I had a sleepless night last night. Not a ‘deep dark tea time of the soul’ kind of night, more a ‘strange vivid pictures in the head’ kind of night. About midnight the first paragraph of a story I’ve been considering for some time came to mind. I worked on the story for an hour… [Read more…]
December 29, 2009
So. As regular readers will know I gifted myself an eReader for Xmas. I did this for a number of reasons. Firstly, I read. A lot. I read for my day job, for my writing, as a reviewer and for pleasure, so I wanted to see if an eReader could make my work stream more… [Read more…]
December 28, 2009
Today I occupied myself with more reading, and the first draft of my battleplan for 2010. Real down time is a rarity in my life these days, so I’ve been soaking up every moment of solitude before the world starts turning again. I made it through the entirety of Ayn Rand’s Anthem in one sitting.… [Read more…]
December 27, 2009
I have let my Boxing Day be consumed by reading. I can’t really think of anything more wonderful. I will try and give a full review of my new Sony Pocket eReader, but I need a little more time to digest the experience. (It is good, but not without issues) Jeff Vandermeer’s Booklife is, as… [Read more…]
December 23, 2009
As a special gift this festive period Murky Depths are offering a free download of issue no.6, which just happens to feature my short story Horizon. Murky Depths are quickly establishing as one of the leading British spec.fic publications, added by their cunning combination of comics and short fiction. Go have a read! You can… [Read more…]
December 22, 2009
I just took a stride through the SFF section of my local Waterstones. I do this regularly but I don’t tarry as long I used to, there are rarely enough new additions to hold my attention for more than a moment. For many reasons the books I really want to read often aren’t to be… [Read more…]
December 19, 2009
Waiting alone at a dark, midlands train station and typing this post to keep circulation going through my fingers and and because the light from my phone seems to be the only illumination. The battery is running low though and I don’t want to know what happens around here when the lights go off… …if… [Read more…]
December 16, 2009
What do you do when you realise that you are the villain of the piece? It’s often said that the worst (or best) villains firmly believe themselves to be the greatest heroes. It’s an absolute truth that nothing empowers us to acts of pure evil better than a complete conviction in our own rightness. Perhaps… [Read more…]
December 14, 2009
Sigh. The Hundredth Master of Ninja Assassin is malingering. You know that moment when a living malleable story turns into a dull lump of hard, dried up clay in your hands? Yup, thats where I am. One of the joys of writing is observing your own development. If Clarion was about cracking my writing open,… [Read more…]
December 10, 2009
A little more information the Writing Industries Conference 2010, including agents and editors available for 1-2-1 meetings. W00t! *** Writing Industries Conference 2010 Saturday 6th March 2010, Loughborough University A Literature Network, Writing East Midlands and Loughborough University project. http://writingindustries.com Twitter #wic2010 Book tickets online here. WIC 2010 – APPLY NOW FOR AGENT AND EDITOR… [Read more…]
December 9, 2009
I’ve been following the unfolding debate about the decline of science fiction over at Mark Charan Newton’s blog, and recently added my own response: Hmm…I think your insight into the industry is strong Mark, but actually I think you are over complicating the problem facing SF. I pin it on something much simpler…the Michael Jordan… [Read more…]
December 9, 2009
I am listening to Prophecies by Philip Glass. I find it very beautiful. Especially the break around 8:45. It gives me those special shivers that come from things that are beautiful beyond comprehension. On my last flight out to California I got a glimpse out of the window as the flight came in over greenland.… [Read more…]
December 31, 2009
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