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The storyteller eternal
Nobody knows exactly when the first stories were told. I’m going to stick my neck out and pitch in at 250,000 BC, but only because it’s a nice round number and I don’t have a time machine. It feels...
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Repair of the blog
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to play up, it’s technology. Take the HAL9000 computer, which never opens the pod bay doors when you ask it. Or that exasperating existentialist explosive device:...
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Wide-angle writing
I hated history at school (except for the drawing, I liked some of that, especially the diagrams of motte-and-bailey castles). I was utterly bored with the endless lists of English monarchs, the...
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White page, white knuckle
It’s about time I inflicted another writing update on you, dear reader. The good news is I’ve got a lot to say. The bad news is I can’t say any of it, not just yet. Let’s just say wheels are turning....
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Short story sale – Alchemy Press
I’m pleased as punch. Why? Because my short story A Night to Forget has just been accepted for publication in The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic, a collection of fantasy fiction due out later this...
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The writing radio
Let’s get this straight. When you write stories, the ideas don’t come from you; they come from the ether. You’re not a writer; you’re a radio. You might think you’re making things up but you’re not....
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Your free writer’s monologue
Suffering from writer’s block? Fed up of that nagging internal monologue that distracts you from the process of writing? Fear not! I’ve created the Writer’s Monologue®, a patent-pending system...
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Urban Mythic – Table of Contents
Just a quick post to unveil the complete list of contributors to the upcoming Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic. The list includes, uh, me … James Brogden – The Smith of Hockley Joyce Chng –...
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Ngahlulele Junction
I have no clue where story ideas come from. Maybe it’s science – something to do with misfiring neurons or mangled memories or eating too much spicy food. The truth is, I don’t really care. Creative...
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Book deal news
I’m thrilled to announce I’ve just signed up with Solaris Books, leading UK publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction, to publish my new novel Talus and the Frozen King. The deal was...
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Talus is coming
My new novel Talus and the Frozen King will be published by Solaris Books in April 2014. Long time to wait, huh? Yes and no. There’s plenty of work to do between now and then so I’m sure the time will...
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Ten reasons to write science fiction
“Why do you write science fiction?” It’s a fair question, only slightly complicated by the fact that personally I tend to write more fantasy than SF, but if I go down that road I run the risk of...
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Online Exhibition: Digital Dwelling at Skara Brae
Reblogged from Digital Dirt Virtual Pasts: (For HD viewing you can click to the Vimeo website) The Project Digital Dwelling at Skara Brae is a collaborative project bringing together three...
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Iain Banks 1954-2013
Iain Banks died yesterday, aged just 59. After his terminal diagnosis earlier this year, his final novel The Quarry was fast-tracked by his publishers for a June 2o release date, specifically so he’d...
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Writing update – a tactical retreat
For the past month or so I’ve been forging ahead on a new manuscript, a sequel to my neolithic detective novel Talus and the Frozen King. The story’s well plotted and I’ve been having a ball putting...
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Kodama – a String City micro-story
Last summer, I live-tweeted a piece of micro-fiction called Kodama. It’s an ultra-condensed story set in the twisted world of String City. The Twitter account I used to broadcast the story –...
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The spirit of a novel
Writers never learn. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to. Well, this one never does. You’d think that after all these years I’d have honed my craft to the point where writing a novel is simply a matter...
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Talus and the Frozen King – pre-order news
Nobody in their right mind would want to order a novel 8 months in advance, would they? Still, on the off-chance that you’re not in your right mind, dear reader – or in the unlikely event that you...
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Choose your words carefully
When I started out writing fiction, I thought all kinds of things were clever. Like using lots of different words. Better still, using really long ones. Like antidisestablishmentarianism (OK, maybe not...
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Skara Brae and Talus
This short ArcheoSoup video is a great introduction to the Scottish neolithic settlement of Skara Brae. Uncovered by a severe storm in the winter of 1850, this extraordinary 5,000 year-old settlement...
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