Season's Greetings

Well, here it is, the last post of 2008. It'll have to be a short one, because I'll be flying to the UK in a few hours to spend Christmas with friends and family (the first time I'll have done so in seven years).

In writing terms, my year was mostly dominated by Gunheads, which is the biggest thing I've written to date and, in many ways the hardest - larger in scope than Rebel Winter, not to mention page count. I also wrote The Citadel for the Imperial Guard Omnibus: Volume One (in shops now) and Headhunted, which will feature in next year's Heroes of the Space Marines. All in all, I'd say a 416page novel and two fairly lengthy short stories isn't bad going at all.

2009, however, will see me taking things to another level. I plan to complete two novels during the 12-month period, and hope to fit in a few more short stories, too. The Year of the Cow is going to be a very busy one indeed.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season, wherever you are, and I wish you all the best for the coming year.

Merry Christmas!

Fiction Page Updated

I figured I'd post a quick 'heads-up' regarding the latest update to the fiction page. There is now a listing for the next Warhammer 40,000 anthology, Heroes of the Space Marines, which will feature my Deathwatch short story, Headhunted.

I hope you'll all check it out when it's released in July.

Stray Dog Swordsman Reviewed

Some of the Warhammer 40,000 nuts among you may be familiar with the website of my good friend and editor, Nick Kyme. If not, you could do a lot worse than to check it out and, even better, get your paws on some of his fiction. His recent Assault on Black Reach went down a storm with Space Marine fans, and rightly so since its packed to bursting point with non-stop action. But don't miss out on his Necromunda novel, Back from the Dead, either. It's my own particular favourite.

Anyway, Nick recently read my short story Stray Dog Swordsman on Redemption Road, and took it upon himself to post a review on his blog. If you're interested in seeing what he had to say, just head on over and read the review. And if you haven't read the short story itself yet, just click here to get the free PDF version. (Don't forget to check out Starfish while you're at it, will you?)

I'll be flying to the UK in just over a week, where I'll be spending the holidays with friends and family. It'll be my first Christmas in the UK for about 7 years, so I'm very much looking forward to it. It's not exactly a holiday, though. The notebook PC will be coming with me, and I'll be working on my current novel, which I'm dying to tell you all about (but it's still just a little too early to spill the beans).

In early January, I'll be taking a trip to the Black Library offices in Nottingham. There I'll be meeting with Nick and Senior Editor Lindsey Priestley to discuss the Warhammer 40,000 books I'll be working on over the next year and generally making a proper nuisance of myself.

In mid-January, it's back to Tokyo, where the trains run on time but nobody understands a bloody word I say.

Reading: Dune: The Machine Crusade
by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Watching: Babylon 5: Season 4 by J. Michael Straczynzki