A few exciting things to cover since my last update, so let’s kick it off with, appropriately enough, The First.
Yes! THE LION: SON OF THE FOREST has been voted Black Library’s Book of the Year for 2023! This is absolutely amazing (and only happened because all three parts of The End And The Death counted as separate entries, but I’ll take it). I’m so glad that so many people liked my take on the return of Lion El’Jonson, Primarch of the First Legion, to the galaxy of Warhammer 40,000. Maybe there’s something relatable about feeling old and tired and waking up to realise that your children are dicks and everything’s on fire, who knows…
Secondly, my big green lad is here!
This is my Ufthak, there are many others like it, but this one is mine… The Bad Moons’ newest Warboss was out in model form during February (I’m hoping he comes back into the main range at some point, but I’ve no idea if that will happen), and here’s my take on his painting! I absolutely love this minature, and his rules are pretty fun as well. His newest adventure, DA BIG DAKKA, is also out now, although you’ll have to pick it up in ebook or audiobook at the moment as unfortunately the hardbacks have sold out (no, I don’t know when the paperback’s coming out, but I imagine it’ll be a good six months or more, it usually is).
Finally (for now), I’ll be at EasterCon over (unsurprisingly) Easter Weekend. It’s in Telford this year, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the regulars, and hopefully some new faces as well. I can definitely recommend conventions like EasterCon and FantasyCon as an entry point into the British SFF community: there are fascinating panels for and from both fans and creators (and aspiring creators), and although it probably shouldn’t be the case, networking can definitely be an advantage if you’re hoping for some sort of success in this area. I’m fairly distinctive, so people tend to remember me (obviously, it’s down to me to ensure that their memories are positive ones, or at least not actively negative…)
Anyway, I hope to see some of you there. Feel free to say hi: just don’t expect me to recognise you from a thumbnail profile picture in real life, since my facial recognition is poor at the best of times…
I loved Da Big Dakka, and I’m looking forward to adding the signed Black Library special edition to my bookshelf right next to my special edition copy of Brutal Kunnin. Do you know when the special edition will be released? I know it was announced at the Warhammer Preview, but then postponed.
What’s it like to sign that many books? And how did you decide on your unique signature?
I have no idea about the special edition, I’m afraid! And to be fair, even if I did, I wouldn’t be popular if I let that information out before Games Workshop did themselves. As for the book signing, you just get into a sort of trance-like rhythm of sign, move on, sign, move on, rotate the Sharpie in your hand ever ten pages so the tip doesn’t flatten down unevenly… and my signature is just a squiggled ‘Mike’ with a smiley mohawk because that’s a) pretty instantly recognisable, b) sufficiently different from my actual signature, and c) didn’t take a great deal of time to think up!