Tour
Tour
 
2015

EDGE-LIT 5 is happening on 16th July and I’ll be there, doing STUFF! along with some pretty fabulous people.


12pm-1pm in CINEMA TWO I’ll be on this panel: High Fantasy, High Art: Is Fantasy Fiction Growing More Literary? along with the ever brilliant Peter Newman, Cherry Potts, Jen Williams, and moderated by the very fabulous Marc Turner.


Sponsored by Arachne Press


3pm-4pm in MEETING ROOM I’ll be running a workshop on Great Story Openings.


6pm-7pm in CINEMA TWO I’ll be moderating a panel called Capturing the Past: How Important is Historical Detail in Fantasy? and the pretty cool panelists will be Emma Newman, Marc Turner and Jen Williams.


Sponsored by Hadley Rille Books 


I’m all excited and can’t wait to see everybody there. See you on the 16th!

                                                 

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HELLO!

Another quick roundup of things that have happened over the last little while. First up, the signing to celebrate the paperback release of THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (book 2 of The Relic Guild Trilogy) was a stonking success. As you can see above, me and Jen Williams and Den Patrick and special guest star Juliet Mushens posed in front of Colchester Castle before heading off to sign and sell lots of lovely books! Big thanks to Colchester Waterstones for looking after us, and, of course, to all the fabulous readers who turned up. We love you.

There were a couple of interviews I conducted for the British Science Fiction Association recently, and I’ve been meaning to post links to them. The first was with Emma Newman, and the second was with Aliette de Bodard - both brilliant writers and damn fascinating people. I had a lot of fun talking to them in front of a live audience. Unfortunately, the interview with Emma seems to have fallen into the black hole of the Internet. But the interview with Aliette lives! 

A few weeks back the gang at Unsung Live asked if I’d like to read at one of their social nights. Of course I said yes! I read alongside the always awesome Ian Whates and Stephanie Saulter, and I discovered the work of Rose Biggin, who I think we’d all agree stole the show. 

And talking of readings, I had a little horror story called Gravemaker read by Alasdair Stuart (who is always awesome) for a Halloween edition of Pseudopod. It’s right in there with some creepy stories by some pretty cool writers, and you can listen to them all right…HERE!

Over the last couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to take part in GollanczFest, which is an amazing celebration of stories, readers and Gollanczauthors. It’s been nominated for awards, don’t you know! Back in 2014 I took part in a panel to introduce the Gollancz Class if 2014 (which would be me, Den Patrick, John Hornor Jacobs and Jon Wallace), moderated by the ever brilliant Gillian Redfearn. We had a blast, and you can watch all the fun right…HERE! 

And then, the next year, I took part in Game of Scones, which, frankly, was one of the best laughs I’ve ever had. So go right…HERE! to see me and Sarah Pinborough and A.K. Benedict and James Barclay try to pretend we know how to bake cakes.

And that’s it for this week. More to come soon, you lucky ol’ devils!
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ROUNDUP of STUFF!


To celebrate the release of the paperback of THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (book 2 of The Relic Guild trilogy) I will be signing at Colchester Waterstones at 12.30pm on 28th May. And as you might have guessed, the ever brilliant Jen Williams and Den Patrick will be joining me! We’d love to see you there, so come on down (or up or sideways) and say hello!


I’m happy to announce that THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS has been longlisted for the Gemmell Awards. The Relic Guild was longlisted last year but sadly didn’t make the shortlist. The competition is strong again this year, and I’m delighted to be sharing a space with so many friends and fabulous authors (including Den and Jen, don’t you know). Voting is up to you, the reading public, so if you enjoyed The Cathedral of Known Things and liked it’s cover this is your chance to help it make the shortlist. I’m nominated for the Legend and Ravenheart awards. Voting is as easy as peasy, and you can do it right…HERE!


Next, I’ve appeared on a couple of podcasts lately, and had a lot of fun doing them. Awesome Dave Probert invited me on his show Tangential Deviation and we had fun talking about probably everything in the universe. Check out the results HERE! And then, my old Uni pal and very funny guy Zeke Iddon asked me to help him land a plane. Seriously. So we headed off to Lapland and had a good chat and laugh. To find out if we successfully landed, go right…HERE!


And then there’s a couple of blogs I did. Again, both to celebrate the release of THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS. The first is over on the mighty Jo Fletcher Books blog, who have an exclusive short story of mine, seen for the first time in print, and also some cake advice that no writer can do without! You can find that HERE. The second one is over on the Carabas blog and is about the importance of music to my writing process, including The Relic Guild soundtrack! That’s right…HERE!


Lastly, I’ll be attending some conventions this year - Nineworlds, FantasyCon, BristolCon - and first up will be EdgeLit. I’ll be on a couple of panels and maybe a few other things, and I hope to see you all there!


Convention time is almost upon us and I really can’t wait.


See y’all!


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LOOKSEE!


Mighty Gollancz has just revealed the cover to my new book THE WATCHER OF DEAD TIME (book 3 of The Relic Guild) and to say that I’m happy with it would be the most understated understatement that I could understate. Once again, the artwork is by the brilliant Chris Gibbs with design by the amazing Jamie Tanner. I’m over the moon with my friend the cow about this one!


I can’t wait for this one to hit the shops and for readers to discover how the story ends. Release is scheduled for 18th August, but THE WATCHER OF DEAD TIME is available to preorder right…HERE!


Purchase details for THE RELIC GUILD (book 1) be found…HERE!


And purchase details for THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (book 2) can be found…HERE!
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THE GIRL ON THE LIAR’S THRONE IS COMING! And so are Den Patrick, Jen Williams and me!

To celebrate the release of Den’s fantastic new book (the third in the Erebus sequence, don’t you know) there will be two events of special magnificence.

The first is a free ticketed event on Tuesday 19th January at Blackwell’s Bookshop at 6.30pm, and all the fabulous details can be found right…HERE!

The second will take place at Forbidden Planet Southampton on Saturday 23rd January at 1pm, and you can find all you need to know about this glorious occasion right…HERE!

There will be mischief! There will be discussions and Q&As! There will be books and…wine and cake and STUFF! Two great events, and the three of us can’t wait. So see you there!
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I am over the moon and as excited as a kid to announce that THE RELIC GUILD has been longlisted in the GEMMELL AWARDS. There’s a long way to go, but just to be nominated, and to be on a list filled with so many marvellous writers, artists and friends, feels amazing. THE RELIC GUILD has been nominated for the Morningstar Award (best debut) and the Legend Award (best novel). Naturally, if you enjoyed my book, I’d very much appreciate your vote.


Voting is open to the public now, and will remain so until 15th May. And you can cast your vote right…HERE!






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2014
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On Wednesday 19th November, I’ll be at the University of Bedfordshire for a talk and signing. I earned my BA and MA in creative writing at Bedfordshire, and I returned to the university to lecture in the same subject. Looking forward to catching up with old friends, and making new ones.

Hello! For those interested, this is my schedule so far for 2014. My editor has mentioned that there might even be some early copies of THE RELIC GUILD available at these events. Not definite, yet, but fingers crossed, and Hoorah!

 NINE WORLDS GEEKFEST: https://nineworlds.co.uk/

Urban Fantasy: Cities of Angels & Demons & Bug-Monsters
Friday 8th August
10.00am – 11.15 am
County C&D

The lure of cities – wherever they are in time and space. Why are urban environments the best places for adventure? What’s the secret of their appeal?
Panel: Ed Cox, Laure Eve, John Connolly, Paul Cornell, Benedict Jacka
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Food In Fantasy: A panel discussion with Esther Saxey, Ed Cox, Mark Newton and Gail Carriger
Saturday 9th August
1:30-2.45
Room 32

So: you’ve made a world. You’ve designed people (or other beings) to inhabit it and you’ve given them art, culture and history, maybe even a language. But what about the food? Food is a central part of most cultures: societies are structured by the need to grow and distribute it, and families are structured by cooking and eating it. The rich feast on the extravagant and exotic, while the poor struggle to find enough of it. How will your food reflect the cultures which you have created? Our panel discuss the role of food in fantasy writing: both their own, and their favourites.
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Tuesday 12th August
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The Class of 2014 panel
Wednesday 13th August
Room 2
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I Before They, Except After You
Saturday 16th August
18:00 – 19:00
Capital Suite 2 (ExCeL)

Who is the narrator? Where and when is the story being told? These are just a few questions a reader may ask at the start of a new story. For many years, third-person has been genre’s preferred narrative form, but lately it seems first-person narratives are having a resurgence. How do writers choose their viewpoint, and how does it affect the sorts of stories they can tell? Why is YA so often told in first-person, and epic fantasy generally (but not always!) third? To add another layer of complexity, the present tense also seems to be increasing in popularity – Lauren Beukes’ Zoo City and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus are just two notable examples. How does the use of present tense change a reader’s experience?

Panel: Maureen Kincaid Speller (M), Edward Cox, Robin Hobb, Kate Nepveu, Patrick Rothfuss

(I will also be attending FANTASYCON 2014: http://www.fantasycon2014.org/ in York, but as of yet I’ve got nothing to do there except geek out!)
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