questions that I’ll answer right here.

First up: Promethean Sun

Just what the hell is that all about? (Okay, so I paraphrased a bit…)

This is a novella in much the same format as Iron Warrior and Daenythos that were released by BL last year. The difference with this one is that there won’t be lots of pictures and what have you (other than a fookin’ kick-ass cover by Neil Roberts – aka ‘The Louth Legend’ – here’s a link to his site – this is the first cover he’s done for me and I am soooo looking forward to seeing the results), just lots of story, baby.

It’s intended as a bit of a prequel to a future Vulkan novel (which, fingers firmly crossed, I’ll get to write) and so is set during the years of the Great Crusade. Now, don’t piss and moan because it’s not moving the story along or blah, blah – that’s to come. Be patient, this one builds to that later stuff and does some of the ground work, ‘kay?

The main protagonist is Vulkan, it’s his story really, but you’ll also meet a couple of familiar faces you may have read in Salamander and ‘Forgotten Sons’ from Age of Darkness. Ooh, exciting. You’ll just have to wait and see who they are (but they both kind of introduce the story).

I don’t want to say too much more than that as it’ll spoil it but this is hot Vulkan action with the Salamanders and a bit of a first chance to see them during the Horus Heresy. As mentioned yesterday, I’m about a third of the way through. Look out for this on the BL Direct page as that’s the only place you’ll be able to get it. The powers that be inform me it’s going to available around May this year. Watch out for it going up on pre-order in a few weeks…

And question 2…

Salamanders.

Why? (Again, bit of paraphrasing there…)

It’s something I get asked a lot. I assume it’s along the lines of ‘why did you choose this Chapter to explore and immortalise in print’ rather than ‘why bother doing those lame Salamanders’. Oh, and subscribers to the latter can do one right now. I’ll have no rabble rousers on this blog – no siree.

Dak'ir
Well, the answer is pretty simple: it just sort of happened. The story goes I was writing a couple of things for 40K – my first forays, actually – Assault on Black Reach: The Novel and a short story for Heroes of the Space Marines. I know I wanted to do something different for the anthology and pick a Chapter that no one had written about yet. Salamanders were free, so I went for them. I went off and did my research. I knew a bit about the Chapter, but it wasn’t until I started to track down all the bits of lore that were dotted around stories, Codex box outs and so on that I began to build a picture. Pretty soon I was hooked.

Fire, forging, all that noble spirit and humanity – these guys were proper heroes! Some folks will know that I write about the Dwarfs for Warhammer (omnibus edition coming soon with both my novels, Gav’s dwarfy book and our combined efforts in the background book Grudgelore – all of which is included, plus a short story – sheesh!) and there was a lot of crossover there – other than the height of course.

A tale began to form in my mind. That one I rejected as it didn’t work for me. Then I came up with something else and the nascent beginnings of ‘Fires of War’ started to form in my head. The original story was actually set on an ocean planet but under the waves, a bit like Bio Shock but Lindsey asked me to nix that setting as it was too similar to Oathbreaker in that it involved flooding an underwater complex (it’s a hold in the Dwarf book). Instead, I plumped for a sort of sky city (or loft-city as I call them in the short) and so the world of Stratos was born.

The short, which became a long on account of its 20,000+ word count, was the beginning of my saga. I remember when I was writing it and discussing the story with Steve Parker that he said: ‘You just want to be writing the novel, don’t you?’ He was right. I totally did. In fact, I was so pumped about the whole thing and the characters that I’d created and thought about – A LOT – that I pitched a trilogy to my editors on the back of the short. They loved it and I had three books in the bank to write. I guess that’s why the Tome of Fire trilogy is so closely linked. It’s one big story that I’ve broken down into three volumes.

I’m not sure if any of that really explains why I went for Salamanders. Maybe it helps to know how the whole thing came in being. I can tell you this, though, I feel a tremendous sense of ownership and closeness to the Chapter. They feel like ‘my boys’ in many ways and I absolutely love the fact that so many fans love what I’m doing with them and the story that I’m telling with Dak’ir, Tsu’gan, Pyriel, Elysius, Ba’ken, Iagon and the rest of the gang. It’s especially tremendous how some of the lesser characters like Ba’ken and Elysius have grown so much with the telling. From what was essentially a character piece driven by Dak’ir, the trilogy has become a real ensemble epic.

I’m going to do more and as soon as I’m done with Nocturne I’ll be planning the Circle of Fire trilogy. Meantime, I need to travel back about 10,000 years and get on with Promethean Sun.

Thanks again for all the questions and I hope you keep coming back for more. Cheers!

reds8n wrote:Colour plates are ..hmm.. alright : nice Adrian Wood picture of Belial, and a doubvle page map of the combat areas.. which one can actually read, which is nice. Handy little geek pleasing full list of the DA forces in the campaign at the back.

reds8n wrote: Colour plates are ..hmm.. alright : nice Adrian Wood picture of Belial, and a doubvle page map of the combat areas.. which one can actually read, which is nice. Handy little geek pleasing full list of the DA forces in the campaign at the back.

Alpharius wrote:"novella" meaning "in print" then, right?

do you mean Adrian Smith...I hope!?!?

One of GW best people that they let go at some point

Welcome to the first in a hopefully long series of interviews carried out for you by The Painted Dragon.

First up is Dan Abnett.

About Dan
Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is a British comic book writer and novelist.
As one of the more prolific 2000 AD writers, Abnett was responsible for the creation of one of the comic’s better known, and longest-running, strips of the last decade, Sinister Dexter. Other original stories include Black Light, Badlands, Atavar, Downlode Tales, Sancho Panzer, Roadkill and Wardog, based on the game of the same name. Abnett has also contributed to some of the comic’s major ongoing series, including Judge Dredd, Durham Red and Rogue Trooper.

He has written novels set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe (Military science fiction genre). They include the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, the Eisenhorn trilogy and Ravenor and more recently, the first book of the Horus Heresy series, the SF bestseller “Horus Rising”. He has also written five Warhammer Fantasy novels. He also wrote a novel for the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood called Border Princes in 2007.

Dan Abnett’s Website

The interview

Macewind: Hi Dan, I’d like to thank you for agreeing to take time out of your busy scedual to take part in this interveiw. The internet is buzzing about the recent Ultramarines movie, so I guess ill start the questions there.

Mace: Did you find writing the script for Ultramarines more or less challenging than writing a novel?

Dan: It was differently challenging

The sheer word count workload of a novel is greater, but there are so many things about a screenplay that are specific to a screenplay so it brings demands of it sown. It was different mindset, and it took a lot of careful thought to hit the best balance between what we could manage to put in the movie and what NEEDED to go int he movie.

Mace: If Codex Pictures approached you again – which race would you most like to focus on?

Dan: I’d want to do more Space Marines, with Imperial Guards, maybe? And Tyranids.

Mace: The movie has received mix reveiws, have you had a chance to watch it yet, and if so, what did you think of it?

Dan: Nothing pleases everyone all the time. I think some of the comments have been honest and fair, while others seem to have come from an angry, vocal minority for whom nothing is ever right. I’m delighted with it. It’s fun, it’s got some great action and great moments, and I know how much genuine effort and intent went into it. Space Marines shooting Chaos Marines, on film. What’s not to love?

Onto writing in general.

Mace: Which writers inspired you growing up and which books stick in your mind the most as influential works.

Dan: Ray Bradbury for Dandelion Wine, Alan Garner for Elidor and the Owl Service, Jack Vance for the Demon Prince novels, HP Lovecraft for everything he wrote, John Buchan for Greenmantle, Edgar Rice Burroughs for Pellucidar and Mars, Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Keith Laumer, John Wyndham…

Mace: Are your characters based on real people? And do you ever grow attached to them and miss them when they die? (the characters)

Dan: Some are definitely based on real people…and oh yes, I miss some of them a lot.

Mace: What is your approach to writing – daily word quotas (and if so, what are they), weekly quotas, creating detailed outline that is strictly adhered to, more free-form writing, or any combination of both?

Dan: I write 2-3 thousand words a day, and switch at lunchtime to comic book scripting. I use to be a very loose plotter, but since my Adventure with Epilepsy, I have become much tighter about planning. I’ve also become a real morning person: no more late nights working.

Mace: You’ve written a duology with Graham McNeil – what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?

Dan: Graham and I get on well, and we’d done it before (kinda) with the first two Horus books. The Horus books are generally very collaborative, but I reckon I could happily play the same kind of character tennis with Jim Swallow or Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

And now your books.

Mace: When you suffered from your recent illness (I hope you are now fully recovered!), did you change your mind or make any changes to prospero burns?

Dan: I am, thank you. No, it just took longer

Mace: Who is your favourite character from the ones you have created for your novels?

Dan: Maybe Loken or Rawne? John Grammaticus? Harlon Nayl or Kara Swole? Tough question!

Mace: How many Gaunt’s Ghosts novels are in the pipeline before the conclusion of the current story arc, and is it the last Ghosts story arc?

Dan: Three more to finish this arc. I’m working on the latest – Salvation’s Reach – right now. It isn’t the last arc.

Mace: Are we going to see more Malus Darkblade books?

Dan: yes

Mace: Are there any current plans for titles where legions that took smaller parts in the Horus Heresy, such as the Salamanders and Night Lords receive ‘top billing’?

Dan: We’ll try and cover everyone one way or another, either in a book of their ‘own’, or as part of a major storyline.

Mace: I would like to know if there is a book planned, that shows the Horus Heresy from the sight of the Eldar or another Xenos race?

Dan: It’s a possibility

Mace: You expressed an interest in the past for writing a novel based on a Tyranid planetry invasion – from the perspective of lowly citizens to Guardsmen and PDF forces; will this be combined into your Gaunt’s Ghost or Inquisitorial series?

Dan: If I get to do it, it will be stand alone. No one will survive.

Mace: Can we expect a Space Marine Battles book from you in the future, or is that not a series that would hold a great deal of interest to you?

Dan: I’d like to do one, actually. It’s just a matter of finding a slot to fit it into.

Mace: And that concludes the interveiw! Thank you again for your time and I wish you every success with your future work.

Dan: Thank you! It’s been fun!

Interview by
Macewind, TPD Admin

Dan wrote:

Ray Bradbury for Dandelion Wine, Alan Garner for Elidor and the Owl Service, Jack Vance for the Demon Prince novels, HP Lovecraft for everything he wrote, John Buchan for Greenmantle, Edgar Rice Burroughs for Pellucidar and Mars, Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Keith Laumer, John Wyndham…

reds8n wrote:

One of GW best people that they let go at some point

You know he works, and has done since he left WD, for BL right ?

I did like the retconned ending where Sigmar himself curses the vampire kind to for all time fear him and his name. Which in the past was something Nagash did because the original vampires (from the Nagash novels) abandoned him.

Ozymandias wrote:Am I the only one who remembers the Purging of Kallidus as the garage campaign that Andy Chambers ran with his buds?

The fact they are now writing novels about it would blow my mind if I was one of the participants.

Ozymandias wrote:Am I the only one who remembers the Purging of Kallidus as the garage campaign that Andy Chambers ran with his buds?

Welcome to the second in the series of interviews carried out for you by The Painted Dragon.

This time we have Graham Mcneil.

After writing a story in primary school about a giant octopus smashing up a boat, Graham realised that making stuff up was easier (and a lot more fun) than reality and decided at an early age that he was either going to be a binman or a writer. Fortunately, a life on the bins wasn’t on the cards and, after escaping a stint as a building surveyor in Glasgow, he headed south in 2000 to join Games Workshop’s Games Development Team. Here he worked on projects such as the Tau, Necrons, Witch Hunters, Space Marines and Black Templars codexes for Warhammer 40,000, Conquest of the New World and The Empire for Warhammer, and The Two Towers for The Lord of the Rings. As well as all this, he was involved in running Studio campaigns and collecting the odd toy soldier.

Between populating the various Warhammer universes with fiends and heroes, he’s written a host of short stories for the Black Library and over twenty novels, which came about when he was approached in a seedy bar (well, Bugman’s) and asked if he’d like to write a novel involving a codex chapter of Space Marines. After a full microsecond’s thought he said yes and five months later, the first Uriel Ventris novel, Nightbringer, was published. Later Graham turned to his darker side and wrote Storm of Iron, featuring the twisted servants of Chaos in form of the Iron Warriors. More Uriel Ventris novels followed, Warriors of Ultramar and Dead Sky, Black Sun, as well as three novels set in the dark and dangerous Warhammer World; the Ambassador, Ursun’s Teeth and Guardians of the Forest.

Following that it was a return to the 40K universe, but in a slightly different way, penning False Gods, a novel of the Horus Heresy (which seemed to do alright…), the second book in the opening trilogy of this epic period.

Graham left Games Workshop in the summer of 2006 and now works as a full-time freelancer, spending most of his days locked in a tiny office and dreaming up new and dangerous ways to start wars in the Warhammer universes and put his characters through hell on the pages of his novels, short stories and background books. His latest Horus Heresy novel, A Thousand Sons, was a New York Times bestseller, and Empire, the second novel in the Sigmar trilogy won the 2010 David Gemmell Legend Award for best fantasy novel.
Graham McNiell’s Website
The Interview

Mace: Which writers inspired you as you grew up, and which books stick in your mind the most as influential works?

GM: I was (and still am) massively influenced by David Gemmell. I love the heroic aspect he brings to his characters, the grit to the fantasy and the sweep of the landscapes they inhabit. Waylander has always been my favourite of his books, though The King Beyond the Gate would give it a run for its money. Clive Barker has been a great influence too, the sheer breadth of his imagination staggers me when I go back to reading his books – especially Imajica and Weaveworld. Beyond that, I’ll admit to not having read a lot of ‘classic’ SF, but have latterly gotten into writers like Gene Wolf, Conan Doyle, Verne and so on. And it would be rude not to mention Dan Abnett, who writes 40k like everyone wants to.
Did you always want to be a writer or was it something you naturally fell into?

GM: Yeah, I think it was something I was always going to do, and just kind of took my time getting there via university and a few other jobs in-between. I don’t think anyone ‘falls’ into writing, I think that its something their born to do, and will go there in the end if they get the chance. If you want to be a writer, you’ll not be happy doing anything else. I certainly never was, and that’s why I think, since an early age, I always knew I’d have to tell stories for a living or else risk being very unhappy in work and life.

Mace: You published about recently travelling to Paris and Lille to do some book signings, does it ever amaze you the sheer amount of popularity your books receive, especially overseas in other countries?

GM: It’s always amazing to imagine your books being read, let alone in another language. Every author hopes his books will get to the widest audience possible, but to cross the language barrier and be read in many, many different languages is just amazing. Every time I go abroad, whether it’s to an English speaking country or not, I’m always blown away by the passion and enthusiasm folk have for my books. It never gets old seeing eager faces who clearly like the books coming up to see me. It never gets any less strange either, ‘You’re queuing to see me??’. It’s the strangest life I’ve ever known…

Mace: How do you plan a book? Do you have the ending already worked out or does the story grow on its own?

GM: A little of both, but mostly the former. My synopsis style is quite verbose, as I like to make sure the editors get how things play out along the way and don’t need to scratch their heads wondering how the characters get from situation A to B. Knowing how it’s ‘likely’ to play out is kind of like having a safety net, but one that’s a bit frayed around the edges. Going into a novel, I like my plots to be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny and offer me a good guide (and that’s all it is really, it’s not Rand McNally or Ordnance Survey) but has enough flex in its bones to adapt to better ideas that often occur along the way. The folks at Black Library like to know what they’re getting before they commission a novel, but they understand that novels are organic things that grow in their own way, and sometimes won’t end up the way you planned. Sometimes the characters demand their own stories, folk you planned to kill off won’t let you, or, now that you’ve got into the nitty gritty of the book, some of the logic doesn’t quite hold up. All those things can help twist the story in ways you didn’t expect, so it’s best if your plan can meet those changes and still work out pretty much the way you wanted. If you read the synopses of most of my novels, you’d not recognise half of them.

Mace: Are your characters based on real people? And do you ever grow attached to them and miss them when they die? (the characters)

GM: The only person I’ve based a character on is myself (though I didn’t realise that until someone pointed it out to me) in the Ambassador. It’s never a good idea to base characters on folk you know, as they can get upset if you do terrible things to them or portray them in unsympathetic ways. Anyway, it’s more fun to invent my own characters!

Mace: What is your favourite book, and character that you’ve written and why?

GM: I get asked that a lot, and it’s always a tough question to answer. The glib answer is ‘the one I’m working on now’, but that’s a little disingenuous. The one I can go back to and actually read, as opposed to dipping into for background research, is The Ambassador Chronicles, as I think it’s a nice, self-contained pair of books that tell their story in an energetically direct way and don’t outstay their welcome. I’m very proud of all my books, and each one has a particular memory attached to it that makes it special: Nightbringer for being my first, A Thousand Sons because I was writing it when my son, Evan, was born. And so on. When it comes to characters, it’s often not the big guns that stay with you as favourites, it’s often the smaller roles. Pasanius and Honsou are immense fun to write, as is Wolfgart from the Sigmar books, but I can’t deny that I love writing the heroic exploits of Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines and Sigmar of the Unberogen.

Mace: What army is your favourite to write about.

GM: I don’t write about ‘armies’ as such, so I can’t really answer that. Tyranids are fun to write, as they’re so alien and unknowable and scary that they make great antagonists. I’m going to be writing about Necrons soon, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of making them properly scary and serried. It’s the character of the characters that makes them favourites to write about, not what army they come from.

Mace: If you could invent a brand new army to introduce to the 40k world, what/who would it be?
GM: Fishmen of Aquapolis Binary. Or maybe not. I don’t know yet, but when I get going on my new trilogy (starting towards the end of 2011…) I’ll be introducing a lot of new things into the galaxy. The characters are going to be venturing into vast swathes of wilderness space that the Imperium hasn’t even begun to survey yet. So we’ll see what happens there…

Mace: Any current plans for titles where legions that took smaller parts in the Horus Heresy, such as the Salamanders and Night Lords receive ‘top billing’?

GM: Not for me, no, but I expect both the Legions you name to have a little firelight shone on them soon. Once I get done with The Outcast Dead, I’ll be hitting one of the biggest Legions…

Mace: I would like to know if there is a book planed, that shows the Horus Heresy from the sight of the Eldar or another Xenos race?

GM: I bet you would. So would I. Since the Heresy engulfs them as well, I’d be surprised if we don’t see something from their perspective, but whether that’s a full novel, I don’t know.

Mace: If Codex Pictures approached you – would you be interested in writing a script and which faction would you most like to focus on?

GM: Of course I would. I’d love to write an Ultramarines movie if there’s to be a sequel. But as Dan did such a fine job on the first one, who knows what will happen. If it wasn’t to be an Ultramarines movie, then I dunno, maybe a Chaos one or an Ork one.

Mace: Will you be writing anything more of the Thousand Sons in the future?

GM: I think there’s certainly scope for another one, but it wouldn’t be for a while. When there’s so many new avenues to explore, it’s often counter-intuitive to go back to folk you’ve dealt with before. The main beats of their story has been told (as it’s known anyway…) and the main biggie of the Rubric doesn’t happen until after the Heresy. I became very attached to the Thousand Sons over the course of the book, so I’d be surprised if I don’t go back to them before it’s all over. I’d love to do a 40k story of Ahriman, where – in his mind – he’s still loyal, and is still fighting to prove that Chaos can be mastered and that the Emperor was wrong to chastise Magnus. Of course, he’s lost sight of the horrors he’s inflicting along the way, but that’s Chaos for you…

Mace: I would love to know if there will be another Iron Warriors book. Do you think the real Fulgrim is still around in the 40k universe, still trapped somewhere inside his painting?

GM: I suspect that Honsou is too bad to stay down for long, but how, where or if he’ll return with an Iron Warriors book is something I’ll need to think about. If there’s a story that he’d be perfect for, then I think he’ll come back. But I won’t bring him back just for the sake of it, only if there’s a good reason for him to be strutting around. As to Fulgrim, his presence in the portrait is something I quite fancy addressing in the Heresy series. Maybe some Emperor’s Children find out about it and, finding the idea repellent, try to do something about it. Not sure, but I think it’s a nice is he/isn’t he dangling hook.

Mace: Will we have more Ventris novels?

GM: You will indeed. The Chapter’s Due was NOT the last book, merely the end of an arc. I have the next three sketched out in my head already, and I can’t wait to get started on them, though it’s likely to be a little while as other projects elbow their way to the front of the schedule queue.

Mace: I’ve read you have Tau and Necron armies. Do you get to play often and do you write personalized background for your armies and units?

GM: I don’t get to play nearly as much as I used to (or would like to), but I still get my weekly fix of gaming in the roleplay group I’m part of. Writing and life and looking after my little boy often get in the way of gaming, but when he’s older, I’m sure we’ll be rolling dice and moving toy soldiers every week… I have self-penned backgrounds for my Tau and Empire armies, though not my Necrons (I like their faceless, unknown quality), and the Ultramarines 4th company army I have has its background in the novels, so that saves a job…

Mace: You’ve written a duology with Dan Abnett – how did you find that and what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?

GM: Writing with Dan was a great experience, and we’ve collaborated several times on varying projects, each time with great results. I think we’ve both enjoyed the creative buzz you get in throwing ideas back and forth and seeing what comes out of the process. Dan always inspires me, and hopefully he goes away with fresh ideas and perspectives. I suppose we must like it, as we keep doing it! Long may it continue. As to other writers I’d like to collaborate with, well in the Horus Heresy, we all work together on the stories, characters and plots, so I guess I get to work with them when we have our pow-wows at BL towers.

And thats the lot! Thanks again for your time and I wish you every success with your future works.

Interview by
Macewind, TPD Admin.

So we were in the recording studio yesterday putting together our first ever all-girl Warhammer 40,000 audio drama - Red & Black, featuring the Sisters of Battle - and it was a pretty good day. Although I think I may have broken the voices of our actresses with all the shouting and snarling...

This audio story features the talent of the brilliant Beth Chalmers (previously heard in Black Library's Throne of Lies and Aenarion audios), who brought the character of Sister Miriya from my novel Faith & Fire to life. Joining Beth was the equally excellent Lisa Bowerman, better known as the titular heroine of the Bernice Summerfield audio series from Big Finish Productions. Lisa swapped acting and directing duties with the venerable Toby Longworth this time around.

Red & Black will be out later in the year; it's a prequel to Faith & Fire (which will also get a reprint soon) and be followed by the next adventure of the Sisters, Hammer & Anvil.

But before that, Legion of One - my next Horus Heresy audio - will be out, and with it the anthology Victories of the Space Marines. I listened to Legion of One last night, and it's stellar work from Toby and Lisa, along with some epic sound design and music by Jamie Robertson.

As for Victories of the Space Marines, the anthology includes a reprint of my story Heart of Rage. This was one of the first Black Library audios, and it was previously only available in text form in the Blood Angels print-on-demand collection The Book of Blood.

When Heart of Rage was originally produced, we had to trim it for length to fit the story on a single CD, but when Black Library decided to reprint the text version of the story, I made sure we got the full-spec "uncut" text.

reds8n wrote:Yeah, that would be good, I've seen that sell for £200+.. which is too steep for my pockets.