You will remember the Alaskan Bookie site recently gave my time travel thriller, TimeSplash, a five-star review. Well, afterwards, Dorothy, who runs the site, asked me [...]]]>

Interviews are clearly like buses: you wait ages for one and then two turn up at the same time. That’s what happened today.

An Interview with Alaskan Bookie

You will remember the Alaskan Bookie site recently gave my time travel thriller, TimeSplash, a five-star review. Well, afterwards, Dorothy, who runs the site, asked me over for an interview. You can see the result on the Alaskan Bookie website. This is a particularly good interview in a couple of ways. Firstly, the questions were really enjoyable. I’m not sure quite why, but each one sparked a little excitement – which you might notice in my enthusiastic responses Secondly, I am very impressed with Dorothy’s professionalism. You can see some of this just in the way the interview is laid out. It is one of the best-organised interview formats I have ever seen, with all the right information available but presented in a very palatable format. Again, I’m not quite sure why I think this. I will have to sit down and analyse my aesthetic response to what Dorothy has done here. Anyway, if you want to see me in excited and enthusiastic mode, talking right at you, visit the Alaskan Bookie today.

An Interview with Kayelle Press

As part of the continuing launch and publicity efforts for the Hope anthology, Kayelle Press is running a series of brief author interviews with each of the contributors. Today is my turn and you can find my interview on the Kayelle Press blog. For me, this series of interviews is very interesting. Hope brings together some of my favourite Australian writers – including at least three I’d call friends – so it is nice to get a quick peek at what they say about themselves and the story they have contributed. You might not have the same level of interest, but if you want to hear from over a dozen writers, all at different stages in their careers, talking about a particular piece of work, it is a fascinating snapshot. And while you are over at the Kayelle Press site, why not pick up a copy of Hope? It is full of good stories and interesting articles. It is there to raise suicide awareness, something our society needs. Besides, Christmas is not far away and a book is always a great gift.

After all, it’s the Rapture tomorrow. This could be the last anyone hears from me. Which gives me such a cool idea. What if I just disappear tomorrow – take no luggage, no credit cards, leave no note, just vanish. I could then sit on a beach [...]]]>

Ah well, better luck next time.

After all, it’s the Rapture tomorrow. This could be the last anyone hears from me. Which gives me such a cool idea. What if I just disappear tomorrow – take no luggage, no credit cards, leave no note, just vanish. I could then sit on a beach in Northern Queensland reading the religious nutcases speculating in the press as to why I was the only one in the world taken in the Rapture. They would probably find some good reason.

So, if I do disappear, either God’s got a really cool sense of humour, or I have.

Meanwhile, you might like to know that writer, Sonya Clark, turned her Digital Author Spotlight on me today, and hosted a guest post from me. Yes, I began life as a digital-only author, but one day… So a big thank you to Sonya and to all of you who just clicked the link and went to have a look.

See you tomorrow – or will I?

Remember me mentioning some upcoming anthologies with stories of mine in them? Well, one is out today. So shoot over to Amazon and grab your copy. All proceeds to to help Queensland flood victims. These guys lost a lot and are still suffering, so if you’re feeling charitable, this [...]]]>

Tales of Post-Apocalyptic Love

Remember me mentioning some upcoming anthologies with stories of mine in them? Well, one is out today. So shoot over to Amazon and grab your copy. All proceeds to to help Queensland flood victims. These guys lost a lot and are still suffering, so if you’re feeling charitable, this is definitely a good cause. There are 26 stories in all and mine is called “Two Fools in Love”. (In case you just want to jump straight there. Just a suggestion.)

Here is where to buy it: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-But-Flowers-tales-post-apocalyptic/dp/098074461X/ref=cm_wl_cp_al_pt

The publisher, eMergent Press, wants you to buy it right now, this minute, to create an Amazon “chart rush”, which will help sales and mean more money for charity. But any time that suits you is just fine, really.

—

Footnote: Well, the “chart rush” worked! At one point, “Nothing but Flowers” hit the number 1 spot in the Amazon UK sci-fi anthologies chart, the fantasy anthologies chart, and the fantasy short stories chart! Another collection of short stories released on the same day by the same publisher and which was also out there to support Queensland flood victims, “100 Stories for Queensland”, also did spectacularly well, becoming the Amazon UK “top mover and shaker”. Many, many thanks to everyone who bought copies of these books. And, please, don’t stop now. I’m sure all your friends would like to know about this, and it is all in a good cause.

The idea behind In Situ is a good one. It is an anthology of science fiction tales about alien excavations, weird archaeology, and the unearthing of mysteries. As an avid [...]]]>

In preparation for their forthcoming sci-fi anthology, In Situ, Dagan Books has begun posting interviews with the contributing authors. And today, it’s my turn.

The idea behind In Situ is a good one. It is an anthology of science fiction tales about alien excavations, weird archaeology, and the unearthing of mysteries. As an avid Time Team viewer, I absolutely could not resist! And I can’t wait to see what the other writers have done with this ‘future archaeology’ theme. My own contribution is called “Salvage” and breaks new ground for me – a sci-fi story set so far into the future that everything we are now has been lost and forgotten. A very long way from the near future thrillers I have been writing lately.

Publication is planned for May 15, 2011, so grab an RSS feed and I’ll let you know when it’s out.

Remember what  my 2010 end of year report said was the one thing 2011 would be all about? Or when I tried to find a single word to describe my hopes for 2011?

Yes, this was going to be the year that I got myself a literary [...]]]>

A big tick in the box

Remember what  my 2010 end of year report said was the one thing 2011 would be all about? Or when I tried to find a single word to describe my hopes for 2011?

Yes, this was going to be the year that I got myself a literary agent, someone who would represent my work to the big-league publishers, someone who would promote me in circles I simply cannot reach, someone who would talke my writing career to a new professional level. Well, just two months into the year, I have found that agent. We haven’t quite signed the contract yet, but I am very, very pleased to let you know that brand new, Sydney-based literary agency The Book Harvest has agreed to represent me, particularly, that Ineke Prochazka, is my go-to guy at the agency.

You might think that signing with an agency that hasn’t made a single sale yet is a bit of a risk. You may also remember that I recently turned down an offer from another agent because I didn’t think they could do enough for me, even though they did have an actual track record of sales. Well, yes, of course it’s a risk, but Book Harvest has two very important things going for it.

The first is that the agency is positioning itself at the top of the food chain, aiming to sell to the big-name publishers. Events may prove that they couldn’t make it, but their ambitions and mine line up nicely and the idea of being paired with a new agency has always appealed to me. We’re both hungry for this and we’re both going to go flat out to make it happen.

The second is Ineke Prochazka herself. She comes highly recommended by someone whose judgement I trust, she’s got a background in the retail side of the book business (the side of the business, in my view, that it is absolutely vital to be across these days), and, in my dealings with her so far, she seems like a nice and approachable person, someone I’ll be happy to do business with.

Of course, that contract isn’t signed yet and there’s many a slip, etc., but I am very pleased with how this is going so far and hope to get the paperwork out of the way very soon.

Wish me luck!

I’ve recently been involved in one of Jodi Cleghorn’s whirlwind, all-hands-to-the-pumps publishing adventures. This time it was a collection of short stories called Nothing but Flowers. As with her previous offerings, the writers involved (27 of us in this case) not only contributed [...]]]>

Nothing but Flowers - for the post-apocalyptic lover in your life

I’ve recently been involved in one of Jodi Cleghorn’s whirlwind, all-hands-to-the-pumps publishing adventures. This time it was a collection of short stories called Nothing but Flowers. As with her previous offerings, the writers involved (27 of us in this case) not only contributed the stories, but also provided beta reading and line editing for each others’ submissions. Jodi did the final edits, book layout and production. The deadlines were tight and the work was intense. What’s more, nobody – not even Jodi – will make a penny from it. It’s all for charity. 100% of the receipts will go to help Queensland flood victims.

I’ve been involved in other charity productions in the past. As a writer, it feels like an excellent way to help people. Unfortunately, the editors are sometimes so keen to get material for their collections, that the result is of very variable quality. Not so in the case of Jodi’s books. She, and her company, eMergent Publishing, have attracted a large number of excellent writers (and me) all of whom are keen to pitch in to donate their time and share their skills to create collections of very high quality.

Nothing but Flowers is available to buy as an ebook right now (ePub, Kindle, and PDF formats) for under $5. The paperback will be out soon too and can be pre-ordered at Jodi’s Literary Mix Tapes website. It’s a great book, it’s in a good cause, and I’m in it. In fact, it contains what might be the first short love story I have written. (So let me know what you think.)

‘Nuff said.