In case you missed it, TTA Press included a link to my story “Mid-Life Crisis” in their selection of Christmas goodies:

Click here for link.

Day two of the TTA Press advent calendar features a link to my short story “Hot Rats”.

TTA Advent: Day Two

This December, TTA Press will be hosting an advent calendar. Each day, from the 1st through to the 25th, the TTA website will feature a new link to a story on another website. Some of these stories will be new, others old. Some will be written by previous contributors to TTA Press magazines (Interzone, Black Static, etc.) and some will be by new faces.

I believe one of my stories will be linked to on 2nd December. For more details, keep your eye on the TTA Press discussion forum.

The latest podcast from TTA Press features a recording of my Interzone poll-winning story Ack-Ack Macaque, read by the author.

The recording is accompanied on the website by the artwork which accompanied its original appearance in Interzone in 2007.

Listen to it here: Transmission 19

This is the first time I’ve released a recording of myself reading a full-length piece, so please feel free to leave feedback in the comments below.

Andrew Hook, the man behind Elastic Press, is interviewed by Peter Tennant on the TTA Press website:

“People will always want to read books and there will always be writers writing material which the majors aren’t going to be interested in (for whatever reason). So on that basis, the independent press will always have material to publish. What I think is important is that all publishers need flexibility and should embrace new technology. For example, several of the Elastic Press books are also available as e-books and audio books, and it would have been foolish to ignore those possibilities.”

Read the full interview here: Link

Click below to hear my short story The Last Reef as it appeared in Transmissions from Beyond, the podcast from TTA Press.

You can now listen to a free audio version of my short story The Last Reef on the Transmissions From Beyond website, read by Bob Eccles and illustrated by Vincent Chong. All you need to do is follow this link and press the “play” button:

http://transmissionsfrombeyond.com/2008/12/transmission13/

TTA Press have just announced their new podcast site, Transmissons From Beyond. Every other Monday, they’ll broadcast a new story taken from one of their magazines – Crimewave, Black Static or Interzone.

I have already been working with Pete Bullock to produce audio versions of my two Interzone stories – “The Last Reef” and “Ack-Ack Macaque” – and they will both make an appearance on the site in due course.

A package arrived today containing stickers for me to sign – one for each of the limited, signed and numbered hardcover editions of The Last Reef . I signed them using a genuine write-upside-down NASA space pen, and they will now be stuck into the front pages of the hardcovers, before being mailed out to the people with the foresight to pre-order a copy.

I have to tell you that signing those stickers gave me goosebumps. It made the book seem suddenly very real, and now I really can’t wait to see a copy.

When I took the package of signed stickers back to the post office, I let my 2-year old daughter carry the envelope all the way there. It was a hot afternoon, and she was very careful, and she really enjoyed being involved.

If you would like a signed copy of the paperback edition, come along and buy one at the book launch, where I will be happy to scribble on it for you. Alternatively, you can order one from the publisher – http://www.elasticpress.com/lastreef.htm – (or Amazon, and all good bookshops) -and we’ll work something out.

In related news, TTA Press are about to release a press release about the book launch, and I’ll link to it for you when it’s up on their site.

Although my story The Last Reef was recommended for a British Fantasy Society award, it has failed to make the final shortlist, which was announced this week.

My congratulations go to Elastic Press, TTA Press and Pendragon Press for their inclusion in various categories, and to Vincent Chong, illustrator of The Last Reef, for his inclusion in the Best Artist category.