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BL Weekender 2019


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Did it look like they were selling large volumes of The First Wall? Still no mention of when the public release is going to drop.

 

Does anyone know it the Sabbat Worlds book is going to be available outside the Weekender?

 

-Ran

Only 220 copy’s of the First  Wall were available at the weekender one for every ticket holder.There we’re still copy’s left late last night.

Sabbat Worlds will be available for general release later this year I believe.

 

 

 

So does anyone have darkness in the blood?

 

I’ve got one,it’s far and away the best deluxe edition to date!

That’s a dangerous thing to say to a man who is currently fondling the Sabbat Worlds book and wishing it was even lovelier...

Is it the quality of the swag or something else that makes it so good? Its not going to take much to push me over the edge and buying it in the morning.

Is there anything particularly wrong with the Sabbat Worlds book?

Nothing at all! It’s really quite nice indeed. It is nice and weighty and feels high quality to touch. I’m just greedy, and can’t help imagining an *even nicer* version.

 

Only 220 copy’s of the First  Wall were available at the weekender one for every ticket holder.There we’re still copy’s left late last night.

Sabbat Worlds will be available for general release later this year I believe.

 

 

Cheers. :thumbsup:

 

tumblr_prsjeezcMV1rrjq1i_540.gif

 

-Ran

 

Thanks in particular for the Valdor right up, that was the one I really wanted to attend but couldn’t stay that late in the day.

Were the tills sorted out by the close of the day? Also was it just me or were there a lot less books on sale this year?

Will you be back tomorrow?

 

Yeah, last year the sales area was much bigger and it felt like there were way more books available- and not just pre releases. I was expecting there would be the remaining back catalogue of left over special editions again, but I didn’t see any of those either.

No mate only a few hours of one day for me due to family commitments. Same as last year. Hopefully next year when my kids are a bit older I’ll be able to stay for longer.

 

PS I live near Macclesfield so not too far from you

 

 

 

 

So does anyone have darkness in the blood?

I’ve got one,it’s far and away the best deluxe edition to date!

That’s a dangerous thing to say to a man who is currently fondling the Sabbat Worlds book and wishing it was even lovelier...

Is it the quality of the swag or something else that makes it so good? Its not going to take much to push me over the edge and buying it in the morning.

Is there anything particularly wrong with the Sabbat Worlds book?

Nothing at all! It’s really quite nice indeed. It is nice and weighty and feels high quality to touch. I’m just greedy, and can’t help imagining an *even nicer* version.

 

Ah cool, that’s good to hear!

Darkness in the Blood

 

Opens with readings from both books.

 

GH- the book is the next in his series, continuing the story of Dante brining us further into nihilus. Two hander between mephiston (who he sees as HD’s character) and Dante. Extract from chapter 9. Gathering resources to launch his own crusade into Imperium nihilus. Dante talking to a haunted fleet commander. Use of the phrase ‘warp Xenos’ for daemons. Dante looks old as heck.

 

Dh- mephiston has gone to the prospero system as part of the Psychic Awakening. Things have gone wrong- split himself into three- spiritual, physical and bestial. The extract is from the bestial, towards the end of the book. The bestial aspect is showing the dark nature of the BA. He’s fighting a dragon/Daemon. Mephiston in his bestial form struggles to relate to his past.

 

Cutting edge of BA fiction after deva of Baal. How do they deal?

 

Gh- book is concerned w Dante’s next move, rebuilding with Primaris and what’s happening to Baal.the Dante bits are him trying to prepare; Baal has become the de facto nihilus capital. Folk are coming from all over, not really knowing his role, but looking for safety. It’s the new 40k universe.

 

Dh- the narrative moving forwards is new. It’s great working with gh as the books were written side by side, first time doing that. It’s cool to be at the core of the 40k narrative.

 

How collaborative?

 

Dh- it’s good seeing same events through different perspectives. ESP crossing the rubicon.

 

Gh- nice to continue the siege ethos in a shared universe, pinging ideas. BL authors aren’t precious, want things linking up. Co-wrote a story for fun non BL in the past, and this was like that.

 

Dh- it’s more enjoyable in this way.

 

Q for dh, third in series. How did you make it stand alone?

 

Dh- always write as self contained as possible, but it does conclude lots of threads. More rubicon confirmation. The psychic awakening segues nicely with existing plans.

How is Dante finding things?

 

Gh- ideal ruler because he doesn’t want it. Young Dante physical imposing, but now he’s old as heck. Marines are functionally immortals, but the geneseed has the degraded, to my mind lifespan is shorter now. Dante is really old, even for a crusade era Marine. Dealing with the flaw is degrading, so is fighting the swarmlord. He’s exchauseted, but keeps holding on through his devotion. Giving a Marine frailties is interesting, his legend has outgrown him, which is why he keeps the mask on. Has power, but is frail. Is interesting leads to character.

 

Dh- chink in armour is interesting,

 

Gh- marines are post human, the way to write them effectively is to look for the humanity within.

 

Dh the internal battles are most interesting

 

Gh ultimately they all die in battle, it’s their fate

 

Dh afraid of failure.

 

How write powerful mephiston?

 

Dh- internal battle again, he’s a self made pariah. He’s not trusted by many, his great deed isn’t respected. How can he achieve what he needs without trust

.

 

Gh he frighten other marines. He’s so powerful. Got to be careful not to go overboard. Dh writes them ritualistically and that’s a good way of defining them.

 

Dh- he knows he’s a danger if he goes bad.

 

Gh- we see the consequences of mephiston losing it.

 

How do you write challenges for him?

 

Dh- his mind functions on Sao many levels. The threat can be escalated- Magnus!

 

Gh- faces down serious baddies. Internal problems contrast his external strength. He needs to be removed from stories at time to help the story, that’s why he was under a mountain in Devastation of Baal.

 

Dh- existential crisis, reborn twice.

 

Gh- new title added

 

Audience

 

Frailties are interesting. Dante crossing the rubicon, how would he be different?

 

Gh- if it did happen, you’d need to find another challenge for him.

 

Dh- it’s a big surgery. Mephiston does it because he has to. Dante is too important to risk, perhaps.

 

Rubicon confirmed.

 

Gh- mephiston crossing is complex. He has to after going off the rails. It has a big consequence, but it’s secret now. Ba are a spiritual chapter, warp touched not just because of saguinius death. Dh has done good stuff with the librarians. The physical change is really incidental.

 

Dh- it’s a change for the whole chapter, not just mephiston

 

Gh- both make spiritual journies in gh s books. Want to explore them and the warp in future books.

 

Dante is commander of Imperium nihilus- parallels with imp segundus?

 

Gh- kind of. It’s a mythic setting, they spiral and echo. A bit Hindu, faded mythology. Guillman is unnatural attached to Ultramar, he’s too focused on it and easily distracted. Sanguuinius was meant to lead mankind, the heir apparent. Dante in the same way is a lesser reflection of sangunius.

 

Psychic awakening. How closely working with the studio for consistency?

 

Gh- now we work very closely. To make sure it works, influence goes both ways. Had to fit the events of the book around studio plans,make some of the timing tricky. The psychic awakening is only just beginning, I’ve got other stories connected. All parts of the companies need to work together for extra realism. BL fiction is the universe.

 

Dh- everyone wants a unified ip. Studio writers check with BL.

 

Gh- notes go each way. When I took them on, the ba books weren’t as tied in, but long enough ago. The fortress monestary had no name. Loads of detail didn’t exist. It’s cool seeing my names in a codex.

 

Dh- there are loads of threads between our books. It’s really exciting working for BL now. It’s learnt from the HH.

 

Gh- I’ve tried to reach out. I know the right people to talk to. It’s working really well.

 

Dante is getting older. Will we see him younger again?

 

Gh- yes. The books juxtapose current and old 40k, when I write Dante, it hadn’t happened yet. Devastation of Baal was too complex to reinclude flashbacks. In this, there are flashbacks.

 

Seth?

 

Gh- no. He’s been set up for someone else.

 

Ba relationship with Primaris?

 

Gh- can’t answer. Spoilers from this and another book I’ve been working on.

 

How have you dealt with the temporal shift?

 

Gh- timey wimey. The arrival of guilliman is a good way of showing how wonky it is, this book stays pretty close to Baal.

 

Dh- it happens with the warp anyway.

 

Dante getting old and slow and in an office. Stepping down as chapter master?

 

Gh- realistically, he should. The studio would have to lead that. Miniatures team esp. who knows.

 

Progression of timeline leads to new stories. Any problems?

 

Gh- always in 40k. Why not nuke the site from orbit? New models provide story hooks. Mundane logistics transform stories. Upcoming stuff touches on the roll out of Primaris. Great work came through lore hiccup, wolfsbane written using draft of am codex. Final draft had His oldness when working with the Emperor led to new stories being needed.

 

The Fleshtearsrs?

 

Gh- they’re are there. The Devastation of Baal devastated the chapters of the blood, but they’ve all been reconstituted even those destroyed.

 

What’s happening with the angels vermillion?

 

Gh- it’s in a collectors edition, redeemed in Devastation of Baal.

 

Closing statements

 

Dante feels wary of mephiston though they’re distant wired friends. They’re colleagues. Dante has a better understanding of why he’s how he is.

 

Dante is a valued and rare ally as he understands his burden. One of the few mephiston trusts. The ba higher echelon are oddly independent

Sabbat worlds

 

Overview behind the creation of the book, why do it again.

 

What is it?

 

Da- there will be spoilers! Up until and including Anarch. It’s a companion guide to the novels in the crusade. It was done first in the early days of BL. Thrown together, odd but beloved book. It’s a thoroughly revised and expanded version x2 more text, 70,000 words. Mainly new art. Written in universe. Historian on urdesh. Draws on older work. The history of novels and before.

 

Rh- da did the words. BL revised it because it’s so rich and detailed. Demand from fans for years. Wanted to revisit and revise, fill with lovely new art, do what the old book couldn’t. The map is beautiful. Represent the crusade in detail. A cohesive passion project.

 

Da- opportunity for something new. Like writing a codex. What made it enjoyable was rh engagement and passion, she made suggestions that generated so many ideas. It’s unusual to work so closely with illustrations. Rough drafts, esp of appearances of people was amusing. Technical conversation of how to translate words into images.

 

It blew the editors mind when they saw the final version. So real and vibrant.

 

Da- BL have done some great background books, this one completely commits but not on the cheap this time. Got bolder as we went. Two rounds of writing, core text, then captions. Had to justify why an imp historian would have pictures of the blood pact. Opportunity to address the few continuity problems. Named planets having been repeated across BL. Explanation of why this is, makes the messy more believable.

 

What were the stylistic influences?

 

Rh- the aesthetic of 40k is historical, lots is 18/19th century, military age of sail. Representing sector, but made by hand. Spaceships lit by candles, lots of internal art is v painterly. Depends on type of art.

 

Da- seeing the artwork determined the type of caption, if a painting, would be captioned as so, if captured footage etc. I looked at other history books to mimic the style. It was fun.

 

Rh- in world curation.

 

How did you pick what to include-

 

Da- we could have done lots. We had the basic structure of the first, notable incidents and personalities. In the first book, the ghosts were unsung and minor. With this, they get a more prominent role to suit their new status in the crusade. We look at the regiment through history, and deal with missing bits to fill in warp gaps, new ideas had to fill these gaps, this invention could be developed in future stories, ghosts or other Sabbat books.

 

Rh- 15-18 artists working simultaneously, tricky to be consistent, 90 new individual pieces. Forgeworld helped.

 

Da- the map artist is fantastic, does the siege maps, amazing balance between symbolic information and what needs to be there. Still uses the old map when writing a new book. The new map is the best BL artefact ever.

 

Pictures start appearing. Character vignettes.

 

Da- seeing them is new. The whole book could have been the regiment. Feel bad about leaving some out, but tried to illustrate key stages of the regiments career. It’s hard knowing how to choose, it’s all vivid, everyone has favourites. Lots of stages to convey the image, tough titties if you don’t agree with how they look. Covers have been cast vaguely like a film, hybrids of actors. Good shorthand. Some ghosts have been cast in my head, with multiples through time, gaunt has been many actors, most recently Tim oliphant, originally, visnic from er. Not serous casting suggestions, but placeholders. Repeated this, and transmitted this non literally to artists. Some were easy, some less- varl has always been Kevin bacon. Lots were surprises.

 

Rh- don’t tell the artist about the actor, but describe their deamoenor and characteristics so it isn’t just a likeness, it’s a good springboard.

 

Da- Baskerville was an obvious inclusion, but I’ve never thought of him. Good looking, dark haired. Good character, but no visual. The artist got it, somehow.

Screen shows bragg.

Rh- variation in uniform varies on intake. Pacha and Larkin have same colours, different cut etc.

 

Da- the tanith uniform is most described. Physically different from the varghast, look like same regiment, but different homeworld. Belladon career soldiers, more aristocratic cut, tailored trousers unlike tanith combat. Some go native. Most units have multiple uniforms, the belladon wear their dress uniform more often. Bragg was younger than you think, the picture is the start of the campaign, deliberate reflection of passage of time, but he’s the only smiling one too.he stands out from the solemn pictures.

 

Real camaraderie is presented.

 

Da- gratified that it’s noticed. Keeps me writing, the development of their relationships. In the early years, read lots of memoirs, looking for the mundanity and extremes. Big military readership. Share story event ideas. Getting it across in pictures is no mean feat.

 

The medics on screen.

 

Rh- more flexibility as not line infantry. Good realisation of character, with distinct personality. Diligent details.

 

Da- when captioned, it’s like an osprey book- not about the character. Just happens to be someone the reader knows.

 

Rh- we had one eye on modellers.

 

Da- medics existed before I termed the medicae, but I like being able to show what they look like.

 

Regiments of reknown- dragoons, deepens

 

Rh- we wanted to produce a vignette typifying the mood and equipment of the regiment. Uniform, weapons, crests. Went to thorseby hall to see real stuff.

 

Da- each guest regiment is an archetype. The illustrations have to show this, it’s up to and including the crest to show what they’re like. The decoration medals were included for different things rather than one single campaign badge.

 

Rh- instal design has many variations.

Da- valour, vs service pins etc. So we could include more examples.

Rh- designing them was a challenge, the flower is the saints holy flower being included gives historical context.

Da- the book is overthunk

 

Blood pact images

Rh- Sons of sea too. Similar approach taken. Ritual blades are the key wargear. Captures how the factions differ.

Da- the archenemy forces have been delved into more history than before, I surprised myself with how the tribes worked, shows more complexity. Will divergent cults be important in future books ? 2-3 years time when a ghosts book comes out will people look back. Brainstorming on the page.

 

Maps.

Rh- morlond. We see the map evolving from dans map to the artists. The artist was super diligent in translating the sketch. All about detail. It defines an important location in more detail than before.

Da- the vervunhive map helped me write the book. But some. Stories are important, but are never visited. In the pseudo history, this is an important world, so we wanted to illustrate it, id like to go there at some vague point, so I put the environment in I might like to write a story in. Gap filling, and speculation, may have huge relevance. May have none,.

 

Crusade map.

Rh- incredible indertak8ng. It’s huge, 100s of names. Exciting. Looked at old maps of crusade, included some. A key change is the box outs of key locations,

Da- the inclusion was based on in universe reasons

Rh- old fashioned art chosen to 7nifty the map with the aesthetic of the book. Commission by the urdeshi so should be expensive. Everything was checked and cross-referenced. Astronomy is an influence.

 

Portraits of heroes

 

Da- not just getting a likeness, they are posed formal things to record events. Celebrating triumphs. 40k artwork would do this, napoleon is aesthetic, rich uniforms. Captions explain why it was painted. Appearance considered, but also how the artist would interpret this. Macaroth would be painted to be at his absolute best, an extra layer of artifice.

 

Rh- how do you justify including chaos? Treated as captured art, or painted by witnesses and sequester by inq. The brush strokes are looser to show fear, and how the artist feels.

Da- the captions convey this, captured artists under duress, similar style but not best. Painted after dream, shot by inq. The originals don’t exist in universe, tend to be longer captions.

 

Commemorative paintings

Rh- mainly narrative lead whole or double page spreads, usually propaganda so not literal or accurately reflecting what’s in a novel.

Da- again, napoleonic influence, symbolic content. Making things more impressive. When painting was the main news media, it’s a symbolic shorthand, pushed the idea even further, using incorrect historical facts. Wall sized canvases, or murals.

Rh- basically I got to commission classical paintings, the artists had so much freedom.

 

Spoilers for Anarch.

 

Da- incorrect and symbolic representation of the climax of Anarch, playing up the fake real world propaganda. The paining if is analysed across several pages, looking at the symbolism and changes that were made. Makes it feel authentic.

Rh- lots of fun, the symbolism of the positioning etc. Chaos shown as physically weaker. The lighting is intentionally inconsistent!

Da- the right classical references, the raft of the medusa, etc.

 

More to say, but no time!

Coming soon.

 

It’s the busiest seminar of the lot, standing room only, but chairs have been removed.

 

Glimpse into the future, 1st half ish of 2020. Slides and videos.

 

Advent 2019, 12 stories, twelve audios 2 e premiers on Christmas. Subscription offer available, web team offering incentive.

 

HH. Sons of Selena, le novella. The book will have busts, sharrokin and tarsa.

 

Necromunda. Mike Brooks road to redemption. Cawdor. Ex ganger retaking guns in revenge. Old west styled art. Mad Donna by will McDermott. No art yet.

 

40k.

Last chancers, Armageddon saint, gav Thorpe. Returning characters, new ones, ork sidekick.

Fist of the Imperium, Andy Clark.

Incarnation gets a le. Meeting customer demand.

Astorath angel of mercy. Guy. One of the editors favourite books this year. Post- Devastation of Baal. Lovely grim cover skeleton with axe. Limited edition.

Bs fortress, augur of despair, Chris Dows. Audio drama. Filmed? Or misspoken editor.

Fabius bile manflayer. Ends the trilogy. Fabius has been a naughty boy, everything punches him in the face so he needs help. The numen are threatened, we see a new side of Fabius. Same artist as previous covers.

Annandale Space wolves audio drama boxed set. Lots of mystery. Like our martyrd lady. Jason style quest, lots of loved characters.

Farsight empire of lies. Phil Kelly, sequel. Vs orks and something else.

Broken saints, Alec worly SoB audio. Returning sister repentia. Uncertainty of faith.

Daemonifuge 20th anniversary full colour edition.

Ephrael stern heretic saint, le novel by Annandale. She can’t feel the Emperor’s guidance. Gothic odyssey

Warriors and warlords, anthology. Post great rift. Astra military, navy, inq, marines. Wraight, Kelley, Thorpe, McNeill.

Cypher John french audio drama box set as earlier. Nuanced look at shady character.

 

AoS

Lady of sorrows, werner.

Profit’s Ruin, Werner, overlords sequel.

 

 

Horror

The oubliette, Jason stearns. 40k. Intense.

Darkly dreaming. Reynolds, audio. AoS.

Anathemas. Anthology. Both.

Sepulturum. 40k. Kyme. Unsettling. How could nick write this? Has swears.

 

Inferno! 5. Features everything inc bb. New authors through open submissions.

The Hammer and Eagle. Both IPs.

Lord of the Dark Millennium. Huge.

 

Audiobook update. Backlist titles due to 2nd studio. Plans for more, trying to complete series.

 

HH print on demand and inferno coming too. More planned.

 

Celebration feb 2020.

Lion primarchs le. He’s on a big wall like a knight.

13th Legion 20th anniversary, close to the new

Sinner’s Bounty hardback.

AoS oaths and conquests anthology, new stories inc bill king stormcast. Thrilled to have him back on board.

The First Wall.

Le for Horus Rising. WW and Dallas exclusive. Like the current le for the siege. No plans to do them all.

Helsreach, Iron Company readers choice.

Anthology free with Mechanicus icon cover

Legion pin badges. 9 legions, mix of alignments. Part 2 later in the year.

Watchers of The a Throne the regents shadow, Wraight. There will be video.

Custodes dice.

 

New imprint-

 

WARHAMMER CRIME

Chris Wraight, Bloodlines. Proper marketing in the coming months.

Warhammer Crime sounds fantastic! And Chris Wraight is a perfect choice for the first book. I think it was ADB would said he wouldn’t be surprised to see more imprints and mentioned a mystery/detective/crime line specifically? Maybe he was dropping hints, but that’s some nice prognosticating if not.

Q and A

 

Third space wolves by Wraight? If folk want one.

Date for siege 4? There isn’t one.

Will it be the only in 2020? No.

Spears book 2? When adb writes it.

Urdesh? It’s written, stay tuned to warcom.

Penitent? No idea of when. We’d love, willing to wait. Not the near future.

Lord of the Night 2? No. Another author might, but no plans.

Cain? Yes. Emailing sandy Mitchell regularly.

Fulgrim no Audible? Could be admin cock up, look into it.

Rob Sanders weekender? Not currently writing for BL ATM.

HH limited ed? Probably just Horus Rising. Too big a commitment. Unfair. Just a one off.

Why not more le siege books? Not sure what the demand would be, considering slightly different version, finite audience, sales don’t really fill out. Considering alternatives.

Why does amazon get news first? Way we engage with distributors, 10 months in advance, once amazon gets that, can’t be stopped. Only an issue with straight to paperback, trying to work on it.

Audio box sets- big name actors? Cypher Uncast. Cannot say anything about the wolves, not even hint if there is a big name. They are just a cherry on the cake.

More or longer notice for limited editions? The coming soon is now on warcom, but Valdor didn’t make it, we should use the coming soon section correctly. Noted comment.

Mmp for the siege? Yes. 18 months after the le.

Praise for till staff.

Siege novella will there be hardback? Oh yes, same pattern . Run of 2.5k for le

Black Legion 3? Not in the near future

Siege novellas? See warcom

Events? Joey Logan\events decides what is put on, BL provide the content

Missing HH stories? Will be anthologised.

HH characters series? Calling a series is over egging the pudding, will pick out non Primarch characters give them a spotlight. Not 2-3 books a year, just as and when. Valdor hb in March April.

Abnett final Seige? Stay tuned to the website for books 5-8.

Urial Ventris? After next year

BL audio, are you involved in tv? Not my place to comment. BL helps whenever is needed.

More anthologies of digital only? Yes. Print on demand? Always exploring ways of doing that.

Blood Bowl novel? Not now. A few shorts.

Old stuff reissued, like Ian Watson? Would you like that (YES!) always looking to increase revenue from the backlist, they reissues are tied to celebrating 20 years.

Will the Sabbat world art be available?25/30 sold, but advent calendar interest has been average, but Sabbat map has been popular. Well think about it.

News on owt from Mcneill? There will be more from him, stay tuned to warcom and microsites, more next year.

HH print on demand will be on GW? Yes. Fixed the problem.

Will the siege maps be available? The Sabbat map was a market test, only brought the available sample- just 50. Available in December. It’ll sell out. Given it has been popular, we will.

Kyme Salamanders? Yes. Nick is busy for six months, but keen to do them very soon. Not available for a while. Absolute desire to continue popular series.

Sanguinis book next year? No.

Collected art books? Yes.

Currently at work, so I can't share links, sorry.

 

Black Librarium on Twitter and (remember him?) HeritorA got pics and vis on their respective pages, including material confirming Dan's doing the fourth Siege novel, Valerian and Aleya being the two teased golden miniatures and so on.

So still no Penitent anytime soon, but Cain is getting more love.

 

Surprised they actually had that Fulgrim audible question there, as I've noticed it as well. It's the Primarchs one that's missing, most likely because the HH Fulgrim was already on Audible and they didn't realize there was another with a subtitle.

 

I pray they don't mess with Amazon "leaking" info early, though. The only FIX would be to actually announce their schedule way in advance, instead of using that awful Warhammer Community page with jpgs for info.

 

Also highly surprised they're so candid on sales questions.

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