Evolution Expects... is here!

I arrived home today to discover a parcel waiting for me, sent by those kind people at Abaddon Books, containing none other than my author copies of Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects.

I never lose the thrill of opening a carton of books for the first time and holding the finished product in my hands, feeling the smoothness of the cover, marvelling at the design work and savouring the smell of fresh print.

And the excitement was only increased today because Evolution Expects, as well as being the last book in the first Ulysses Quicksilver story arc is also the first Pax Britannia book to appear in the larger B format (rather than the usual A format).

You can see what a difference it makes in the pictures below, with Human Nature and Evolution Expects shown side by side. It will certainly give the books a greater presence on the shelf, and make them easier to manhandle when it comes to enjoying them.

And on top of all that the designers have come up with a funky new series logo to go on the spine. And there's a little extra for you the reader too. As well as Evolution Expects the novel, there's Conqueror Worm the novella, which takes the world of Pax Britannia in a rather unexpected direction.

So all that remains for me to say is pick yourself up a copy today and enjoy.

Until next time...

In praise of the novella

There is an interesting opinion piece in the latest issue of Death Ray magazine (#19) about the novella. Longer than a short story and not as long as a novel (obviously), according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the novella is a work of fiction 17,500 - 39,999 words in length.

Staff writer Thom Hutchinson goes on to argue that it is the ideal form for fiction. I am certainly a fan of the novella, having just finished one. Entitled Conqueror Worm, it is to be published along with Evolution Expects (my fourth Pax Britannia novel), and comes in at 17,527 words.

For me, the novella presents me with the opportunity to tell a story that wouldn't stretch to a whole novel. The world of Pax Britannia has generated a host of ideas for stories, but not all of them warrant a 90,000 word novel, but I can still indulge in writing of many more of them through the novella. In the past, people have praised my short fiction, sometimes over the long form stuff, so in the novella I think I have found a happy medium.

As it happens, I'm also enjoying the novellas of another writer at the moment, reading as I am The Taint and Other Novellas by Brian Lumley (published by Solaris Books). And considering the subject matter of these Cthulhu Mythos stories, who's to say that Ulysses Quicksilver and his friends might not one day uncover hints of a world beyond our own inhabited by the Other Gods?

The Legend of the Lambton Worm

I am currently working on a novella, for Abaddon Books, entitled Conqueror Worm. The story, set in 1797, was inspired by the Legend of the Lambton Worm and I have researched various versions of the story to help create mine. On top of that, yesterday I found myself re-telling the original legend myself for the self-same story.

I first came across the legend in Carey Miller's A Dictionary of Monsters and Mysterious Beasts first published in 1974. This book provided me with my initial experience of many well-known monster legends, including that of Grendel and Beowulf, but the one story which has always stuck with me is that of the Lambton Worm. I can still clearly visualise the the rather naive illustration of the worm (shown as a giant earthworm as opposed to a dragon) wrapped around a tree, and this has certainly influenced the story I'm currently writing.

And it's not only influenced this story, it also made an appearance in my very first published work Spellbreaker, this time in the guise of the Devilworm. I often find myself returning to familiar themes or sources of inspiration in my writing. The upcoming Pax Britannia novel Evolution Expects and the new Fighting Fantasy adventure Stormslayer share more than a few passing similarities (while still being completely different stories), and The Horror of Howling Hill shares aspects of both Spellbreaker and Howl of the Werewolf (if you know where to look).

If you don't know the Romance of the Worm of Lambton yourself (or you'd like a quick refresher), click here. Alternatively, there's a fantastic comic strip version in Bryan Talbot's magnum opus Alice in Sunderland (18 pages worth!).

May the fourth be with you

It's an oldie, but it's a goodie

And the reason for reminding you that today is Star Wars Day? I'm studying aspects of a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away for a potential new project. It's too early to say more at the moment, but fingers crossed and the Force may yet be strong in this one.

Current workload includes the aforementioned Star Wars-related research, completing the Pax Britannia short story Conqueror Worm (which takes the Pax Britannia universe in a whole new direction) and concluding my work on Stormslayer. (The illustrations are all in for this one and, I have to say, there are some doosies amongst them. I'll try to give you a sneak preview of some, if and when I'm allowed.) Oh and there are the next three - yes, three! - Pax Britannia novels to plot out.

That should give me busy through May.

Until next time...

A writer writes

That was the simple, straightforward advice given to any would-be writers by Tony Jordan (EastEnders, Hustle) on this week's edition of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe is brilliant. That fact is not up for discussion. Brooker (a screenwriter himself with the recent Dead Set) is rude, downright offensive, acerbic in his comments on television, and painfully funny. This latest edition of Screenwipe was off the scale of brilliant-ness.

Okay, so I'm going a little over the top here, but for a struggling writer it filled me with renewed confidence and enthusiasm. Hearing Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd), Paul Abbott (Shameless, State of Play), Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain (Peep Show), Tony Jordan and the incomparable Russel T Davies (Doctor Who - as if you needed reminding) talk about the process of writing was fascinating and filled me with hope. For one thing, it's always good to know it's not just you who has problem X, Y and Z. Writing is a lonely profession, so it's always good to hear from other writers about how they deal with the day-to-day challenges of the job.

If you have any aspirations to be a writer yourself, you should check the programme out for yourself. It was a fascinating insight into what it means to be a writer and was full to overflowing with good advice. There was (of course) the fact that you have to repeatedly re-write to be a writer, you have to be able to finish something and that the harder it is, the better the outcome - probably.

And it was amazing how many of the writers featured hate the process of actually writing (at least the first draft of something) and will procrastinate like an eight year-old not wanting to do his homework. Tony Jordan put it very well. 'I hate writing. I love having written.'

I particularly liked Graham Linehan's comments about 'feeding the subconscious' and the analogy that 'writing is like having a poo'. So do check it out but this blog's younger viewers should be aware that there is strong language used throughout.

I'll leave you with comment paraphrased by Tony Jordan. 'Writing's easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until your forehead bleeds.'

And on that note, if I want to call myself a writer, I'd better go off and write something. Conqueror Worm awaits.