Category: Writing news

  • “KING ROOK” IN ALBEDO ONE #45

    “KING ROOK” IN ALBEDO ONE #45

    I am chuffed to be able to point you in the direction of the latest issue of Albedo One (no. 45 – available in ebook form from Smashwords and Amazon) which features my story, “King Rook”. The story is one set in Northern Ireland in the mid-eighties and while none of the important stuff in the […]

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  • DOUBLE FRACTIONAL AWARD NOMINEE

    So, the Hugo nominations are out, and there are a number of things I like and many things I have absolutely no interest in. In the end I weakened and nominated some stuff, just so I could feel properly entitled to moan at the final shortlist. I think four of the items I nominated made […]

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  • REVIEW OF THE ECHO AT ARCFINITY AND OTHER STUFF

    So my grumpy review of James Smythe’s The Echo is now online at Arcfinity. I’m not normally bothered by the science being wrong in fantastic fiction if it makes the story better – that’s normally true when the author has made a deliberate choice to warp or twist reality. What bothered me by this book (and […]

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  • MY FAVOURITE SHORT STORY (SORT OF…)

    So with Solaris Rising 2 being released tomorrow, the people at Solaris asked the anthology’s authors (you can read my effort, “The First Dance”, in those pages along with some stories that are really, really good) to write something about our favourite short stories. I couldn’t pick one. So instead I talked a bit about […]

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  • SPECULATIVE FICTION 2012

    Another publication announcement – let’s us hope this doesn’t start happening too often, I’m sure we’d all get terribly bored. This time it’s for a piece of non-fiction, my review/rant on Stina Leicht’s first two Fey and the Fallen books has been selected for Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary.  As is […]

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  • SOLARIS RISING 2 AND ME

    So busy with stuff I hadn’t noticed that the table of contents for Solaris Rising 2 had been announced. I’m chuffed to be in this book alongside a list of very fine writers. I’m only slightly worried that I’m the one whose been stuck in to make everyone else look good. Still, it’s a very […]

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  • DOING SOMETHING STUPID: RESPONDING TO A REVIEW

    Dan Hartland has posted a review of Rocket Science, the anthology edited by Ian Sales, and he has commented on my story “Pathfinders”. [I’ve always loved Elvis Costello’s version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – please hum along as you read this post.] For instance, Martin McGrath’s “Pathfinders” returns us again to Mars, and […]

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  • ESKRAGH IN DARK FICTION MAGAZINE

    Things have been quiet here for a few weeks and are likely to remain so for a while longer – apologies. However, I’d just like to draw your attention to the appearance of my story “Eskragh” in issue 12 (titled Night Legends) of Dark Fiction Magazine.Thanks to the editors for selecting it and transforming it […]

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  • ESKRAGH UNPLUGGED

    So, I did a recording of my story Eskragh for a friend, and then I thought about putting it up here. And then I didn’t. But since this seems to be an unofficial Irish-themed week on the blog and since I haven’t done this sort of thing before – what the hell. This isn’t the […]

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  • SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS ROCKET SCIENCE

    SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS ROCKET SCIENCE

    I have in my clammy little paws my contributor copy of Rocket Science, the new anthology from Mutation Press, edited by the estimable Ian Sales. This fine looking volume of short stories and non-fiction features my tale of a (sort of) Mars mission, “Pathfinders”.

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