A while ago I was asked by the lovely people at .Cent magazine to write a piece for their latest issue, which has a “Sense of Wonder” theme. The edition, number 20, is out now, and it truly is a thing of beauty. .Cent is an online magazine, and utilises words, pictures and videos to … Continue reading »
All hail the Nu-Pulp.
What, exactly, is Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl, and its sequels? The obvious answer would be “steampunk”. Alternative Victorian setting? Check. Airships? Check. Steam-power? Check. Flamboyantly-named characters? Well, uh, I suppose so. I don’t think I ever set out to actually write a steampunk novel, though. Naturally, I was aware that the tropes I … Continue reading »
Gideon Smith and the…
How important is the titling of a book? When I first started the first Gideon Smith novel, which is to be published by Tor in the US in May 2013, I didn’t really have a name for it. During the research process I chanced upon an ancient Egyptian myth that corresponded to the Cinderella story, so my … Continue reading »
Does the Queen like a good book?
Done a piece over at The Guardian books section wondering if the Queen reads much – evidence is scant – and suggesting some books she really should read to get a flavour of her realm as it really is. If enough people suggest good books and there can be a consensus on the one novel that … Continue reading »
Possibly the best apocalyptic story in the world?
The rather wonderful Charles Christian has just put up a short review of The End of the World Show, which you can find in the Constable & Robinson anthology The Mammoth Book of Apocalyptic SF, edited by Mike Ashley, in which he says several very nice things. “Just encountered possibly the best apocalyptic sci-fi short … Continue reading »
Old newspapers blowing down Bleecker Street
Jack Kerouac would have been turned 90 years old in March this year had he not died – not quite like the fizzing, burning Roman candles he adored – at the age of 47, drunk and ungodlike in St Petersburg, Florida, in October 1969. Had he survived he’d have seen the release on to the … Continue reading »
Sabotage Times: On the Road to Kerouac’s Grave
I’ve done a piece for the excellent Sabotage Times on a pilgrimage I made back in 1995 to Lowell, Mass., the birthplace and final resting place of Jack Kerouac. ‘The train took me out into the parched Massachusetts countryside, and deposited me in Lowell, where as soon as I stepped on to the pavements I … Continue reading »
What a carry on at the Bradford International Film Festival
The great thing about being a journalist is that sometimes you get to meet some great people. Thanks to the Bradford International Film Festival, which is on this week at the National Media Museum, I got to have a really nice telephone chat with Mark Kermode and met, in person, the great Barbara Windsor. Mark … Continue reading »
Eastercon 2012
Had a great time at Eastercon, kudos to the organisers. As well as some great writers, publishing types and fans, I also ran into this guy: George RR Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, now on telly as Game of Thrones. You can read my full report over at the Guardian. … Continue reading »
What eldritch madness is this? 75 years since Lovecraft died?
Yup, it’s the 75th anniversary of the death of Howard Phillips Lovecraft on March 15 1937. Here’s a piece I did for the Independent on Sunday – The Blagger’s Guide to HP Lovecraft And this one was for the Guardian, on the more fun side of the Lovecraft marketing machine: Cuddly Cthulhu – How Lovecraft’s … Continue reading »
