Reading

Yule Love This

Posted by Jam on November 23, 2021
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Charity, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, Gamebook, Gamers, Games, gaming, hobbies, illustrators, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Back in the eighties game books were at the height of their popularity, selling in their hundreds of thousands. Come the nineties, the video game era took over and game books saw a decline, with even the most popular series being pulled from the shelves. With game book fans of yesteryear now adults, they now wish to introduce their children to the genre, with many of them becoming authors of interactive adventures in their own right. The game book market is now reviving, as this generation looks for ways to bring children back to reading rather than screen time.

My new book, JAMTHOLOGY, is an introduction to game books with four thrilling pre-bedtime sized adventures, which start off easy and grow progressively more involving until you finish a seasoned game book adventurer. It is ideal for readers of all ages who wish to begin a journey into interactive stories and pit their wits, rather than read standard cover to cover books.

All profits go to charity. Click here to view on Amazon

Papermate

Posted by Jam on October 25, 2021
Posted in: books, environmental, Readers, Reading, trees, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

For the past two years I have been supporting the Eden Reforestation Project, a brilliant initiative which sets about replacing trees and creating new woodland environments. Today, I declare that every 25% of royalties I recieve through people buying my books will be donated to them. To put that into perspective, tree saplings are only £0.08p each, thus every book sold will now plant at least three trees somewhere in the world. Let’s green the land back together as responsible book lovers 🌲🌳💚🌍

LIG4 Underway

Posted by Jam on June 7, 2021
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, Gamebook, Gamers, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Well, I was going to take a rest from writing, but my delightful niece gifted me a pen and notepad specifically to write my next adventure with. Can’t really ignore a demand like that, so three nights ago I came up with a backstory and we’ll be returning to similar mechanics as LIG2. Exciting times, no idea when it’ll release as I’ve only just begun, and there’s no old manuscript to sponge from like with The Druids Of Pneuma. Watch this space for more.

Posted by Jam on June 5, 2021
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Fantasy, Gamebook, Gamers, Readers, Reading. Tagged: , , , .

Rather pleased that sales picked up with the release of The Druids Of Pneuma. May slowly be making a name for myself in the gamebook community. Ive also done a bit of fundraising lately, and the latest charity to receive funds is BulliesOut. Would really recommend them for the fantastic work they do, so check them out sometime. Of course, exposure helps so I also purchased some garb to help spread awareness.

Literally Immersive Gamebooks 4 is being penned. I promised myself time of, but have been bitten by the bug. New genre, no silly 26 year old manuscript, this will be my best yet!

Special Editions

Posted by Jam on May 12, 2021
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, Gamebook, Games, gaming, illustrators, LARP, LARPING, Readers, Reading, RPG, vampires, wizards. Tagged: , , , , .

So the special edition sets of The Druids Of Pneuma have started finding their way into their new owners hands. Let’s take a look at a couple of things that make them so special.

The Druids Of Pneuma by James A Hirons

1) It’s not branded with the LIG logos. We get to enjoy Malcolm Barter’s art The Bella Mort without the monofett LIG crest across the top. No ISBN or blurb either.

2) It’s a hardback. One of only 35 in existence. Okay, 36 if you include the proof copy. There will never be anymore made, making them rarer than a Magehunter lol.

3) Some text has been removed. If you are a  follower of the Literally Immersive Gamebooks page on Facebook, or backed at a Walraven level, you will no what something is when you find it which may be important. Otherwise, your quest may get a little stifled.

4) There is a credit list, and write up about how the book took a quarter of a century to get from my head to its published form.

5) They’re all signed. You’re welcome 😜 Paperbacks will be available on Amazon next week.

The Druids Of Pneuma

Posted by Jam on April 22, 2021
Posted in: adventure, art, Authors, books, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, game, Gamebook, Gamers, Games, gaming, heroes, horror, illustrators, LARP, LARPING, Readers, Reading, RPG, Steampunk, vampires, witchcraft, wizards, zombies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

So a couple of days ago I received the proof bound of my latest gamebook , The Druids Of Pneuma – the third title in my Literally Immersive Gamebooks series. There are 36 of these hardback copies in existence, all taken by a backer of this grand project. They have 410 sizzling references to look forward to with artwork by Fighting Fantasy illustrator Malcolm Barter, Mike Tenebrae on internals, and Pat O’Neill on fillers. The book will officially launch after these special hardback editions are posted off, and be available on Amazon in late May.

26 years in the making

New Gamebook

Posted by Jam on August 18, 2020
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, game, Gamebook, Gamers, Games, gaming, Readers, Reading, RPG, school. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Hello fellow gamebookers. I know I promised an epic gamebook but between kids, decorating and other duties I have been pressed for time. BUT! Fear not good people, for to sate your appetite for Jamness, I have just published a little filler of a book with the most basic of mechanics. If you would like to read more CLICK HERE!!

Venom Of Vortan

Posted by Jam on June 26, 2020
Posted in: adventure, books, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, Gamebook, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , .

Several years ago I had the privilege of reading an embryo-stage version of this excellent dungeon crawl adventure by Destiny’s Role gamebook creator Mark Lain, who is now entering it into the series as Book2. Of course, the defining dungeon gamebook would be Ian Livingstone’s Deathtrap Dungeon but this isn’t anything like that. With some extraordinary beasts in it and clever conundrums to appease ones wit, this deviates from the very dark Mistress Of Sorrows into a more sword and sandals style romp. If you would like to back this project on Kickstarter, CLICK HERE

Scholdrastic

Posted by Jam on June 25, 2020
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy, Gamebook, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , , .

Well it seems the Fighting Fantasy franchise has been completely sold out to ScholasticUK. It’s with deep regret I have to post this as the cover of the brand new Fighting Fantasy adventure. How twee, and how mocking of everything good up to now… and that’s been sparse!

A CBeebies Aakor? Why an emoticon cloud?

For all those who might say… ‘but these books are now aimed at 5-8 year olds’… screw you! We was also that age when we started collecting and we got the likes of this.

Everything an FF illustration should be

Fighting Fantasy art is one half of the glory, and now its been handed to people who do not know the series nor have the style to suit. While there is every possibility Rhianna (yes, his daughter) has turned out a good story, I strongly believe we will have another Higson-esque adventure that just doesn’t capture the feel of Titan. And hey, another coverstyle. Scholastic ripping completist collectors off once again no doubt to make this ailing experiment with a legendary series a bit of profit. Which begs me to ask once again… I wonder what proportion of the profits come from old school collectors and how much comes from modern youth, not including those who buy them for their kids to relive their own youth? Scholastic have decided to ignore die hard fans once more, and I say fuck them.

Up until now, I only purchased new adventures in the Scholastic range. This hideous travesty of a cover sees me divorcing from any modern FF releases that are not from classic talent. It breaks my heart to say this, but everything Scholastic has done to this point apart from Assassins Of Allansia is either fatally flawed or absolute and utter trash, trumped by the modern generation of authors who actually know the genre such as Mark Lain, Victoria Hancox, James Schannep and Dane Barrett to name a few.

This is the death of a legend.

Dracodeep Dungeon

Posted by Jam on March 31, 2020
Posted in: adventure, books, cards, Crowdfunding, Fantasy, game, Gamers, gaming, hobbies, Reading, RPG, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Today my dear friend Oliver McNeil launches his new Kickstarter campaign for the sequel to his award winning ( 😉 ) tabletop RPG, The Storymaster’s Tales Weirding Woods. The new adventure sees you as a hero trying to gain glory from the perilous Dracodeep Dungeon. New magic, new monsters and new characters abound in this fantasy Grimm-esque world. Having play-testing it live recently, I can tell you that it has all the makings of another masterpiece like it’s predecessor and it is great to see The Storymaster’s Tales universe expanding with another game in the pipeline even now. If you haven’t gone so yet, check out Mr McNeil’s Kickstarter by clicking this link The StoryMaster’s Tales “Dracodeep Dungeon” Hybrid RPG, via @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/legendphotography/the-storymasters-tales-dracodeep-dungeon-hybrid-rpg?ref=android_project_share