Hi all!
Dan had a lovely jaunt to London today. He met with the BBC for an interview. It must be nice to be popular.
Matthew Wright interviewed Dan for his Friday night show, which, I think is called 'Weekender' and goes out on Radio 2 at 10pm (BST). I believe it will also be available as a podcast.
Torchwood fans and (wouldbe) writers might want to listen in, because the subject for the interview was writing a Torchwood story for CD format. Dan and Matthew also had a nice chat, so you might just want to listen in for that.
Right now, Dan is sitting at his keyboard battling with Titanicus, which is good news for all of us.
He will, of course, be back soon, so keep an eye out over the weekend for his next blog.
Nik
Will the BBC episode be viewable on the web?
ReplyDeleteShawn - the interview was for radio, and the Torchwood story was for audio, so just sound, I'm afraid, although I believe there will be a podcast of the interview. If Dan is ever asked to write a tv episode, I'm sure he'll be delighted, and that you will all know about it.
ReplyDeleteWait, Wait, Wait...is Dan writing some torchwood episodes?
ReplyDeleteI've caught a couple episodes on BBC America...the couple episodes I watched seemed like 24 meets X-Files...
NICE!
I really should read the Torchwood books I bought. On recoollection, buying them purely because one was written by Dan probably wasn't the wisest idea in the world.
ReplyDeleteAh well.
Thanks for letting us know, Nik. I’ll be sure to tune in after Torchwood finishes tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteI read Border Princes last week (at long last). It felt disconcertingly strange to be reading about my native Cathays instead of Cadia. Clearly I need to be spending more time in the real world! And I think Dan should check the clone enclosure. One of them must have sneaked out and written the ‘Adam’ episode.
Looking forward to more Torchwood goodness from Dan (and crossing my fingers for a TV episode),
M
Does anyone have more info on Titanicus? Will it feature the Imperius Dictatio? Perhaps when Macabee was still at the helm.
ReplyDeleteCurses!
ReplyDeleteI'll never get Top Gear watched tonight at this rate!
Torchwood, the radio, general life.
CURSES!
I hear that Xhalax!
ReplyDeleteAre you listening Oh Immortal God Emperor? An extra day in the week would be nice!
Xhalax - What is it with girls and Top Gear anyway?
ReplyDeletemaybe she likes it coz Hammond reminds her of Ban? hahaha
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of Torchwood (altho maybe if Dan was writing for it, it'd improve) It takes itself far too seriously, and (speaking as a native of South Wales) it certainly stretches belief that anyone would cross the interstellar gulfs and aeons of time to visit Cardiff!
ReplyDelete@ Logarithm - I was talking to Dan in Cambridge about Titanicus (I think that's a bit of an obvious, genre title, btw) and he suggested it was going to be set during the Sabbat Worlds crusade, so a spin-off in the vein of Double Eagle, on a Forge World that we have not yet encountered. I'm sure if he wants to give more details he will.
@Big - I posted the name of that Zoid, but maybe I did it on an older post after you'd all moved on, I'm not very on the ball, no first post for me!
ReplyDeleteIt used to be known as the Slitherzoid, and it's more recently (in the anime) known as the Molger.
Come on now Xhalax,stop pretending. We all know you don't have a general life to worry about :P
ReplyDeleteRoss - Personally I'd love an extra day in the week, despite the fact that I'd just waste it anyway.
ReplyDeleteNik - I don't know why girls love Top Gear so much....though I've sat and debated cars and quotes Top Gear on a number of occasions with female friends. James is the best of the presenters anyway!
But for me, I watch it for The Stig. Love The Stig!
Rory and Lordy - Lies! Lies and deceit.
Richard Hammond doesn't remind me of Ban (though now I'm finding he's in my head).
And I resent the implications that I have no real life.
In fact, I don't know why I bother opening my mouth since all you do is mock me.
Xhalax-hows the knees.Top gear,Dan Abnett, bet u can hold ur own down the pub.
ReplyDeleteNik&Dukeleto - slitherzoid,after Dan told us about scary hussar dude i forgot the name u said and i had already started typing so i couldnt go back a page to get it without leaving a half done blogg!
Now u must understand i was typing in the dark so when i got up and turned of the computer i had no night vision ,whacked my knee on the bed,rolled around on the floor for a little while,thats when i found religion and started saying
"Jesus christ my knee oh god help me my knee" etc... Claire was wetting herself with laughter so couldnt help me up .so after that the name of the zoid went out of my head for awhile!
if u stopped opening ur mouth we would miss u,plus u would find it very hard to eat!
ReplyDeleteNo really u would!
Big - My bruises are still awesome and a rather interesting shade of blue/pruple/black/green. At least the don't hurt when I end up on my knees.
ReplyDeleteOn Moday, I was filling up the GW paints and dropped on to my knees and promotly ended up on my side going 'OW!'
In the pub, I have a tendency not to drink since I dislike the taste of alcohol. Though last time I went out drinking, I drank the same amount as the guys from work and I was pretty much sober.
And I could still surive with my mouth shut and take a tip from Peter Griffin.
*snorts a hot dog*
My baby sister smashed up my Slitherzoid. I never forgave her.
ReplyDelete:-(
But I discovered the Molga kit in a toyshop recently and gleefully bought it!
:-)
Ahh yes, Torchwood. I rather liked Border Princes-Davey Morgan and his relationship with the humming machinery in his shed was a nice touch. Of the original three, it's the one I liked the most, simply because, well, it was the best written for one thing. Slow Decay and Another Life were decent enough, but they, much like the show sometimes, felt like "It's Doctor Who! But for ADULTS!" rather than playing with the ideas inherent with the concept of Torchwood itself. And there's just so many cool ideas in it-the eleventh dimensional sudoku game especially so...yeah, I could go on all day. Now to find that audio....
ReplyDelete@Dan & Nik - Are you Dr.Who fans? I think Dan would be a great fit writing it! Of the current writers I only really rate Stephen Moffet, he's the only one that always gets the balance of humour and tension right.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the radio show, any idea what sort of time Dan will be on? You can listen to the show at any time in the next 7 days, just click "listen again"
Great weekend for sci-fi, new season of BSG is starting too!
Xhalax - you're posting on a blog. None of us have real lives. Except for me of course, because I'm Alpharius.
ReplyDeleteQuestion though - why were you filling up GW paints? Don't they usually come with paint already inside?
Also, if you decide to never open your mouth again, we could get you a drip feed IV. That'd be awesome.
Hi, I'm new here (and to blogging in general lol) just thought I'd leave a comment since Dan is probably my favourite author at the moment and has got me back into reading again after a few years without reading a thing *gasp*
ReplyDeleteI recently devoured a whole lot of Dan's books including Ravenor and Legion which I just finished last week and just wanted to say keep up the good work, looking forward to my next Abnett purchase! lol :D
also thx for that link Dukeleto
Lordy - I still deeply resent the implications.
ReplyDeleteAnd the shop where I work sells GW stuff, the paints included, and since I look after that section, I have to make sure it....well looked after. Which means topping up the stands when people buy things.
Am currently STILL waiting for the interview. As per usual it's looking like I'm going to have to sit up and listen to the end of the show....much to my dismay (listening to middle-aged men prattle on and generally canning most things they've reviewed...not to my taste of entertainment).
Why oh why didn't they put the interview on when they were talking about audio books, since that's part of what the interview with Mr. Abnett is all about? But nooooooo...we have to go onto at least two other topics (theatre and DVDs) before going back to what was being spoke about around 25 minutes ago.
I am most displeased....although it has given me the opportunity to finish the body of the sheep I'm knitting (my mum got it for me for easter) and I'd desperately impressed with myself as I've never tried knitting anything before.
Go me!
I had a feeling the interview would be at the end of the shown but hey i dont mind matthew wright even though ive never listened to his radio show before
ReplyDeleteXhalax - sorry! That was rather a long wait, wasn't it. For those of you who want to hear Dan on podcast, he's about an hour and a half in, but it was a nice ten minute segment, and he did get name-checked three times, so go Dan!
ReplyDeleteMy Dad taught me to knit when I was three. Learn young, I say. I can knock out a man-sized cable knit sweater in a week, which is almost as fast as I can type :-) It's terribly good for arthritis too.
One little question... is it black? I have a real affinity with the black sheep, being one myself.
My sheep is actually Shaun the Sheep.
ReplyDeleteThough I have the pattern forever more now and I got twice as much black wool as I should have in the pack due to an error with the supply of the smaller balls of wool (maybe they were trying to tell me something, eh Nik). So I could probably knock up a black sheep afterwards.
This has to been my sixth attempt to knit and it's actally working, much to my mum's surprise. Though it's pretty basic at present.
Anything to take my mind of the fact my parents are screaming at each other at midnight to the point where the family is going to be broken up.
i watched Torchwood tonight. They killed Two of the characters! Owen was awsome! WHY! damn you bbc. damn you to hell!!
ReplyDeleteRory - Yeah. Torchwoodwas somewhat unexpected in some aspects but not in others.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up 'Legion' (it sucks being in the state and having to wait on the BL books) and was pleaantly surprised be the dedication page. Thanks Dan! I hope one day Jack is as impressed as I am.
ReplyDeleteNow, I must read.
+++I can knock out a man+++
ReplyDeleteHardcore!
+++-sized cable knit sweater in a week+++
Oh.
Matthew - Nik would have no need to knock out a man. She's so full of win that all bow before her.
ReplyDeleteI am Alpharius...
ReplyDeleteor Alizabeth Bequin...
or Ana Curth
damn, the BBC removed the Realplayer option from their listen again service, that's not too useful!
ReplyDeleteI had just go to the start of Dans interview when my PC overheated and shut down, not sure I can face trying to navigate to the right bit of the programme again.
"It must be nice to be popular"
ReplyDeleteDo I hear something out of this sentence? Like envy? ;)
pack - he's my husband, I'm never envious, but I do like to bask in the glow.
ReplyDeleteXhalax terminator got much better!
ReplyDeleteNik could knock a man!she used to train like me,in fact im gonna be asking her about diet advice soon when i go back training!
I,m gonna slip through the long grass for a couple of weeks so i wont be blogging for a while c u all soon,try not to miss me to much !
Nuff luv an respec! Later Big
I mistook keyboard to mean the actuall musical instrument.
ReplyDelete*imagines dan battle Titanicus via playing keyboard*
Basking in someone elses glory is the best way to go. It's easier too...all that effort to createyour own glory just takes waaaaaaay too long!
ReplyDeleteBig - I watched the first episode and then was busy doing something else every time it was on after that (despite the fact it's repeated about five times a week)...part of a later episode, but my friend was over and we were playing Devil May Cry 4 (we'd stopped for a bite to eat)....and DMC4 waits for no man.
Nik - The only problem with you asking if the sheep if the sheep is black is that now I want to knit you a black sheep.
Curses!
*goes looking for wool*
Just wondering if you know now if Dan's doing any signings or anything of the like between March 16th and 26th? Specifically in London?
ReplyDeleteGoing on a trip with the school to England/Scotland and oh how amazing it would be if a free day matched up with one such day at a GW or something.
Thanks!
Well I don't know about anyone else....but I have to admit, being up to your elbows in Orkies is kinda fun.
ReplyDeleteAt least I'm getting a free defiler for all my trouble.
Yay for trades!
I've been meaning to ask this for a while now and I've finally created an id so:
ReplyDeleteAre there any plans for a Time of Legends book from Mr. Abnett?
Also, I'm reading Legion right now and damn! I don't think I'll read anything that can top this. Amazing job Mr. Abnett.
Nik-
ReplyDeleteConsider me to have a copy of First and Only on me at all times...I'm usually just a set dresser, so I'm not really supposed to fraternize with the muckity-mucks, so much. We'll see if I make it into the storyboard union later on this year...then I'll have their undivided attention....hmm....maybe I'll even storyboard out some scenes from FaO to put in my portfolio...
Ripper - See, there you go. All you need is a little gumption and more front than Sainsbury's and you can get anywhere. Dan's spent quite a lot of his career pushing at doors, and now he's being invited in.
ReplyDeleteHahahahah! Dan battling with titanicus playing a keyboard. now that WOULD be very funny!
ReplyDeleteSo, When you coming to scotland?!
Im going to buy double eagle today, considering a Shop in the town where i live ACTUALLY HAS A DECENT BOOK! :O :D
nik - is it possible to have more front then sainsburys?
ReplyDeleteAlso i was wondering how many Heresy books are BL planning to release?
re. more front than Sainsburys:
ReplyDeleteI think Tescos probably have a claim!
(Booo Tescos)
What you have to aspire to is having THE biggest front EVER.
ReplyDeleteThen you have to deal with being universally.....either loved or hated, depending on how you gain said front and what you use it for.
Personally, I like the amount of front I have right now, but there's always room for more!
@ Cor: at least one for each legion, so I have been told. But I'm only waiting for the Prospero double (please, Dan, nail Graham's ear to a door, so that you can write the SW part ;))
ReplyDeleteCor - The Heresy books will keep coming until you've had enough. The first three were the beginning, but there will be lots of books, both about major events and about all sorts of new stories happening along the way. When the time comes, Dan and Graham will round off with another epic story for the grand finale. Don't hold your breath, it could be years before they've written all the stories they've got stored up.
ReplyDeletepack_master: ok thanks thought it would be something like that, personally i'd like a sequel to Decent of Angels i liked the novel but felt like there was more needed and yeah i reckon the fall of prospero could even surpass Legion whoever gets to write it.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah Boo to Tesco the whole thing gives me the creeps especially the adverts with all the celebs doing voice overs so annoying
Xhalax - I can only imagine that your frontage is much admired. Enjoy it while it lasts.
ReplyDeleteNik - I shall and with my usual level of alacrity!
ReplyDeleteAnd on the knitted sheep front, I'm half way there in terms of knitting him. Just have the fiddly and annoying bits left (tail, ears, eyes and LEGS!).
YAY!
Go Xhalax!
ReplyDeleteYAY!
ReplyDeleteGO ME!!
*dances*
For anyone who's having trouble accessing the BBC radio Listen Again feature, or came too late, or are just too darned impatient to wait through 90 minutes of chat and music before Dan has his turn at the mic, here's all six minutes of his chat. It's a zip file, containing a 9mb mp3:
ReplyDeleteDownload here
Enjoy. -- marco
Marco - thanks
ReplyDeleteApparently a lot or porn stars live in my area, because I was prompted to meat them for a date by Megaupload;\ Still thanks for the clip Marco.
ReplyDeletehe he yeah me too, and thanks for that link marco, I couldnt get the real player thing to work.
ReplyDelete(also logarithm, did you mean to spell "meat" like that? lol)
Everyone - say 'Go Marco!' Explanations to follow in a later post.
ReplyDeleteGo Marco
ReplyDeleteOoh, new Cyberman on Dan's website! (or did I just spot it months after other people?)
ReplyDeleteShall aim to download that .zip at some point, Marco. Also, Go Marco! (looking forward to they why, too, Nik!)
Narry (on hols)
Go Marco!
ReplyDeleteWhat will be the fate of those that don't say it?
ReplyDelete@Nik
ReplyDeleteYou are not the GM of me.
@al
A gentleman never asks and a lady never tells.
@Anybody Else
I know Blood Pact is the next Gaunts Ghosts novel. Will it be about the Blood Pact specifically, or is that just the name? Also, will Traitor General through Only in Death be released as an Omnibus like the last few? Me budget loves them Omnibi.
Go Marco?
ReplyDeleteAhh, Megaupload. I love their "meet girls in your area" ad-I use a mobile broadband card a lot, and as such my connection isn't always in my home town. Curiously the "girls in my area" always remain the same. Surely they don't LIE in those ads?
Rory, I'll hit Scotland on the 21st, which will be in Edinburgh.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, Dan. As a longtime fan of radio plays I found your take on audio-exclusive books really interesting.
ReplyDeleteOn that subject...
I always get disoriented when I hear an author's voice for the first time and it doesn't match the narrative voice I hear when reading their books. Does this happen to anyone else? Dan was actually closer to what I imagined than most authors are.
Bernard Cornwell, for instance, sounded totally different than I thought he would. (Diana Gabaldon, in contrast, sounded exactly like I imagined.)
...don't look at me like that. Yes, I read Outlander. I mean, it's in the romance section but it's not really...
She was speaking at a conference I attended, leave me alone.
Yeah, go Marco ! (anything like good news ?)
ReplyDeleteGo Marco!
ReplyDeleteAnd Rob? I know what you mean mate. It's like anything really, you never sound like 'yourself' when you hear your own voice on tape or something and seeing as whenever you read a book you read it in your own inimicable style the reality often differs significantly from what you expected. But hey, who cares?!
Oh, on a completely random note, has anyone heard the version of 'All Along the Watchtower' by Bear McCreary? If you watch the reimagined BSG then you'll have heard it in the last few episodes of Season 3. Thats real music right there folks!
Oh, right, go Marco!
ReplyDeleteok just finished Legion....wow didnt see that one coming. I swear if that book were not a period piece i would have expected the Inquisition to make an appearance.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteLong time lurker here an reader of Dan's various 40k novels (especially the Ghost's). I'm a loyalist at heart but the Blood Pact have gone and caught my imagination (damn it) with an army in the works. A couple of people suggested that I should post a pic or two here to show Dan his corrupting influence since he never seems to venture down my end of the world (down in sunny - or should that be soggy - Devon), so here we are.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/colgravis/Blood%20Pact/DSCF1858.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/colgravis/Blood%20Pact/DSCF1859.jpg
@Col.Gravis - that Pact model is awesome, as good as Big's and that's saying something! Have you only got the one tho?
ReplyDeleteHow did you do the heads?
@Colonel Gravis
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the fold of the Gaur. I also would like to know how you go about sculpting the Grotesque. Currently I use a two step process that has yielded some good results, but am always open to new ideas. Also, if you have any advice on sculpting chain mail, I would love to hear it, as that is an area I have much trouble with.
Does anyone have a link to Big's Pactees? I could probably search through the blogs for it, but am to lazy/American.
Thankyou :)
ReplyDeleteOnly one finished at the moment yes Dukeleto, a dozen Infantry are work in progress with plans for 1500pts to be put together over the next year.
The Grotesques are similary to yours done in GS Logarithm,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/colgravis/Blood%20Pact/DSCF1699.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/colgravis/Blood%20Pact/DSCF1379.jpg
I tend to do them in one stage though. As too Chainmail, its just a case of flattening out the GS in the area you want then using the very tip of a fairly standard sculpting tool to make the impressions, in a pattern like this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/colgravis/Misc%2040k/chainmail.jpg