It’s been a fairly hectic month for writing-related public appearances. Bristolcon was great, and though they worked me hard I had a lot of fun. Then, on November 1st, there was the online launch of Screams and Wails, an anthology of short stories on the theme of rock/indie music and horror. You can watch that […]
It’s BristolCon this coming weekend and though I’m only there for the Saturday, the con committee are keeping me busy with four panels and a reading: 10am – Blurred Lines: “What is a crossover genre? When should a science fiction crossover with genres such as fantasy, contemporary, literary or crime be labelled as such? What […]
I first heard the term ‘imposter syndrome’ when someone who was well-respected in their field applied it to themselves. This perplexed me. I was pretty sure it wasn’t false modesty, yet how could they think they were an imposter when their work was so impressive? When I started getting a small degree of success in […]
WARNING: The following blog post is LONG. It also contains SWEARING. And OPINIONS. I’m not religious, but I do think of myself as ethical. I try to do what I believe to be the ‘right’ thing, not because I want the approval of any deity, or of any other humans, but because it intuitively makes […]
Subject tag: Shameless self-promotion All in all, 2016 wasn’t a great year. A referendum here in the UK, and the American elections, began to steer he world on a course that I for one wish it wasn’t taking. And the year didn’t start that well for me, having just lost what I thought was a […]
TL;DR: Authors get served their own special flavour of AI sloop, delivered daily to their inbox. And I shall now rant at length upon this topic: For as long as the internet has existed, published writers have received spam claiming that for X dollars the spammer, often claiming to be book blogger, can promote your […]
I was looking forward to returning to Birmingham to be a guest at Birmingham Science Fiction Group’s monthly meeting, as all went well last time. However, I am ill. It’s almost certainly flu (not covid – I tested negative for that), as it comes with an ache in every joint, a steel-band-round-the-head headache, a racking […]
As I don’t do much in-person promo these days, I was pleased to be invited back to speak at the Birmingham Science Fiction Group on Friday 13th (yeah, I know; I’m not superstitious, honest). I have been their guest before, many years ago, and I remember swapping a signed copy of Principles of Angels for […]
I learnt the craft by writing short stories. Some years ago I put out a small collection, Downside Girls, which was a set of linked shorts set in the Hidden Empire universe. But I always wanted to see a more comprehensive collection of my short stuff. Happily, the marvellous Ian Whates of Newcon Press obliged […]
This blog has been around for a long time. As such, this isn’t the first time, after a year of relative inactivity here, that I’ve publicly stated my intention to Do Better This Year. Some years I have, some… less so. Looking back now after 20+ years of Tales From the Garret (which I should […]
After missing Bristolcon last year due to having covid, I’m delighted to be returning to my favourite little convention this weekend. I’m only around on the Saturday, and here’s what I’ll be doing (in addition to attending other programme items and hanging out in the bar) 11am – Panel: Loss of the Everyman? 1pm – […]