Dr. Strange and Death.

Neil Gaiman (writing) and Guillermo del Toro (directing) team up to bring comic book sorcerer supremo Dr. Strange to the big screen? Now that’s a movie I’d like to see…

Ok, so nothing is confirmed, but still, I hope there is some truth to the rumour, and to the whispers that Johnny Depp might play Strange…

This one, however, looks a bit more definite. Gaiman (writing, directing) and del Toro (producing) teaming up to bring Death (of Sandman fame) to the big screen, possibly under the title Death and Me, or possible Death’s Day.

Could be interesting…

For honour!

Just a quick one.

I’m currently putting the final touches to Questing Knight, the follow up to Knight Errant and Knight of the Realm, and should be sending the manuscript across to the good folks at Black Library later on tonight. Phew! It took a little while to get my writing mojo firing, but I managed to build up a good head of steam as the story progressed. Lots of gribbly nastiness – it does take place in cursed Mousillon, after all.

Currently reading: Courage and Honour, by top mate Graham McNeill, which I’m enjoying thoroughly. Good to see Uriel back with the Chapter and kicking Xenos arse with aplomb. Rah. I recently re-read Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, which I love love love, and wish I’d written. I’ve also been reading a little Fritz Leiber (starting from the beginning of the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories), but it’s not holding my attention, unfortunately.

Currently watching: Movie-wise, I loved Avatar, and going back a month or two, snagged free premiere tickets to Where the Wild Things Are which I thought was brilliant. Looking forward to seeing them both again. On the small screen, I got a heap of DVDs for christmas, which I’ve been working through, including Inglourious Basterds (needs a second viewing before I pass judgement) and the latest Battlestar Galactica instalment, The Plan (disappointing).  I’ve also recently re-watched The Blue Planet, which is, for me, hands down the best doco ever. Oh, and I can’t bloody wait for The Pacific to start!

Currently listening to: Nothing much new, really. Nine Inch Nails and Metallica are currently on repeat while I’m writing. In particular, I’m listening to The Fragile quite a bit, as well as Ghosts (all 36 tracks worth), and Death Magnetic. In lighter moments, listening to lots of aussie folk/blues/roots stuff like the Audreys, the Waifs, Newton Faulkner, Lisa Mitchell, Xavier Rudd, Lior, etc. All good stuff.

Till next time.

Answers, responses and a thank you… oh, and Happy New Year!

First up, hope you all had a great Christmas and have exciting plans for New Year’s. It’s New Year’s Eve here in Sydney, and tonight should be a lot of fun, with lots of drinks, good company and a top view of the fireworks over one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. Top Stuff.

Thanks to all of you who made it out to my book signings in Brisbane and Sydney. Both days were awesome, with heaps of my books and Henry’s books sold and signed, and it was a pleasure as always to meet the folks that enjoy them. Lots of advance copies of Dark Creed got picked up, which was great to see. It was fantastic to meet so many new faces, as well as seeing some of the ‘regulars’ (hi Morph!). Kudos to the Games Workshop guys for putting on a great couple of events, and to Mal from BL who was on good form.

Right, I thought I’d end the year by responding to some questions/comments I’ve received in the last few months but have yet to answer. That will allow me to start 2010 with a clean slate, and resolutions to blog more often! Apologies if I missed your question – give me a nudge to remind me if I did.

Xhalax:

Thanks for the good wishes re the signings, they went well! Sorry you missed out on an early copy of Dark Creed, but it must be available in the UK any day now, so hope you like it when you get it! Several characters do indeed become bloody smears, not sure if it is the ones you want though… Yep, I always make sure I read  dedications too, BTW. Oh, and yeah, I’d love to get back over the UK. I miss all my mates over there heaps, and it would be great to do some signings. No plans at the moment  however.

Mrki:

The three Word Bearer books are a self-contained trilogy, though as I said previously I do intend to write a couple of short stories to fill in a few gaps. There are stirrings as the end of Dark Creed that open up some interesting possibilities for future Word Bearers action, but for now, I’m going to take a break from them. I’m definitely keen to come back to them at some point, but exactly when that is, I’m not sure.

Bastiaan:

Hi! Five Word Bearers Hosts, and five Dark Apostles, yessir! But yes, the White Consuls are not facing them alone – in fact, they have a rather daunting list of allies eager to come to their aid as soon as the Word Bearer invasion is realised. As well as substantial Imperial Guard forces and Imperial Navy fleets, the White Consuls are part of the Adeptus Praeses, a coalition of twenty Space Marine chapters that guard the Eye of Terror. That is some pretty heavy-duty reinforcements… Sabtec and Khalaxis definitely have their roles to play, and some of the bigger players are in the mix too (even if their roles are ‘unseen’).

Andy Aitch:

Hey mate! Hope all is going well with you and your writing!

Jessie Badilo:

The Warmonger is one of my favourites in the series, and he plays a bigger part in Dark Creed than he did in Dark Disciple (but then you already know, that having read it in three days! Glad you liked it, thanks heaps for the high praise!) I always wanted the Warmonger to play a bigger part in Dark Disciple, but a giant death-dealing mechanical monster with Alzheimer’s is not exactly the ideal companion on an under-the-radar stealth mission…

Martin Rice:

Oh yes, lots of conniving between the lead characters in Dark Creed. As to how damaged a Necron lord would get travelling through the warp – who says they travel through the warp at all? (cue spooky music)

Bob Beyer:

Greetings from Australia to Denmark! Skol!

Morph:

Great seeing you again, thanks for popping in. Glad that you enjoyed Dark Creed!

Uncle Le:

I suspect interweb chinese whispers at play… I said that I was writing a heresy book called something like ‘The Fall of Lorgar’?? Errr, that is news to me. Possibly this is a mix up with the Heresy short story I wrote for Tales of Heresy? Or perhaps there was an assumption that I would write a Word Bearer heresy book, since I’ve been writing them in 40K. Who knows.To set the record straight, there are currently no plans involving me writing a Heresy title, nor has there been in the past. Regarding Aaron’s book, The First Heretic, I know nothing more about it than anyone else, I’m afraid, so I cannot shed any light there. Glad you’ve enjoyed the Word Bearers books!

Right, I better get my arse back to work writing the follow-up to Knight of the Realm, which is progressing well but a bit slower than I’d like!

Cheers all, and speak to you in 2010!

Ant

Book signings this week!

Hi folks,

Just a quick note to let you know of a couple of book signings this week.

On Thursday (the 3rd of December) I will be in Brisbane, signing books at Games Workshop Chermside from 4pm to 7pm, along with Mal Green from Black Library and fellow author Henry Zou (author of Emperor’s Mercy, and the forthcoming title Flesh and Iron).

On Saturday (the 5th of December), Henry, Mal and I will be signing at Games Workshop’s Sydney City bunker, between 1pm and 4pm.

Both events should be good fun, so pop by if you are in the neighbourhood and say g’day. Also, for fans of the Word Bearers books, I am told that there might be a few advance copies of Dark Creed available for purchase…

Cheers, and hope to see you there!

Ant

Shiny!

Hey folks,

Received this in the post yesterday, and thought I’d share…

It’s always a great feeling to finally hold a book in your hands that you’ve toiled over – it makes it all seem worthwhile, and actually real. I can’t believe I’ve finished my first trilogy of 40K novels – it really only feels like yesterday when I was first pitching BL with a handful of Chaos Space Marine novel ideas, having just finished writing my first novel, Mark of Chaos. I pitched ideas for the Alpha Legion, the Deathguard, and the Word Bearers – I’m glad that BL liked the Word Bearers one most.

I’ve come to really like the set of characters I created for the Word Bearers series, and I’d love to come back to them at some point. In the near future, that will most likely involve one or more short stories, allowing me to tell some cool little sideline stories involving Marduk and co. I’m definitely keen to explore what happens after Dark Creed – things were set in motion at the end of the latest book that will lead to some interesting confrontations… But that is a tale for another day.

For those of you in Australia, I’ll be doing a few book signings in early December. I think the plan is to have some early copies of Dark Creed on sale (but I’ll confirm that closer to the dates). It looks like I’ll be signing in Brisbane and Sydney, on the 4th and 5th of December. I’ll post details when I get ‘em. It would be great to see some you there.

What am I reading at the moment?

Re-reading Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in improving their writing.

I’m also reading an early version of a piece of work by my good mate, Graham McNeill. Not sure if it has been announced yet, so I will keep schtum on what it actually is , but believe me when I say it is mighty fine indeed.

Finally, I’m also reading Robert Holdstock’s Lavondyss. I love his Ryhope Wood novels. The Hollowing is probably my favourite (yes, I’ve read the series all out of order, but don’t think it matters too much), but they are all fantastic, wonderfully written and incredibly rich books. I’d love to write fantasy like his.

What am I listening to?

Alice In Chains’s new one, Black Gives Way to Blue. Loving it. Current fav’s are ‘Check My Brain’ and ‘A Looking In View’. ‘Last Of My Kind’ really sounds like the Melvins to me, which is not a bad thing at all.

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog since it went up a few weeks ago, and especially to all those who left comments. It’s great to get such support, so a big thanks to all of you! Please feel free to ask any questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them. So, without further ado, here are some answers:

Mrki: Glad you are enjoying the Word Bearers series! You are keen on getting an insider scoop on Dark Creed, eh? Hmm… The story revolves around a system called the Boros Gate, which houses a series of rare, stable paths through the warp. The system would be the ideal staging ground to launch attacks into the heart of the Imperium. White Consuls of the Adeptus Praeses guard the system. The Word Bearers want it… Carnage ensues. How’s that?

Xisor: Frasier is indeed pure awesome. We are halfway through season 8 at the moment. I don’t want it to end!

Pyroriffic: Yeah, the autobiographical section at the start of On Writing is great. Amazing to think how tough he did it in the early days, living out of a caravan with his missus and kid, frantically writing and paying the bills with cleaning jobs. Inspiring stuff.

Bennylicious: Cheers mate, glad you are liking my Bretonnnian sequence. Warhammer kind of gets overshadowed by 40K, and the Bretonnians are hardly mainstream for Warhammer either, but they have always been one of my favourites factions. The next story takes Calard to the cursed realm of Mousillon, which is looking like a lot of fun to write.

The Gavinthrope: Definitely looking forward to Zombieland. It’s not out here yet, but looks like comedy gold. Hope all is going well with Crown of Blood, I’m really looking forward to reading that. Let’s get skype going, huh? Oh, and I might just use your post for the ‘about’ section of my blog, it cracked me up. Were-Wallaby. There Wallaby.

Bastiaan Vergoossen: Awesome, thank you very much for the high praise! Are there going to be more Word Bearers? See above. The short answer is probably, but most likely not for a little while. Would I like to write about Heresy-era Word Bearers? I’d love to write a novel for the Heresy, but there are no plans to do so at the moment. I will be sure to let you know if things change! As to the Word Bearers in 30K, I believe another author is currently working on something focussing on them, which I’m sure will be great.

Nick: Good stuff! If you do give the Word Bearers a go, hope you like ‘em!

And lastly Matt: cheers mate, I don’t think I would have started the blog without your encouragement, so thanks. Oh, and ‘drink yer ain’.

Till next time.

There shall be bloggage.

Right, I think this is working…

Hello and thanks for swinging by. I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing here yet, but in general I’m thinking this will be a place where I witter on about my books and the ups and downs of being a working writer.

In all honesty, it will probably also be a place where I ramble on about all manner of things, such as what I saw at the flicks recently, what I’m listening to, what I’m reading, what I’m currently finding inspiring and what I think should be confined forever to the lowest pits of Hades. This will be my own little corner of t’interweb where I can stand on my soapbox and blab about whatever Random Stuff I feel like blabbing about.

There are lots of great blogs out there (see the links off to the side), and an awful lot that are absolute shite – I hope that mine edges more towards the first category, but hey, I aint promising anything.

So without further ado, I’ll start the ball rolling.

What am I working on at the moment while not procrastinating and setting up this blog*?

A couple of things.

I’m currently working with the good folks at Black Library on the follow up to my novel Knight of the Realm, which I’m thoroughly enjoying. I’m very much liking coming back to those characters and the setting after almost year away from them.

I’m also doing some work with Mantic Games, which is proving to be good fun. Check them out.

On top of that, I’m tinkering away with something that I’m very excited about… but I’ll remain hush-hush about that for now…

What am I reading?

Blood Pact, by Dan Abnett, and damn good it is, too. Also, re-reading On Writing, by Stephen King, and cringing at all the things I forgot about since last time I read it…

What am I listening to?

Pink Floyd. Brings back repressed memories of being abso-fucking-lutely terrified by The Wall when I saw it as a kid. I haven’t got it yet but I’m also looking forward to listening to the new album from Alice In Chains, as I’m hearing good things about it.

What am I watching?

Slowly working through the complete series of Frasier with my (super awesome) girlfriend. Great stuff. Also, re-watching Rome. I think it might almost be time for another viewing of Deadwood. Holy-hell, that’s a good series.

I’m planning on updating this site with more information as I go, including adding ‘designer’s notes’ about my books (an idea I am nicking from good mate Graham McNeill), and adding more links. However, I think that’s quite enough bloggage** for one day, so I’ll get to all that when I get to it, and it is time now to do some real work. Eek.

Until next time…

*I think the word ‘blog’ is probably one of those things that ought to banished to a fiery hell, but hey.

** Bloggage really does sound like some kind of bowel complaint, something that would probably be solved with prunes.

It’s alive!

…well, almost.