Going to a gig. Well, cross between a gig and a festival and all in support of cancer charities. http://www.concertatthekings.co.uk/ is well worth a look if you are in the west country, and feature many bands I thought had died long ago. Glad to be so wrong. Worthy cause, glad to support it, and looking forward to spending time with my family from Bristol at the same time.
Just wish my hair was a bit longer and my waist was a bit thinner to make the obligatory bad dancing easier
11/05/2012
Happy Day
Twenty three years ago today, I met this pretty, shortarse young lady near the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus. Luckily for me, the dodgy moustache I favoured at the time didn't scare her off, and we got married 2 years later to the day.
We're still together, and she is still my best mate.
My favourite day of the year, to remind me how lucky I am
We're still together, and she is still my best mate.
My favourite day of the year, to remind me how lucky I am
01/05/2012
Hammer in one hand, screwdriver in the other
Yes, I'm worldbuilding. Again.
Its one of the unique features of being a writer of speculative fiction. At the very least we usually need to bend what relevent reality exists. Usually we end up starting from scratch. Right now, I'm creating a factory that is ring-mining a gas giant and the culture that would go with it. Hell of a lot of work to add to the process or storytelling, but its part of the fun, part of the act of creation.
Still, I can see why so many of my peers tend to prefer trilogies, or same-world series :)
Looks like this one is going to be a bit of departure from my last four novels; for grown ups, rather than YA, and 'dark SF' (if there is such a genre - if not, I guess I just invented it). Still in planning, though, and a long way to go. Still, it takes my mind off wondering how the two I have out on submission are doing.
The fun just never ends :)
Its one of the unique features of being a writer of speculative fiction. At the very least we usually need to bend what relevent reality exists. Usually we end up starting from scratch. Right now, I'm creating a factory that is ring-mining a gas giant and the culture that would go with it. Hell of a lot of work to add to the process or storytelling, but its part of the fun, part of the act of creation.
Still, I can see why so many of my peers tend to prefer trilogies, or same-world series :)
Looks like this one is going to be a bit of departure from my last four novels; for grown ups, rather than YA, and 'dark SF' (if there is such a genre - if not, I guess I just invented it). Still in planning, though, and a long way to go. Still, it takes my mind off wondering how the two I have out on submission are doing.
The fun just never ends :)
26/04/2012
Standing at a crossroads...
After many, many longs months of editing and tweaking, my latest two projects are finally at a point where I can throw them out to the market and see if anybody bites. Both are for the Young Adult market; one SF and one Urban Fantasy/Steampunk.
Of course, having macheted my way through that particular jungle, the next problem is what should I start on next? I just looked at my project folder and I have seven books waiting to be written. OK, two are follow-on's from stuff already completed, but I have Vampires, Brain-sucking Aliens, a Psychic, and a baby factory!
Maybe I need to stop having ideas faster than I can write them :) Still, I'm not complaining. Cant think of anything worse than coming to the end of a project and not having any ideas for what to do next :)
Of course, having macheted my way through that particular jungle, the next problem is what should I start on next? I just looked at my project folder and I have seven books waiting to be written. OK, two are follow-on's from stuff already completed, but I have Vampires, Brain-sucking Aliens, a Psychic, and a baby factory!
Maybe I need to stop having ideas faster than I can write them :) Still, I'm not complaining. Cant think of anything worse than coming to the end of a project and not having any ideas for what to do next :)
24/04/2012
Don't ask if you don't want to know...
Most writers brave enough to give their work to somebody else and ask for comments have a vague idea of what's coming back. The depth of the comments and feedback will always depend on the experience of the person you asked to dissect your precious child and, intellectually at least, you are prepared to get back comments and suggestions that feel as though somebody has ripped out several of your internal organs.
Then you read them again the next day, and the pain is (usually) less, and you see which comments you agree with, which ones you don't, and you send back a nice note to the friend who ripped out you heart, thanking them for their help and maybe asking for a clarification or two. Sometimes they are painful, but they are necessary and we learn to take them in the spirit they are intended.
Then there are the writers who ask you for comments, but who are really looking for a mutual back-patting society, where everyody tells them how talented they are and that they are bound to sell this one because its so ground break/innovative/etc/etc. Its often branded as 'being supportive'. I guess it has its place. But then, people can be supportive and honest.
A quick aside, here, to establish my bona fides. I am an active member of the BSFA's 'Orbit' community of mutual critiquers, and I am the co-ordinator for Orbit-4. So I'm used to being on both ends of crits, on a regular basis.
I had a situation recently where somebody was asking for people to look at a published book and comment. I thought that was a bit odd. You normally ask that sort of question before publication. Now, to make this easier to write, I'm going to say this person was a lady, but she may not have been, in the sense of preserving anonymity.
So I read the free bit from the Amazon page, and while I was there had a look at the comments. The sample looked as though it had not had the benefit of a professional editor, the publisher was not one I had ever heard of, and the eleven 5* reviews all consisting of two words, like 'good read' and 'excellent book'. I pointed out how fake that looked (in the kindest way), asked about the editor, and made a few fairly gentle comments about things I saw as potential issues with the book.
Not a word back, not even a thank you. And I guess that's OK if you think what some authors have vented into the cybersphere when they've had negative comments made. Still, its made me think twice now about extending a 'helping hand' in the future. I guess the moral is be sure what you ask for is what you really want. And even if what you get back isn't what you expected, at least say thanks.
Then you read them again the next day, and the pain is (usually) less, and you see which comments you agree with, which ones you don't, and you send back a nice note to the friend who ripped out you heart, thanking them for their help and maybe asking for a clarification or two. Sometimes they are painful, but they are necessary and we learn to take them in the spirit they are intended.
Then there are the writers who ask you for comments, but who are really looking for a mutual back-patting society, where everyody tells them how talented they are and that they are bound to sell this one because its so ground break/innovative/etc/etc. Its often branded as 'being supportive'. I guess it has its place. But then, people can be supportive and honest.
A quick aside, here, to establish my bona fides. I am an active member of the BSFA's 'Orbit' community of mutual critiquers, and I am the co-ordinator for Orbit-4. So I'm used to being on both ends of crits, on a regular basis.
I had a situation recently where somebody was asking for people to look at a published book and comment. I thought that was a bit odd. You normally ask that sort of question before publication. Now, to make this easier to write, I'm going to say this person was a lady, but she may not have been, in the sense of preserving anonymity.
So I read the free bit from the Amazon page, and while I was there had a look at the comments. The sample looked as though it had not had the benefit of a professional editor, the publisher was not one I had ever heard of, and the eleven 5* reviews all consisting of two words, like 'good read' and 'excellent book'. I pointed out how fake that looked (in the kindest way), asked about the editor, and made a few fairly gentle comments about things I saw as potential issues with the book.
Not a word back, not even a thank you. And I guess that's OK if you think what some authors have vented into the cybersphere when they've had negative comments made. Still, its made me think twice now about extending a 'helping hand' in the future. I guess the moral is be sure what you ask for is what you really want. And even if what you get back isn't what you expected, at least say thanks.
17/04/2012
What is urban fantasy?
OK, this may sound a bit of an odd one, but I have been struggling with this for a while. See, my definition of urban fantasy is, in a nutshell, Harry Dresden. It's fantasy, in a mundane urban environment, usually where the general populace don't have a clue of what is lurking in the shadows around them. Simon R Green's 'Nightside' books come broadly into this catagory, as do Tim Waggoner's Matt Richter series.
But then along comes the 'new' Urban Fantasy: Buffy! Kim Harrison! A plethora of hard hitting 'girls with attitude and the moves to make it stick'. Mandatory love triangle, usually involving at least one paranormal. The cynic in me says its a highjack job - paranormal romance looking to get respectable by including some rough and tumble :) I'm mostly kidding. Mostly.
I read an interesting blog today. The long and diverse history of urban fantasy, by Carrie Vaughn. She nails the hijack down to around 2007. Dresden started around 2000, Nightside around 2003. I dont know enough about Waggoner's work to say if Richter is his only Urban Fantasy, but that was around 2009, so it sounds about right. Anyhow, her article is well worth looking over.
I've no problem with a genre evolving. Heck, I really like Kim Harrison's work (and love the pun titles), and Buffy works on so many levels for me its unreal. I also love the 'Demon Trappers' trilogy by Jana Oliver. But at the same time, there is a sense of Urban Fantasy as a label being refined down, and excluding much of what it once was in favour of marketing it to an ever more specific slice of readers. That I am not in favour of . Genres are already too specialised, and the boundaries between them are already to high.
But then along comes the 'new' Urban Fantasy: Buffy! Kim Harrison! A plethora of hard hitting 'girls with attitude and the moves to make it stick'. Mandatory love triangle, usually involving at least one paranormal. The cynic in me says its a highjack job - paranormal romance looking to get respectable by including some rough and tumble :) I'm mostly kidding. Mostly.
I read an interesting blog today. The long and diverse history of urban fantasy, by Carrie Vaughn. She nails the hijack down to around 2007. Dresden started around 2000, Nightside around 2003. I dont know enough about Waggoner's work to say if Richter is his only Urban Fantasy, but that was around 2009, so it sounds about right. Anyhow, her article is well worth looking over.
I've no problem with a genre evolving. Heck, I really like Kim Harrison's work (and love the pun titles), and Buffy works on so many levels for me its unreal. I also love the 'Demon Trappers' trilogy by Jana Oliver. But at the same time, there is a sense of Urban Fantasy as a label being refined down, and excluding much of what it once was in favour of marketing it to an ever more specific slice of readers. That I am not in favour of . Genres are already too specialised, and the boundaries between them are already to high.
12/04/2012
Trilogies, trilogies, trilogies everywhere
I read about this a while ago. I cant remember whose blog it was on, or I'd give appropriate credit.
The thrust of the comment was lamenting the demise of the single volume book. At first I thought this was an exaggeration. Now, not so much. I was reading 'Clockwork Angel' by Cassandra Clare (check out GoodReads for my comments). Now, this is a fine book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was about 2/3rds of the way through when I started to get an uneasy feeling. When I checked - sure enough it was part of a trilogy.
I wasn't best pleased. The story was good, but I don't know if it is good enough for me to want to read two more volumes of it. So then I checked back along my reading list for trilogies/multi volumes:
Demon Trappers
Wizards first law
Time Scout
Chaos Walking
Divergent
Hunger Games
And that's just about since Christmas. How many of those have I actually read in full? Just the 'Wizards First Law' series by Abercrombie. How many will I read? Probably only Demon Trappers and Divergent. Why?
Good question. If the material is there, a trilogy is a good idea. If it isn't - its a drag and a ripoff .
Most of my writing is single volume. My book 'Aphrodite's Dawn' (available from Amazon, folks, don't miss out) stands alone, although I have an outline for a sequel maybe one day. Of my works in progress, all three stand on their own. But here is the embarrassing admission: I have outlines for two of them to go to trilogies.
Pot and kettle? Not really. Anything I have that is multi-volume, the plan is that each can be read in isolation without leaving you feeling you don't have the whole story. I think that's fairer. Of course, I actually have to get them finished first :)
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