The wait is over! My latest novel, Deathwatch, is no longer only available for pre-order in paperback format. The book is out now! Go get it at http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/deathwatch-2013.html

Now, a lot of folks already have it in e-book format, since it was released electronically some weeks ago, but if you’re a guy or girl who still prefers paper, or you simply don’t have an e-book reader yet, there’re no more excuses not to join Talon Squad on their first lethal operation under the handler known only as Sigma.

As for me, it’s on to Deathwatch 2 and a number of other projects I’ll get around to talking about later. But enough, I say. Saddle your horse and get thee to a bookstore! And remember to take some currency.

Just a quick post to let you all know (if you didn’t already) that I have a guest-blog up this week on the Black Library website. I consider Space Marine pride and its role in my new Deathwatch novel. Ignatio Solarion gets a mention, but then he would, wouldn’t he? He’s practically pride personified, at least on the surface. I’ll reveal what lies at the root of his personal malfunction in a future story.

Now, it’s time for me to get back to novel preparations for my next two books. In nomine Imperator.

DEATHWATCH – the first full length Talon Squad novel – is now available for purchase and download as an e-book via the Black Library website. Go get it, battle-brothers! (some of you already have, Emp’rah bless you!)

The print version will be released in about two weeks (at a guess!), but you can still pre-order it right now via the same pict-link included below.

(Curiously, Amazon UK seem to have 4 *print* copies left in stock – not sure how they’re doing that when it’s still listed for pre-order only on the publisher’s website… but that’s Amazon; they’re so big it seems they’ve warped the time-space continuum.)

Now, just out of curiosity, if you were putting a kill-team together, what Chapters would you include and why? You never know, you just might see such a team in future Deathwatch tales. Or not, of course!

Continuing with my recent (pffft!) posts on the development of the new Space Hulk computer game, here’s a link to a new article on PC Gamer about that very subject: http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/space-hulk/

That image is from the ingame ‘kill-cam’. Sounds like it’s shaping up very, very nicely indeed. Couldn’t we have Crimson Fists in there, though? Better yet, how about a special mod or DLC with Talon Squad missions with me writing them, of course.

And talking of Talon Squad, I hope you’ve all pre-ordered my upcoming Deathwatch novel from the Black Library website. There isn’t long to wait now. Here’s the link: http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/deathwatch-2013.html

Some lucky ladies and gents were able to grab it at the recent Black Library Live 2013 event, and I’ve had great feedback so far, so here’s hoping you all enjoy the ride when it hits in April.

In other news, I’ve recently co-authored a petition in an attempt to help Japanese activists protect sharks (as you may know, the global shark slaughter is out of control, and Japan have taken great pains to try to prevent any kind of protection for sharks). If you have a moment, please sign the petition. Signatures really do make a difference. Even better, if you can share it on facebook or tweet it, you would be doing even more good. Here’s the link: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/muji-japan-stop-selling-shark-fin-soup?utm_campaign=twitter_link&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition

Let’s see… anything else? Well, I’ve spent the last couple of days plotting out action set-pieces for my next Imperial Guard novel (possibly to be released between Deathwatch 1 and 2, pending discussion with my editor). I’m really excited about this novel and about returning to full-length IG work. Then again, I’m equally excited about writing the next Deathwatch book. Throne dammit, I can’t quite decide which I’d like to do first. Maybe the IG book would be a nice change, but maybe jumping right into Deathwatch 2 (that’s not the title!) will keep the momentum going.

F##k it. I’ll think about it after a quick game of Batman: Arkham City.

Gaming site Rock, Paper, Shotgun posted a pretty cool interview with Thomas Hentschel Lund, boss of Full Control, the studio in charge of the Windows- and Ipad-based Space Hulk game currently in development. I blogged about the game before, but there are a few more screenshots now and, damn, they look very, very promising indeed. I have to temper my impatience for it with the knowledge that proper development takes time. I don’t think any of us want a hurried, botched release that will need to be endlessly patched just to make it playable. So, for now, I’ll just sit here drumming my feet on the floor like I desperately need the toilet.

Click HERE to visit the article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Well worth a read.

In other news, Black Library Live 2013 sounds like it went down a storm (at least, the buzz on Twitter, etc. would seem to testify so). There have been lots of tweets about fan highlights from the event already. And… and someone posted a pic on Facebook of my new Deathwatch novel actually in his hands! Hot damn! Talk about pre-release. That thing isn’t supposed to exist, public-wise, for at least another month. I’m sure the proud owner (hey, Colin!) won’t mind me re-posting his pic here. One of the many disadvantages of living in Japan is that I don’t get my author copies quite as fast as I’d like. Rest assured, though, that when I do get them, I’ll be giving them some camera-love on the blog.

Now, I’d better get back to researching… umm… stuff for my next book. At ease, troopers.

Winter is typically pretty sunny in Tokyo. Sunny and bright and very, very dry. So, it was a pleasant change (for me at least) to open my curtains today and discover this:

I decided to go for a walk while listening to the Skyrim soundtrack (of which I’m a huge fan – Skyrim Atmospheres is now the only way I can get to sleep without earplugs!). To be honest, though, the planned mini-adventure was a washout. There’s no way Tokyo’s ugly, angular, suburban drudgery can compete with the deeply forested and steep-mountained realm of the Nords, despite the latter being entirely artificial and with occasional texturing/clipping issues. I guess I’ll keep my snow-laden wanderings for the woods and wastes of north Europe (whenever I make it back). Well, I shoulda known better anyway.

Actually, wrong Hulk. As much as I love the mean, green machine, this post is about Space Hulk, or rather, the announcement of a new computer-based Space Hulk game. Now, that should sound like immediate, automatic good news well worth celebrating, but I’ll be holding my excitement in reserve until I see more of what this one is going to look like, most especially because it’s being designed to run on iOS and Windows, meaning in all likelihood that this is going to a game built with pretty serious technological limitations in mind. I’m not expecting anything that looks as beautiful as Space Marine, for example. But looks ain’t everything, right? (They had better not be, given the quality of this promotional image!). It could still be a helluva game and faithful to what makes the classic boardgame so damned addictive and excellent.

I loved the original Space Hulk. I was a teenager when it came out, and I remember really enjoying it, gunning down ‘nids with my Terminator’s assault cannon in particular. Great stuff.

I also loved the early videogame versions, most especially the EA game developed for the Commodore Amiga. The Saturn version, Vengeance of the Blood Angels, was pretty damned good, too. The developers really nailed the bleak, spooky nature of a dark, apparently lifeless hulk in 40k space.

There’s a link to the website for the new game HERE and an article about the game on PC Gamer HERE. (PC Gamer is my favourite gaming news website, though it’s really only relevant to PC gamers – funny that. For Xbox and PS3 news, I generally check IGN or Metacritic).

Anyway, check the links out if you’re a Space Hulk fan like me. And let’s keep our fingers crossed that developer Full Control (best known for Frontline Tactics) do a great job with it.

Bless your weapons.

Great news for Imperial Guard fans (or Ork fans!), today; my most recent short story, Survivor, has just become available as a stand-alone e-book. Click here to buy it now.

To quote the BL promotional text, ‘A young boy struggles to survive in the ruins of an Imperial City overrun by orks. When an attempt to rescue other survivors goes awry, he quickly learns how dangerous the savage greenskins can be.’

The story is available for direct download from the BL website (or through Apple’s iBooks, so I’m told) right now at the low, low price of 1.50GBP. Not bad for a 20,000 word short story. That’s right! Survivor is almost novella length.

I can promise bags of action, tension and, for those of you who haven’t read it yet, an ending that, in the words of one reviewer, will literally leave you stunned.

(Pssst! Hey. If you’ve already read it, please don’t post any spoilers, will you? That would suck.)

Just heard from my editor that the date of release for my next novel – Deathwatch – is April 2013, so mark it on your calendars, folks. Talon Squad will redeploy then.

I know it seems like a long wait, but worry not. Those craving a more immediate Deathwatch fix will get it soon when Black Library releases Xenos Hunters – a collection of Deathwatch short stories by a multitude of authors. My first two Talon Squad shorts, Headhunted and Exhumed, will be in there, so if you missed them first time around, or don’t have access to an e-book reader (click on the titles to buy the stand-alone e-shorts), you’ll be able to get them in hard-copy (I think) from the BL website.

I know there was a hell of a gap between Rynn’s World and the completion of the Deathwatch novel, but such is life sometimes. I never doubted I would eventually get it done. It certainly wasn’t a problem with the writing itself, mind. I’m genuinely invested in Karras and Co. and I have so much more to tell – things that will, hopefully, shock and surprise, not to mention entertain. But living in Japan and not speaking the language can be a huge challenge, and regular blog readers will know I was lied to by a housing company and forced to endure seven months of constant, relentless construction noise, among other problems. I’m one of those writers that needs a sonic vacuum to work in. My mental health hung by a thread for what seemed forever. Happily, the noisy bastards are out there right now putting the very last quiet touches to the four houses they were told to build. It’s over, and I’m so glad I’m jumping straight into Deathwatch II (working title, you understand).

So, here’s hoping there are fewer bumps along the road from here on in. There will be some, but I’ll say a prayer to the God-Emperor of Mankind that the worst of them are over.

Maybe now I can finish the Space Marine video game, too.

The title says it all, really. I just found out that Rynn’s World has been translated into Russian. It’s always great for a writer to hear about his work being translated and, hopefully, bringing entertainment to a whole new market. This is the fourth language Rynn’s World has been published in (the others being English – naturally – plus French and German). I’d like to see a Japanese edition one day, because a lot of the people I meet and teach here in Tokyo express their interest, though Warhammer 40,000 is, admittedly, not as well known here as it really ought to be (Japan being the ideal market, one would think, for such a thing).

Anyway, here’s the cover in glorious Russian script. It’s weird seeing my name written in Russian. Maybe I should get my business cards all printed up like that, just to really confuse everyone (except Russians, I expect). Hah!

Other news? Well, the construction work outside my window nears its end, I’m relieved to say. It’s not over yet – I can hear the bastards drilling and hammering away right now (yesterday they started at 7am, for f###’s sake!!!) – but the end it definitely in sight. It’s had a horrible impact on my writing, of course. I use two desktop machines simultaneously to work on my books, so I’m not one of those writers who can just up sticks and go work in a coffee shop. Deathwatch would have been finished by now for sure if the last 5 months hadn’t been such a bloody nightmare. If I’ve learned anything, though, it’s this: NEVER trust a real-estate agent. With some exceptions, perhaps, they are the pus-caked, fly-crawling minions of Nurgle himself.

Right. That’s enough ranting for now. Back to the Deathwatch 2nd draft (almost done).

… hmm, I wonder what I should work on next.