Patrios pre-orders / GDC Talk / Wasteland
PRE-PATRIOS
The Patrios Network, the third Brigitte Sharp thriller, goes on sale October 3.
“Opens with a bang and doesn't let up. It's contemporary, lightning-paced and in the very top tier of spy fiction. Highly recommended”
MW Craven
“With a memorably grisly opening scene, Johnston’s latest espionage thriller plunges cyber-spy Brigitte Sharp into another save-the-world scenario… A deftly-plotted fix for spy thriller junkies”
Vaseem Khan
You can pre-order it now from Amazon, Waterstones, or of course your local bookshop:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785633031/
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-patrios-network/antony-antony-johnston/9781785633034
I assume other outlets will have it closer to the time, and that the ebook & kindle versions will be up soon too, for a simultaneous launch.
NOW. You’ve heard me say it before, you’ve doubtless heard other authors say it a hundred times, but I’m going to say it again anyway:
Pre-orders make a huge difference to book sales.
Yes, one sale is still one sale, but all pre-orders are counted as if they’re made in the first week of a book’s release. So they contribute to that total, which itself is hugely important to sales charts, Amazon rankings, and even the publisher’s perception of how well the book performs.
If you’re planning to read Patrios, please consider pre-ordering rather than waiting till later. It really does help. Thank you 😊
ROOM TO RUN
Normally video recording of talks given at GDC, the Game Developers Conference, are kept behind a paywall known as the Vault. Buying a ticket to a conference (which itself can set you back more than $1,000) gives you access to the Vault, with more than a decade’s archive of videos, for a year.
Occasionally the organisers decide to make a talk freely accessible to the public, as a showcase. I was honoured that my first ever GDC talk was given that treatment, back in 2010.
But the times, they are a-changin’, what with hybrid events and talks delivered remotely. Such as mine for this year’s GDC, How to Run (and Survive) a Writers’ Room. Which anyone can now watch freely, not in the Vault, but on GDC’s official YouTube channel…!
The feedback for this talk was extremely gratifying: “Exceptional talk”, “Amazing content”, and “Great speaker”, to quote just a few of the responses. Now you can see for yourself. Enjoy:
WASTED YEARS
How to make an author feel old, #94:
But it reminded me of that final issue, and made me realise there’s a lesson to be learned here. One I hope people can benefit from, especially those who may be wrestling with doubt.
WASTELAND ran for just under 9 years. So 16 years since issue #1 means it’s now been almost as long since the series finished as it took to produce.
That’s a sobering thought in itself, considering the trials and tribulations we went through bringing that book into the world. For those 9 years of publication, WL consumed my life. I did other things, of course – WL by itself was never a big earner, certainly not enough to make a living! – but I knew I’d never do another series that long or ambitious, so it was always a high priority for me.
But when the final issue of WASTELAND was released in 2015, and I knew my work on it was over, I entertained serious thoughts that perhaps my career was too. I was 43 years old, had never really had a breakout hit, but was nevertheless already seen within the industry as part of the old guard; too much of a veteran to reinvent myself.
It was… not a good time, mentally. Sheer bloody-mindedness kept me going, as it has throughout most of my life 😅 but I struggled to see what could possibly lie ahead. I’d had my chance, swung for the fences, and while I succeeded creatively, I’d failed to make much impact. Who on earth would care about anything new from me now?
Well.
The Exphoria Code, The Tempus Project, The Patrios Network
The Organised Writer
Resident Evil Village
Crossover Point
Returnal
Alex Rider: Scorpia, Ark Angel
The Assembly
8 (!) SILENCAEON albums
Codename Baboushka
Soul Music, published in Interzone
Watching the Football, A Decent Country, Food by Hand
[REDACTED] screenplay
And a little movie called Atomic Blonde
All of those came about after WASTELAND finished in early 2015. I’ve done a bunch of other spec work since then too, but the above is what’s made it into print/publication/production. And that doesn’t include life events like being elected vice-chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, presenting an award for the Writers’ Guild, or becoming a Shore Scripts judge.
You literally don’t know what lies ahead. As I stared out the window in 2015, dreading the thought of having to learn to write superhero slugfests to earn a living, much of that list would have seemed impossible. A bad joke. Yet here we are.
I don’t know most of you reading this, or if hearing this might help you. But I hope so. Stick around, because you just never know.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Finally, speaking of RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE: I’m not involved in the new DLC story Shadows of Rose (it’s written by the excellent Haris Orkin) but during the Capcom Showcase in which it was announced, they also revealed that VILLAGE has now sold 6 million copies worldwide…! Amazing.
HOST OF PLEASURE SURREAL:
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