Tag Archives: Denny Flowers

Ten Years of Black Library

It’s been almost 10 years since I started Track of Words, and over that time I’ve read somewhere north of 400 Black Library books (not to mention goodness knows how many short stories), and reviewed a large proportion of those! As I draw to the end of this 10-year period, I thought it might be interesting to look back at all those BL books and pick out my personal highlights from the last decade. I’ve gone through each year from 2014 to 2023 and, from the books that a) were published that year, and b) I actually read that year, selected a single book as my pick for each year – and I tell you, that was not an easy task!

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Writing For Black Library – Open Submissions January 2023 Part 3: Writing Samples

Hello and welcome to the third and final instalment of my January 2023 edition of Writing For Black Library here on Track of Words – in this part our nine brilliant Black Library authors are discussing the tricky task of planning out short stories and putting together writing samples. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend checking out the previous two articles first: part one, in which we discussed writing 100-word story pitches, and part two, which was all about what makes a great Space Marine story. If you’ve already read both of those, read on to find out what advice and recommendations our authors have for writing short stories in general.

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Writing For Black Library – Open Submissions January 2023 Part 2: Space Marines

Welcome to the second in my three-part series of Writing For Black Library articles released to coincide with BL’s January 2023 Open Submissions window. For these articles I spoke to nine Black Library authors who kindly agreed to share their advice and ideas regarding three topics: pitch summaries, Space Marine stories, and generally writing short stories and samples. In Part 1 we covered writing pitches – if you haven’t already, definitely check that out – while for this second part the focus is on Space Marines. Specifically, I asked each of the authors this question: “What would you say makes a great Space Marine story?”

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Writing for Black Library – Open Submissions January 2023 Part 1: Pitching

Every year or two, Black Library announces an Open Submissions Window – a short period of time during which anyone can pitch a short story to the BL editorial team. Towards the end of 2022 BL announced that its next open subs window will begin in January 2023, with a specific theme of stories exploring Space Marine successor Chapters. In previous years I’ve put together articles and interviews full of advice from Black Library authors on how to pitch and write short stories, but it’s been a while since I’ve done that so now seems like a good time to do another one. Or, to be precise, another three! If you’re interested in writing for BL in general, and submitting to this open subs window in particular, I think you’ll find a lot of interest in these articles.

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Outgunned – Denny Flowers

Denny Flowers’ second Black Library novel Outgunned takes to the skies with a tale of picts, propaganda, underestimated xenos and the aerial might of the Aeronautica Imperialis. On the agri world of Bacchus – famed for its wine production – an infestation of orks has rapidly progressed from a minor irritation to all-out war, and Imperial forces are making slow progress. When Imperial Propagandist Kile Simlex arrives on Bacchus, tasked with recording a motivational pict to inspire confidence and aid recruitment, he finds little as he expected. His intended subject – Flight Commander Lucille von Shard – proves not quite the dashing hero he imagined, while the orks are far from the mindless wretches portrayed in the picts he’s seen. As he wrestles with questions of how to capture his pict and how to craft a suitable narrative, the war for Bacchus becomes increasingly desperate.

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RAPID FIRE: Denny Flowers Talks Outgunned

Hello and welcome to this Rapid Fire author interview where today I’m chatting to the excellent Denny Flowers about his new Black Library book Outgunned, which is a 40k novel exploring the Aeronautica Imperialis from an unexpected angle. Outgunned is out now, and I would urge you to check it out – I was lucky enough to get hold of an advance copy (thanks Denny!) and I loved it, and I think this is really going to be one to watch for a lot of Black Library fans keen to get something a little different to what’s gone before. Luckily, you don’t have to take my word for it, as you can read on to find out more from Denny about what to expect in this fast-paced story of planes, picts and propaganda (including the influence of Blackadder on both characters and tone)!

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Sanction & Sin – Warhammer Crime Anthology

Sanction & Sin, the third short story anthology from Black Library’s Warhammer Crime range, collects together nine stories from a mixture of BL veterans and newer names (including debuts for J.S. Collyer and Jude Reid) exploring the trials and tribulations of some of the women living amidst the blood, the dirt, the crime and corruption on the grim streets of Varangantua. Whether trying to maintain the Lex, care for others’ bodies and souls, make a killing or just make a living, each of these characters is forced to confront the realities of life in this vast and unforgiving city, the inequality and the brutality, the squalid streets and the merciless conditions. While some thrive despite the odds, others aren’t so strong or so fortunate, and justice means little in Varangantua.

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RAPID FIRE: Denny Flowers Talks Fire Made Flesh

Welcome to this instalment of my Rapid Fire series of author interviews, where today I’m talking to Denny Flowers about his debut novel for Black Library, Fire Made Flesh. Denny has already written a novella and various short stories as part of BL’s Necromunda range, but this is his first full-length novel – and it promises to be a great read for Necromunda fans, not least because it explores some of the Necromundan guilds in ways we haven’t seen before! Fire Made Flesh is available to order in paperback via the book trade (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones etc.) right now, and is due to be available direct from Black Library/Games Workshop at some point in May, in paperback and ebook formats.

Without further ado, let’s get straight on with the interview!

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QUICK REVIEW: Salvation’s Crucible – Denny Flowers

Currently only available in the Black Library Events Anthology 2019/20, Denny Flowers’ Necromunda short story Salvation’s Crucible is a brief but fiery tale of the Promethium Guild, or Mercator Pyros. Lord Silas Pureburn has sworn to bring the light of the God-Emperor to the settlement of Under Pipe, and has contracted a gang of hive scum as guides and protectors. Not all of the Underhive’s denizens are fans of the guilds though, and standing in Lord Pureburn’s way are the Waylanders gang, who run their own operation providing light and power to Under Pipe, and don’t intend to relinquish their territory without a fight.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Last Voyage of Elissa Harrow – Denny Flowers

Denny Flowers’ Necromunda short story The Last Voyage of Elissa Harrow does what it says on the tin…and a bit more. SPOILERS abound in both the story and (to a lesser extent) this review for those who haven’t read at least Low Lives (YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!), as this picks up after the novella’s denouement to find Elissa horribly injured, possibly delusional, attempting to cross the sump on a makeshift raft. Land, and safety, seem a long way off, there are dangers beneath the surface of the toxic lake, and Elissa knows she can never really go home…but something drives her to keep moving forward.

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