Happy Fable Day!
Back in the first part of 2013, my agent got in touch with me to ask if I’d be interested in writing a tie-in novel for the new Fable: Legends video game.
Today, more than two years later, Fable: Blood of Heroes officially hits bookshelves across the country. The book is humorous fantasy, most similar in tone to my goblin books, and tells an original story about the Heroes of the game joining forces against a nasty threat with bad teeth.
Q&A:
“Can I read and understand the book if I’ve never played the Fable games?”
Yes. Yes you can. I wanted to make the story accessible to everyone. There are a few inside references for long-term Fable fans, but they shouldn’t detract from the experience or bump you out of the story if you’re not familiar with the world.
“When will the Fable: Legends game come out?”
Later this year. Check the Fable: Legends website for updates, or to sign up for the beta.
“What was it like working with Lionhead?”
Different. Fun. Ultimately, very rewarding.
Purchase Links:
- TRADE PAPERBACK: Amazon | B&N | BAMM | Mysterious Galaxy | Schuler Books | Indiebound
- EBOOK: Amazon | B&N | BAMM | Kobo | iBooks
Amazon appears to have marked the trade paperback down to $7.65 today.
Excerpt:
- Available on the publisher’s website. Click the “Look Inside” link.
Other Release-Day Links:
- The Big Idea – Guest post on John Scalzi’s blog, talking about a world in flux.
- Companion Novels are Clucking Poetry, Man! – Guest post on Chuck Wendig’s blog, talking about writing my first tie-in novel.
- Interview: Jim C. Hines – Matt Staggs interviewed me for the Suvudu website.
- Jim C. Hines on the Game-Inspired Novel Fable: Blood of Heroes – Paul Semel interviewed me for GameCrate.
- In the Spotlight – An interview at Second Run Reviews.
More to come!
Final Note:
Thank you to Lionhead, Del Rey, and my agent for helping to make this happen. Thanks also to all the readers and Fable fans who’ve expressed their excitement and enthusiasm about the story. I hope it makes you smile, laugh, cheer, and look at chickens in a whole new way.
As always, release week is one of the most important times in a young book’s life. If you felt like mentioning the book online or posting a review, the redcaps would be forever grateful. (Though, considering what redcap gratitude probably looks like, that may not have been the best way for me to encourage word-of-mouth…)
Daniel B.
August 4, 2015 @ 1:17 pm
Curious on the process of writing a book based on a video game. Did you already play any of the games before taking on the Fable writing project? And if not–did you embark on a marathon of playing–or get a pre-release copy of Fable: Legends to play? Or did Lionhead provide backstory information that didn’t involve needing to play at all? And, in this kind of writing, do you take into account only that lore and backstory, or in any way does the video game aspect factor in–like, do you try to try to write action scenes or plots that work any of the game play mechanics in?
Avilyn
August 4, 2015 @ 1:30 pm
I’ve got to say, I’ve never played Fable and pretty much never read tie-in novels, but your description of the book at Scalzi’s blog has me interested. Added to my Amazon wishlist for future perusal.
Sally
August 4, 2015 @ 3:58 pm
I liked the sample. This might be one of the rare times where the tie-in book is better than the inspiration.
Terri M., the Director
August 8, 2015 @ 8:25 am
Thanks for stopping by Second Run Reviews, Jim. Looking forward to seeing you at ICON in October.