Here’s a guest post I wrote for The Black Library Blog, about why I enjoy writing for the Black Library (in case the title didn’t give it away). Click on the link or scroll down to read it.
I’d like to add some more regarding the writing of tie-in fiction rather than the consumption and validity of it as a literary form (for this, dear readers, is the underlying topic of my BL blog). (more…)
Here’s a piece I did for that really rather top fellow, Abhinav Jain, to publish on his blog, Angels of Retribution. It’s part of Names: A New Perspective, a series of guest blogs by writers about what their attitude is to naming and language in speculative fiction. Re-reading mine, I sound like a grumpy bastard. Hang, that’s because I am a grumpy bastard. Ah me. I also use the word “important” a lot. Makes me sound pompous. I’m probably that too.
I’ve republished it below for ease of use, if you want to see it in its original habitat, click here. For more articles on the same topic, try this. (more…)
Local journalism… I dunno. I really shouldn’t throw stones, and it would be wrong to adopt the glossy, international magazine attitude to our colleagues in the local press (it’s not a nice one), and I have screwed up myself more than once in print, but… They got my name wrong, said I have three books out this year in one part of the article and then four elsewhere, (truth: three already, four in 2013), the story implies this is my first published short story, when it’s actually my first for Interzone, and states my mother read me The Hobbit, when I actually read it myself. All actual facts I told the nice lady. I think I got them right. I think I did. Yeah.
Still, it’s good to have the publicity, and I have some sympathy for journalists being under pressure and all… But come on! Spell the name correctly, at least, eh? Sheesh. There’s no “y” in the middle, no “y” I tell you [cue noises of Hulk-style roaring and things breaking in the background].
It’s not as bad as the time I was in the paper as a kid, and they called me Amy Haley. I cried about that (I WAS EIGHT, in case anyone thinks I should grow a pair. I had some, they just hadn’t dropped), as I knew everyone would rip the piss for weeks at school. They did. Great. Now I’m having flashbacks.
Sci-fi fan has first story printed in magazine | This is Somerset.
Yip yip yoo! The weasel people squeak in riotous celebration (they live under the floor, you know). Interzone 244 arrived on my doormat today, an epochal moment as it contains my short “iRobot”. This is my first story for Interzone; with luck and application I’m hoping it won’t be my last. Check it out! Also included are stories by Lavie Tidhar, Jim Hawkins, Tracie Welser and George Zebrowski, plus interviews with Karin Tidbeck and Saladin Ahmed. A bargainous raft of story for a mere five pounds, minus one penny.
Here’s my latest article for Live4, on three-dimensional printing.
At the beginning of December, I posted the cover to The Death of Integrity. The art, by Jon Sullivan, turned out to be only a placeholder. I was surprised, as I thought it grand. But then I saw the actual artwork. Oh boy. Here it is.
Chapter Master Caedis of the Blood Drinkers chopping up genestealers in this picture by Jon Sullivan. Note the classic colour scheme for the ‘stealers. My favourite touch is the light around Caedis’ sword. When drawn, the weapon displays past victories as holograms around the blade, and Jon has hinted at that brilliantly.
This is one of the best Warhammer 40,000 covers I’ve ever seen. BL have been spoiling me with book art, and this is another magnificent treat.
Ah, Death Ray, how fruitful plundering your corpse is for my blog… This article originally appeared in Death Ray 08, back in 2007, as part of our insanely crammed “Ten Minute Guide…” series. These were among my favourite articles to write; packed full of detail, and no transcribing involved. I’ve put this one up as my review of the Flash Gordon TV series of 2007/2008 is one of the most viewed articles on this site by a long, long way. General searches for “Flash Gordon” take people there, so curiosity about this primal member of the modern SF heroic pantheon still abounds.
The original, and the best. Click the pic for more on the comic.
Golden-haired saviour of Earth, Flash has been protecting us from the art-deco hell of Ming the Merciless’s Planet Mongo for 70 years, often in a pair of tight trunks. In a word: Pulp.
Flash’s adventures are ones of swash-buckling, over the top, Prisoner of Zenda style derring-do in space. The stories are simple stuff, simply told, their enduring popularity down to the sumptuousness of Alex Raymond’s art and the on-screen extravagance it inspired. If scantily clad slave girls, finned rocket ships, weird alien kingdoms and decadently luxuriant palaces are your thing, step this way… (more…)
Here’s a short opinion piece I wrote for SFSignal’s Mind Meld. A regular article on this wonderful SF site, Mind Meld asks numerous scribes and pundits one question, and they all answer in their own special way. My special way is that of curmudgeon, judging by my reply. Published just before Christmas, the last I was involved in asked:
Q: How do you feel about the state of storytelling in video games? What do developers do right? What could they be doing better? What games do you think tell excellent stories?
And below is my answer. Click on the link above to see what the other fine folk had to say, although you can read my bit right here, if you wish.
One of the most searched for items that brings people to this blog is the H.G. Wells/ Alexander Korda movie Things to Come, because there’s a review of the film here. As this is the case, I figured I should pop this article up, which is about the book and short story that preceded it.
This article was originally part of our “Time Trap” series in Death Ray. Yet another highly labour intensive but satisfyingly dense article, “Time Trap” took a year and gave a brief rundown of all the important SF out then, with a couple of longer pieces like this one. This was originally published in Death Ray 10, out in early 2008. (more…)
Yesterday I posted a calendar of the coming year. It was quite woefully wrong, a consequence of working on my own and never speaking to anyone. Chief among its errors was mention of a couple of short stories that will appear in Hammer and Bolter. They won’t, as the ezine is now defunct, a fact that was revealed at the Black Library Weekender. In its stead, new stories will be available every Monday, to buy individually. My stories, very loosely connected to Skarsnik and Baneblade, will be two of those. When, I dunno, although if I were a betting man I’d say around the time of the books’ releases.
Here’s an updated version of the calendar.
My first story for Interzone will be published in issue 243 (not 244).
I’ll be at Black Library Live in Nottingham on 3rd March, then the day after at The Scifi Weekender in Pwllheli.
I am going to be at Salute with BL, on 20th April in London.
Out this month is the Mark of Calth anthology, in which is my second Horus Heresy story, “The Shards of Erebus”, and this opens the collection. Cool, eh? I was wrong about the date originally as I got it from Amazon. Lesson for the future, always check the BL website first… Mark of Calth will first be released as a BL/GW exclusive.
Baneblade, my first published novel for The Black Library (and the first one I wrote), is out on 7th May.
The Crash is out on 25th June. My second original novel for Solaris, it’s about a colony expedition that goes horribly wrong. Published this same month is The Best of Hammer and Bolter II, included therein is my story, “The Rite of Holos”, originally published in Hammer and Bolter 24, and a direct prequel to The Death of Integrity.
Skarsnik is out, my second BL book. This hits the shelves on 19th July.
My third novel for The Black Library/Games Workshop is released 3rd September. Space Marines galore, Genestealers, and a twist.
I’ll be at the Black Library Weekender II.
As I said yesterday, there’s a few more appearances I’ll be making for BL, but they’re yet to be finalised. Other than that, I better sort some more work out, or I’ll be on the street…
