Ode to an Earthworm

Saturday at BristolCon saw the launch of the anthology Looking Landwards from NewCon Press, which includes my story Ode to an Earthworm. In the morning I signed 100 signing sheets for the limited edition hardback, and the book launch was at 2:00 PM. There were seven of the authors present, plus cover artist Andy Bigwood. After a few words of introduction from editor Ian Whates, each of us spoke for a minute or so about our stories. After that there was wine and crisps, and a queue of people buying the paperback edition and moving along the table to get their copy signed by all of us. It was great fun and I'd be happy to do it again!

Vector Steampunk Review

The BSFA's Vector #269 came out in spring 2012, but I didn't receive a copy. Presumably lost in the post. I got a replacement copy today and it includes a nice review of The Immersion Book of Steampunk. As you would expect, the reviewer liked some stories more than others, but the final sentence is a satisfying acknowledgement of one of my aims:

As a whole though, the collection is a stylish and interesting collection of tales from authors who may normally live in the shadows cast by the zeppelins of more instantly recognisable heralds of the subgenre but here are given a chance to showcase their talents and do so in fine fashion

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BristolCon Approaches

Only a month till BristolCon, a small con that I enjoyed immensely when I went 2 years ago. Looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces, and meeting some new ones. Of course, to make it even more exciting, there will be the launch of Looking Landwards, the first UK-published anthology I have appeared in.

Becoming Academic

The Immersion Book of Steampunk was referenced in a lecture at Durham University. I feel quite academic now.

The Final Part

After a bit of time plotting and planning, and a bit of revising of earlier sections, I have started work on part 10 of Galaxy's Game. I can feel 'The End' approaching...

The Gondolier in Serbian

The Gondolier has been published in Serbian at SF-Serbia, the 13th language it's been published in.

Return of The Gondolier

Things have been quiet on The Gondolier translation front for a while, but 3 new translations are on their way, one of them imminently: Ligurian, Serbian and Thai. This takes the total to 36 languages.

Exodus

My contributor copy of the tenth anniversary issue of German magazine Exodus has arrived, and it looks fabulous. It's an A4, glossy, colour magazine with loads of illustrations, and as this issue is all about retro-SF it has some fantastic golden-age images. My story The Gondolier is a very retro-SF story, and German is the 12th language it has been published in.

Penultimate

Last night I wrote the penultimate chapter of the penultimate part of Galaxy's Game. Looks like it should end up at 100,000 words, somewhere near the end of September.

Out This Week and Next

Hiking in My Head was published on Monday and went out to subscribers of Daily Science Fiction. It will be posted on their website next Monday. Several nice comments on their Facebook page, and several bemused readers. The original version was even more confusing!