Wednesday 23 December 2015

Gav Thorpe Newsletter

More Horus Heresy incoming...amongst other things...

Sci Fi Artwork from Gav's Website

Hello!

  • December Doings
  • Horus Heresy Novella, Ravenlord
  • Age of Sigmar Advent Story
  • Free Flash Fiction
  • Newsletter Q&A
  • Blog Post Round-Up
  • Kickstarter - Rumbleslam
  • Competition Winner
 
 

December Doings

Whew! What a month! Nothing like an impending Christmas break and then some time in the New Year working on a new project to make the deadlines stack up! On top of that, there's the usual seasonal socialising and preparations eating into time and brainspace... It's good to be busy, but I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of downtime (allowing for the magical mystery tour that is visiting the various enclaves of the family over the Christmas period and Sammy's birthday...).
But as of finishing this newsletter update, I'll be officially ON HOLIDAY! Woooo!
The rewrites for Angels of Caliban have gone back to editor and Heresy-guru Laurie Goulding. We've come up with some cracking stuff that's going to get the Dark Angels conspiracy theorists cranking into full gear as well as some genuinely game-changing plot points for Imperium Secundus and the wider war.
Around that I've also delivered another Age of Sigmar short story. I can't say much about it yet, except that it focuses on a faction we haven't seen much of yet - and having had a sneak preview of some of the miniatures for them, I can say they look spectacular. As much as I like the new warriors of Sigmar, it's nice to see the story starting to branch out from the Stormcast-centric narrative as more of the creatures and environs of the Age of Sigmar are explored.
And last week (as of when this newsletter goes out) I've just delivered the eighth volume in the revolutionary 40K series The Beast Arises. By now I hope you've enjoyed Dan Abnett's first instalment, I am Slaughter, and Rob Sanders' Predator Prey hits stores next month. My first contribution, the Emperor Expects, will be on the shelves in February.
Highlight of the month (year perhaps, excepting awesome family moments) was that I got to meet the incredible Samoa Joe, which was amazing in many ways. It had to be, to keep me away from the desk for two days during this busy period, but it was worth the extra time-wrangling for such an experience. Read about it and see the pictures in this blog post.
 
 

Ravenlord - Available to Buy on 2nd January

Cover of Ravenlord by Gav Thorpe
"As the Horus Heresy continues, Corax and the remnants of his once mighty Legion now wage an entirely different kind of war – liberating worlds oppressed by traitor forces, they gather more and more followers, disrupting the Warmaster’s influence wherever they can. But after an unexpected reunion with a fellow survivor of Isstvan V, the Raven Guard learn of the prison colony of Carandiru and realise that they must face the ghosts of their past on Deliverance if they are to prevail."
 
 
January sees the general release of my Horus Heresy novella Ravenlord (published in May 2014, this was originally a limited special edition).
Here's what others have had to say:
“I absolutely loved it, because it is the Raven Guard back to being ridiculously hardcore and kick-ass…”
– Darth Sebious, Allies Index Youtube Channel
“The story itself was pretty damn good … The twist towards the end was great, and the spite in that act was chilling! I really can’t wait to see where Gav takes Corax and the Raven Guard from here.”
– Dylan Murphy, Goodreads
You can find further details, including a trailer for the original release, by clicking on the button below.
 
 

Advent Story

Cover for Lord of the Cosmic Gate Advent story
My contribution to this year's Black Library advent calendar is an Age of Sigmar story, Lord of the Cosmic Gate.  You'll be able to get your hands on this story in which a Sorcerer of Tzeentch pitches his might and intellect against a Slaan Starmaster and its army of Seraphonon, on 24th December.
In the spirit of the season of goodwill, my fee and all royalties for this story will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency’s Winter Crisis Appeal.
 
 

Free Flash Fiction!

This is the sixth newsletter I've sent out and I'd love to know what you've thought of them.  Which bits have you found interesting, and which bits are you skipping?! Is there anything else you'd love to see included? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated - just hit reply and let me know.
Photo of a single tree in a field
To say Merry Christmas and thank you to my newsletter subscribers, and to celebrate my Twitter followers crossing the 5,000 threshold this week, I've published a piece of free flash fiction called The Last Tree in England.
 
 

Newsletter Q&A

William Wright asked: In the upcoming book Angels of Caliban, you will be going over one of the first times we see the wings in a major detail. In other works, it’s been hinted at with the Dreadwing that they have access to weapons no other legion has from the secret armories of the Dark Angels. Will we see evidence of said weapons, vehicles, etc in Angels of Caliban?  (Like when you created the Mastodon?)

I will be taking a look at some of the more specialised wargear of the Dark Angels, but it’s important to bear in mind that I’ve written a novel rather than a background sourcebook. So while there is some illumination on the legion’s history and organisation, I’ve tried to do so within the narrative, which means it won’t be exhaustive – you’ll have to wait for the Forge World book for the really deep stuff!
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 the best question to go in the next newsletter, and combine them all into a blog post for the website.
 
 

Blog Post Round-Up

There have been two interviews this month - a podcast with the guys atMob Rules, and a written interview with Mengel Miniatures, where I talk about my Dark Angels trilogy the Legacy of Caliban.
I posted my music playlist for writing book eight in The Beast Arises series, and scratched my head at the spam comments I get on the website.
I also blogged about the great first fan-arranged Black Library eventConvention Secundus, and hosted a guest post from Steve Venezia about the Side Quest Kickstarter campaign.
 
Logo for Rumbleslam Kickstarter

Kickstarter

My interest in miniatures gaming and wrestling collided again this month, when I spotted a "fast and fun tabletop miniature game of fantasy wrestling" called Rumbleslam on Kickstarter.
The sample miniatures look to have good detail, and they have great ideas for the add-on designs.
As I write the campaign is at £26,605 of a £40,000 goal (with 27 days to go), so it's well on its way to funding.
 
 

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.  The next draw will be held in January, and the lucky winner will receive a copy of the new Ultramarines anthology, which contains my novella Catechism of Hate.
 
Cover of Ravenwing by Gav Thorpe, published by Black Library
 
Cover of Master of Sanctity by Gav Thorpe, published by Black Library
 
Cover of The Unforgiven by Gav Thorpe, published by Black Library
 
 

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