Events & Recent Reads

Convention goodness. The Eastercon draft programme is up, and it ranges from the very sensible to the very bizarre.

I’m on this panel on the Saturday:

Writers and the Web – Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, etc. 2pm- 3pm. Room 12. Is it essential to be on the Web to promote sales of your book? Which media are used in which ways? How do you interact with your readers online? Do you link to your bad reviews as well as your good ones? Joe Abercrombie, Maura McHugh, John Meaney and Mark Charan Newton.

Aside from that, I’ll probably be in the bar on the Saturday, or thereabouts. I have no idea where else I’ll be, but do come and say hello. Or if you want a proper sit-down, drop me a line in advance to sort out a cup of tea. I’m there from the Friday lunch to Sunday morning.

Another reminder that you really should be going to Alt. Fiction in Derby, on Saturday 12th June. If you’re a reviewer, you’ll find lots of authors milling about. If you’re looking to be a writer, lots of advice is on hand, as the event is kind of suited more for those of a literary bent, rather than anything else. I’m probably going to be doing something with City of Ruin, though I’m not sure what.

Book three. I’m currently 50k words into book three, which has a title that a lot of people like, and I like very much, but I won’t be sharing at the moment, because these things can often change and I will end up looking more silly than usual. It’s back in Villjamur, which is a little more difficult for me, as I’m one of those writers who likes new stuff and creating stuff, and going back to old places provides new challenges. But all is going well. Again, it changes focus from the first two books, and I hope it can be something rather unique. I will say only that I’m trying to play with the concept of superheroes, which is difficult in a secondary world where magical stuff happens anyway. It seems to be working so far.

Currently reading: The King of Elfland’s Daughter, by Lord Dunsany, which is charming and delicate, yet still more imaginative than a lot of fiction these days, and reminds me a lot of the fantasies written by William Morris. I finished American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, which I rather enjoyed. It was a sprawling, weird, beautiful beast of a novel, and had some superb ideas. Perhaps a little rambling in places, but that’s being nitpicky.

Finally for those of you who missed it, and because I can’t help myself, someone said something nice about City of Ruin:

“Newton combines strange and vivid creations with very real and pressing concerns with estimable commitment and passion.” — China Miéville

Which makes me happy.

Keyword related posts:

1. Recent Reads
2. Recent Reads