Gap Years is Complete

Last night I came to the end of my second novel, Gap Years. It's a wonderful feeling to finally write 'The End' after 96,000 words.

Frozen

My contributor copy of Murky Depths #15 has arrived, containing my first comic, the one page post-apocalyptic story Frozen.

As usual, the magazine is packed with other great fiction and comics. You should by it - and not just for my piece.

Languages, Translations and Being Half Welsh

A couple of months ago I joined Codex - the writing group for neo-pro speculative fiction authors (yes, that's me), and over the first couple of months of this year the Codex Blog Tour links many of the authors together with interviews and guest posts on each others' websites.

My first stop on the tour is at the website of Aliette de Bodard, where I talk about languages and translations in fiction, a subject of intereste to Aliette who, rather impressively, writes in her second language.

The Gondolier in Hebrew

מאת גארת' ד. ג'ונס
תרגום: ניר יניב

חרטומה השחור של הגונדולה שלי חתך בקלילות דרך מימי התעלה השלווים. הסירה הנאה שירתה אותי נאמנה במשך שנים

רבות והובילה נוסעים בדרכי המים של העיר תחת ידיהם המנחות של דורות של אבותי.השמש שקעה מעל העיר העתיקה, הופכת את המים לסרט של דיוֹ בין בנייני אבן החול הנאים. שאפתי עמוקות את אויר הערב הקריר.האם יש מקום יפה יותר מעיר תעלות מופלאה זו? בעוד הסירה מחליקה אל תוך המעגן, עצרתי לבהות בסיפוק בשמיו המתכהים של מאדים.


Translated by Nir Yaniv, co-author of the fabulous novel The Tel-Aviv Dossier

I'm afraid I can't tell whether the formatting is still correct after cutting and pasting from Word.

Almost There

Last night I finished the penultimate subsection of Gap Years. Just the finale to go...

2011 Writing Plans

We’re well into the first month of the year – time to start thinking about my plans for the year in terms of writing.

I’ve been saying this for a couple of weeks now, but I’m exceedingly close to completing Gap Years, which should end up around 94,000 words. I’ve written little else since April last year, so I’m looking forward to the relief of finishing the first draft and having time for other things. Editing and re-drafting will keep me busy for a while, but there’s less self-imposed pressure.

I have ideas for 5 short stories, some of which I have been harbouring for years. One is a piece of flash fiction that I’ll probably do first to achieve a swift sense of accomplishment.

I plan to work on a screenplay after that. Following last year’s experiment I have a much better idea of what I’m doing. I have grand plans to develop it in all kinds of directions, but one thing at a time.

I have a 6 page comic script completed, so I need to take a final look at that before sending it off. I also have vague plans for a graphic novelette, but being so new to the form I have no idea if or when I'll develop it.

After that, a new novel, Promised Land, about a lost colony ship. This is another idea that has been shaping up for years. I’m in no great hurry to start it yet. I want to work on the smaller projects first.

Immersion Steampunk Contributors Anounced

The list of contributors to The Immersion Book of Steampunk is now up on the Immersion Press website. Some well-known names, and some you may not have come across.

The book should be ready to launch in April.

One Section to Go

I finished Part 8 of Gap Years last night, at 89,000 words. Just Part 9 to write - the concluding section, estimated at 4000 words.

It's so close...

Sea Monster from the Murky Depths

The cover of Murky Depths #15 is up on their website, and looks pretty awesome. My name has made the cover too, along with some rather more well known authors.

Clockwork Chaos TOC

I managed to miss this when it was posted a month ago, but the complete TOC for the Clockwork Chaos steampunk anthology has been anounced, and it's nice to see I'm joined in the line up by Colin Harvey. The Journey Within is my first novelette sale. I don't have a confirmed publication date yet.


The Power of Her Position by Bernie Mojzes
Miss Winterdove and the Erupting Eulogist by Angel McCoy
Ambergris on Ice by Jeff Young
Timeless In A Bottle by Don D’Ammassa
Deadly Imitation by Patrick Thomas
Symphonie Magnifique by Dylan Fox
The Last Yong-Shi by Matt Dinniman
The Journey Within by Gareth D Jones
The Foxglove Broads by Gail Gray
Cuckoo Moon by Colin Harvey
The Ghost of Love VanMeek by Dan Ross
The Countess’ Doorman by Peter Medeiros
Bell, Cog, And Scandal by Rebecca Rozakis
King And County by Richard Marsden
Clockwork Angels by Sarah Miller
A Melody For Bast by James Chambers
The Curious Tale of Elizabeth Nigel by Patricia Puckett

Magazine Review: Albedo One #39

There are two competition-winning stories in this issue of Albedo One, along with some well-known authors. They like to pack in as much good fiction as possible, keeping interior illustrations to a minimum – basically just book covers for the reviews and interview – and concentrating on the writing.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Murky Depths #12

The cover of this issue of Murky Depths is a lovingly rendered steampunk image from Nancy Farmer, who has supplied some wonderfully atmospheric interior artwork in the past. The illustration accompanies Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s Glory Of The Empire in which a disillusioned young man launches himself on a rickety manned kite to attack the emperor aboard his grandiose airship.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Book Review: Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

I was rather excited to receive Cherie Priest’s Dreadnought after enjoying immensely both Boneshaker and Clementine in the past year. I was not disappointed. We’re immediately immersed into the culture and atmosphere of civil war USA, with Cherie Priest’s unique overtones of steampunk, zombies, and wondrous mechanical contraptions. The manners and the speech are mid-nineteenth-century America, but the story is out of this world.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.