Sunday, September 23, 2007

Post girding

Well, hands were shaken, books were signed, queues were queued, loins were girded, and jam was defended. That, my lords ladies and gentlemen, was Games Day UK 2007, and I hope you all had as much fun as Nik and I did.

In a day literally jam packed, many fun moments stand out, but I would particularly like to thank:

1) Xhalax, for the jam of course (real, defendable jam, everyone). (NB - Xhalax is a she, Steve)

2) Rachel, for the thank you gift - the dedication was my pleasure.

3) Anybody who came on behalf of someone else and queued in the mammoth queue (it was long, I don’t mean it had extinct ice age elephants in it). Great examples of this would be kampfhamster who came and said hi on Packmaster’s behalf, and Matthew Churchill’s mate, who stood in line on Matt’s behest and casually handed me a cell phone with Matt at the other end of it when he reached me, which was, frankly, very jet set.

4) My fellow Black Library creative types: Graham (and Rebecca), Nathan Long, Jim Swallow, Alex Stewart, Ben Counter, Neil Roberts, Mitchel Scanlon, Ian Edginton, Steve Parker (great to meet you at last!), Jonathan Green and everyone else. It was great to see everyone and a shame there wasn’t time to chat more.

5) B.P. Steve and Claire. Hope you liked the book.

6) Mat, Dju and Leonidas from the Bibliotheque Interdite for being such great company on Saturday night.

7) Marco, Lindsey and the entire staff of BL for working so hard to make it all happen. There were a lot of tired faces in VIP by the end, so I hope the evening in Bugman’s afterwards recharged your batteries. Thanks very much for a great day, Black Library.

8) And everyone else (think that covers it).


There are, as regular readers can tell, some ‘follow up issues’ regarding the casting suggestions. Glad that stirred things up, and I will go back and sort the wheat from the chaff at some point (not now). But I would like to follow up on rfox’s question about the Games Day exclusive and the ship is sinking’s about the OID collector’s edition: I am reliably informed that both are now available via the BL mail order (while stocks last). So, uh, HURRY is all I can say.

And finally, I’d like to share the follow words with you (in no particular order): loins, gird, defend, pumpernickel (Saberrox is right, that’s great to type).

I ate all the jam.

I’m Alpharius, goodnight!

57 comments:

Kampfhamster said...

Hey Dan. It was really nice to meet you. Now I love my books even more. I hope to see you at anothre occasion. But I'm here for another 3 months, so, who knows? Ah yeah, Only in Death is FANTASTIC! I'm almost done with it.

Bodjo said...

Ahem, since I can't get my hands on OiD for a while, please post a spoiler warning if anyone's going to discuss how Gaunt dies. Thanks. :P

I take a good time was had by all?

Anonymous said...

To Dan & Nik
I have an acceptance speech all written out and it will only take up 25 ,30 mins of your time to read it all.

ah hhemm ready
not really, but i would truly like to thank u guys for spending the time with me an the missus it made our day. An to all the guys out there ,if you saw how many people turned up and were treated exceptionally well(1 guy turned up as Dan put his pen away with about 12 books and he happily signed them all with enthusiasim and a smile)u would know that its always worth turning up to a D.A. book signing!

U can pay me later Dan ha ha

Dan for some one whose led a life like mine , the book dedication was probably one of the coolest things anyones ever done for me .I was made over mate, i really was what an honour!an to get the copy and edition i did , n3 lim. ed. was just bloody amazing! I was so chuffed i forgot to get u to sign my copy of The Inquisition!
Now i have just got to get my hands on a copy i can read!
After i got the book from u i must have spent about an hour strutting round like a slanneshi peacock showing everyone i knew (and some i didnt). All in all a fantastic day and i am looking forward to november gourmet burgers on me!

Xhalax a girl! (sorry mate)

i must be getting old


and remember he,s Alpharius

Anonymous said...

BP Steve - You're a honey, and it was our pleasure (although the Emperor only knows how Claire puts up with you). I hope there's a burger with my name on too.

Anonymous said...

I was gonna come at two-thirty but it was the Warseer meet and then I was dragged to a pub *cries* I brought books and everything! Stoopit Lavfluris and his gin-buyage...

Xhalax: It was good to finally meet you...

Anonymous said...

Everyone – Sorry I couldn’t be stuck in the Mammoth Queue with you yesterday, would have been lovely to meet a few of the ‘regulars’ and have a chat!

B.P. Steve – I know exactly how you feel, mate! That’s how I felt when I opened up Ravenor Returned! I hope you enjoy Only In Death as much as I did. You’ll probably enjoy it more, being a beefy-blokey-type-man. Slaaneshi peacocks like me prefer the company of Carl Thonius and a long cocktail! And you’re right – Dan is a lovely bloke. Now I’ll stop being so sycophantic too…

Dan (or should I say Alpharius?) – Being called ‘very jet set’ made me laugh like thunder. It was simple serendipity that made me activate my emissary’s comm-link mere seconds before he reached the front of the Mammoth Queue.

Nik – Kiss gratefully received! Woo hoo! Always like to have a kiss on the cheek from the lovely ladies!

XMX

P.S. Dan – I’ll be getting back to you very soon (bit busy right now)…

Anonymous said...

maybe you're ALL Alpharius!

Anonymous said...

Dan,

Thanks for signing The issues od 2000ad for me - I'm going to have to find something a little more interesting for you to sign next year...!

Yet again, you made GD a worthwhile investment!

(Oh, and Clint was sooo embarrassed by the Dinosty Progs I asked to sign!)

All the best,
Darryl.

Anonymous said...

*laughs and continues to laugh in a suitably evil manner*

Bodjo said...

How evil is "suitably evil"?

Pack_master said...

Quote Kampfhamster
"Ah yeah, Only in Death is FANTASTIC! I'm almost done with it."

You know, I have to kill you for that now.

Kampfhamster said...

I know Paci, I know... because of that I've written it. *g*

Anonymous said...

Such is the volume of work written about the inquistion that the book by the same name is an invaluble reference guide to not onnly Dans stuff but certanly all the chracters i have read about ,places ,names ,historys everything .Bloody good idea if u aint got one its a must .

Anonymous said...

Gamesday rocked! It was good to see a few other girls about too! I must say that I missed out on the opportunity to PVA glue some foam rocks together! Though I had so much fun meeting Dan. He signed my three hardback Ravenor books. They are my favourite books and ive got a bit of a thing for Kys! HA Seeing Dan was too cool (and mostly the reason for me getting up at bloody six in the morning)! Nat. x.

Anonymous said...

hmmm... tempest burger...

i'm glad to have gotten the gamers edition backpack and apocalypse woo!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Nik for dropping the hints regarding Alpharius - as always I will be waiting in line on release day.

On the subject of castings the Iron Snakes would make an interesting cast list:

Gerard Butler as Petrok (obvious, and slightly 'mad')
Milo Ventimiglia (from Heroes) as Xander
Josh Duhamel (from 'Transformers') as Priad
Timothy Olyphant as Khiron
Rupert Evans ('Hell Boy') as Dyognes
Nick Moran as Andromek
Josh Lucas ('Stealth') as Pindor

Anonymous said...

corbec should definately be played by harrison ford!

Anonymous said...

Nik i promise their the best an biggest burgers ur ever likely to have!
Seriously the biggest problem is how to eat them.U see some people eat them with a knife &fork but the real challenge is just to tuck in an enjoy .

P.S I f u dont like em i,ll do the "Cheese Run"

Anonymous said...

Steve - meat... good!
cheese... good!
jam... good!

Anonymous said...

With the new signing-off note that Abnett Prime is employing in these blog posts, can we expect to see the following scene in "Legion"?

MARINE: "I'm Alpharius!"
MARINE: "I'm Alpharius!"
MARINE: "I'm Spartac-- erm, I mean, Alpharius!"
MARINE: "I'm Alpharius!"
GUILLIMAN: "I can tell which one of you is Alpharius, dimwits - the fact that a Primarch's about sixteen feet high's a bit of a giveaway."
ALPHARIUS: "...Damn."

Aidee said...

...since barely opening my course-litterarture makes me topple over into a coma I think it's time to take a break from studying with some sweet Gaunt's Ghosts...

Thank you Mr. Alpharius (hmm, or should that be "Lord Abnett"?) for the many hours of exciting reading...

Take care
-one of many swedish (gothenburg) fans (time to visit us!)

The Bibliotheque Interdite of France said...

Bonjour! I would like to thank you Dan (and Nik), in the name of Leonidas and Dju for the lovely dinner and the nice chat, thanks for telling us that you didn't even know who's Alpharius, that explains a lot actually... I hope you've drive safely and that you are already finishing Legion so that we can start the translation in french!

Rob Rath said...

Sorry I missed Games Day UK! All sorts of nonsense got in the way, first the Pacific Ocean, then the continent of Eurasia... it was a big mess.

Would the Tom Clancy game you're writing the chatter for be End War? My 360 is practically a Tom Clancy machine, what with Rainbow Six and GRAW and such. Halo 3 will break that mold tomorrow...

Oh, and...

Rawne: Daniel Craig or James Purefoy
Varl: Clive Owen
Fischig: Aaron Eckhart

Anonymous said...

Hi Dan !
It appears that Mat has just thanked you on behalf of me, but I must repeat here it was a pleasure, as ever, to meet and have a chat with you (let's not get into details). And I'm sorry to say that I'M Alpharius, and sorry for the other Alphariuses as well.
On the plane back to France, me an Mat had a quick brainstorming on the Ghosts casting. I must say I was glad to find that Elijah Wood as Milo and Abraham "Kubiak" Benrubi as Bragg had already come up, and I think Ben Affleck would really impersonate Daur as I imagine him. I don't want to drag you all into a full list of my weird ideas (and when I say "weird", I mean, for a start, casting Michael Schumascher as Gaunt. Yeah, the pilot. Fancy him driving that ork truck in "Permafrost"). But here's a bit of thought.
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Bragg. Yeah, I know he's black, so what ? Dan is the one who picked Denzel Washington in the first place.
- I think we've got the perfect Larkin here in France, in the person of Gil Charpenet, my former boss, still working as the head of GW France's translation Studio. Very lanky, skiny, half-dark kind of guy, but googling him up doesn't give anything, so take my word for it. Or... Willem Dafoe. Come on, you guys, I can't believe Willem Dafoe didn't come up even once in your choices ? Sergent Elias, Platoon ? He's got to fit in the Ghosts somewhere ! Or as Cuu, maybe ?
- But my choice for Cuu would be a French actor, Vincent Cassel. Ehrm, Dan... "Gerard Depardieu" as Kolea ? Really ?
- Mat says Eliza Dushku for Tona Criid, I says Hayden Panettiere with short bleached hair and a nose ring (for the least). Bets are off.
- Same debate for Ana Curth : he says Claire Forlani, I'd go for Julianne Nicholson. My Ally McBeal side.
- I figured Bruce Campbell would have his place. Grow him a moustache and I'd cast him as Brostin.
- Not many ideas were thrown in for the scouts, but how about Ray Park for a MkVenner ? He's got a good face, and he's got all it takes in martial arts.
- And, erhm, well... To end this already long list on a cheerful note (hopefully), I say cast Dan Abnett as Antonid Biota, Nik as Inquisitor Lilith, and Rick Priestley as Zweil. That wicked smile of his. Or Sandy Mitchell.

Dju

Anonymous said...

okay dan i have all the quaestions ready where should i send them?

Pack_master said...

Schumascher... well, sorry, but I had a good laugh there... :D

Anonymous said...

For me, Gaunt has always been Goran Visnic (whose name I can't spell): big (but lean) and beautiufl, with soulful eyes, and I love his accent. He's also a classical actor, which I think has to be a bonus. I know he's dark, but that's just personal. I never got the Gaunt/blond thing.

T. Ryan Arnold said...

When I read the Ghost books I always see Gaunt as Hugh Laurie.

Anonymous said...

But Nik....Goran Visnjic isn't blonde! And I think he'd look pretty strange with blonde hair and a goatee as he has quite a dark complexion.

Though he is a bit of alright though! :D

Anyhoooo.....Mr. Abnett, I'm going to say something that I didn't think it was possible for me to say but:

Have you been lending Beltayn your cloning machine?

I only ask because on page 187, near the bottom of the page you have one too many Bels. He even manages to walk around the table to stand behind himself instead of Baskevyl.

Never thought I'd have a problem with more than one Bel but it did make me giggle.

Plus, I think I'm going to end up having a heart attack over Only In Death. Either that or I'm going to develop claustrophobia....and it'll be all YOUR fault.

Kampfhamster said...

Heh... xahlanx is right. I just read it too. There are too many beltanys there. Dan I thinks somethings awry... But why always 187? This is my lucky number, it keeps following me.187 was the number of my cadian army, It was the number I got when I left my jacket at the wardrobe at a club, it's the number for death/kill/murder in the US police code, etc. 187 is following me...

Kampfhamster said...

Ah yeah, sorry for the second post, I've had got a heart attak about 6 time reading the book. After I finished it, my hands were shaking...

And you're sure that there will be a pause untill the next GG? YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT! Ok, you can but I'll die...

Anonymous said...

Fuck it
i,ve just broken open the strong box and i,ve started on the lim . ed.I know i said i wouldent but its the Ghosts u know!?!
Sorry Dan but the lure of a good book....

The Bibliotheque Interdite of France said...

Hey Dan,

I've just finish Only in Death. I would like to thank you for it. It's fantastic. Thank you very much...

The ship is sinking said...

Gah!!! I just finished Only In Death. GAHHHHHHH!!!!! I bunked off work today especially to finish it having sat up till 3.45 last night unable to put it down (as a side note these collectors editions sure are resilient little buggers. It slept on my chest all night and it didn't have a single crease or drool mark upon its shiny green carapace by morning. Unlike my poor girlfriend. Sleep like a baby I do not). I've got to say Mr Abnett, you sure know how to write a good siege. I've been patiently waiting for another one since Necropolis. Now I suppose I'd better get back to doing just that if GG is on an extended hiatus. Oh and thank you for finally answering the question of who the books title was about. Pg 297 and the run up to it actually had me full on welling up and its been a long time since a book did that to me. Very fitting. I'm starting again now thinking about it. BLUB...

Sorry for not coming to say hey this year. My gimpy leg troubled me for the whole day so the idea of standing in the afore mentioned mammoth queue was off putting to say the least. It does how ever mean that you now have one more book in the ever increasing pile to sign when we next meet. I did however brave the BL queue first thing to get my paws on a copy of the Games Day short storys though. Very enjoyable. A very telling look at the loyal Primarchs take on their wayward kin. I'm almost out of Abnett filled joy now though (wooooer!) I've only got the Ravenor trilogy to read and that's it. No more playing catch up. It's all just a waiting game after that. Write faster damn you!!!

Anyway, better go now my ladyfriend claims her wedding photography takes presidence over me moaning that my life is once again without any Ghost filled meaning. Yeah as if...

Anonymous said...

I'm not amused!

There I was all tooled up to expect the worst and THAT happened.

So OiD goes off to its rightful owner now and I can't say anything coz BL is busy doing it's 'All change' routine.

BAH!

Though I did realise I share the same initials as Ludd and had to go 'Yay!'

Anonymous said...

Xhalax - NL - Jam Bunny... how many identities do you have?

Pack_master said...

Jam Bunny... hrhrhr! :D

Anonymous said...

Nik.....as many as I can possibly get away with.

Jam bunny, eh?

They're good for confusing people so I can run and hide....or duck and cover depending on which I feel like doing.

Bodjo said...

Random "converting family to Gaunt's Ghosts fandom" comment:

You know what's really fun? Chasing people around the house yelling Novobazky's speech.

"BELLADON BLOOD IS LIKE WINE ON THE EMPEROR'S LIPS!"

Right, I'm going to cut down on my caffeine intake now.

Unknown said...

Ahaha, friends, forum friends and class mates are all the targets of my "READ GAUNT'S GHOSTS, DAMMIT!" campaign.

I've yet to have much luck.

I would have loved to wait in the massive line up, but the atlantic ocean was in the way. I'll be in England in May...but that's not games day UK. Yar!

So now OiD is out and I still haven't gotten my paws on AoC, this is madness!

Pack_master said...

No, this is BLACK LIBRARY!!!


Sorry, needs must when daemons drive ;)

Anonymous said...

I always saw Vinnie jones as Cuu
Clive owen as rawne/Eisenhorn ?

Anonymous said...

Chritopher Eccleston as Gaunt (when he is thin)

Pack_master said...

Clive Owen's neither fierce nor gaunt. No candidate für Gaunt IMHO.

Dju said...

Packmaster - Then who would be your candidate ?

Pack_master said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pack_master said...

Well, as said, the actor of Commissar Holt from Final Liberation. But I think he's too old now ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOi3CzZjV0M&mode=related&search=

Jonathan Green said...

Hi Dan, and thanks for the mention. It was good to see you and the good lady wife (and 'see' was about all I did manage) last Sunday. Only sorry we didn't get to chat and catch up on news. 'Only in Death' is ready and waiting for me to finish Si Spurrier's 'Contract', having jumped to the top of my 'To Read' pile. Cheers for now.

Anonymous said...

WHAAT RUUUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
What a book!
what a book!
RRUUUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
I must say its good to have the ghosts back on top form.
and all over a pot of jam!
cant say much without spoiling the story but the Ghosts go at it toe to toe with the Blood Pact propa.The Blood Pact jump out at you from this book.
Fav line

"you sort to have to admire their balls"Mkoll Chief of Scouts atributed to The Blood Pact

Anonymous said...

@Dan

i'll post all the questions here so could you answer them in your next blog?

would you ever consider sticking a tempest in a book somewhere? ^^
(only joking.

fell free to not answer any questions you don't want to.


"Will there be novel(s) where the Isstvaan V Dropsite Massacre and the Battle Of Terra is described in full detail? Because right now, the books are skirting the main plot."

'What novel are you most proud or do you think has the most impact on GW fiction?'

How far do you plan on taking the Gaunt's Ghost series? Are we going to see the final battle of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade with the Ghost?

Any more plans to put out some full novels or short stories on Inquisitor Eisenhorn and his further adventures?

What is your nexted planned Horus Hersy novel?

Can we expect to see any of your more indepth characters added to Warhammer 40K? It would be nice to actually see the Ghost characters put back into play. Eisenhorn and Ravenor maybe?

What are you future writing plans? Anything in the works for a new series?

Are you a 40K player? If so, what is your prefered army?

Will we ever see Brin Milo and Agun Soric again?

Here on Astronomican.com, we have several budding authors who frequently write short-stories and even quite long series' based on the 40k universe. Do you have any tips for the future writers of BL fiction, and budding sci-fi/fantasy writers in general?

Which one of your many, varied characters do you think has most in common with yourself?

In a similar vein, if you could be in the 40k universe, who (or what!) would you be?

With 'Only In Death' closing on its public release, and your plans to take a brake, are you planning to revisit the sabbat worlds in other books? or will double eagle 2 be the last for the foreseeable future?

- Of the non-Warhammer stuff that you have done which is your favourite?

- Of the comic stuff you have co-created (rather than just written for) which makes you most proud?

- What's it like to see your characters made into Citadel miniatures? Are they as you imagined them?

- Do you have an Iron Snakes army?


What is it like being lord of the universe?

Dasroyale @ Imp-Lit: Who is your favorite character to write about and why?

Dasroyale @ Imp-Lit: If you could make a movie out of anyone of your novels, what novel would it be and who would you like to see acting in your movie?

You seem to have a very good working knowledge of a military fighting force and its organisation in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, do you have a military background? If not what sources do you use?


thanks

Bodjo said...

You seem to have a very good working knowledge of a military fighting force and its organisation in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, do you have a military background? If not what sources do you use?

That relates to something I've been wondering...is there no such thing as a lieutenant in the Imperial Guard?

Pack_master said...

Why, yes there is, but not in the Ghosts. The Tanith 1st has a organisation different from standard.

Standard:

Regiment, consisting of about a dozen companies or so, if I remember correctly. Lead by a Colonel and his command squad.
Each company, lead by a captain (rarely a major for special companies or veterans (veteran squads here, taking the place of a company - veterans often are standing outside of regimental organisations, other privileges not mentioned), consists of around 5 platoons, each commanded by a lieutenant.
A platoon consist of a command sqad and two up to 6 squads of ten men, lead by sergeants.

The Tanith 1st on the other hand has a rather simple organisation. It simply consist of about 100 platoons (less than 100 before the joining of Lucien Wilder's men). Each platoon consists of 50 men, lead by a sergeant. First platoon lead by Gaunt, 2nd now by Rawne, 3rd by Ban Daur, 4th by the belladon officer whose name slipped me *duck*.

Did I forget something? The leaders of the platoons 3 and onwards aren't for sure to me now, I was recalling from memory ;)

Bodjo said...

D'oh. I meant to ask that question about the Ghosts, not the Imperial Guard. Still, your answer applies.

I'm guessing the organization has to do with the Ghosts being a stealth regiment?

Pack_master said...

Well, dunno, in the books the organisation was never questioned about that or so.

Anonymous said...

I was at GD, but failed to find time to join the massive queue for signing - having gone to uni now I spent the time meeting people from my home town, and they needed beating at Talisman.

Next time I'm sure I'll manage it {Have more books by then too).

Anonymous said...

Dan Nik ladies and gents, great book out its called "Sniper One" its a true story about our lads in Iraq .Im reading the it now and its really near the mark.

Sure as Sure

Anonymous said...

I am the Ape man
I am the Walruss
Koo koo ka chuu