FantasyCon 2011 – hot, hot hot

I’m suffering jet lag. Okay, the distance between Brighton and Chester is only a handful of hundreds of miles and four hours by train, but the distance in terms of literary milieu I am on the other side of the planet. A day ago I was shaking hands with Brian Aldiss. Brian Aldiss! And Christopher Priest, Ramsey Campbell, and other writer friends such as Jonathan Pinnock, Ian Whates, Robert Harkess, Raven Dane and Sam Stone. My experience became enhanced with the artists too – Steve Upham, Vincent Chong and Andy Bigwood. Then the publishers – most of whom are also fine writers but are these days mostly producing exquisite publications – Terry Martin, Lee Harris, Christopher Teague, Simon Marshal-Jones and others. My hand hasn’t been so excited for years. Loved the hugs too… thanks Sam.

Copies of my Exit, Pursued by a Bee and the Escape Velocity anthology were among other items in the FantasyCon raffle. My SF mystery might have gone unnoticed but the Mistress of Ceremonies, Sarah Pinborough was ‘tired’ by the time she had to read the title and so fumbled it. Luckily, a helper said. “Exit, Pursued by a Bee, and it is a good book!”. Yeay, Sarah can be a Mistress again!

Link to FantasyCon 2011 >>> here

Speaking of the Escape Velocity anthology, I met several of the contributors during the weekend – besides Bec Zugor (I travelled up the railtrack to Chichesterto have lunch with her and her family – excellent day). EV contributors at FantasyCon included Jonathan Pinnock, Robert Harkess, Roy Gray, Mark Lewis and Ian Whates. I also met the charming Carmelo Rafala of Immersion Press, who wrote the Mother Tongue story in Escape Velocity issue one. Jonathan Pinnock was there to launch his amazing Mrs Darcy Versus the Aliens – see the link here. I’ve known Jonathan for years on various forums and admired his writing style but I had no idea he was soooo tall. I had to stand on a box of his books to shake his hand.

I attended several literary panels including one in which graphic artists discussed cover art issues and I learned why you rarely see turquoise in digital-art covers. Thanks, Vincent, who explained it to me in detail in the bar later. Also, in a panel on the future of SF Brian Aldiss said how single-word titles work best for promotion, then quoted his own Hot House as an example. Ian Whates pointed out to him that it was two words… ha ha. But in fact it really is one word – Hothouse as it was published in 1962. Ian could have quoted his No Time Like Tomorrow title back at him. Nevertheless, a one word title does have appeal. I tend to go for two or more.

Xaghra’s Revenge is a case in point. I managed to have a quick word with the Angry Robot publisher, Lee Harris, who have had the synopsis and samples in his inbox since May. They’ve been very busy this year including having an unagented submission window with the resulting flood of novels to consider. I bought Peter Crowther’s latest book, Darkness Falling, from them. A fantasy thriller with people disappearing – unnerving when that includes the pilot of a plane you are in. Hopefully, there will be good news about XR in due course.

Besides the exuberance I went through meeting all these folk – all good people in spite of their chosen genre of unspeakable horror! – there were other moments of excitement. A burlesque show was laid on: all based on fantasy themes we were treated to playlets and delightful striptease. Of course being based inBrightonin the British heatwave (28 C shade temp in October), there was plenty of bare flesh of all sexes on display on the beach and even bikinis in the town. I thought I was inAmsterdamin some of the narrow lanes with their windows wide open and an interesting sweet aroma wafting along. I was distinctly light-headed by the time I reached the end of the lane. With that, the hot sun, the ocean, the marvellously friendly gay communities, the cosmopolitan eateries (many many veggie cafes) and the runners along the promenades, Brighton was a combo ofAmsterdam and Sliema in Malta. I hope to go back soon.

More on FantasyCon

At FantasyCon (this coming weekend in Brighton, Uk) is the lunch launch of Full Fathom Forty, a collection of forty short speculative fiction stories selected from thousands of entries this year. It is to celebrate the BFS 40th anniversary. Below is a list of contributors. Somehow, a story of mine was chosen. But look at the luminaries in whose light I bask!…
Featuring the fantastic fiction and poetry of:

Nina Allan | Suzanne Barbieri | Carl Barker | Mike Barrett | Ramsey Campbell | Jonathan Carroll | Adrian Chamberlin | Simon Clark | Raven Dane | Jan Edwards | Murray Ewing | Paul Finch | Christopher Fowler | Matthew Fryer | Stephen Gallagher | Cate Gardner | R B Harkess | Ian Hunter | Wilf Kelleher Jones | Jasper Kent | Joel Lane | Stephen Laws | Mark Lewis | Alison J Littlewood | Steve Lockley | Graham Masterton | Peter Mark May | Geoff Nelder | Kim Newman | Stan Nicholls | Martin Owton | Cas Peace | John Llewellyn Probert | Tina Rath | Steven Savile | Robert Shearman | Jim Steel | Sam Stone | Deborah Walker | Conrad Williams.

Wife and I spent an excellent day in Urmston looking after our two-year-old grandson. He’s becoming artistic too as you can see from this photo today. Erm, pictures are meant to be walked on…

A vegetarian bike

I collected a new spare cycle from a bike shop yesterday.
Mainly it will be my son riding it when he’s over from Nottingham. We can then
go for some all-day touring together. I’ve a Dawes Super Galaxy at home – great
but pricey to have a clone so I ordered its younger sister, a Dawes Vantage.
The man in the bike shop said, “I can swap the default saddle for a Brookes
quite cheaply.”

I said, “No thanks, the Brookes is made of leather and I’m a
veggie.”

“No problem,” he said, “but what about other stuff on the
bike that is made from animals?”

“There isn’t anything,” I said, wondering if maybe there was
some lanolin in a lubricant.

“Ah,” he said, pointing at the handlebars. “The tape.”

“But… but they’re cork.”

“Yes,” he said, with a smile showing he’d scored.

I waited a minute to see if the penny would drop by itself,
but when it didn’t I had to say, “Cork is tree.”

How do you refrain from smiling in such circumstances?

I rode the new bike home. Marvelous, it goes much faster than my 4-year-old and twice-as-expensive Super Galaxy. I’ll have to go back to that bike shop and ask him to make my older bike faster – even if the bike is a vegan!

***Update*** apparently  the stearic acid in tyres aren’t always vegetarian. However, all Michelin tyres are totaly vegan whether they are for cars or bikes. Well done, Michelin!

I’m looking forward to Brighton at the end of September. FantasyCon in on and I’m there for the weekend. I’ll be selling a few books – the Escape Velocity anthology, and Exit, Pursued by a Bee. Mainly I am there to meet so many writer friends such as Stephen Upham, and Sam Stone. I am hoping to arrive in time for the launch of Full Fathom Forty – an anniversary collection of off-beat fantasy stories that includes my own In Absentia. There is an information and PayPal link to buy the book here: http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/news/full-fathom-forty/

The Amazon.co.uk page is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Full-Fathom-Forty-David-Howe/dp/0953868133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316592067&sr=8-1

And the Book Depository page is here: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Full-Fathom-Forty-David-Howe/9780953868131

Book Depository currently have it for £11.99, saving £4 on the cover price, plus FREE worldwide delivery

A handy way to display all my kindle books is here http://kindlegraph.com/authors/geoffnelder

Shame my Escaping Reality humorous thriller isn’t listed there but it available as a Kindle and other ebook formats at Smashwords here.

books and friends

It is time for FantasyCon again this month. The British Fantasy Society has its annual bash in Brighton at the end of the month and hanging over to October. I am there again where I look forward to meeting many SFF friends.

One of them, Jonathan Pinnock, is having a coruscating success with his unique novel, Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens. It started as a piece of fun on his blog and grew. We, at Cafe Doom, thirsted for each instalment and are delighted with his success. It is available in WH Smith in the UK and on Amazon here.You have to get one- the funniest book using a kind of fan fiction element of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Watch out Jasper Fforde, Jonathan Pinnock is coming.

I’ll be seeing Jon at FantasyCon. They are having a raffle and have accepted my science fiction mystery – Exit, Pursued by a Bee (web page) - and the Escape Velocity anthology (see here) for prizes.

Fancy that at FantasyCon

FantasyCon is a bit like a writers’ club, one that specialises in fantasy and science fiction. In spite of writing about things that hit the back of readers’ minds, scaring the hell out of them and stirring the ordinary into the extraordinary often with ghouls and black moments, those writers are wonderfully warm and friendly. Take Sam Stone, who writes about nothing but vampires, who want to rip out our necks or create the undead from the innocent: she is an effervescent blonde (this time with intriguing purple edges). Her fiction is edgy and sometimes eye-watering yet her hugs and welcoming eyes are so inviting. I couldn’t help noticing her hand stroking a thigh while she talked to me yesterday – pity that thigh belonged to her husband! Hah. Then she told me that her latest novel, Demon Dance, had my name on the back cover blurb. Yeay! I rarely offer to read pre-published books on the computer: I much prefer a printed version since my eyes spend too much time already scrolling and rolling on the small screen.  I made an exception for Sam and her publisher, Terry Martin – again a friendly soul and publisher of Murky Depths that won an award this year – congrats! So my few words of favour won a place on the back of her book. To order Demon Dance here.

At FantasyCon 2010 – held in Nottingham where fortuitously my granddaughter, Amy, lives with son Rob and daughter-in-law, Tracey and her so cute daughter, Liddie Ann – I met up with good friends Steve Upham of Screaming Dreams; Ian Whates, who is a man of so many writing talents (including having a story in our Escape Velocity issue #4), organiser of NewCon5 in October in Northampton, and publisher of NewCon press - and who owes me £20 !; David Tallerman - extraordinary writer who will go far; Nick Wood – psychologist (yeay I spelt it right first time for the first time) and award-winning short story writer; Pauline Morgan, Andrew Hook and many other good ‘horrific’ people.

At FantasyCon is a table groaning under the weight of second-hand science fiction / fantasy paperbacks. I looked for a particular author, Christopher Priest, because Graham Weaver, the new member of the Chester Library SF book group is a fan of Priest and I felt ignorant. That is I am sure I have read his work in the past but couldn’t remember. So I asked the second-hand book owner for a Chris Priest book. He found one then told me how the author’s first wife, Lisa Tuttle, was standing in the room behind me! Coincidences? I have to believe in them. The SF / F writing world is a small world even with so much varied talent.

Steve Upham organised the art show this year. Andy Bigwood is an artist I have admired in the past and would pay good money to have his blend of photo-realism and creative painting (digital and paintbrush) grace the covers of my books. Chatting to him he wondered if I would be part of a project in which writers would add a 300-word-story to one of his paintings. I readily agreed. I recall doing something similar for Ultraverse. I wrote a story in which time changed velocity with height. Here it is. Ah, that reminds me, I must sketch out a draft for Andy. His website is here.

I only stayed at FantasyCon for a few hours on Saturday – so much packed in. Brilliant.

FantasyCon – the aftermath

The mathematics is simple. Only 4 books sold, and one magazine. I gave away a bunch of Escape Velocity magazines as promo to interested Con attendees. There were hundreds of science fiction but mostly fantasy fans that crowded the Britannia Hotel on James Street, Nottingham. It’s a grand hotel with sweeping stairs, large rooms and galleries. Showing its age a little but that adds to its charm. I stayed mainly in a large room decorated with cloth-covered tables on which booksellers displayed their wares like in medieval Nottingham. Our wares were books, magazines, small sculptures and art pieces. I shared my table with Steve Upham’s Screaming Dreams. Although my Exit, Pursued by a Bee came out this summer as did Allyson Bird’s book, it was hers that got the successful launch. One of the problems of having an overseas small press as publisher is their British authors can’t easily have a launch. Allyson did a reading of her excellent anthology, Bull Running for Girls, and there were posters for it all over the hotel. Tip to Nelder: in future put up posters and scatter flyers. I did bring two hundred flyers on friday afternoon and was told they’d be put in the goody bags everyone receives, but my goody bag didn’t have one, so I don’t know where they went to.

FantasyCon, like other conventions are excellent for networking with other like and unlike-minded people. Neil Marr, the publisher of BeWrite Books told me to say hello to John Grant aka Paul Barnett for him. John is a legend with many awards to his name. His father Christmas beard and hair and high wit makes him a beacon. After a brief chat during which he was impressed Neil had read his Dragons of Manhattan new release, John bought a signed copy of my Exit! Highlight of the day – one of them. A Bewrite cover artist is Steve Upham who also is a cover artist for Twisted Tongue magazine and ezine, and they’d last week accepted my short story, Brothers’ Largesse, a parody on the Big Brother reality phenomenon as applied to the planet. Twisted Tongue publishes poems by Catherine Edmunds who is friend to Kay Green, who occupied the dealer’s table just behind me!

I was intrigued by flyers all over the convention advertising a fantasy event in my home city of Chester next June. I found one at a table for drinks I shared with a Newcastle woman with a terrific literary style in our Orbeters groups - Jenny Adams (highlight 2). It was only when I got home that I looked them up. Aetherica is run by a group one of which is the lovely redheaded Rachael Livermore. We are now facebook friends but she and her friends were at FantasyCon! Tip2 for Nelder: don’t be shy slow in introducing yourself to folk. Tip3: remember Tip1.

Another highlight was meeting up with two new authors from small press Bloody Books. Meat is a grimly fascinating book by Joseph D’Lacey that makes Soylent Green feel like half a premise. Joseph is a great character, courageous and forthright, just like his book. Bill Hussey was there too with his Through a Glass Darkly. I enjoyed that book too – anyone who likes travelling in the mysterious ghostly dimensions would. Thanks for the chat lads. We thought I might get more sales if I changed my name to Goff van Nelder.

Highlight # 3 or is it 4 was having a langorous chat on literary style with the delicious Suzanne McLeod

It was only when I followed up a discussion with Rachael Livermore of Aetherica that I found out she had a camera taken overnight. My cash float, Ally’s posh signing pen, and books walked off on their own and a projecter was pilfered. Umm – not by attendees we think. The main feeling from the con was one of positve contacts and a boost to each other’s creativity.

FantasyCon 08

I’m taking a break between packing boxes of books and mags for FantasyCon in Nottingham this weekend. If you are attending, come over to the Screaming Dreams table. I only realized when I packed my Exit, Pursued by a Bee books (published by Double Dragon) and Escape Velocity Magazines with copies of Dimensions (from Adventure Books of Seattle) that I could have filled a dealer’s table by myself! But it will be a blast to share a table with Steve Upham’s small press Screaming Dreams and his newest published author, Allyson Bird who is launching her Bull Running for Girls (what a great title). Also there is Screaming Dreams other 2008 book, Dragons in Manhattan by the Fantasy legend, John Grant.

My pulse is already up – I hope my blood pressure can stand it!

I should have packed last night but I remembered in time to attend my local writers’ circle in Chester. I’ve been a member for at least 5 years but keep forgetting to go.  At least four people there recognised me and I knew the names of enough so as not to appear a complete stranger. They are a friendly group and contain gifted poets and fiction writers. I am honoured to be among them during the Chester Literary Festival next month at which I’ll be reading an extract from Exit.

Back to FantasyCon in Nottingham this weekend. It is an oddity in some ways that many of the members of the critique group of the British Science Fiction Association also meet at FantasyCon. Not officially; it just happens that many BSFA writers also write or read fantasy and live near enough to Nottingham to make the trip a great social event. This is usually in a large room where the bar also happens to be. Not that I’ll be drinking much: I like to keep a clear head when gleaning tips off agents, publishers and fellow writers.

The other good aspect of being in Nottingham is feeling the spirits of medieval England, Robin Hood (if he actually existed is immaterial) and the Sheriff along with merry and unhappy men and women still roam the streets. Better still, my son lives and works in the city. My selling books and networking with the fantasy greats is spiced with being able to be dad again. Especially as this will be the first time my wife and I are visiting son’s fiancee in her own home and visiting her parents. How much better can it get? Well, daughter’s baby had its 20 week scan this week. It’s a boy and already riding an invisible bike!

Yesterday it didn’t rain. Perhaps only the third day of the summer that no drop of rain landed on my head in this northwestern area of Britain. Because my bike detests rain and has a habit of throwing me like a bucking horse in wet weather, my wife hides the bike lock key, but not yesterday. My hair was in need of shearing so off to Mold (Yr Wyddgrug) I cycled. It is a good 18 miles because I go along country lanes including steep climbs up through Higher Kinnerton to Hope Mountain. Other times I go via Pontybodkin, where I expect pixies to leap around with such a village name. I enjoy the solitary ride because it allows my imagination to wander over the hills too. Plot problems and character developments swirl around in time to my rotating legs. Unfortunately, another cyclist came up alongside me for a chat. Now I do enjoy nattering with other cyclists and the distance does fly faster, but my dodgy hearing means I only catch the drift of what they are saying and I often get it wrong. It is no good wearing hearing aids when on a bike: it’s like having your head in a tornado.  Anyway, the fellow cyclists said:

Are you going to Bala?

No, Mold for a hair cut.

But eveyone is going to Bala this weekend?

Why, what do they know I don’t?

It’s the Wild Wales Challenge.

Then I remembered another cyclist last Sunday telling me the same thing. 600 cyclists converge on Bala for a 88 miles race from Bala to Barmouth and back via minor lanes. Sounds good although I don’t race and don’t like crowds! The route is appealing though and I’ll do it on my own one day in the autumn.

We parted near Penn-y-fford and after arriving in Mold climbed the stairs to my barber. I was fourth in line so looked for a magazine. As in many barbers they were all of motorbikes or cars. I can’t be that different from the average male – can I? I did find a copy of Escape Velocity magazine in the sedimentary layers of the magazine pile. It was one I had put there back in May. It looked as if at least one other longhair had glanced at it. Emerging with a colder head I hobbled (still wearing bike shoes) to the library and asked for a form for suggested new books. The book stamper said no one ever asks for such a form, so they don’t have one! However, she gave me a sheet of paper and a pen and so I retrieved a bookmark I made earlier and copied the ISBN for Exit, Pursued by a Bee and other details. I gave it to a different book receptionist, blonde, smiling and chatty. Terri said she’ll pass on my book information and she too is a writer! Small world. Not only a writer, but used to be in the British Fantasy Society, a speaker at FantasyCon and has ebooks to sell. She thought the BFS had closed so I did her a favout with the good news that it hadn’t and it is always good to chat to a fellow writer.

Feeling lightheaded and nimble, I chanced a steep return up Leeswood hill and now my legs refuse to cooperate for Saturday.