Referring to a female protagonist as feisty, sassy or plucky in a book review is likely to result in a rolling of eyes. Rightly so in most cases but Jade, the hero of Shadowboxer, earns the right to those terms. Jade is an adolescent cage fighter. That phrase might make you suck in a sharp […]
Edge-Lit – the confirmed schedule
I’ve now had confirmation of what I’ll be up to during Edge-Lit, which is being held in Derby on Saturday 19th July. Workshop: 11:00am – Pantster v Plotter: Applying Planning to your Fiction. Panel: 12:00pm – Science-fiction: How Much Science Do You Need? with Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Rod Rees & Tricia Sullivan. Signing: 14:15pm-14:45pm – with […]
Getting with the program
I’ve just edited the links to buy my books from this site. I haven’t removed the Amazon links entirely because not all my books are available in all formats on the other sites I’ve chosen to link to instead (Foyles and Barnes and Noble). I wish they were, but they aren’t. I don’t know whether […]
Avenue
There’s something unexpected in the car park of the local Tesco superstore. It’s not new, in fact I’d estimate it’s at least two hundred years older than the car park itself. And it’s more a ‘them’ than an ‘it’. It’s a grand avenue of ancient beech trees, complete with raucous rookery. When we first moved […]
That debate, recorded
You can now see the discussion on Women In Genre which I took part in earlier this month. Fellow SF author and participant Stephanie Saulter has kindly pulled together the footage shot on the night and it is accessible via her website. I suspect I come across as rather cynical (I say ‘suspect’ because I […]
Writers’ Blog Tour
I’ve been tagged in the current meme-go-round by DAW author and all round good egg Jacey Bedford. I currently have serious cover envy for her debut novel, Empire of Dust. Rather naughtily, I’m failing to tag anyone else. Hey, every meme’s gotta settle somewhere. 1. What am I working on? Book one of a new […]
Join the debate
I’ve been invited to take part in a debate on ‘Women in Genre’ on 8th May, at Blackwell’s in London. Proceedings begin at 6.30pm, and I’m in great company, with other confirmed participants being: Janet Edwards, Karen Lord, Naomi Foyle and Stephanie Saulter. The event was triggered at least in part by the – correct […]
Review: Mars Evacuees
Sophia MacDougall’s Mars Evacuees isn’t my normal fare, but I loved it. It’s on the border between YA (Young Adult) and MG (Middle Grade), which I believe means it’s aimed at ages ten to twelve, and the twelve-year-old in me devoured it happily. Because I’ve not read much in this genre I may have missed […]
Edge Lit
Although I’m still sorting my diary for the summer, I do know I’ll be at Edge-Lit, in Derby, on Saturday 19th July. The Guests of Honour for this one-day convention are Charles Stross and Joe Abercrombie, and many other cool people will be there. The provisional programme has me on a panel on ‘The Science […]
I too scrive
I’ve finally seen the light and, prompted by a recent special offer, bought a copy of Scrivener. One of today’s tasks is to get to grips with it, a job which goes hand-in-hand with the other task of rounding up some persistent plot-bunnies in the latest novel. I should have (shoulda, coulda, woulda – the […]