Guest Article: Jaine Fenn on "Living with the Reader/Writer Paradox"

Today it is the turn of the very charming Jaine Fenn (cocktail companion without compare) to take her turn on my blog, and she offers a perspective on "Living with the Reader/Writer Paradox".

If I had to chose an epitaph I think it might just be So many books, So little time. Ah, you say, you need to find that time. I agree. Perhaps I should build a cloning machine. Or give up on sleep.

However, I've got an excuse: I spend a lot of my potential reading time writing; in fact I'm lucky enough to get paid to write.

In an ideal world I'd also get paid to read, because the income from writing one book per year ain't enough to keep a girl in merlot and chocolate once the basic living expenses have been covered. Sometimes I entertain the fantasy that rather than supplementing my writing income by coding html, writing promotional copy, dealing with members of the public and trying to second-guess my genius but eccentric boss at the day-job, instead I would read a selection of the best new SF novels then write cogent reviews for a major newspaper in return for a generous monthly salary.

Until that happens, or until I get the hang of cloning technology/life without sleep, I have to be selective in my reading. For this reason, I'm leery of books in series. I do read them, due to having a husband with similar tastes and more time to read (I'm currently enjoying Neal Asher's Agent Cormac books, though they've rather put me off seafood) but I don't pick up books from series on spec, for fear that in order to enjoy the book in my hand, I'll need to buy the other two/four/however many more in the series. If I know the time and money that entails will be worth it, then fine. But often I don't know, so I don't risk it.

That's me as a reader. As a writer, I like to write the sort of thing I'd want to read and, fortunately, my publisher appears happy to indulge me. However, I'm currently five novels into writing a series which will (I hope) run to at least nine books. It's a story I want to tell, but it's going to take a while to unfold.

Can you see the conflict here?

In order to keep my personality intact, I decided from the start that the books in the Hidden Empire series would function as stand-alones which added up to create an overall big story arc. That's what I like to read, so that was what I would try and write.

Easy to decide, far harder to implement.

The first two books, Principles of Angels and Consorts of Heaven, weren't too much of a problem as they took place at the same time in two different places and featured different sets of characters. There is a causal link, but it's not necessary to spot it to enjoy the books. When I reached the third book, Guardians of Paradise, everyone met up and started interacting, and I ran up against the inevitable problem.

I was, in essence, writing for two audiences simultaneously. One set had followed the series (thank you, oh loyal readers!) and consequently wanted the story to move on without wasting time retelling stuff they already knew. The other set had picked this book up knowing nothing of my ongoing personal power-trip; putting myself in their place, I wanted to give them the information they needed to enjoy the book in their hand, regardless of whether they felt inclined to read any other books in the series.

There is no easy answer; my only conscious resolve was to avoid the kind of contrived infodumps where character A asks character B why they are about to do something/go somewhere when both characters know the answer already. Then again, if I didn't know enough to avoid that kind of mistake, I shouldn’t have been getting my stories published at all.

To judge by reviews, I did moderately well in this tricky balancing act. However, two books further on, and I know I could have so much done better. I believe I'm doing better now, and that I can continue to improve, to give (almost) everyone what they want. Ultimately, of course, it's for the readers to judge, whether they've been with me from the start, or whether they just picked the book up, and wonder what the story is.

Thanks loads, Jaine!

An Egotistic Extract - Sea of a Thousand Stars

It's mine. I'm shy about it. But here's the start of a little story that I'm contemplating continuing. Would you want to read anymore?

It would be more dramatic to say they came for me at midnight, or during the witching hour – those times of the night when you feel most vulnerable – but, in fact, the afternoon sun was just losing a little of its searing heat as a strong fist battered on the door to my personal chambers. I hadn’t been expecting them. Even with what I had been doing – well, we all think we’re so clever, right? We can’t imagine that anyone will see through our petty little schemes and our lies. With only two people involved you believe that a secret will stay...well, secret! If I told no one and he told no one, then the secret would remain just between us.

I digress... I was able to retain some dignity as I opened the door to my elder brother and two of his vile friends. I welcomed them in with the smile of a pampered noblewoman – the smile that has empty eyes above it, and doesn’t reveal anything of your actual feelings. In this case, my actual feelings were hate. Hate, hate, hate pounding in time with my speeded-up heartbeat. I was worried. My brother never ordinarily felt the need to visit the sister who has proved such a disappointment to him in the marriage market.

The sneer that crossed his saturnine face was familiar to me.

“Liliana,” he said, his voice dark and cold. I was able to remain silent, hiding my shaking fists in the full skirt of my dress. There has never been a time that I remember where I haven’t hated Arrigo. The darling of our Father’s eye. Eldest son and heir. Talented swordsman and capable with numbers. The list of his virtues can be recited by me as a litany, heard many times over the years from both Mother and Father. They never did learn the facets of his character that Gwido and I knew. My littler brother and I knew his jealousy, his bullying, his temper, his arrogance. Oh yes, Arrigo was well-named.

He was still waiting for my response, but I took this small victory and forced him to reveal why he came calling on me. One of his two bully-boys – rabble-rousers and heavies for his less salubrious dealings – muttered in Arrigo’s ear, words I was unable to catch.

“Sister, it is time for us to speak honestly,” said Arrigo. He walked towards me, cupped my cheek in his hand so that my skin crawled with his close presence. I ached to shrug away from him, but kept my spine straight and chin up. His voice took on a smoky drawl as he continued – the same drawl that had the numerous daughters of the Merchant Kings sighing over him. “We don’t like each other. We have never liked each other. But, at least until now, I have been forced to ensure your safety and comfort. No longer, Liliana. Your life is now forfeit to me after the shame you brought on our family.”

“Shame?” I stammer. I curse the fact that my voice started to shake, and my cheeks stained red with my fear. I knew of what Arrigo spoke about. I knew that there would be repercussions if I was ever found out. But I had always thought that it would be Father who administered the punishment. He was a frequently absent Father, but one who had a distant fondness for me, and I had relied on the fact that I could steer him towards a more lenient solution. Arrigo clearly planned to relish this opportunity.

“Indeed,” he said. We both stood for a moment in silence, still playing this game where we tried not to reveal our hands too quickly. I was always the better player, and Arrigo was clearly too pleased by the situation to stay quiet for long. “Liliana, I know the name Macario is familiar to you.”

Of course the name was familiar to me – Macario was the second son of one of the minor Grand Families; one of those that have yet to earn a family name. We carried the family name Ermeto proudly, as befitted the pre-eminent family of Merchant Kings. In truth, Macario was beneath our notice and, if my conscience had been clean, I would have been puzzled at the fact that Arrigo even knew his name.

But it was not clean. I was not puzzled. I knew Macario. I had committed the greatest crime and fallen in love.

If my blog readers have any examples of their writing online, then load up my comments with links so that we can all go have a look!

Unbound - authors pitching books directly to readers!

Alright, I'm a bit gutted on Adele's behalf that they're using the name Unbound, which I automatically associate with her blog, but I still felt I *had* to bring this interesting idea to people's attention.

In a period of time where the publishing industry seems to be at its most volatile, here is another method for authors to circumvent the traditional publishing method.

Here's how it works:

Unbound is a new way of connecting with writers. Most of the writers on our site will be well known, others will appear here for the first time.

What's different is that instead of waiting for them to publish their work, Unbound allows you to listen to their ideas for what they'd like to write before they even start. If you like their idea, you can pledge to support it. If we hit the target number of supporters, the author can go ahead and start writing (if the target isn't met you can either get your pledge refunded in full or switch your pledge to another Unbound project).

There are several levels of support, each with different rewards. The higher your pledge, the greater the rewards you'll receive, from your name in the back of the book to lunch with the author. Plus you can alert your friends and earn Unbound credits on the site when they support a project too.

But that's not all. As soon as you make a pledge to support an Unbound project you gain access to the author’s private area or 'shed'. Here you can get updates on the book’s progress, watch exclusive interviews, read draft chapters, find out information about the author's backlist and join discussions with the author and other supporters. It's a portal into a new community of writers and readers: a place to comment on and contribute to a work in progress.

Then comes the exciting bit. The book is written, designed, edited and printed and we send it to you, either as an e-book or a beautifully bound, limited edition hardback (or both). For the first time, you will be able to hold in your hands a book that wouldn't have existed without you.

Currently there are six novels listed on the site - and one, by Terry Jones, has been 100% funded.

Personally I think this idea has real legs. Readers get to connect personally with authors and contribute directly to the production of a novel that interests them. They get to judge the pitches that would usually only appear on the desk of an agent/editor. They get to follow the progress of a novel as it is written and then moves into production.

What are your thoughts? Interested or not? Would you pledge for a novel to be written like this?

Bad Book Blurbs

The blurb on the back cover or the inside sleeve of a book is supposed to draw you in and make you want to buy the book. It is supposed to be intriguing, giving you a flavour of the novel.

It is not supposed to be as follows:

A clearing deep inside a forest, somewhere near Luton, England. The place looked perfect for a quiet camping night, or as a place for romance, but right now it was not. Who were those twelve strangers? A group of rowdies, six strong, on one side of the place and a group of regular teenagers, also six strong on the other. Tension was in the air. None of the people moved very much, they kept their distance. Words were exchanged, strong statements, but no real threats, no gestures. Then suddenly… A knife… Thrown by one of the rowdies, aimed at one of the teenagers. A straight hit, directly into the shoulder. A cry. The teenager drops to his knees. And the rowdie already has another knife ready.

The situation looked hopeless for the teenagers, they for sure would run away now. But hold on, three of them step forward, guarding the others. They will for sure not stand a chance.

The next knife comes flying, aimed at one of the defenders. He pulls up his arms, cries, but not in pain, the knife is not there yet…

Silence falls on the clearing. What was that? The knife had just stopped in mid air and dropped to the ground a second later. A mishap? An illusion? Or pure luck?

Another one of the rowdies charges towards the teenagers. She looks twice the size than any of them. But wait, something is wrong again. How did she end up on the ground? Tossed through the air, as if she was hit by a rocket. And now. The teenager pushing his friend out of harms way. Look at his speed. Thats not normal either.

What’s going on there? Who are those people? Is this trickery? Or is it magic?

That is the blurb I received from a book offered for review. Can you come up with worse? Would you honestly read this book if you read that blurb?

It just goes to show that every little point in book publishing has to be carefully considered in order to make a book stand out for all the right reasons. A good book blurb can have a person reaching for their hard-earned cash. A bad book blurb can have you telling ALL your friends about this terrible book you heard about.

What do you need to see in book blurbs for you to pick up that book and buy it?

Some Thoughts on the Angry Robot Books Open Month

I was asked a little while ago if I would like to be one of the readers of the Angry Robot Open Month submission pile, and I leapt at the chance. For me, personally, it would allow me to see a small part of the publishing process, it would give me the opportunity to see what sort of manuscripts are submitted to agents/publishers, and it should look pretty decent on the “publishing CV” that I am attempting to build in an effort to one day possibly getting a toehold in the industry.

We received an email from Lee Harris, giving some guidelines about wordcount, genres, what Angry Robot are looking for in general – and then we were unleashed. This surprised me utterly! I did think that we wouldn’t be allowed so much responsibility – we were literally picking and choosing the manuscripts to put forward to Lee and Marc for consideration. I’ll say immediately: that scared me. The idea that I would be responsible for crushing someone’s hopes? Didn’t like that AT ALL. But I guess that is the kind of experience that I was looking to receive, and so I am incredibly grateful to the Angry Robot boys for allowing that sort of freedom.

One point that really made me thoughtful is the fact that there were six or so of us readers picked (although the bulk of the work was conducted by Donna and I), and, if someone else picked up a manuscript that you might have LOVED and championed but they didn’t like it, it would be rejected without you even seeing it. That caused me to pause. All those manuscripts that don’t get picked up – not because they are poor quality, but because the right pair of eyes didn’t glance over them. Having said that, this is what happened to J K Rowling. And this is why persistence is key to submitting novels to agents and publishers – what is wrong for one publisher might be RIGHT for another.

Straight off, I want to say how high the overall quality was. I had heard horror stories about the “slush piles” – the terrible quality, the bad submission letters etc. Out of the five hundred odd partials I cast my eye over, I would say that the number that would be put into that category for me was about twenty, which isn’t too bad. Certainly bearable for someone looking through them.

As I say, I looked at approximately five hundred submissions – across the full spectrum of fantasy, science fiction and horror – and I asked to receive just 61. And I suspect that number is artificially inflated because in the beginning I asked for some that, by the end, I would have dismissed.

For those who care, that 61 is broken down into 36 male writers and 25 female writers – and that is roughly proportional to the manuscripts being submitted.

Out of the 61 manuscripts I have so far read four of them. Two of them I rejected, having read part of the rest. Two of them I’ve put forward to Lee and Marc – I’m yet to hear what they thought of them, and I’m probably as nervous as the authors. Well, maybe not, but certainly it is a reflection on my taste if they reject them out of hand! *grins*

Regarding taste, I was pleased to see that five of the manuscripts I requested to see full versions of had been picked up by other publishers and agents. I mean, obviously not pleased on Angry Robot’s behalf, because it could have been a success for them – but pleased because it showed I was capable of picking out novels that had a chance to be successful.

For your interest, here are some of the fabulous titles I will be reading over the next few weeks (months?):

- 1942 A Very English Roswell
- Nazarene Paradox
- Inside the Living Museum
- The Boomerang Thief
- The Lives of Tao
- Hunt for Valamon

These certainly all pique my interest. So, there is the first of my thoughts on submitting a manuscript – make sure your working title is something that will make a submission reader sit up and pay attention. Some of the submissions I received had terrible titles. I still accepted a few of them, but it took a lot more work on the part of the author to make me consider them.

Here are some of my impressions on submitting a novel:

- Please, for the love of God, do not use weird fonts when submitting. Use something that is easy on the eye and easy to read. If I am struggling to read the submission, then it doesn’t matter what the story is like, it’s being rejected.

- This might be a matter of my preference, but don’t include a mocked up book cover or maps you’ve drawn in Microsoft Paint. It doesn’t look professional, in my opinion – in fact, some of the bad ones made me laugh. Most of these got a very quick rejection.

- In your author biography, keep it nice and simple. Funny is okay, but can sometimes be way off the mark, so, unless you’re confident that it hits the spot, leave it out. Personal stuff – i.e. how you came to the plot thanks to the darkness in your soul (yes, seriously!) – isn’t really necessary...

- DON’T SUBMIT A MANUSCRIPT THAT IS ALL IN CAPITALS! MY EYES BLED A FEW TIMES!

- Equally, using coloured script – blue or *gulps* pink isn’t going to make you stand out in a good way.

- If you’re going to cite an author as inspiration, please make sure you spell them correctly. I don’t like hearing about David Webber, Arthur Clark, Philip Dirk, and Frank Hebert. Yes, I did see all of those.

- As to the submission itself... I know we all LOVE a good weather scene to start off a novel, don’t we? No? I still saw an absolute ton of these. Slow burn starts can be fine, but probably best not describe the way the wind is sweeping through the town, or how the clouds are scudding across the darkening sky.

- Equally, an action scene just to avoid a quiet weather scene is also no good. If the action is part of the actual story, then great! If the action is just to get started and has no relevance on the rest of the story (had one of these), then it needs to be looked at again.

- Character names – keep them straightforward! When you come up with them, say them out loud. If you’re unable to pronounce them, then your reader hasn’t a chance in hell of knowing. One name I had went as follows: Terrllss-rr. Another went like this: Anandrianalistella. These are not *easy* names to pronounce and are likely to kick the reader out of their smooth reading experience.

- Sex scenes... Ah, sex scenes. Unless it drives the plot forward or you’re writing full-on erotica, probably best to leave these out. Also, if you’re uncomfortable writing it, it comes across in your writing and you end up with something stilted that uses BAD words to be associated with sex.

- The hardest manuscripts to reject are those with a truly brilliant idea that is poorly executed. Or those with absolutely acceptable writing and plot, but just missing that subjective ‘wow’ factor.

I’m sure there are more points, but I’m probably hammering home points that you can read on any good publishers’ submission guidelines.

Remember this: publishers and agents are receiving HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of submissions. Yours needs to stand out through a professional covering letter, and the quality of your writing/story. Nothing else.

I do just want to say a public thanks to Angry Robot Books for giving me the chance to do this – I thoroughly enjoyed the process, and would be more than happy to tackle slush reading at any time.

And Then What Happened?

On 14th April the paperback edition of Stories (edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio) hits the bookstores (look out for my review shortly). It is packed to the brim of highly original short stories by massively talented authors - working on the premise 'And Then What Happened?'

Sam Eades - publicist extraordinaire at Headline - wanted to celebrate the publication of Stories with something a little special and invited a crew of bloggers to band together and each write 100 words of a short story. The fun began when we realised that we would only receive the previous 100 words, and so would have no inkling of the final story.

I've just received the story in full and MAN, did I giggle! With enormous thanks to fellows bloggers Catherine, Caffeinated; Caroline Smailes - In Search of Me; High Heels and Book Deals; The Speculative Scotsman; Dot Scribbles; The Book Smugglers; The Book Zone; Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover and Wondrous Reads - this was terrific fun to be part of!

Here is our tremendous 'book' cover:

And here, for your reading pleasure, is the short story we concocted with our feverish imaginations. Honestly, I'm a little worried about the collective state of our minds *giggles*. Enjoy!


Crash!

It happened so quickly.

The screeching metal bit, anyway.

The actual impact.

This came as a surprise to Michelle, who in idle moments had imagined a car crash must feel like it was happening in super slow motion. Seconds become minutes, and all that jazz. Wasn’t that what they said on those accident investigation programmes?

But now here it was, really happening, and it had been but a blink. It had happened so fast, in fact, that it wasn’t until a pair of feet appeared by Michelle’s forehead that she realised the car had flipped. They were upside down.

Blink.

Michelle woke in a bed, not her bed. The air was full of garlic and red wine. She could hear voices in a different room, people were singing and laughing.

‘Where am I?’ Michelle croaked into darkness.

‘Safe,’ a voice replied but no one stepped forward. ‘We were able to make you better,’ the voice whispered.

There was something in the murmur of the word that made Michelle ask, ‘Better?’

‘Enhanced, innovative, kinky,’ a voice replied. ‘The surgery was successful.’

Michelle tried to swing her legs off the bed but they wouldn’t move. It was then that she realised. She was tied to the bed. No, she was shackled to the bed. She tried to sit up but her wrists were shackled too. Wait. She could lift her head! Her eyes flitted around the room. She didn’t recognise anything. Where the fuck was she?

A bright light came on. Michelle noticed the walls were covered in padding - some sort of sound proofing. But she’d heard music, people. Had she been dreaming?

And then she saw him.

‘You said I was safe!’ She screamed. ‘If you touch me again, you mad bastard, I’ll fucking…’

Daniel came towards her holding not a knife, or even a needle. Of all things, the whitecoat bore towards her bearing Tupperware.

‘You’ll fucking what?’ Daniel teased as the dead-zone between them diminished.

‘You’re ours now, Michelle. You’ll do what we tell you, when we tell you. The sooner you make your peace with that, sweetheart, the easier this’ll be.’

But she wasn’t listening. She was transfixed by the red-black mess spattering the walls of the clear plastic container, whose horrific contents Daniel stooped to show her.

‘What... oh God, what is that?’ she choked.

His thin smile said it all.

‘Don’t you recognise your own brain Michelle? Hmmm, I would have thought anyone would recognize their own brain?.’

Michelle felt cold, Daniel was still smiling at her, a sick, twisted smile. She lifted her hands to her head and felt that it was covered in bandages.

‘How? I don’t understand? I’ve been here all the time, how am I here if you have that?’ tears welled up in her eyes.

‘Oh don’t worry,’ Daniel threw his head back and laughed, ‘We didn’t take it all and we filled in the gap with our own little device, as I said, you’re ours now. Now here’s the plan…’

Daniel went on (and on) babbling about his ridiculous evil plan but Michelle paid little attention to what he was saying. She almost rolled her eyes at the absurdity but managed to control herself just in time. She let him go on and cried a bit more so he would think she was utterly defeated. Little did Daniel and his minions know, she had the upper hand as her brain could regenerate and would eventually absorb the device.

‘They think I am theirs now, do they? Well, let’s see what they think
about the fact that they are about to become minions to a HIGHER POWER!’

With a wriggle of her nose that was unnecessary to the casting of the spell, but that Michelle knew was the cutest thing she did, she flung her arms wide and summoned the demon Anamalech. She smirked as the eyes of Daniel and his sniveling minions grew wide with panic. In front of them appeared a ball of smoke, which span and hissed and grew to man-size proportions. Michelle coughed discreetly into her hand as the smoke hit the back of her throat then cleared to reveal a confused looking gentleman. As a result of that ridiculous nasal twitch Michelle had inadvertently summoned a morris dancer called Derek.

‘Magic and vanity do not mix well,’ Daniel hissed. ‘It is a precise art, where even the smallest twitch can ruin a spell.’

‘What are you afraid of? His handkerchiefs?’ he shouted to his followers. ‘Finish her off!’

Daniel’s drooling slaves surged forward as one, with Derek caught right in their path. However, the moment one of them touched him, there was a jangle of bells and another white-clad man appeared by his side. And then another. And another until Michelle could see Daniel no longer. Then came a flash as he summoned a lightning bolt and with one bound was free. In panic Michelle wriggled her nose again and prayed that this time she got it right. She felt herself whirling with lights flashing all around and shrieks of dismay from the Morris dancers who had been caught up in the maelstrom. She could hear cackles of laughter as Anamalech exerted his mighty power and she knew she had overestimated her control over him.

‘You are mine’ he shrieked. ‘Your brain may absorb the device, but I shall extract it from you and then I shall rule the world with my accomplice’ as he revealed Daniel at his side.

‘You did not think for one minute I was going to help you did you?’

But he underestimated British backbone and the dancers with their bells and sticks and cries of ‘Get them chaps’ turned on the deadly duo and soon had them lying on the ground crying for mercy.

Michelle watched full of gratitude that the whole ghastly business was now at an end.

‘So what exactly is this device’ asked Derek as he came towards her with a disconcerting gleam in his eye and an evil look on his face and Michelle realised with a sinking heart that no matter what she had done she was now helpless and alone and in the power of a bunch of Mad Morris Dancers...

Daniel wrestled his way up from the ground and through the Morris dancers, not even stopping to comment on their excellent choice of attire. That could wait, he thought; fashion wasn’t going anywhere, but he soon might be. He made his way over to Michelle, who stood rigid in front of Derek. Was this dude for real?

‘Get out of my way’, Daniel shouted, before pushing Derek to the side like he was nothing more than an unwanted hat stand. ‘Michelle, are you okay? We need to get out of here, like, now’.

‘But you don’t like me’, she sneered back. ‘You just spent half an hour trying to kill me, you bloody idiot’.

‘I know, but I just had a brainwave, if you’ll excuse the pun, and I don’t want to be anyone’s lackey. Least of all Anamalech’s. He’s starting to bore me, and you’re much more interesting. For one thing, I’m now much smarter than you. So, come on. Let’s go!’

With that he faced the open window, and a pair of giant, irridescent wings emerged from Daniel’s shoulder blades, bathing the room - and the Morris dancers - in bright light.

‘No fucking way’, grinned Michelle. ‘You’re TINKERBELL!’

THE END.

I hope you enjoyed! With thanks to Messers Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio for inspiration (go buy the book!) and to Sam for making it all happen.

Dark Fiction Magazine

I had the following press release bounce into my inbox today and I'm thoroughly excited by the idea. Check it out!

Dark Fiction Magazine (www.darkfictionmagazine.co.uk) is pleased to announce the launch of a new service for fans of genre fiction. Beginning Oct 31st (Halloween), Dark Fiction Magazine will be launching a monthly magazine of audio short stories. This is a free service designed to promote genre short fiction to an audience of podcast and radio listeners. A cross between an audio book, an anthology and a podcast, Dark Fiction Magazine is designed to take the enjoyment of short genre fiction in a new and exciting direction.


Dark Fiction Magazine publishes at least four short stories a month: a mix of award-winning shorts and brand new stories from both established genre authors and emerging writers. Each episode will have a monthly theme and feature complementary tales from the three main genres – science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Co-founder Del Lakin-Smith said: "I love reading short stories, and with the increased uptake of mobile and portable devices this really is a growth area. But like many I find I don't have as much time as I would like to read, so I tend to listen to many podcasts on the go. The idea of replacing my podcasts with high quality, well performed audio short stories is something I find highly appealing, so Sharon and I set about making that a reality."

Sharon Ring, co-founder of Dark Fiction Magazine, said: “From technophobe to technophile in less than two years; I spend a great deal of time working online. To while away those hours, I like to listen to podcasts and drink copious amounts of strong coffee. Now, while I don’t recommend you drink as much coffee as I, I do recommend you check out what Del and I have created. We love podcasts; we love genre fiction; we built a site to bring the two together.”

The theme of Dark Fiction Magazine’s first episode is The Darkness Descends and will feature four fantastical stories:

* ‘Maybe Then I’ll Fade Away’ by Joseph D’Lacey (exclusive to Dark Fiction Magazine)
* ‘Pumpkin Night’ by Gary McMahon
* ‘Do You See?’ by Sarah Pinborough (awarded the 2009 British Fantasy Society Short Story Award)
* ‘Perhaps The Last’ by Conrad Williams

Lined up for future episodes are Pat Cadigan, Cory Doctorow, Jon Courtenay, Grimwood, Ramsey Campbell, Rob Shearman, Kim Lakin-Smith, Ian Whates, Lauren Beukes, Mark Morris, Adam Nevill, Gareth L Powell, Jeremy C Shipp, Adam Christopher, and Jennifer Williams, among others.

With a team of dedicated and passionate narrators, a central recording facility and a love of genre, Dark Fiction Magazine delivers a truly outstanding aural experience.

Dark Fiction Magazine will also be producing special editions with seasonal stories and topical issues, competitions, flash fiction episodes and novel excerpts. Each episode aims to shock and delight, to horrify and confound as Dark Fiction Magazine takes its listeners on an aural tour through the world of genre fiction.

Dark Fiction Magazine is a collaborative project, created and developed by Del Lakin-Smith and Sharon Ring. For further information, contact Del or Sharon at
editorial@darkfictionmagazine.co.uk

***END***

Good, huh? I wish Sharon and Del all the best in their new endeavour!

The Chainsaw Gang

What is The Chainsaw Gang?

A chainsaw-wielding, gore-loving gang of brand new YA horror writers who've had enough of vegan vampires, cute'n cuddly werewolves and romantic zombies. New wave writers, old school horror. Ladies and gentlemen, start your chainsaws...

Who is involved in The Chainsaw Gang?

(as snitched from Alex Bell's website)

First up, Sarwat Chadda (unofficial leader of the gang – and the one with the Templar warrior heroine):



Stephen Deas (the dragon man of Gollancz):



Sam Enthoven (writer of fantastical action thrillers):



David Gatward (lots and lots of DEMONS!):



Steve Feasey (writer of ferocious werewolves):



William Hussey (who writes about ancient horrors):



Jon Mayhew (demons plus fog-drenched Victorian London = a double win in my book):



Alex Milway (he writes about yetis! And I agree with Sarwat on this – there just aren’t enough yeti books out there):



Sarah Pinborough (aka Sarah Silverwood – writer of murder, madness and the Knights of Nowhere):



Alexander Gordon Smith (yes, there are three Alex’s in the gang. At a future date I may stage a mutiny and attempt to rename the group The Alex Gang . . .) He writes about an underground prison run by demons! What more do you need to know? :



And Alex herself, as introduced by Sarwat: an escaped law student, and a collector of big dogs, neurotic cats, and crazy hats. She dislikes the heroic, selfless, goody-two-shoes heroes of recent YA fiction, and far prefers anti-heroes who lie, cheat, swindle and steal all the way to the top. Her young adult Lex Trent books are about a teenage thief, conman and adventurer; battling monsters, chasing treasure, breaking all the rules – and getting away with it.



Where can you get more information on The Chainsaw Gang?

Each of the members is web-savvy and has a website, where they are currently posting reviews on each other's novels and detailing where you can go and see them in real life. Check it out. The Chainsaw Gang is also on Facebook.

These are some incredibly talented authors, writing excellent old-school horror and adventure - go and make friends!

I won. That is all. Thank you.

NaNoWriMo!

Oh dear. The blog has slipped again. Apologies to my reader (s) out there!

There is one big reason: NaNoWriMo. Otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Yep, that's right, November is the month where you can attempt to write a 50,000 word novel. It works out as 1,667 words every day during November. More info on the website here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ Look out for my profile there, which is also magemanda.

I decided to jump on board about three days before the start of the month, and leapt in without plot, ideas or characters - just a vague idea about starting it on the run up to Christmas and using my real life experience of making a Christmas meal for the first time (I've volunteered to host my folks). Now I have a sprawling 30,000 words written and I'm on target to win. I'm producing something chick lit ish, which surprises me considering the amount of fantasy I read!

So excuse me while I scurry off and use the free time I have to continue struggling to force these words out while saying to myself: "Quantity, not quality!"

See you in December with more book reviews and I might even pick up my rewatch of The West Wing as well!