Category: Fiction

Book bundle!

Exciting book news:
 
Driving Ambition is one of many great books in the Bundoran Buddies book bundle! For just $15, less than the price of a trade paperback these days, you get 12 books, by the likes of Robert Sawyer, Tanya Huff, Brad C Anderson and Madeline Ashby, and, well, I’m in there too.
 
Also, self-driving-car bonus: one of the anthologies in the bundle, Lazarus Risen, includes “Seal”, my story about sentient care-home robots going horribly wrong.
 
Beat the lockdown blues with books!

Link here:

 
Venusian Job Cover

Jolene is shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Shorter Fiction

My short story “Jolene”, published in Interzone 284 (the one about the cowboy whose wife, dog and truck have left him), has been shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Shorter Fiction! It’s lovely to see Jolene in such distinguished company.
This is the skull I bought for the sale of “Jolene”; it’s heat-treated agate, in the same colours as the titular pickup truck, and I think it looks rather like Fordite.

The Stepford App

My short story “The Stepford App” is in the final issue of Mad Scientist Journal.  Fans of Driving Ambition might want to know that, although it’s a stand-alone piece about the perils of looking for love in an age of AI, it’s also a prequel which explains Liz’s allusion to her former job as a chatbot. Buy a print or e-book at the link.

Worldcon 2019 Schedule

If any of you are coming to Worldcon in Dublin next month, here’s where I’ll definitely be:

Academic track: Decolonising
15 Aug 2019, Thursday 15:30 – 16:20, Odeon 6 (Academic) (Point Square Dublin)

1. Natalie Ingram – ‘History Through Fantasy’s Western Window’
2. Professor Fiona Moore – ‘Comparing Colonialisms in The Terror’
3. BE Allatt – ‘Questioning Mononormativity: Love, Sex, and Relationships on McDonald’s Luna’

So you want to write a SFF stage play

Format: Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 13:30 – 14:20, Alhambra (Point Square Dublin)

Writing for the stage uses a particular set of skills. What does it take to create a solid script? How does it differ from any other writing process? What special considerations are needed when including science fiction and fantasy elements? Our panellists will share tips and tricks on adapting between mediums for the stage, how to create believable characters, and how to write great dialogue.

Grappling with the post-colonial in SFF

Format: Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 17:00 – 17:50, Wicklow Room-1 (CCD)

Over the last 500 years, cultures and histories have been forever altered by colonial expansion. Although many former colonies have gained independence, their peoples still grapple with the effects of colonisation. Can post-colonial SFF help to heal the past? How do post-colonial SFF authors reconcile the many facets of their identities in their work, and what do they want their audiences to know?

Audio dramas and radio plays

Format: Panel
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 19:00 – 19:50, Liffey Room-1 (CCD)

With the rise of paying markets like Big Finish Productions and Audible Theater, a new era in professional audio theatre has dawned. But how do you go about writing or recording an SFF audio drama or radio play – and are they even the same thing? In this suddenly booming industry, where do you start? And what is the demand for this type of work?

Autographs: Sunday at 12:00

Format: Autographing
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 12:00 – 12:50, Level 4 Foyer (CCD)

Carrie Vaughn, Amal El-Mohtar, Dr Anna Smith Spark , Professor Fiona Moore, Gareth Powell, Paul Anthony Shortt

I’ll also be at the NewCon Press book launch on Saturday, 17 Aug 17:30-18:30, room TBA.

Exciting writing news

I just sold a story to Mad Scientist Journal!

Even more exciting news if you liked my novel “Driving Ambition”:

It’s the direct prequel story that I’ve mentioned a few times, covering Liz’s backstory and the unexpected role she plays in the development of sentience among Things.

Not saying any more– but you’ll be able to read it yourself towards the end of the year.