Screaming Dreams

An enigmatic publisher I like a lot (and I don’t have one of my books with them) has exciting and thought-stimulating books for sale here. http://www.screamingdreams.com/books.html
Paul Kane’s The Gemini Factor; John Grant’s Dragons in Manhattan; and Allyson Bird’s brilliantly-titled Bull Running for Girls antho are all there. Screaming Dreams is run by Steve Upham in South Wales. He’s a gifted artist and small craftsman too. Want cover art for your new book, or an unusual craft gift? Then get on to his contact link on the Screaming Dreams website and get in touch.

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.

Patent Non-Science

I tinkered with an alternative history short story in which someone very much with Albert Einstein’s bio discovers un-relativity. Steve Upham is the publisher of Screaming Dreams and his SF ezine is released today with a Christmas special.

My Patent Non-Science story is at http://www.screamingdreams.com/ezine/Christmas2009.pdf

Steve says:

The Christmas issue eZine has finally made it online – just in time. Feel free to spread the word and Merry Christmas
everyone.

PDF version :
http://www.screamingdreams.com/ezine/Christmas2009.pdf

Flip Book version :
http://issuu.com/ScreamingDreams/docs/christmas2009?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fdark%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

So much going on

October 11-12 Northampton Fishmarket, at NewCon4 I’m selling & signing Exit, Pursued by a Bee, and Screaming Dream books with Ally Bird (Running Bulls for Girls) , and sharing a table with author Toby Frost( Chronicles of Isambard Smith). I’m also meeting up with the gorgeous Sam Stone to acquire her Killing Kiss book for review.

October 23rd Bear & Billet pub, Lower Bridge Street, Chester. As part of the Chester Literary Festival and subsection, Chester Writers, I’ve been allocated 5 minutes to read an exciting bit of Exit, Pursued by a Bee.

November 16th, Sunday, 1-4pm at Cheshire Oaks Borders, I am doing a signing of Exit. Please tell everyone so I am not a Billy no mates there! I know I can’t match the enormous queue generated by Abi Titmus when she signed there last, but it would help pass the time if someone came to talk to me.

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!