As well as Tim’s piece, this month’s Deathray puts out the usual high-quality commentary (including interviews and articles on Alan Moore, Alan Garner and Asimov's Foundation series) that I expect of a genre magazine that, in my view, is way ahead of the rest. And long may it continue (or rather force its rivals to up their game – something that’s long overdue; in my opinion Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror in this country demands at least two quality monthlies).
The second news of note is that on my return from Greece I was delighted to find a package from the British Fantasy Society, lying stamp-side up and bearing gifts – i.e. the quarterly mailing that includes New Horizons (a recent addition to the BFS publication schedule and titled so because, and I quote “the intended emphasis is on the new"). For a Macmillan New Writer this attracts me like a moth to a roman candle.
More importantly, mailed out with New Horizons was The 
Dick and Jane Primer for Adults, an anthology based around the old Dick and Jane children’s books but deliciously twisted. One of the stories is Envy by Neil Ayres of Veggie Box blog and one half of Whiteley and Ayres (sounds more like a solicitors firm).
I met Neil earlier this year at Aliya Whiteley’s book launch in London and he’s a really nice guy, so this feels especially good. Neil’s story (that's just a little disturbing) is up alongside such luminaries as Adam Roberts and James Lovegrove (whose book The Hope was one of the best I’ve read in the last two years), so he should be pleased with the company. It’s also another example of the high quality output from the British Fantasy Society; these publications alone are worth the yearly membership.
So apart from reading through this growing stack of publications (which has been added to by the King/Straub collaboration, The Black House – a bloody good book but almost as thick as Middlemarch and lovely example of the patterns and perils of a constantly changing POV), I’ve embarked again on The Black Hours, and the final push to complete the first draft. And I’ve done it in style, writing 6,000 words over the weekend. This time I won’t be stopping until the first draft is done and dusted (20,000 words to go, and yes The Black Hours has gone from being a slim thriller to another mini-epic) which means no more pauses and no more distractions, if only because Jane of How Publishing Really Works might try to pinch my ASUS Eee PC when I’m not looking, or its AI chip that’s been giving off a strange scent of lemons recently, might suddenly pack in or decide that it’s bigger than this author’s wishes…
Dick and Jane Primer for Adults, an anthology based around the old Dick and Jane children’s books but deliciously twisted. One of the stories is Envy by Neil Ayres of Veggie Box blog and one half of Whiteley and Ayres (sounds more like a solicitors firm).I met Neil earlier this year at Aliya Whiteley’s book launch in London and he’s a really nice guy, so this feels especially good. Neil’s story (that's just a little disturbing) is up alongside such luminaries as Adam Roberts and James Lovegrove (whose book The Hope was one of the best I’ve read in the last two years), so he should be pleased with the company. It’s also another example of the high quality output from the British Fantasy Society; these publications alone are worth the yearly membership.
So apart from reading through this growing stack of publications (which has been added to by the King/Straub collaboration, The Black House – a bloody good book but almost as thick as Middlemarch and lovely example of the patterns and perils of a constantly changing POV), I’ve embarked again on The Black Hours, and the final push to complete the first draft. And I’ve done it in style, writing 6,000 words over the weekend. This time I won’t be stopping until the first draft is done and dusted (20,000 words to go, and yes The Black Hours has gone from being a slim thriller to another mini-epic) which means no more pauses and no more distractions, if only because Jane of How Publishing Really Works might try to pinch my ASUS Eee PC when I’m not looking, or its AI chip that’s been giving off a strange scent of lemons recently, might suddenly pack in or decide that it’s bigger than this author’s wishes…
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