(The title is a Led Zeppelin reference, for you un-rock-savvy kids.) Firstly, Nights of Villjamur, the US edition, has been printed – so dear Americans: the British invasion will now begin in earnest. Behold the blue and white prettiness.
Next up, there’s an interview with me online at the mighty Speculative Horizons, in which I rant on any number of topics, from influences to race:
Much less so for this one, I think. In fact, I had fewer influences for [City of Ruin] overall – I wanted to simply try my own thing and make an effort to create something fairly new, although I will always continue to give nods to books and writers who inspire – it almost seems rude not to do so. CoR was my quest for a significantly more modern epic fantasy – modern in the city, modern in the cultural and political references, modern in the character types. Viriconium does a very good job of distilling the essence of melancholy, of faded cultural glories – and there isn’t’t much of that to be found in Villiren. It’s a brutal, forward-looking environment that embraces a more laissez-faire economy.
There’s also an A-Z at the Pan Macmillan site, where I was told to write the first thing that came into my head. And check out the Pan Mac banner, which you can copy and paste to your own site if you desire:
Expect more interview goodness soon – so much so, that I can guarantee if you aren’t already sick of me, you will certainly be by the end of July.
Finally, I will be attending the Alt.Fiction event in Derby, on the 12th of June. The programme has now gone live. I will be on a fantasy fiction panel at 1pm, having a Tor launch/signing for City of Ruin at 3pm (there may be biscuits – more soon), and on a panel at 8pm called “Internet and Social Media For Writers” (I’m moderating that one, god help them). There’s such a great line-up of authors for the day, including the likes of Steven Erikson and Mark Chadbourn, so go on, you know you want to be there.
… and Where It Got Us
Now it’s a R.E.M reference too 😉
In all seriousness, congratulations Mark.
Looking forward to City of Ruin as my treat to myself once these dreaded exams of mine are over.
Fencing Son after perusing the cover: So, is this a series? Are you going to get the next one?
Me: I think it’s only just come out in England. It’ll be a while before it comes to the U.S.
FS: I hate it when that happens.
So, are you going to be spending two nights at the old Forum in LA signing books while “The Immigrant Song” and maybe “Kashmir” are blasting in the background? 😛
Thanks, Jo – you know, I never really got into REM. I was always into my 60s/70s proper rock and even folk, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, to Nick Drake.
Ann – yeah, ideally it would be great to have simultaneous releases, but that isn’t looking likely for a few books yet!
Larry – don’t tease me with such dreams. (Though in my version, probably “Achilles’ Last Stand”.)
Ha! I guess “Trampled Underfoot” might be a nightmarish version of said signing? 😉
Funny, I was listening to Led Zepp Remasters while reading City of Ruin… goes very well with the text! LOL
Remind me to discuss “BanHe” with you… no such thing LOL as Banshee literally means “Woman of the Sidhe”. I think the word you want is “Fearshee”(pronounced farshee) which doesn’t sound so good! The joys of an Irish convent education, it’s amazing the things I remember 😉
Oh dear, local knowledge! Now, I always thought that yes – there was no such thing as a male banshee, that they were exclusively female – so why not create the first possible mutation of one, hence he can’t wail/keen like a banshee. So is the Fearshee an actual male counterpart then?
All you need is love!..
…And an excellent book like Nights of Villjamur.
Ooh, it’s got a bloke in a cloak on the cover. The nod to the original Lord of the Rings covers is interesting, though.
Personally, I like “banHe” – it sounds like the sort of thing one person, striving for his own self-definition, would coin lacking the kind of education in Gaelic that’s almost certainly rather unusual in a Dying Earth.