture of Jonathan Green

Would you like to have your portrait painted by a professional artist?

Let's face it - who wouldn't?

And normally such a thing would be beyond the scope of most people... But not those people who back Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath on Kickstarter.

As some of you may have noticed, my blog has a new background wallpaper as of this morning*. What's special about this one is that it is a portrait of Yours Truly**, produced by the very talented artist Mr Tom Brown, my partner-in-crime on Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath.


I had no idea that Tom was doing this until he tagged me in a picture of a sketch he was working on, via the social medium of Facebook. I was blown away. And then I saw the colour version...

I love the T-Rex skeleton and the tentacles, not to mention the sinister quill. The only problem is that having seen this picture I think I'm going to have to go shopping so that at the next con I attend I look as smart and as dapper as I do in my portrait***.

And if you would like an utterly fantastic portrait of yourself drawn and painted in this style**** then all you have to do is pledge at the P is for Portrait (for a pencil portrait) or M is for Masterpiece (for a full colour portrait) reward level here.



* Although this could be said of a lot of mornings and my blog background.

** And an image of myself that I actually like to boot!

*** At the moment there's a bit of a reverse Dorian Gray thing going on. I've not shaved this morning, I need a haircut, and I'm wearing a hoodie. 'Nuff said.

**** What we like to call the Clemency Slaughter style.

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - The Publisher's Tale

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath is due to be published by Steel Quill Books, a brand new imprint of NewCon Press, first founded and now run by Mr Ian Whates. (To find out more about the origins of NewCon Press, follow this link.)

This rather wonderful post appeared on Ian Whates' blog last week, all about Clemency Slaughter and Steel Quill Books. So, over to you, Ian...


Clemency Slaughter and the Quills of Steel

When Jonathan Green first approached me with the concept of Clemency Slaughter I was, to be frank, dubious. I mean, NewCon Press doesn’t do graphic novels.

Then I took a closer look at the proposal and all that changed. The story is a delight: cloaked in the innocence of childhood but inherently dark and sinister, like corruption working away insidiously at the heart of a bright and beautiful red apple, withering it from within. Also, of course, there is Tom Brown’s artwork. This, as much as anything, swung it for me. The images are so perfect, matching Jon’s text in every regard. To put it bluntly, I was bowled over, and knew immediately that if we could ever get the project off the ground we would be looking at something very special.

So, it seemed that NewCon Press might see their way clear to doing a graphic novel after all. Yet this remains some way distant from what we normally do, and I’m very keen to maintain a clear definition of what NewCon Press is all about… The solution? Launch a new imprint: one that still falls beneath the NewCon Press banner but remains a step removed. Steel Quill Books was born. I’d already been thinking about doing this with regard to a very different project (still on-going), so it would merely pre-empt existing plans.

 
That just left one problem: the up-front cost; both of the production and to cover the advances that Mr Green and Mr Brown would inevitably expect for their efforts. I organised a meeting with Jonathan in London, fully expecting to say, “I’d love to, but…” Which is when Jon sprang his surprise. “Kickstarter,” he said. “We’ll fund it via a Kickstarter.” What a brilliant idea!


All credit to Jon, he’s carried the greatest load on this, setting up the website, producing the fabulous video (and if you haven’t watched that, you really should — it’s only two-and-a-half minutes), and promoting the project like mad. I’ve no idea whether we’ll hit target for the book, that’s up to the people who have read this blog and visited the site, but I sincerely hope we do. Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D’Eath will be a thing of great dark beauty, of that I’m certain. So… fingers crossed.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

What do Geek Syndicate and author Emma Newman have in common?

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath that's what.

Both Geek Syndicate and Emma Newman recently very kindly invited me to write a guest blog post about the murderous miss for their respective sites. The irony is that they both went live yesterday.

You can check out Emma's blog here, and the Geek Syndicate site here.


N is for NewCon

Pledge £80 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter campaign, and you could receive one of five sets of five signed hardbacks from NewCon Press, worth over £100!

So don't delay - pledge today!

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Clemency Slaughter and the Zombie Hamster


Clemency Slaughter artist Tom Brown featured on ZombieHamster.com the other day, as did Clemency herself.

Thank you to the guys at Zombie Hamster for their support and if you would like to read their piece about the project, simply follow this link.


O is for Originals

Tom has drawn 13 character portraits for Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath. Here are just two of them for you to enjoy...


Fancy owning one of those? Well, why wouldn't you?

If you pledge £75 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter you will receive one of these original sketches... as well as a skull brooch (or badge, if you prefer), a signed print, and a copy of the book with your name featured in the acknowledgements section!


So get pledging today!

Monday 25 March 2013

Q is for Quicksilver

You know, Ulysses Quicksilver. Remember him?

Well, if you're a fan of Steampunk, derring do, and outlandish adventures, then my Pax Britannia novels - featuring that dandy, agent of the crown and ladies man Ulysses Quicksilver - will be right up your cobbled street.

If you pledge £60 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter, you could become the proud owner of a complete set of signed Ulysses Quicksilver novels (published by Abaddon Books).

But you'd best hurry - there's only one set still up for grabs!

Sunday 24 March 2013

S is for Skull

Who doesn't like a bit of costume jewellery?

Okay, jewellery's not your thing. So how about a good old-fashioned badge?

If you pledge £50 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter you will receive a brooch (or badge, if you prefer) based on this design by Mr Tom Brown...


And don't forget, that's on top of the book, a signed print, and your name in the acknowledgements section!

So what are you waiting for? Pledge today!


Saturday 23 March 2013

Clemency Slaughter and the postcard from the whirlwind

Which is rather a cryptic way of telling you that the rather lovely (and very generous) Emma Newman gave Clemency Slaughter a plug on her blog last week.

You can read her post for yourself here.

Friday 22 March 2013

F is for Family

Pledge £25 (or more) towards Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath and you could be the very proud owner of a signed piece of artwork created purely for this Kickstarter.


The Talented Mr Brown has created this fantastic family portrait and if you select the F is for Family reward you'll get to have one of your very own, signed by both Tom and myself.

So what are you waiting for? Get pledging!

Thursday 21 March 2013

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - Competition Time!

A while ago I threatened to run some sort of competition or other if (or more accurately when) I ended up with both 1,000 followers on Twitter and 1,000 friends on Facebook.

Well that magic number was exceeded a while ago now (as of writing I have 1,018 followers on Twitter and 1,030 Facebook friends) so I thought it was about time I made good on my promise.


Your Part of the Bargain

I want you to do all you can to promote the Kickstarter project I am currently running with the artist Tom Brown and publisher Ian Whates, Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath. I don't care how you do it - blog posts, social media campaigns, YouTube videos, get in mentioned in the press, on the radio, on TV! - just do whatever you can to get word out to the masses about this exciting adventure in publishing!

You have until the end of the month (11:59pm on Sunday 31 March) to enter - in other words ten days - and email me a link to whatever it is you've produced at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

Be imaginative, be creative, be prolific, be persistent! But whatever you do, to be eligible for the big prize, you must let me know about it.

Our Part of the Bargain

The three of us (Jon, Tom and Ian) will decide who has mounted the most effective campaign and, as long as the project funds on 13 April, you will be invited to the grand London launch as our guest, with all that that entails (book, goodie bag, drinks reception, etc.) but without having to stump up £100 for the privilege yourself. (You must arrange and pay for your travel to London.)

And that's it!

So check out the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter page, Facebook page, and blog, get thinking, and good luck!

Tom Brown, Artist, Interviewed

The other day I asked Tom Brown (my partner-in-crime on Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath) a little more about his work and the people who have inspired him to become the artist he is today. Below are his answers.

Enjoy...


1) How did Hopeless, Maine and your collaboration with Nimue come about?

Quite a few years ago, when I was trying to break into illustration, a publisher took me on board to do a book cover for Nimue. We began corresponding and I signed onto her e-group. She was serialising one of her novels there (Breathing in a Stone House) and I fell in love with her writing (first). I knew this was the writer I wanted for Hopeless, Maine (then called New England Gothic). I asked her to write a short origin story for Sal. She did and it was plain that Nimue understood Salamandra better even than I did. It took me some time to convince her, but she did eventually agree to write the tale. (She says she was daunted, and not sure she was up to it. I thought she was hesitant because it was a comic book story!)
 
The whole storyline is written now as well as two prose books set in Hopeless. All absolutely stunning, haunting quirky and wild (as you would expect!). We have been collaborating ever since, and are also very happily married!
 
2) Do you prefer creating sequential comic art or one-off illustrations?
 
Both, honestly. I love sequential storytelling. It stretches me like nothing else and I have to be a director, camera man, set dresser, etc. However, you don't always have time to dwell on details and rendering in sequential work (and too much detail in the wrong places will effect pacing), so it's good to get a chance to do some lavish rendering and detail in the illustration work. They are complimentary but different disciplines.

3) Which artists inspired you in the past, and which artists working today inspire you now?
 
Gustave Dore, Hieronymus Bosch, Sir John Tenniel, Edward Gorey, and Jack Kirby were my male early influences. I discovered Dulac and Rackham a bit late (in art school).
Current artist influences include Hayao Miyazaki, Eric Orchard, Vincent Shaw-Morton, Chandra Free, Jeremy Bastion, Mike Mignola, Walter Sickert and many many many others. Whenever I have the time, I cruise DeviantArt. There is just a huge amount of talent and vision out there. Sometimes a bit daunting but always inspiring.
 
4) Can you tell us about what you're working on at the moment?
 
Working on quite a few things actually. I am starting to have work find me (which is a nice change!), so I am doing comic cover art and illustrations for some emerging authors. (I hope this continues!) Mostly done now with the art for Tea Dragons (a project Nimue and I are doing). We also have another sequential project in the works called (at the moment) The Unreal Estate. There are quite a few exciting projects in the pipeline too, including more work with the good Professor (Elemental).

5) And lastly, why should people pledge their support to Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath?

Because I think this is going to be an absolutely brilliant book mostly, and it will not happen otherwise. Also this is a chance to make a collaboration happen that I think is splendid literary chemistry. If we rely on big publishers to decide what sort of books we will have, we will never have anything but the sort of thing that has proven to sell in the past. In short, we will not have Clemency Slaughter! Also, for selfish reasons. I love this tale and am fairly rabid to illustrate it. You should pledge because Jonathan Green wrote it and he does indeed do dark very well! Finally, this is an opportunity to pre-order a book, get original art, signed books, spin off items, and/or attend what I think is going to be one hell of a launch party. This is a book you can participate in fully!
 
 
Thanks, Tom.
 
Remember, you can pledge to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter simply by clicking this link.
 
 

Wednesday 20 March 2013

H is for Hopeless

Hopeless, Maine, to be precise, the graphic novel created by Tom Brown and his wife Nimue.


And we have one signed copy left in the Rewards section of the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter, so don't delay - pledge today!


 

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Being a Kickstarter Backer

Anybody who might be hesitating about whether to back the Clemency Slaughter project or not, it's worth remembering the following fact about Kickstarter.

You will not actually be charged as a backer unless the Kickstarter reaches its funding target on its deadline day, in this case Saturday 13 April at 1.00pm.

Also, if you'd like more than one reward, you could always pledge to each one using a different card or account.

You'll find the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter here.

A is for Acknowledgement

Okay, so you all saw this blog post yesterday, right?

Well imagine owning such a beautifully illustrated book and having your name appear in the Acknowledgements section of said book. And now imagine the Acknowledgements appearing in the form of a tombstone bearing a suitably grim epitaph. How cool would that be?

Well that's the reward we're offering to those kind people who pledge £15 or more to the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter project.

Think about it. £15 to have your name immortalised in print forevermore...

Go on, you know you want to... ;-)


Monday 18 March 2013

B is for Book

Quite clearly... But imagine owning this book in particular!


If you are reading this blog post, then you have probably already backed the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter, or you're thinking about supporting it, or you've followed a link from Twitter or Facebook, wondering what this Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath thing is.

Well, in a nutshell, it's a book, written by Jonathan Green (me) and fully illustrated by Tom Brown (the artist behind the Professor Elemental comic and the creator of Hopeless, Maine), due to be published by Steel Quill Books, a new imprint of NewCon Press.

At first it appears to be a children's book, but in reality it is something much darker and more adult. Children of all ages will enjoy its mix of macabre humour and beautiful illustration - and you can become the proud owner of one (as long as the project funds) if you pledge £12 or more here.


Saturday 16 March 2013

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - The Artist's Tale

Tom Brown (the masterful artist behind the beautiful illustrations in Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath) posted this on his DeviantArt page the other day...


Nimue and I attended Weekend at the Asylum last year in Lincoln. (One of the best steampunk events I have ever been a guest at!) One of the high points was meeting a splendid bloke by the name of Jonathan Green (he was at a table near ours). Being new to the English steampunk scene, I was not yet aware of exactly who this was I was chatting with so very casually. (Likewise Robert Rankin... but that's another story. As well I didn't know who he was at the time or I would have been far less articulate!)

Right... back to our story. Talked with the esteemed Mr Green, showed him some of the art and generally schmoozed. The second time I visited his table (he was very approachable and flawlessly polite, all the things a gentleman of letters should be!) I looked down at the books stacked before him and realised that this was a widely published and prolific writer. Before leaving I purchased from him the first three books in Pax Britannia: Ulysses Quicksilver series. I had a feeling that this would be a portentous meeting (and so, as it turned out, it was).

After we recovered from the weekend, I began reading Pax Britannia. Dead. Freaking. Brilliant. (Don't take my word for it, Google it. Read a few reviews.) I started stalking Mr Green (in a gentlemanly and platonic sort of way, naturally). He is everywhere and he has done everything (and very, very well indeed). I contacted him and praised Pax Britannia, and asked if he might be interested in working on something together. As it happened, he was!

He pitched two projects to me within the hour, and I picked, what would later become Clemency Slaughter. Within a day... it was written! (And unsurprisingly, sinister, stylish and deucedly clever.) I provided some drawings, a sample illustration and a finished cover. We then (OK, Jon really; he is better with the words and knows more publishers on this side of the pond) started sending queries off to large, posh publishers. The replies came back, that though THEY (the editors) loved it, they were pretty sure that YOU would not be ready for such a book, as it does not fit tidily into a pre-established category.

At last, Jon contacted Ian Whates at NewCon Press. Ian was very interested and wanted to see the book published (still does!) but had not done a graphic novel style book before, and the book would have to be run through Kickstarter, with NewCon to publish at successful completion of the Kickstarter campaign.

Here, now, we get to the good part. This campaign is taking place... at this very moment! There are lots of incentives (including signed copies of Hopeless, Maine and Pax Britannia. The chance to attend a posh London book launch, original art from me, and cunning skull-ish jewellery (based on one of the designs I did for the art from the book).

You can be a part of this! Pre-order the book, and help unleash Clemency Slaughter on an unsuspecting world! Art for the project is in my gallery, and the Kickstarter campaign (including wonderful footage of Jon in a creepy London cemetery) can be found here.

Hope to see you at the launch or hear from you soon!

Love and dark unnamed things,

Tom

Friday 15 March 2013

E is for eBook

Ah, the wonders of the Digital Age!

If you would like to enjoy Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath on the digital device of your choice, then you can, simply by pledging £8 at the E is for EBOOK level.

Of course there's nothing to stop you pledging to receive a copy of the physical book and adding £8 to receive a digital version of the story as well...