New stuff around the net....

All,

Had some new articles posted here and there around the net.

You can regularly find me at SFSite.com but here's pointers to the latest articles:

Powers: Secret Histories interview - John Berlyne, Tim Powers, Pete Crowther, Dirk Berger.

John Berlyne's Powers: Secret Histories is so much more than just a bibliography of Tim Powers' stories -- it's a unique insight into the writing life of one of the most respected fantasy authors around. The project has been a huge undertaking for Berlyne, taking nearly a decade to complete, and here he is joined by the book's artist Dirk Berger, the publisher Pete Crowther and Tim Powers himself to discuss how the book came into being, the problems with designing it, the artwork, the bodies buried in the garden and spilling beer.

You can catch up with my latest book news columns here, including a very special column about Kevin J Anderson's latest fantasy book and accompanying CD project.

Plus my report on the David Gemmell Legend Award night is here.

All for now - happy reading peeps!

Mike Carey and Kate Griffin Signing at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is pleased to announce a signing by Mike Carey and Kate Griffin. They will be signing Thicker Than Water: A Felix Castor Novel and A Madness of Angels at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Thursday 26th March 6 – 7pm.

Mike Carey is an extremely popular and well-respected author who has written on several top comics titles such as Lucifer as well as the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Thicker Than Water returns us to the life of Felix Castor, where memories thought left in Liverpool resurface in London. Childhood memories, family traumas, sins old and new come back to torment the city’s favourite freelance Exorcist. Things go from bad to worse until the only question left is – just how much will Fix have to pay..?

Kate Griffin is the name under which Carnegie Medal-nominated author, Catherine Webb, writes fantasy novels for adults. A Madness of Angels is a book about the power of London, Urban Magic, ebbing and flowing with the rhythms of the city, making runes from the alignments of ancient streets and humming with the rhythms of trains and buses. This is the London of Matthew Swift, where rival sorcerers do battle for the soul of the city.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE VENUE BEFORE TRAVELLING

To find out more about signings at Forbidden Planet, go to their signings page at Forbidden Planet Signings

Raymond Feist Tour Dates - UK

All,

I get quite a few press releases about signings and events. I don't currently have anywhere else to put them so I'll post them on here in future.

First up, the lovely Raymond Feist is in the UK signing for his new book.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE VENUE BEFORE TRAVELLING.

Monday 9th March
6.30 – 8.00pm: Nottingham Waterstones
TALK AND SIGNING
1-5 Bridlesmith Gate
Nottingham
NG1 2GR


Tuesday 10th March
1.00-2.00pm
Birmingham FP
SIGNING
38 Priory Queensway
Birmingham,
B4 7LA

7.00pm:
Waterstones,
Manchester Deansgate
TALK AND SIGNING
91 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 2BW

Wednesday 11th March
6.30pm:
Waterstones
Edinburgh East End
TALK AND SIGNING
13-14 Princes Street
Edinburgh EH2 2AN


Thursday 12th March
1.00pm–2.00pm:
Forbidden Planet
Bristol
SIGNING
Clifton Heights
Triangle West
Bristol BS8 1EJ



6.30pm:
Forbidden Planet London
SIGNING
179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London
WC2H 8JR


Saturday 14th March
1.00pm:
Easons,
Dublin,
SIGNING,
O’Connell Street

Where to catch my work

I admire everyone who posts regularly to their blog - it seems to be something I struggle with constantly and usually fail to do.

2008 was phenomenally busy for me - change of (proper job) employer, reviewing, interviewing, researching articles and starting my first book.

So I've given up any pretence of trying to do regular updates here and instead I shall ask interested parties to check out SFX magazine or visit SFSite.com to catch up with my book news, reviews and interviews. At least there you'll see regular updates.

For my news columns, you can link directly from here: SFSite.com News Spotlight

If anyone wants to catch me in person I'll be attending Eastercon, Fantasycon and San Diego Comicon this year. See you there!

A breathing space

Well, Christmas came and went in a mad rush of parties and packing!

We went skiing on December 20th so before we went we had several Christmas Days around family and friends through December. I love getting together and opening presents three or four times over the festive period - it's much better than doing it all on one day!

The skiing - in Canada - was awesome! Snow was deep and soft, weather was blizzardy and the light was flat (which means you can't focus your eyes on the snow you're skiing on, a very strange sensation that leads to falling over very quickly!) But the change of pace was welcome and the celebrations were warm and fun.

Arriving back, things went ballistic. In summary:

Central heating not working
I develop a new respect for people who live in cold conditions with no heating
Brrrr

Hot water then breaks
Smelly repercussions

Mother-in-law and neighbours offer support
They're all so sweet and we're very grateful!

I'm asked to do two lectures on Communication in the Digital Age at a local Uni
Huzzah!

Car needs MOT'ing
Boo

It passed!
Yay!

Work makes unsettling announcement
Boo!

Car needs taxing
Sigh

Problems with the measurements for the new fireplace we're buying
Boo!

Work makes worse announcement
Boo Hiss!

Get builder in to advise on fireplace - he knows what he's talking about
Yay!

Now we're waiting for the fireplace to be delivered and the house renovations will take another step forward. Next will be the carpet and new sofa - as and when funds allow - followed by ripping out the bathroom and replacing it with a new suite.

Wish us luck eh? We'll need it!

Meanwhile, I've been reviewing for SFX magazine and doing my Starburst book news column too. And I've found time to review Clive Barker's Mister B Gone for SFSite.com.

I'll be at Eastercon, Alt-Fiction in Derby and Fantasycon this year. Will do the Clarke Awards too. Come over and say hello!

Happy New Year to everyone!

With the long winter nights upon us, there's nothing better than curling up on the sofa and immersing yourself in really good book.

I didn't get too much chance to indulge myself in this practice over October and November. We're having some extensive work done on the interior of the house and if a room doesn't look like a building site, then it's crammed with the stuff removed from the rooms being done up. My study has survived with minimal disruptive but my time has been redistributed to preparing for the work and cleaning up after it. October and November disappeared in the blink of an eye but I have at least sorted out my book collection and reacquainted myself with some awesome titles that I'd forgotten I had.

Meanwhile, I've squeezed a few titles into my lunch hour that are worth mentioning here:

Confessor by Terry Goodkind is a very fitting end to the Sword of Truth series and has moved itself into the top position for having the best opening line:
"For the second time that day, a woman stabbed Richard."

The Solaris Book of New Fantasy edited by George Mann is an ideal read if you're looking to try out new authors without committing to a whole novel. Some excellent quality stories in this one make it very good value.

Ian Irvine's The Curse on the Chosen continues his Song of the Tears series with much derring do and cliff hanger action. He's not a good idea for people who like closure at the end of the stories but the ride is rather good fun.

And finally, Clive Barker's Mister B. Gone was an entertaining and unnerving read that I really enjoyed. No where near as gory or weird as some of his previous titles, it's a light, very well-written story.

Happy holidays everyone. May you get your heart's desire from Santa.

Russian Bite

With Sergei Lukyanenko's TWILIGHT WATCH just out in trade paperback and the adaptation of the second book in the series, DAY WATCH, about to debut on DVD, it's been a good couple of months for werewolves, vampires and light magicians in chilly Moscow.

I've been really impressed with the intelligent stories in this series. Nothing is what it seems, the mysteries are not predictable and there's a lovely exotic feel to them (due to the Moscow backdrop).

It was my great pleasure to be able to interview both Sergei Lukyanenko and the english translator Andrew Bromfield for the UKSFBookNews.net website a short time ago.


You can read the results here: Lukyanenko & Bromfield on the NIGHT WATCH series