Tomorrow night, I’ll be at the Oxfam Cotham Bookshop in Bristol, where I’ll be reading from my novel, The Recollection, talking about the process of writing it, and answering questions from the audience.

The evening will run from 7.30pm-9pm. Entry is free, so please come along.

I’m pleased to turn this post over to my talented friend and colleague, Emma Newman. Take it away, Emma:

This is the thirteenth tale in a year and a day of weekly short stories set in The Split Worlds. If you would like me to read it to you instead, you can listen here.  You can find links to all the other stories, and the new ones as they are released here.

The Wishing Book

Monica dropped the boxes outside the bedroom door. The procrastination had to stop; the removal company would be there first thing in the morning. Her fingers hovered above the doorknob, the fluttering in her chest making her breathe rapidly. She shut her eyes as her hand fell to her side, clammy. She’d start on it after lunch.

After making packet soup using the only mug and spoon left unpacked, she perched on a box full of cooking books and stirred, imagining moving out with the small bedroom left as it had been for the last six months. In her fantasy, no-one new moved in and the house was soon cocooned in ivy, spiders filling the corners with epic silken landscapes. The room would stay as it was forever, even as the city crumbled around it, even as the house decayed and was slowly taken apart by nature’s assault, the pink, purple and white would remain perfect.

Continue reading “The Wishing Book – A Story by Emma Newman”

The final line-up for the SFX Weekender has been announced. I’ll be appearing on a panel at 3pm on the Saturday, followed by a book signing at 4pm. The panel is called: We’re all doomed! Is the path to humanity’s salvation revealed in science fiction?

See you there?

The Liminal - Event 2 from Weston super Television on Vimeo.

I was recently interviewed by Stuart Clark for the Eclectic Authors blog. Here’s an excerpt:

Are your first drafts as streamlined as the novels appear to be or does a lot end up on the “cutting room floor” so to speak?

“I edit as I go along. Each time I sit down to write, I start at the beginning and read through to where I finished at the end of the last section, making changes as I go. This means that by the time the first draft is completed, it’s actually been edited many times. That said, I did cut 20,000 words from Silversands.”

Following on from that, can you talk us through your self-editing process?

“A piece of writing – whether it’s a sentence, a paragraph or a whole page – has to have some sort of rhythm and flow to it. This is doubly true for lines of dialogue. I go back through and try to find that rhythm. I cut out unnecessary words and exposition; ditch adverbs; and replace everyday words with phrases that are more direct and striking.”

You can read the whole thing here, and read Stuart’s review of The Recollection, here.

You walk into a spaceport bar, a thousand light years from home, and meet four friends. The lights are low. Cutthroats and bounty hunters lurk in the shadows. The bar serves drinks from a hundred different worlds. You can buy almost anything here. You order a round of beers and look around the table at your friends. You’re glad they’re here with you.

But who are they?

Here’s the game: select four science fictional characters that you’d like to have a drink with, and place them around the same table. It’s a variation of the old “fantasy dinner party” game, only set in a tavern at Mos Eisley.

Here’s my answers:

1. Halo Jones – Alan Moore’s reluctant interstellar heroine paced the galaxy for two decades, looking for a way out. In her time, she was a stewardess, a soldier, a renegade, and a drunk – so I figure she’ll have some pretty good stories to tell, as long as we keep the catsblood flowing.

2. John Truck – The amoral loser and archetypal spacer from M. John Harrison’s Centauri Device is a man born to frequent such establishments. He’s been all over the sky. He’s a spaceship captain because he hasn’t got the energy to be anything else. He’s too lazy to avoid getting himself into trouble, and too stubborn to back out once he’s in it.

3. Slippery Jim Di Griz – Interstellar criminal mastermind, card sharp, con man, gourmet, and connoisseur of fine wines and spirits. Life would never be dull with the Stainless Steel Rat at your table. Listen to his stories and get involved in his schemes. Just don’t play cards with him.

4. Louis Wu – The protagonist of Larry Niven’s Ringworld novels is a two hundred year old man from Earth. Every couple of decades, he tires of company and launches himself into the unknown on a “sabbatical”, all alone in a one-man starship. He’s a man of culture and sophistication, yet he’s also been a wirehead, an explorer, a hyper-intelligent “protector”, ambassador to a savage alien race, and a god. Wu would be the voice of reason at the table. He’d be able to think his way out of any situation we found ourselves in, and having explored the Ringworld, he’d also have some pretty entertaining stories to tell.

That’s my selection. Who would you choose, and why?

If you follow the link below and click on over to Dolly Garland’s blog, you’ll see that I’ve answered a few questions for her about the books that have meant a lot to me over the years.

Link.

Here’s a revised list of upcoming dates:

• 14 Jan - The Liminal,  7-10pm, at Dr Fox’s Tearooms on Knightstone Island, Weston-super-Mare; with readings from myself and fellow authors Emma Shortt and June Bastable.
• 25 Jan - Oxfam Cotham Bookshop, Cotham Hill, Bristol. I will be doing a short reading and answering questions about my work, the craft of writing, and science fiction in general.
• 3 – 5 Feb - SFX Weekender, North Wales. I will be one of several Solaris Books authors at this event.
• 2 April - Anarchy Books publishes digital versions of my first two books, Silversands and The Last Reef.
• 6 – 9 April - Olympus 2012, Heathrow. I will be at Eastercon as usual and, although the programme hasn’t be unveiled yet, I hope to be participating in a number of panel discussions.
• 18 – 20 May – Discover Festival, Leicestershire. I will be a guest at this event, along with many other fine authors.

I’m very pleased to note that The Recollection appears at number 6 in Forbidden Planet’s list of favourite books.

The Best Books of 2011