Sam Stone's Blog, page 12
March 25, 2013
Killing Kiss goes to Germany
KILLING KISS has been sold for translation in Germany. And as you can imagine I'm absolutely thrilled. What's truly exciting is that I will be going to Germany for a tour and launch later in the year also.
Here is the press release telling you all about my exciting news:
GERMAN DEAL FOR SAM STONE
Gunter Olschowsky, Commissioning Editor for Verlag Bucheinband lnes
Neumann, based in Heidenau in Saxony, has acquired German rights to Sam
Stone’s award-winning vampire novel Killing Kiss.
The book was
published in the UK by the House of Murky Depths in 2008, and is the
first in a series of acclaimed novels collectively known as The Vampire
Gene.
Olschowsky said of this deal: ‘In Germany, vampires are
very popular. Customers, and especially young readers, can’t get enough
books about them. Sam Stone has specialized very successfully in
vampires and has yet to be discovered in Germany. Bucheinband are proud
to introduce Sam Stone to the German book market and to offer German
fans another “black pearl” author in this genre. Bucheinband believe
that Ms Stone will become a valuable asset to every German fantasy book
collection.’
‘I’m looking forward immensely to working with
Gunter and Bucheinband,’ said Stone. ‘I love Germany, and can’t wait to
visit to help promote the title to German readers and fans.’
Bucheinband intend to launch Killing Kiss (German title: KillerKuss) at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn.
Killing Kiss won the silver award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord
Magazine’s Book of the Year competition, and Stone’s subsequent novels
and short stories have gained her much acclaim, including winning the
British Fantasy Award. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is a
noted public speaker and lecturer. Stone’s website is at www.sam-stone.com.
Here is the press release telling you all about my exciting news:
GERMAN DEAL FOR SAM STONE
Gunter Olschowsky, Commissioning Editor for Verlag Bucheinband lnes
Neumann, based in Heidenau in Saxony, has acquired German rights to Sam
Stone’s award-winning vampire novel Killing Kiss.
The book was
published in the UK by the House of Murky Depths in 2008, and is the
first in a series of acclaimed novels collectively known as The Vampire
Gene.
Olschowsky said of this deal: ‘In Germany, vampires are
very popular. Customers, and especially young readers, can’t get enough
books about them. Sam Stone has specialized very successfully in
vampires and has yet to be discovered in Germany. Bucheinband are proud
to introduce Sam Stone to the German book market and to offer German
fans another “black pearl” author in this genre. Bucheinband believe
that Ms Stone will become a valuable asset to every German fantasy book
collection.’
‘I’m looking forward immensely to working with
Gunter and Bucheinband,’ said Stone. ‘I love Germany, and can’t wait to
visit to help promote the title to German readers and fans.’
Bucheinband intend to launch Killing Kiss (German title: KillerKuss) at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn.
Killing Kiss won the silver award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord
Magazine’s Book of the Year competition, and Stone’s subsequent novels
and short stories have gained her much acclaim, including winning the
British Fantasy Award. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is a
noted public speaker and lecturer. Stone’s website is at www.sam-stone.com.
March 17, 2013
TELOS MOONRISE - UPDATE
Telos Moonrise now has it's own website/blog. This will be the first place that all news, updates and information about our submission guidelines will be.
Find out when Sinful Pleasures - our erotic imprint - and Criminal Pursuits - our crime/thriller imprint is open for submissions.
For more information visit the website now! TELOS MOONRISE. (www.telosmoonrise.com)
Looking forward to those submissions!
Sam x
Find out when Sinful Pleasures - our erotic imprint - and Criminal Pursuits - our crime/thriller imprint is open for submissions.
For more information visit the website now! TELOS MOONRISE. (www.telosmoonrise.com)
Looking forward to those submissions!
Sam x
March 15, 2013
ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S - SHORT LISTED
A nice surprise today. I discovered that ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S is SHORT-LISTED in the PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE.
The winner is decided on public vote. In other words you 'readers' get to chose and to vote on what you like - not a committee.
So here is the information and link to the FICTION category. Have a look at the line-up and chose your favourite.
Voting is up now! You need to register your email address, wait for your password - then click on the book you want to vote for.
People's Book Prize
ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S - FINALIST
A nice surprise today. I discovered that ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S is a FINALIST in the PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE.
The winner is decided on public vote. In other words you 'readers' get to chose and to vote on what you like - not a committee.
So here is the information and link to the FICTION category. Have a look at the line-up and chose your favourite.
Voting is up now! You need to register your email address, wait for your password - then click on the book you want to vote for.
People's Book Prize
Updated Events Calendar 2013
Hi All,
Here is our updated events Calendar for 2013. There will be more to come ... and lots of interesting news very soon.
Sam x
BIG FINISH DAY 3, Essex, 23rd March 2013.
Sam Stone and David J Howe will be joining the line-up of guests at this popular event.
For further information check out Tenth Planet Events : BIG FINISH 3
Time: 10am - 6pm
Address: Barking Abbey School, Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 8UF
Date: 23rd March 2013.
WALES COMIC CON, Wrexham, North Wales, 28th April 2013.
Sam and David are
happy to be invited back to this wonderful event. They will be available
for signings, photographs and copies of all books will be available to
purchase at the event.
For Further Information : WALES COMIC CON http://www.walescomiccon.com/#
Time : 11am - 5pm
Address: Glyndwr University, Wrexham, UK
Date: Sunday 28th April 2013.
ASYLUM STEAMPUNK CONVENTION, 13-15th Sept, 2013
Sam Stone and David Howe will be attending this fantastic event, which has become a welcome part of their yearly calendar.
The event takes place in various locations around Lincoln Town Centre.
Come and join in the fun, wearing your steampunk finery, and join the party at one of the many wonderful evening events.
For full information on the programme of events : ASYLUM http://steampunk.synthasite.com/
Time: ALL WEEKEND
Address: Lincoln Town Centre
Date 13-15th September 2013
DIMENSIONS 2013, Newcastle, 25-27th October 2013.
Sam Stone and
David J Howe join the line-up of guests for this special celebration
convention - which will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.
For more information : Dimensions http://www.tenthplanetevents.co.uk/index.asp
Time: TBA
Address: The New Holiday Inn, Great North Road, Seaton Burn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE13 6BP
Date: 22-24 November 2013.
HURRICANE WHO, Orlando, Florida, 1-3rd November 2013
Sam Stone and
David J Howe join the line-up of great guests for this convention. There
will be panels, a dealer's room, cosplay, and great guests!
For more information : Hurricane Who http://www.hurricanewho.com/guests/
Time: Friday to Sunday
Address: Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at Sea World
Date: 1-3rd November 2013.
Here is our updated events Calendar for 2013. There will be more to come ... and lots of interesting news very soon.
Sam x
BIG FINISH DAY 3, Essex, 23rd March 2013.
Sam Stone and David J Howe will be joining the line-up of guests at this popular event.
For further information check out Tenth Planet Events : BIG FINISH 3
Time: 10am - 6pm
Address: Barking Abbey School, Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 8UF
Date: 23rd March 2013.
WALES COMIC CON, Wrexham, North Wales, 28th April 2013.
Sam and David are
happy to be invited back to this wonderful event. They will be available
for signings, photographs and copies of all books will be available to
purchase at the event.
For Further Information : WALES COMIC CON http://www.walescomiccon.com/#
Time : 11am - 5pm
Address: Glyndwr University, Wrexham, UK
Date: Sunday 28th April 2013.
ASYLUM STEAMPUNK CONVENTION, 13-15th Sept, 2013
Sam Stone and David Howe will be attending this fantastic event, which has become a welcome part of their yearly calendar.
The event takes place in various locations around Lincoln Town Centre.
Come and join in the fun, wearing your steampunk finery, and join the party at one of the many wonderful evening events.
For full information on the programme of events : ASYLUM http://steampunk.synthasite.com/
Time: ALL WEEKEND
Address: Lincoln Town Centre
Date 13-15th September 2013
DIMENSIONS 2013, Newcastle, 25-27th October 2013.
Sam Stone and
David J Howe join the line-up of guests for this special celebration
convention - which will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.
For more information : Dimensions http://www.tenthplanetevents.co.uk/index.asp
Time: TBA
Address: The New Holiday Inn, Great North Road, Seaton Burn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE13 6BP
Date: 22-24 November 2013.
HURRICANE WHO, Orlando, Florida, 1-3rd November 2013
Sam Stone and
David J Howe join the line-up of great guests for this convention. There
will be panels, a dealer's room, cosplay, and great guests!
For more information : Hurricane Who http://www.hurricanewho.com/guests/
Time: Friday to Sunday
Address: Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at Sea World
Date: 1-3rd November 2013.
February 24, 2013
TELOS MOONRISE
I can now share this information with you taken from the newsletter for Telos Publishing.
I have recently been appointed Commissioning Editor for this wonderful new imprint! TELOS MOONRISE (Information below) and I'm delighted to be involved.
Submissions for 'Steampunk Visions' and 'Dark Endeavours' are currently closed until later this year. However there will be a short submission period for 'Sinful Pleasures' (Erotica) and 'Criminal Pursuits' (Crime/Thriller) and more information on Telos' submission guidelines and the dates of submission will be revealed shortly.
For now ...
TELOS MOONRISE
After much consideration and planning, we are delighted to announce the
launch of Telos Moonrise, a new digital and POD imprint for
Telos, which we hope will expand to cover a wider variety of fiction
than we are currently able to undertake in the more traditional
publishing lines. Titles are planned to be made available in ebook
formats for Kindle, Kobo and Nook, and for those who still
love books, all the titles will also be available as print on demand
paperbacks
via Amazon.
Consultant and editor for the imprint is Sam Stone, herself an
acclaimed and award-winning author, and she will be commissioning and
looking for titles in all four of the initial lines which are planned:
o ‘Steampunk Visions’: Explore alternate worlds, past, present and
future in our exciting new Steampunk range. There will be action,
adventure and, of course, superb gadgets.
o ‘Criminal Pursuits’: Look into the darkest depths of the criminal
mind and explore the darker side of humanity with our Crime and
Thriller titles.
o ‘Dark Endeavours’: Delve into the supernatural, urban and dark
fantasy, or the darkest horror imaginable. Or simply explore fantasy
realms and alternate worlds where anything can happen from myth and
magic to sword-wielding warriors.
o ‘Sinful Pleasures’: Brings sexual fantasies, love or simply unbridled
lust, with good strong stories, believable characters and a large
helping of erotica in all its forms.
Telos Moonrise launches with a ‘Dark Endeavours’ title: Absinthe
and Arsenic , a collection of dark, mysterious and comedic tales
by award winning dark fantasy and steampunk author Raven Dane.
Details of publication dates and other details will be available as
soon as they are confirmed. We will make submission guidelines
available on the Telos site as soon as they have been finalised, and
when the range is opened for unsolicited submissions. Please keep an
eye on the Telos news page, and the Telos Facebook page for details.
January 31, 2013
Ebook Versus Print
I've been thinking a lot lately about the digital phenomenon of publishing and ebooks. There are writers out there that don't have physical copies of their books. It is all online. They have a thumbnail cover, a pdf of their words. It could be on Kindle, Kobo, Nook or any other platform. But it isn't in print. They don't really seem to mind about this too much either because they consider that the digital platform has levelled the playing field and made it possible for anyone to publish a book. I'm not going to get into the good and bad of that today, but the way I see it, it would be a terrible shame if the future meant that we would only have digital ebooks and we lost the printed versions.
If we just have digital books - which can all be deleted at the push of a button - what history do we really leave behind if all of our computer systems and servers were somehow destroyed?
I'm not crying 'Apocalypse' - but technology does go wrong. How many times have you lost files due to computer failure? It only takes that one time when you forget to back up, and everything is gone. Up in smoke. Disappeared. Just. Like. That.
I have always loved receiving physical copies of my books. That's the time when it feels REAL.That's when all of the hard work is rewarded. It exists as a physical thing. My baby has been truly born.
I agree that we have to move with the times, but not to the point of completely eradicating this format from our world. And I really hope that will never happen.
Recently I was recalling how CDs took over from records. I fought it at the time. I loved my records; I still have a player and listen to them. I like the scratchy sound. I like the imperfection. In the same way that I like the smell of fresh print. Or the artistry of a book cover that a designer spent many hours working on. I even like finding the odd print error - mistakes that can too easily be eradicated from digital versions when found.
Now CDs are becoming obsolete. We download MP3s to our phones, tablets and computers. And there is also the piracy aspect to consider. Music is stolen all the time, and artists suffer from the theft. It's NOT the same as lending your friend your CD. Or sharing a paperback with a family member. That is what magazines and newspapers call 'circulation'. More people see or read something, but the actual sales are less than the readership figures.
The ebook revolution has made it easier for the same pirates to steal literary works. This is NOT the same as sharing, or circulation. This is theft. It's nothing more. And although I feel that ebooks help you to reach readers all over the world, the loss of revenue due to piracy is not a good thing. And I don't believe that the people who download illegal music or books are ever going to buy further copies even if they love your work when it's being offered for free somewhere.
There is a plus side to the ebook industry though: we've found new writing stars that may never have made it beyond the slush pile. Some might say that was a bad thing - but I see this as a reflection on readers' tastes and choices. Tastes that were not being addressed by the publishers out there for whatever reasons.
The internet is a wonderful tool. We can expand our fan base, tell people about ourselves, but are we proper writers if our words are never printed onto crisp white pages?
The authors of my youth, the books I loved and cherished, will always be immortal. I can pick their words from my shelf. They live with me in my home. If the battery runs out on my kindle then I can't use it. If I have no internet access I can't download anything. But my paperback or hardback doesn't need battery or world wide web in order for me to read it any time I wish.
The signed books that sit on our shelves are cherished, beautiful and precious. They bring back memories of the meetings with authors. The writer's ink splashed for real and uniquely on the first page of your paperback. Now, there are apps we can download that help us obtain digital signatures of those we admire, but how can that compare to the 'real' thing?
This is not a subject that will stop being explored. Or one that we can finally make a decision on. But I know that I will ALWAYS want physical copies of my books out there. And I will ALWAYS want to buy real books to read. Even if I have them on digital devices as well. Because these devices should be used for convenience but not as a way of destroying something beautiful. Without books we would have no history of the world we live in.
So let's keep on publishing and printing real books. Let's share our words in all ways - but never forget the power of the written word in print. We should never give up on creating these beautiful things: they are the evidence of our existence.
If we just have digital books - which can all be deleted at the push of a button - what history do we really leave behind if all of our computer systems and servers were somehow destroyed?
I'm not crying 'Apocalypse' - but technology does go wrong. How many times have you lost files due to computer failure? It only takes that one time when you forget to back up, and everything is gone. Up in smoke. Disappeared. Just. Like. That.
I have always loved receiving physical copies of my books. That's the time when it feels REAL.That's when all of the hard work is rewarded. It exists as a physical thing. My baby has been truly born.
I agree that we have to move with the times, but not to the point of completely eradicating this format from our world. And I really hope that will never happen.
Recently I was recalling how CDs took over from records. I fought it at the time. I loved my records; I still have a player and listen to them. I like the scratchy sound. I like the imperfection. In the same way that I like the smell of fresh print. Or the artistry of a book cover that a designer spent many hours working on. I even like finding the odd print error - mistakes that can too easily be eradicated from digital versions when found.
Now CDs are becoming obsolete. We download MP3s to our phones, tablets and computers. And there is also the piracy aspect to consider. Music is stolen all the time, and artists suffer from the theft. It's NOT the same as lending your friend your CD. Or sharing a paperback with a family member. That is what magazines and newspapers call 'circulation'. More people see or read something, but the actual sales are less than the readership figures.
The ebook revolution has made it easier for the same pirates to steal literary works. This is NOT the same as sharing, or circulation. This is theft. It's nothing more. And although I feel that ebooks help you to reach readers all over the world, the loss of revenue due to piracy is not a good thing. And I don't believe that the people who download illegal music or books are ever going to buy further copies even if they love your work when it's being offered for free somewhere.
There is a plus side to the ebook industry though: we've found new writing stars that may never have made it beyond the slush pile. Some might say that was a bad thing - but I see this as a reflection on readers' tastes and choices. Tastes that were not being addressed by the publishers out there for whatever reasons.
The internet is a wonderful tool. We can expand our fan base, tell people about ourselves, but are we proper writers if our words are never printed onto crisp white pages?
The authors of my youth, the books I loved and cherished, will always be immortal. I can pick their words from my shelf. They live with me in my home. If the battery runs out on my kindle then I can't use it. If I have no internet access I can't download anything. But my paperback or hardback doesn't need battery or world wide web in order for me to read it any time I wish.
The signed books that sit on our shelves are cherished, beautiful and precious. They bring back memories of the meetings with authors. The writer's ink splashed for real and uniquely on the first page of your paperback. Now, there are apps we can download that help us obtain digital signatures of those we admire, but how can that compare to the 'real' thing?
This is not a subject that will stop being explored. Or one that we can finally make a decision on. But I know that I will ALWAYS want physical copies of my books out there. And I will ALWAYS want to buy real books to read. Even if I have them on digital devices as well. Because these devices should be used for convenience but not as a way of destroying something beautiful. Without books we would have no history of the world we live in.
So let's keep on publishing and printing real books. Let's share our words in all ways - but never forget the power of the written word in print. We should never give up on creating these beautiful things: they are the evidence of our existence.
January 10, 2013
W is Wolf
The beginning of the new year has brought even more good news and I'm delighted to announce that my short story URBAN WOLF was chosen for a new and exciting anthology.
The Demonologia Biblica, Edited by Dean M Drinkel abd published by Western Legends Press, is an alphabet of chilling stories by some very respected names.
My story is W for Wolf and is a werewolf story with a difference.
The full table of contents can be found HERE
Looking forward to reading the other stories in this collection - but for now would like to wish a hearty congratulations to everyone in there.
This is a great start for 2013.
The Demonologia Biblica, Edited by Dean M Drinkel abd published by Western Legends Press, is an alphabet of chilling stories by some very respected names.
My story is W for Wolf and is a werewolf story with a difference.
The full table of contents can be found HERE
Looking forward to reading the other stories in this collection - but for now would like to wish a hearty congratulations to everyone in there.
This is a great start for 2013.
December 28, 2012
2012 - A Year in Focus
As the New Year dawns on 2013 I would like to focus, as always, on the good things that have happened this year.
2012
kicked off with a bang when David and I were guesting at the SFX
Weekender, which took place in North Wales in February. This was the
first convention I could attend where I could go home every night and
sleep in my own bed! There was a super line-up of other guests. Colin
Baker, Brian Blessed and Eve Myles among them. Robert Rankin hosted the
SFX awards to much cheering and applause as a well-loved and respected
author of Surrealist Fantasy. I might add that I'm a huge fan of his
work too.
There were about six thousand people at the
event over the course of the weekend and we had a great time. Panels
were packed to the doors and great fun. My favourite one being on
Apocalypse writing.
David Wacks, Chase Masterson, Me, David J Howe
After the SFX Weekender David and I headed across the
Atlantic to Colorado Springs with our friend Frazer Hines. We had all
been invited as Guests of Honour to a new convention called GalaxyFest,
run by David and Diann Wacks who also run the Colorado Literacy
Foundation. The event proved to be something of a show-stopper for us
and an amazing start to 2012. We made some wonderful new friends, among
them Kevin J Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Guy Anthony De Marco, Dean
Haglund, Chase Masterson and Denise Crosby. There was a hard-working
team of people helping out at the con and we were made to feel like part
of a new and wonderful family generated by the warmth of
With Kevin J Anderson
David and Diann and their fabulous volunteers and
friends which included the gorgeous Stacey Vowell, David Boop and
Christopher Salas.
During the trip we also got an
opportunity to go Western Riding which I enjoyed very much. And we spent
some time with a lovely lady called Karyn Valentine who kindly showed
us around.
When I returned home it was a massive wrench to leave all of our new friends.
Some
new and unexpected writing success then followed - I was invited to
write and submit a story for Chaosium, by Editors Glynn Owen Barass and
Brian Sammons. The anthology is called ELDRITCH CHROME, and when I
submitted my story both Editors loved it. The story is called Sonar City and
it gave me an opportunity to write out of my comfort zone because I had
to create an new and unfamiliar dystopian world that fit into both
the Cthulhu Mythos and Cyberpunk.
After that Brian and
Glynn asked me to submit to their Cthulhu Steampunk anthology and Brian
also sent me the guidelines for another anthology he was working on
called EDGE OF SUNDOWN, with Editor Kevin Ross. I didn't make the final
line-up for the the Steampunk anthology (congratulations to all of the
writers who did) but my story The Puppet Master was chosen for EDGE OF SUNDOWN, which was a western/horror anthology. I was delighted.
In between times I finished my latest Vampire Gene novel Silent Sand. When
I finally turned this over to my editor Terry Martin at The House of
Murky Depths, the feedback was excellent. They felt this was my best
work to date. Terry Martin also commissioned a fantastic new artist,
Martin Baines, to design the cover for Silent Sand and as you can see it is pretty terrific.
This book is available signed direct from my website with any of the other Vampire Gene Series Books HERE, or in any reputable book stores, direct from Murky Depths, or Amazon.
When I finished Silent Sand
I sent in a pitch to editor Stephen James Walker, at Telos Publishing.
It was four lines, offering to write a novella that would be both
Steampunk and Horror. I expected Steve to come back with a request for a
fuller outline, or more information, instead he replied with 'How soon
can you do this?' and 'I'll send a contract over'. Within 24 hours I had
a contract to write Zombies At Tiffany's and a great advance. Because I was so pleased with the cover for Silent Sand, I
recommended Martin Baines to Telos also. The cover he produced for this
book was even better than I could have imagined. I love real art on my
books.
Zombies At Tiffany's so
far has received the best acclaim in terms of reviews this year. My
favourite being when I was compared to both H G Wells and Alan Moore. I
couldn't have had any greater compliment!
You can
buy it in paperback form only for the time being. An ebook is due for
release in August 2013. Buy signed copies direct from TELOS. Or you can purchase this book on Amazon or in book stores.
Further
success came when I was approached by Peter Mark May from Hersham
Books, he had asked editor Stuart Hughes to put together a PentAnth - a
book that consisted of five stories on the subject of Siblings. For this
I wrote the story Imogen - which was published in September in both paperback and ebook formats.
Buy SIBLINGS for £2.02 on Kindle
Buy SIBLINGS for £4.30 in Paperback
Imogen
was later chosen by Salt Publishing for their Best British Fantasy
Anthology 2013. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased by this and
the subsequent reviews the book has had.
My career took another unusual turn when AudioGo editor, Alexandra Arlango, picked up my collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings and bought the rights to make it an Audio Book.
In
her press release Alex said, "We are very excited to be working with
Sam. She is a fresh and unique voice in horror and her short stories
weave deliciously dark tales involving vampires, werewolves and clowns."
The
collection is unabridged but only contains the short stories (not my
commentaries on them, or the poetry), plus one bonus story, Walking the Dead,
a black comedy that fitted in just right. The audio has also received
some excellent reviews and it was a wonderfully exciting process to
liaise with the editor about how the audio would be done.
You can purchase a download of the collection direct from AudioGo.
Chaosium editors Brian Sammons and Glynn Barass put out an open call for yet another anthology. This one was Atomic Age Cthulhu: Terrifying Tales of the Mythos Menace, and I was once again challenged to produce a story with a difference. This one was set in the 1950s with a Cthulhu twist. Fall Out was chosen for the final table of contents and I was absolutely delighted to be working with these great editors once more.
As
well as writing work, this year has seen David and I being invited to
many events as guests. In April we were guests at the huge event The
Greatest Show in the Galaxy, in Peterborough. Here I made some more new
friends and met some people that I had admired for many years, the
fabulous and totally adorable Christopher Lambert and the very warm
Adrian Paul of Highlander fame among them.
Me with the two Highlanders!
I really took a shine to two other media celebrities
that I had the privilege to spend a little time talking to when we were
all in the green room: Eve Myles and Montserrat Lombard. Both these
lovely ladies were really likable and I hope to see them again at
something else in the future.
The Peterborough event had the biggest media and Author guest list I've ever seen and it was extremely well attended.
Sometime
after this we joined the Victorian Steampunk Society at MCM Expo and
had the most entertaining weekend with Lady Elsie, Major Tinker, Ian
Crichton and the gang. I love these guys so much! MCM Expo was supported
by around 50,000 people. It was full of people cosplaying, and having a
great time. It's the biggest one I've ever been to and it was great
fun.
We
began our book tour of Waterstones in September to promote the new
books and attended Wales Comic Con, which proved to be massively
successful. There I met someone I've admired for a long time: Anthony
Stewart Head of Merlin and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. Tony was
lovely. I also learnt that he had been asked to do the reading for Zombies in New York
by AudioGo but had been too busy because it was such short notice. I
was gutted, but thrilled that he had been asked anyway, and so I gave
Tony a copy of Zombies At Tiffany's and stole a few hugs. And yes, I am blushing in this photo but don't tell anyone!
Another
lovely new friend I met up with was Mark Lester. David and I met Mark
initially at The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and I was really impressed
with how normal and down to earth he was. So it was lovely to see him
again at Wales Comic Con too!
Wales Comic Con had its best turn out yet this year and it was also great to see so many local Steampunks in attendance.
Also
there was our best mate Frazer Hines, Gareth David Lloyd, Spencer
Wilding, Virginia Hey, Chris Barry, Warwick Davis and many more stars
including some of the cast of Game of Thrones.
We returned once more to The Asylum Steampunk
convention in September. And we love this opportunity to get together
with our friends, in splendid Steampunk fashion. We launched Zombies At Tiffany's and Silent Sand and
my two new babies went out into the world in their finery for all to
see for the first time. A convention high-light was the inaugural
Steampunk awards and we cheered with happiness when our friends were
short-listed and the best novel award went to Raven Dane for her super
book Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron. A
read I can fully recommend to anyone looking for a brilliant Victorian
roller-coaster novel with Steampunk, alchemy and a dirigible or two!
Thanks
go, as always to the gorgeous Lady Elsie and the dashing Major Tinker
for putting up with us at Asylum and for all the hard work they and
their crew put in to make the weekend so amazing.
As
well as all of these events we were recently invited to attend the
annual Dimensions Convention in November which was huge fun and allowed
us to catch up with some of our friends in the Whoniverse.
A
highlight of the event was joining our friend Chase Masterson and the
Big finish crew for dinner and getting to chat with the lovely Sylvester
McCoy, who was looking extremely dapper! I'm happy to say we will be
joining Tenth Planet again for several more events next year -
Dimensions and Big Finish Day being two of them. Can't wait to see
everyone again!
Part way through the year I was invited
to open Vampire Sunday by Grimm Up North, which was an excellent day
of back to back Vampire Movies, and I did a reading and a Q and A for
them. This was the first time I had read an extract from Silent Sand.
The event was extremely well attended and the reading well received by a
very appreciative audience. In October we joined Grimm Up North again
for GrimmFest in Manchester, and David and I introduced and hosted one
of the films. This was called Attack of the Werewolves. I can
thoroughly recommend it. It was a Spanish black comedy, with proper
special effects and make-up rather than relying on CGI. The werewolves
reminded me of the Lon Chaney Wolfman (in a good way) but the story was
very modern.
Other noteworthy events - although I am
actually confused now about the dates when they happened! This year has
been a total whirl-wind - I was invited to a reading event by This Is
Horror, which took place in the Electric Theatre in Birmingham. Jasper
Bark hosted the event and the other two guest speakers were David Moody
and John Llewellyn Probert. We took part in a recorded discussion about
the works of Stephen King and then we all did a reading, followed by an
in depth question and answer session. I was incredibly impressed with
how Jasper Bark handled all of that too. He seems to have a remarkable
memory!
Throughout the year David and I have been
building a calender of events because of invites to various conventions
and comic cons for next year. One that has particularly pleased me the
invitation to Sci-Fi Weekender next March because we had such a good
time last year at SFX Weekender. We are also going back to Colorado and
GalaxyFest (YAY!), and I'm delighted to say returning to the wonderful
Gallifrey Convention in Los Angeles to celebrate 50 years of DOCTOR WHO
with all our friends there.
I have also been
commissioned to write another novella, and a novel in six parts that is
going to be serialised. However, because contracts are still being
negotiated at the moment this is all I can tell you for now. But more to
follow on this soon I hope.
So that concludes my 2012 round up. I'm thoroughly looking forward to 2013 even though it promises to be our busiest year yet!
Publications for 2012
Zombies at Tiffany's (Telos Publishing) Aug 2012
Silent Sand (The House of Murky Depths) Sept 2012
Imogen (Hersham Books, Siblings) Sept 2012
Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings (AudioGo Audio book) Oct 2012
Commissions and Publications for 2013
Sonar City (Chaosium Eldritch Chrome) TBA
The Puppet Master (Chaosium, Edge of Sundown) TBA
Fall Out (Chaosium, Atomic Age Cthulhu) TBA
Imogen (Salt Publishing, Best British Fantasy 2013) April 2013
* Novel - TBA
* Novella - TBA
* Screenplay - TBA
*More news on the Novel, Novella, and a screenplay to follow early next year. Plus exciting news on a graphic novel of Zombies at Tiffany's.
Happy New Year everyone.
2012
kicked off with a bang when David and I were guesting at the SFX
Weekender, which took place in North Wales in February. This was the
first convention I could attend where I could go home every night and
sleep in my own bed! There was a super line-up of other guests. Colin
Baker, Brian Blessed and Eve Myles among them. Robert Rankin hosted the
SFX awards to much cheering and applause as a well-loved and respected
author of Surrealist Fantasy. I might add that I'm a huge fan of his
work too.
There were about six thousand people at the
event over the course of the weekend and we had a great time. Panels
were packed to the doors and great fun. My favourite one being on
Apocalypse writing.
David Wacks, Chase Masterson, Me, David J Howe
After the SFX Weekender David and I headed across the
Atlantic to Colorado Springs with our friend Frazer Hines. We had all
been invited as Guests of Honour to a new convention called GalaxyFest,
run by David and Diann Wacks who also run the Colorado Literacy
Foundation. The event proved to be something of a show-stopper for us
and an amazing start to 2012. We made some wonderful new friends, among
them Kevin J Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Guy Anthony De Marco, Dean
Haglund, Chase Masterson and Denise Crosby. There was a hard-working
team of people helping out at the con and we were made to feel like part
of a new and wonderful family generated by the warmth of
With Kevin J Anderson
David and Diann and their fabulous volunteers and
friends which included the gorgeous Stacey Vowell, David Boop and
Christopher Salas.
During the trip we also got an
opportunity to go Western Riding which I enjoyed very much. And we spent
some time with a lovely lady called Karyn Valentine who kindly showed
us around.
When I returned home it was a massive wrench to leave all of our new friends.
Some
new and unexpected writing success then followed - I was invited to
write and submit a story for Chaosium, by Editors Glynn Owen Barass and
Brian Sammons. The anthology is called ELDRITCH CHROME, and when I
submitted my story both Editors loved it. The story is called Sonar City and
it gave me an opportunity to write out of my comfort zone because I had
to create an new and unfamiliar dystopian world that fit into both
the Cthulhu Mythos and Cyberpunk.
After that Brian and
Glynn asked me to submit to their Cthulhu Steampunk anthology and Brian
also sent me the guidelines for another anthology he was working on
called EDGE OF SUNDOWN, with Editor Kevin Ross. I didn't make the final
line-up for the the Steampunk anthology (congratulations to all of the
writers who did) but my story The Puppet Master was chosen for EDGE OF SUNDOWN, which was a western/horror anthology. I was delighted.
In between times I finished my latest Vampire Gene novel Silent Sand. WhenI finally turned this over to my editor Terry Martin at The House of
Murky Depths, the feedback was excellent. They felt this was my best
work to date. Terry Martin also commissioned a fantastic new artist,
Martin Baines, to design the cover for Silent Sand and as you can see it is pretty terrific.
This book is available signed direct from my website with any of the other Vampire Gene Series Books HERE, or in any reputable book stores, direct from Murky Depths, or Amazon.
When I finished Silent Sand
I sent in a pitch to editor Stephen James Walker, at Telos Publishing.
It was four lines, offering to write a novella that would be both
Steampunk and Horror. I expected Steve to come back with a request for a
fuller outline, or more information, instead he replied with 'How soon
can you do this?' and 'I'll send a contract over'. Within 24 hours I had
a contract to write Zombies At Tiffany's and a great advance. Because I was so pleased with the cover for Silent Sand, I
recommended Martin Baines to Telos also. The cover he produced for this
book was even better than I could have imagined. I love real art on my
books.
Zombies At Tiffany's sofar has received the best acclaim in terms of reviews this year. My
favourite being when I was compared to both H G Wells and Alan Moore. I
couldn't have had any greater compliment!
You can
buy it in paperback form only for the time being. An ebook is due for
release in August 2013. Buy signed copies direct from TELOS. Or you can purchase this book on Amazon or in book stores.
Further
success came when I was approached by Peter Mark May from Hersham
Books, he had asked editor Stuart Hughes to put together a PentAnth - a
book that consisted of five stories on the subject of Siblings. For this
I wrote the story Imogen - which was published in September in both paperback and ebook formats.
Buy SIBLINGS for £2.02 on Kindle
Buy SIBLINGS for £4.30 in Paperback
Imogen
was later chosen by Salt Publishing for their Best British Fantasy
Anthology 2013. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased by this and
the subsequent reviews the book has had.
My career took another unusual turn when AudioGo editor, Alexandra Arlango, picked up my collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings and bought the rights to make it an Audio Book.
In
her press release Alex said, "We are very excited to be working with
Sam. She is a fresh and unique voice in horror and her short stories
weave deliciously dark tales involving vampires, werewolves and clowns."
The
collection is unabridged but only contains the short stories (not my
commentaries on them, or the poetry), plus one bonus story, Walking the Dead,
a black comedy that fitted in just right. The audio has also received
some excellent reviews and it was a wonderfully exciting process to
liaise with the editor about how the audio would be done.
You can purchase a download of the collection direct from AudioGo.
Chaosium editors Brian Sammons and Glynn Barass put out an open call for yet another anthology. This one was Atomic Age Cthulhu: Terrifying Tales of the Mythos Menace, and I was once again challenged to produce a story with a difference. This one was set in the 1950s with a Cthulhu twist. Fall Out was chosen for the final table of contents and I was absolutely delighted to be working with these great editors once more.
As
well as writing work, this year has seen David and I being invited to
many events as guests. In April we were guests at the huge event The
Greatest Show in the Galaxy, in Peterborough. Here I made some more new
friends and met some people that I had admired for many years, the
fabulous and totally adorable Christopher Lambert and the very warm
Adrian Paul of Highlander fame among them.
Me with the two Highlanders!
I really took a shine to two other media celebrities
that I had the privilege to spend a little time talking to when we were
all in the green room: Eve Myles and Montserrat Lombard. Both these
lovely ladies were really likable and I hope to see them again at
something else in the future.
The Peterborough event had the biggest media and Author guest list I've ever seen and it was extremely well attended.
Sometime
after this we joined the Victorian Steampunk Society at MCM Expo and
had the most entertaining weekend with Lady Elsie, Major Tinker, Ian
Crichton and the gang. I love these guys so much! MCM Expo was supported
by around 50,000 people. It was full of people cosplaying, and having a
great time. It's the biggest one I've ever been to and it was great
fun.
We
began our book tour of Waterstones in September to promote the new
books and attended Wales Comic Con, which proved to be massively
successful. There I met someone I've admired for a long time: Anthony
Stewart Head of Merlin and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. Tony was
lovely. I also learnt that he had been asked to do the reading for Zombies in New York
by AudioGo but had been too busy because it was such short notice. I
was gutted, but thrilled that he had been asked anyway, and so I gave
Tony a copy of Zombies At Tiffany's and stole a few hugs. And yes, I am blushing in this photo but don't tell anyone!
Another
lovely new friend I met up with was Mark Lester. David and I met Mark
initially at The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and I was really impressed
with how normal and down to earth he was. So it was lovely to see him
again at Wales Comic Con too!
Wales Comic Con had its best turn out yet this year and it was also great to see so many local Steampunks in attendance.
Also
there was our best mate Frazer Hines, Gareth David Lloyd, Spencer
Wilding, Virginia Hey, Chris Barry, Warwick Davis and many more stars
including some of the cast of Game of Thrones.
We returned once more to The Asylum Steampunk
convention in September. And we love this opportunity to get together
with our friends, in splendid Steampunk fashion. We launched Zombies At Tiffany's and Silent Sand and
my two new babies went out into the world in their finery for all to
see for the first time. A convention high-light was the inaugural
Steampunk awards and we cheered with happiness when our friends were
short-listed and the best novel award went to Raven Dane for her super
book Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron. A
read I can fully recommend to anyone looking for a brilliant Victorian
roller-coaster novel with Steampunk, alchemy and a dirigible or two!
Thanks
go, as always to the gorgeous Lady Elsie and the dashing Major Tinker
for putting up with us at Asylum and for all the hard work they and
their crew put in to make the weekend so amazing.
As
well as all of these events we were recently invited to attend the
annual Dimensions Convention in November which was huge fun and allowed
us to catch up with some of our friends in the Whoniverse.
A
highlight of the event was joining our friend Chase Masterson and the
Big finish crew for dinner and getting to chat with the lovely Sylvester
McCoy, who was looking extremely dapper! I'm happy to say we will be
joining Tenth Planet again for several more events next year -
Dimensions and Big Finish Day being two of them. Can't wait to see
everyone again!
Part way through the year I was invited
to open Vampire Sunday by Grimm Up North, which was an excellent day
of back to back Vampire Movies, and I did a reading and a Q and A for
them. This was the first time I had read an extract from Silent Sand.
The event was extremely well attended and the reading well received by a
very appreciative audience. In October we joined Grimm Up North again
for GrimmFest in Manchester, and David and I introduced and hosted one
of the films. This was called Attack of the Werewolves. I can
thoroughly recommend it. It was a Spanish black comedy, with proper
special effects and make-up rather than relying on CGI. The werewolves
reminded me of the Lon Chaney Wolfman (in a good way) but the story was
very modern.
Other noteworthy events - although I am
actually confused now about the dates when they happened! This year has
been a total whirl-wind - I was invited to a reading event by This Is
Horror, which took place in the Electric Theatre in Birmingham. Jasper
Bark hosted the event and the other two guest speakers were David Moody
and John Llewellyn Probert. We took part in a recorded discussion about
the works of Stephen King and then we all did a reading, followed by an
in depth question and answer session. I was incredibly impressed with
how Jasper Bark handled all of that too. He seems to have a remarkable
memory!
Throughout the year David and I have been
building a calender of events because of invites to various conventions
and comic cons for next year. One that has particularly pleased me the
invitation to Sci-Fi Weekender next March because we had such a good
time last year at SFX Weekender. We are also going back to Colorado and
GalaxyFest (YAY!), and I'm delighted to say returning to the wonderful
Gallifrey Convention in Los Angeles to celebrate 50 years of DOCTOR WHO
with all our friends there.
I have also been
commissioned to write another novella, and a novel in six parts that is
going to be serialised. However, because contracts are still being
negotiated at the moment this is all I can tell you for now. But more to
follow on this soon I hope.
So that concludes my 2012 round up. I'm thoroughly looking forward to 2013 even though it promises to be our busiest year yet!
Publications for 2012
Zombies at Tiffany's (Telos Publishing) Aug 2012
Silent Sand (The House of Murky Depths) Sept 2012
Imogen (Hersham Books, Siblings) Sept 2012
Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings (AudioGo Audio book) Oct 2012
Commissions and Publications for 2013
Sonar City (Chaosium Eldritch Chrome) TBA
The Puppet Master (Chaosium, Edge of Sundown) TBA
Fall Out (Chaosium, Atomic Age Cthulhu) TBA
Imogen (Salt Publishing, Best British Fantasy 2013) April 2013
* Novel - TBA
* Novella - TBA
* Screenplay - TBA
*More news on the Novel, Novella, and a screenplay to follow early next year. Plus exciting news on a graphic novel of Zombies at Tiffany's.
Happy New Year everyone.
December 13, 2012
Waterstones Event Cancelled
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our controlled, we have had to postpone my Waterstone's Arndale Centre, Manchester, signing.
I will be returning to the store in the new year and will post details when the date is set.
Sorry if this disappoints or inconveniences anyone at this time. The store does have stock of all of my books, so if you need anything you can still go in and buy it before Christmas.
If you wish to have signed copies then you can order these directly from HERE. (But please do this by Monday 17th December at the latest as this is the last day I can process the orders.)
Wishing you all a Happy holidays and see you in the New Year.
Sam x
I will be returning to the store in the new year and will post details when the date is set.
Sorry if this disappoints or inconveniences anyone at this time. The store does have stock of all of my books, so if you need anything you can still go in and buy it before Christmas.
If you wish to have signed copies then you can order these directly from HERE. (But please do this by Monday 17th December at the latest as this is the last day I can process the orders.)
Wishing you all a Happy holidays and see you in the New Year.
Sam x
