I have started a regular monthly column at Kalkion, an internet-based magazine on science fact and fiction. Rather like our one print based Escape Velocity but covering slightly different ground.
My column is at http://kalkion.com/column/it-science-fiction/555 it’s about Margaret Atwood, whose writing I love to bits but not her attitude to the science fiction genre.
Sometimes my words will appear translated in the Hindi version, which is really cool – as they say.
Just returned from this year’s FantasyCon in Nottingham, UK. Great event with Jasper Fforde, Juliet McKenna and many others. I was a panellist speaking on ebooks and future wizardry in publishing. I sold an armful of my books and our Escape Velocity magazine, but the best aspect was catching up with other fantasy friends such as Joseph D’Lacey, Steve Upham, Terry Martin and too many more to mention.
It’s always a pleasure to attend FantasyCon even if I only sell a few books.
This is to be a crazy weekend. FantasyCon, the annual shindig of the British Fantasy Society, is 18-20th September this year at Nottingham’s Britannia Hotel. I have booked a table to sell my wares, but mainly I’m looking forward to meeting buddies again such as Terry Martin, Steve Upham, Ian Whates, Terry Jackman and many others. Somehow I got roped in to be on a discussion panel. This one is on ebooks and future wizardry in publishing. Okay I know a tiny bit about ebooks but often speculate about zapping ebook data directly via wireless into our neocortex. What fun. Lots of futuristic issues there – not all nice. Hah.
Then I like to combine my FantasyCon weekend with visiting my son, who lives in Nottingham. This is always a pleasure especially now he lives with his fiancee and her delightful cutie-pie toddler daughter. So my daughter says she is due to visit to Nottingham too. Well, her baby son is also cute and we love to spend every spare second with him too, and daughter, son-in-law – all the family. So our poor little Rover 25 is now packed to the roof with bedding, travel cot, pushchair, and overnight kit. I nearly forgot to pack the books and kit the whole visit to Nottingham was in aid of!
Yesterday I received a note from Terry Jeeves in Scarborough. He was the original artist for science fiction magazine, Vector, which is still running. He and my dad were both scifi artists in their spare time, both ink-drawing spaceships, robots and planets in the 1960s. I’ll be scanning some of the pictures Terry sent me. He’s 92 and not in the best of health but his scifi heart is beating strongly. If anyone has spare scifi mags and books then send them to him at Queen Margaret’s Nursing Home in Scarborough.
Murky Depths is deep but in my opinion not murky. In fact it is the 21st century graphic literature’s coruscating must read / own fantasy. The story lines and art are leading edge with art by such talent as Leonardo M Giron, Martin Deep, Nancy Farmer and Paul Drummond; writers such as Juliet E McKenna, Gareth D Jones and Jon Courtenay Grimwood; and both art and writing from the multi-talented Richard Calder.
I love our own Escape Velocity magazine, but Murky Depths is a gem and undoubtedly the best illustrated adult mag of all time. Sample it at
Congrats Terry Martin for running Murky Depths and for taking the bold step of publishing talent in paperback novels such as Sam Stone with her vampire stories. Her Futile Flame is now out adding to the fang-curling success of Killing Kiss. (both available here)
Towards the unmaking of Heaven
Balant: A Beginning
By Sam Smith
Paperback: 212 pages
Publisher: The EBookSale Publishing (1 May 2009)
Language English
ISBN-13: 978-1906806996
Reviewed by Geoff Nelder
I can never tire of visiting alien planets, their populations, and wondering if they are doing me good or evil. While many contemporary science fiction hide from planetary exploration and delve instead into quantum introspection, Smith delights us with this tale of discovery and survival. Yet for those intent on intellectual contemplation there are opportunities to engage with Pi when he approaches each conundrum with delightful logic and consequence prediction. As Smith declares, this is a Boys Own adventure – perhaps too literally as I believe the lack of a female main character disenfranchises many female readers. I know a young woman is a protagonist in Happiness, the next in the series, so women readers stay on course!
The adventure is told through the eyes of Pi Pandy, who’s had a sheltered life but made to grow up real fast surviving the jibes of his two friends, insect bites, space criminals, savages and a series of mechanical breakdowns he is clever enough to repair. This is more than hard scifi, Pi has to learn quickly the wiles of a spectrum of humanity. He has integrity in bucketfuls but wise enough to develop discretion then use his knowledge at the right time – not just for his own survival but for friends and other needy people.
The wide scale of ideas, space and human emotions, even though for young adult takes this novel into a Robert Heinlein-for-teens sub-genre. Sam’s poetry background shines through the exquisite narrative. A page turner fit for any imaginative young adult’s bookshelf.
I’ve returned alive from a Welsh hills cycle ride. My Dawes Super Galaxy regales me with an annoying rattle, but only going downhill. Sound location can be deceptive but it seems that the front mudguard would prefer to go its own way, and not mine. I’ve tightened up all the nuts and bolts, bent stays so the guard shouldn’t tough the tyres but the rattle nags at me. Luckily, it only happens while freewheeling downhill. In Wales most slopes are up rather than down. Also luckily, at around 20 mph the rushing air in my eyes mask the rattling. If I can’t hear it, it can’t be there. Right?
Besides the exercise, exhiliration and views, I cycle to have solo time to reflect on my writing. A month ago I had the brainwave of this psychological horror scenario. An amnesiac realizes he is a little girl’s imaginary friend. An ezine publisher of horror likes and wants it. So I finished the draft a couple of days ago in time for this month’s critiques at Cafe Doom. Damn, one of the guys there tells me my story isn’t original. Well, a good idea like that was sure to have been done before even if I hadn’t encountered it. Apparently the film Drop Dead Fred features Rik Mayall as the friend. I’m not too bothered because he imbues the part with his great whacky humour while mine is more tense and spooky with different twists.
During my bike ride I addressed the problem highlighted by that critiquer that the friend and the girl sound too alike. Also he didn’t know that Nate is the real name of X-Man. He’d confused it with X-Men. So might other readers so that has to change.
I found an email from an organiser of FantasyCon. The event is in Nottingham, September 18-20. I’ve been asked to be a panelist on the theme e-books and wizardry in the future of publishing. It should be interesting, especially when I am asked questions from the floor. I’ll have to tell them that I can’t hear very well. However, it doesn’t matter. Ask what you like. I’ll merely answer the questions I think you should have asked!
Apparently my Hot Air thriller is now published by Wuacademia. I’m not giving links until I’ve seen a copy myself. The launch party fizzled into a festival earlier in the summer. I thought the release might have been an excuse for another trip to Groningen. Oh well, maybe when it is made into a film – hah.
