I have sweets!

I fear I am going to be lonely at my book signing of ARIA: Left Luggage even though it won the ‘Best science fiction novel of 2012′ at the P&E Readers’ Poll. If you or your friends live in Lancashire or Merseyside, please point them in the direction of Wigan Library, Life Centre North, The Wiend, WN1 1NH where on Monday April 8th between 2-4pm I’ll be signing copies of ARIA and other books.

Yes, I have sweets!

Courtesy of The Sweet Club

It would be fantastic to meet with fellow writers and readers there. In fact I’d give you one of my books for free if you turned up if you mention this blog. Or your family and friends – so there!

My signing is part of the Leigh & Wigan Words Together Festival 2013, which is being organised by a former BeWrite buddy Michael Hunt. The train station is only a few minutes away.

The famous writer and raconteur, Will Self, will be there too – well, at the festival, not with me in the library, at that time but hey ho.

 

I had a story acceptance today from Futures – a management non-fiction academic journal. The issue has a focus of the relationship between science fiction and technological development. It seems that for every invention dreamed up by a science fiction writer, there is some archivist who will discover it already thought of by a scientist or engineer in the past. However, there is no way any archivist can know this for certain. Creative people imagine ideas all the time, whether they are scientists, engineers, poets, artists or scribblers like me. To keep tabs and track through a particular idea will never be perfectly accurate and does it matter anyway? I doubt if any science fiction writer is upset at the notion that their oeuvre has been discussed already because the process is individualised by them. I believe that the notion of infectious amnesia hasn’t been used before my ARIA trilogy but the uniqueness of that idea astonishes me. Hence I won’t be overwhelming surprised when some wag one day points me in the direction of a novel that already used it in the past. Every story is unique – the characters make it so. (see what I did there with Captain Picard’s famous line in every of his Star Trek episodes? You have to be a Trekkie to appreciate or to groan). The accepted story is Auditory Crescendo, which has been revised since its first publication. Funny because I had announced its acceptance months ago but I should have waited for the official say so today.

 

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How to Win Short Story Competitions are steady. Get yours here.

Exit, Pursued by a Bee is at http://geoffnelder.com/exitbee.htm Several readers have pointed out recently that a principle notion in that book is being proved true. Ie that the universe might be chaotic but that the Earth is in a kind of bubble of stability. In Exit that stability is shaken when alien artifacts leave. Just shows that fiction might not be so unbelievable after all.

ARIA: Left Luggage continues to sell copies to wise readers. Links areKindle – Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Left-Luggage-ebook/dp/B008RADGYC/Paperback Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Left-Luggage-Volume-1/dp/1905091958/Kindle – UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARIA-Left-Luggage-ebook/dp/B008RADGYC/Paperback UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARIA-Left-Luggage-Geoff-Nelder/dp/1905091958/Publisher’s website with more details and formats. http://www.ll-publications.com/leftluggage.html  Buy it quick before you run out of memory!

You tube video trailer http://youtu.be/oh0AAXIe8VU

Join me on twitter at http://twitter.com/geoffnelder

Signing at Waterstones

I’ll be at the Trafford Centre Waterstones on Saturday August 15th  1-4pm signing copies of science fiction mystery, Exit, Pursued by a Bee and humorous thriller,  Escaping Reality.

It would be good see any local readers there. Come, laugh, point at me and have a natter even if you don’t buy a book.

Chester Writers reading & signing at Borders Nov 16

We are going to have to do something with the Bear & Billet public house in Chester.  It’s a fine black and white tudor-style building, five floors, re-built 300 years ago. Our meetings of the Chester Writers is every third thursday of the month on the third floor. Of course there are mullioned windows, beamed ceilings and an air of historical provenance. What could be more inspiring to discusss our poetry and prose? A problem brought our Chester Literary Festival event there to several halts last night.  Other literary events took place in the capacious Town Hall, university lecture theatres, theatres, hotels and the cathedral. We, like Chester poets, were in a room smaller than most classrooms, in an active public house and a very loud party going on the floor beneath! Arrrggh. We had a sound system with two microphones but even that couldn’t overcome the raucous guffaws from below. Then last night were three literary events competing. If I wasn’t reading an excerpt of Exit, Pursued by a Bee, and supporting fellow local writers, I would ran across town to the university to hear Professor Alan Wall’s lecture Creative and Destructive Writing. I dunno why because I could have made a stab at giving that lecture myself!

Bear and Billet pub in Chester, UK

In spite of the competition our little room filled to bursting even though much of the readings became inaudible. I was second to last, but only George had slunk off home by then. I had a dilemma on whether to read a literary 5-minute moment such as when journalist Tabitha Wish fought her hissing saucepans and dependent family in order to grab a coup scoop on the spheres, or my favourite scene. One of the advantages of writing science fiction is that we can play with time warp concepts such as making a modern youth appear in front of a man and his dog, Kur, 20, 000 years ago. So I read the latter and made sure my words boomed over the party noises. In fact I think the party stopped to listen.  Hah, as if. Several of the group came up to me and said how much they enjoyed my five minutes.

You can read the actual words I used in the five minute reading here

The problem was, I’d forgotten to mention my book signing coming up!  In case I’ve not mentioned it I am signing Exit, Pursued by a Bee at

Cheshire Oaks, Borders, on Sunday Novermber 16th 1-4pm.

At least I won’t be on my own.

My friend Brian Lux is also having a signing there with his new book the Court of Foxes. Written as a children’s book, following his successful Loppylugs, this new book is proving popular among adults. See it here.

I have a feeling with the significantly lower price for Brian’s book compared to mine, and it has already won a prize, he will be chased by a pack of buyers compared to me. Nevertheless, I should try to attract Christmas shoppers hoping to please their science fiction loving friends and family. If you live anywhere near

Borders location
34 Coliseum Way, Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
CH65 9HD

If you or your friends and family live near by please ask them to drop buy on Sunday afternoon, November 16th.

 

 

Gladys Hobson – writer

Gladys has read my Exit, Pursued by a Bee book, even though she doesn’t normally read sci fi. That is what writers who support each other do out of warmth and companionship. Thanks very much Gladys. Her review is here http://gladyshobson.wordpress.com/

If you read her blog a little further down in that link you will see that Gladys is signing her own books at Tinners’ Rabbit bookshop in Ulverston on Tuesday 8th July 10am to 12 noon. Gladys once said that the busiest shop in Ulverston is the Oxfam Shop. That remark is a testament to her humour — even if true! However, let’s hope the Tinners’ Rabbit bookshop is even busier than the Oxfam shop on July 8th. Enjoy the exerience signing your award-winning Awakening Love, and Blazing Embers, Gladys. Hey and a short story sequel to my Escaping Reality is in the anthology Northern Lights that Gladys edited. If you can’t make her signing then you can still buy her books via her site at http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk/index.html