Sam Stone's Blog, page 6

This Week I'll Be At ...

LINDUM BOOKS, Lincoln, 7th March 2015
Join Sam launches for JINX TOWN in this very lovely Independent bookshop in the heart of Lincoln town centre.

Time: 1-2pm
Address: 4 Bailgate, Lincoln, LN1 3AE
Date: Saturday 7th March 2015

JINX TOWN ARRIVES AT TELOS TOWERS

After the very successful launch of JINX TOWN at the Gallifrey One Convention in Los Angeles last weekend (13-15 Feb 2015) the book is now available in the UK. And I will be doing my first official signing in Peterborough this coming Saturday, 28th February at Waterstones. 

All pre-orders have been signed and dispatched, and the first reviews are coming through, which I'm very pleased to say are extremely good. (Check out this one from Starburst Magazine - JINX TOWN REVIEW - to see what reviewer Robin Pierce thinks of the first book in my Jinx Chronicles.)

JINX TOWN has something of a history behind it. I wrote this novel in 2011 when literary agent Dot Lumley first took me on. Under her guidance, I devised the Jinx Chronicles, a three part epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy that contains some gruelling horror, and some strong sexual scenes. Sadly Dot died a while ago after a brave fight with cancer, and I have dedicated the first book to her. She was a lovely lady and I felt she really believed in me and the trilogy.

JINX TOWN is also the first full novel I've had in print since 2012 so it feels like something of a landmark! This is partly due to the length of time it sometimes takes to sell and have published a new book, but also because I have been busy working on many other things since completing it. 

My influences for the novel are many. Over the years I've read a lot of science fiction, fantasy and dystopian novels. John Wyndham's THE CHRYSALIDS; the works of Julian May, for example THE SAGA OF THE EXILES; Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES;  DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K Dick and various works by Isaac Asimov.

I have described this book many times as WAR OF THE WORLDS meets LORD OF THE RINGS via MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS. The reason for this is that I present an alien attack that decimates the planet leaving the survivors to struggle for what little existence they can. It is a 'Portal Fantasy' where science and magic are juxtaposed in an exploration of humanity, and a commentary on the male/female struggles which become pronounced. It examines relationships between humans and the aliens as well as men and women and the shift in balance that the 'near-end' brings. After all we may become the most miserable of wretches, but if we still retain our humanity, and care for others, then perhaps all is not lost.

If that interests you then you then you can order the book online, in bookstores, or direct from TELOS PUBLISHING.

It is also available on  Kindle, Nook and Kobo at the links below:

KOBO

KINDLE USA 

KINDLE UK

NOOK

And if you need more convincing - here is the blurb.

A thrilling science fiction/horror novel from award-winning author Sam Stone. The first in The Jinx Chronicles.
Think War of the Worlds meets Lord of the Rings via Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.
Teacher Jasmine Regis’ world is turned upside down when an alien race attacks and devastates the Earth. The Jinx  – named by soldiers who find that Human technology fails during attacks – are a race of savage warriors from elsewhere. They have one agenda: take the women and kill any male who stands in their way.
After saving Andrew, one of the children in her care, Jas has to find refuge in the remnants of the world she once knew. Humanity has almost been wiped out, and those who remain cannot always be trusted: some are feral, displaying savage and monstrous qualities, while others harbour brutal obsessions.
As the world changes around her, Jas soon learns she must disguise who and what she is in order to remain safe. But how can she so effectively turn from male to female? And what dark secret is being kept by the remaining military hiding in their underground base?
Jinx Town is Book 1 of The Jinx Chronicles. It is an epic science fiction portal fantasy with dark horror.

NEW LINZI GOLD DEMO

New LINZI GOLD demo is no up on YouTube. This song is called TILNEY and is inspired by the Jane Austen novel NORTHANGER ABBEY.

Listen in here TILNEY.

THIS WEEKEND I/LL BE AT ....

GALLIFREY ONE, Los Angeles, 13th-15th February 2015
Sam Stone, DavidJ Howe and Frazer Hines return to this fantastic Doctor Who Convention in Los Angeles to join the amazing line-up of guests.

For further information go to Gallifrey One

Time: All Weekend
Address: Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles.
Date: 13th-14th February 2015


JINX TOWN book launch in LA on Saturday 14th February at 6pm.

THIS WEEK I'LL BE ON SIREN FM

This Wednesday (4th Feb 2015) I will be live with Alex Lewczuk and the team at Siren FM Mid-Week Drive talking about my new novel JINX TOWN and my schedule of signings for this year.

Linzi Gold will be on the show talking about her new track TILNEY and the indiegogo campaign we are currently running to raise money to help her make her EP. This will be a debut for the new song, and you may also get to hear the finally mastered S.I.L.V.E.R!

So tune in to the show! SIREN FM LIVE.

TIME: 5-7PM
DATE: WEDNESDAY 4TH FEB 2015

Listen to Linzi Gold's DEMO track S.I.L.V.E.R.
 
More on JINX TOWN :

A thrilling science fiction/horror novel from award-winning author Sam Stone. The first in The Jinx Chronicles.

Think War of the Worlds meets Lord of the Rings via Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

Teacher Jasmine Regis’ world is turned upside down when an alien race attacks and devastates the Earth. The Jinx  – named by soldiers who find that Human technology fails during attacks – are a race of savage warriors from elsewhere. They have one agenda: take the women and kill any male who stands in their way.

After saving Andrew, one of the children in her care, Jas has to find refuge in the remnants of the world she once knew. Humanity has almost been wiped out, and those who remain cannot always be trusted: some are feral, displaying savage and monstrous qualities, while others harbour brutal obsessions.

As the world changes around her, Jas soon learns she must disguise who and what she is in order to remain safe. But how can she so effectively turn from male to female? And what dark secret is being kept by the remaining military hiding in their underground base?

Jinx Town is Book 1 of The Jinx Chronicles. It is an epic science fiction portal fantasy with dark horror.
SUPPORT LINZI GOLD CAMPAIGN HERE

Listen to the DEMO of S.I.L.V.E.R. 

COVER REVEAL - JINX TOWN

The artwork for JINX TOWN is finally here! The cover art is by the fabulous Jim Burns.

The Official LaunchTime: 6pm/ Telos PanelAddress: Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles.Date: 14th February 2015
Pre-order here: JINX TOWN 310 PAGE, 6 X9 PAPERBACK.


BLURB
A thrilling science fiction/horror novel from award-winning author Sam Stone. The first in the Chronicles of the Jinx.

Think War of the Worlds meets Lord of the Rings via Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

Teacher Jasmine Regis’ world is turned upside down when an alien race attacks and devastates the Earth. The Jinx  – named by soldiers who find that Human technology fails during attacks – are a race of savage warriors from elsewhere. They have one agenda: take the women and kill any male who stands in their way.

After saving Andrew, one of the children in her care, Jas has to find refuge in the remnants of the world she once knew. Humanity has almost been wiped out, and those who remain cannot always be trusted: some are feral, displaying savage and monstrous qualities, while others harbour brutal obsessions.

As the world changes around her, Jas soon learns she must disguise who and what she is in order to remain safe. But how can she so effectively turn from male to female? And what dark secret is being kept by the remaining military hiding in their underground base?

Jinx Town is Book 1 of The Chronicles of the Jinx. It is an epic science fiction portal fantasy with dark horror.

MY GIRL LINZI GOLD

Today I have something really important to blog about and this is my daughter Linzi.

The day Linzi was born was the most amazing day for me. After hours of pain and a fairly long labour, there was this little tiny creature. 7lb 1oz. The tiniest hands and feet I'd ever seen. She was utterly beautiful in all the ways that mothers feel about their child. I looked at her and thought. Wow, she's so special and she's mine. I made her. I was responsible for her. The enormity of that realisation is still with me.


Linzi grew to be a sweet and charming little girl. She had something. People were always saying it. It was a charisma she was born with and she charmed everyone. As she grew she did a little modelling, some acting - appeared for three months or so on Coronation Street, and because she was a bit of a chatterbox and a character, she also appeared on Kids Say the Funniest Things. After a time though, she wasn't that interested in doing the acting and modelling so we never pursued it.

Then, one day, I heard Phantom of the Opera being played in the house. To be honest this wasn't much of a surprise because I was always playing it myself. And Linzi liked musicals as well, it was something I shared with her. But this music was different, it was coming from upstairs. And I called up to her and said, 'Are you playing the CD up there?' The music stopped and she said, 'No Mummy, I'm singing.'

I called her downstairs and said. 'Do it again.' And she did. She perfectly sang all of Sarah Brightman's lyrics in The Phantom of the Opera - without any music at all. And her voice was music. I'd never heard a child sing like that before. At the time I was running my own drama school with friends, singer songwriter Risa Hall and Actress Joanne Venet. We were gearing up to doing our first show with our students, and I got Linzi to show them what she could do.

I think she was 6 or 7 years old when she performed in front of a few hundred people for the first time. After that followed many shows, many recitals, and much training and hard work as Linzi worked on playing the piano and developing her voice.

Also at the same time she started to display a marvellous talent for art. And so she had two passions, she was either singing or drawing. As the years went by and our circumstances changed, the singing fell a little by the wayside and both of us stopped doing shows. Linzi however didn't stop singing. She was always singing. You could hear opera every time she went into the shower. But her art took over and she went to university to do an Animation and Illustration degree which she has almost completed.

On Boxing Day she came to a party with my fiance, David, and I. I found myself sitting next to Alan Whitehead, former drummer of The Marmalade and during a casual conversation I asked Alan what he was up to these days. He told me that he managed bands. 'Really?' I said and being a very proud mum, I asked him if he would listen to my daughter singing.

Linzi was in another room while this was going on and I called her in, asked her to sing, and because she's actually quite used to me doing this, (I know - I'm an embarrassing mother!) she obliged. Within minutes other people were coming into the room and requesting that she sing this song, or that song. Because she knows a lot of songs and has a very eclectic interest in music she was able to sing a range of classical to pop music. By the end of what turned out to be a 30 minute recital, Alan said that he needed to talk to me.

The truth is I love her voice and think she's wonderful - and ever since that day when she first sang Phantom I knew she was gifted - but I'm her mother and I would think that. I expected Alan to say, yes she's talented and leave it at that. But - he said instead that she was exceptional, unique, and rare - that she was in fact not just talented, but mindblowingly so.

Then he offered to manage her. Since then we have been on a roller coaster ride - and it's not even quite a month since Boxing Day and so much has happened.

Alan put Linzi with an award winning producer by the name of Alan Glass and she has already written a song with Alan, and has 7 more in the pipeline. Her EP of 4 songs is ready to be recorded but we could only manage to pay for the first one at this time.

You see, the music industry is very unlike the publishing industry that I am used to.

The way things are, musicians and artists have to pay for their own recording sessions, tours, all expenses, in fact, come out of their residuals. And, in order to be presented to the labels Linzi needs this EP, a music video, a set of professional photographs and image styling that will show the potential of what she is, and what she and can become.

We have therefore resorted to doing an Indiegogo project to help get these first things in place.

I'm asking everyone that knows me to help support my girl, Linzi Gold, by donating anything they can to the campaign, and if they can't afford to give at this time, then to share the campaign and her YouTube demo. Listen to it and see for yourself. If you like it. Then help in anyway you can.

Even positive comments on the YouTube channel can help her cause with a record label. Hits = success in this business. If she goes viral then she's on her way. Listen here:  LINZI GOLD - S.I.L.V.E.R

And if you can donate - or share - then here is the campaign link. LINZI GOLD - EP

Thank you for taking the trouble to read this blog, and for any help you can give. I wouldn't be doing all this if I didn't believe, 100%, that she really does have a chance out there and deserves to be given it.

A Tale of the Past

At some time during the late 70s/early 80s my mother came home with a set of books that she purchased on a second hand book stall in Bury market. These books were historical romances and there were six of them in total.

My mother read all the time. She constantly borrowed titles from the library and combed bookshops and stands looking for material to read and by default I often found myself picking up those books too. Because of this throughout my teen years I digested many Historical Romances and - I admit - I really liked them. I read the Angelique series first I think. And because the Catherine titles were said to be similar, I guess this is what attracted my mother to them.

The books were called the Catherine Series and were an action-packed adventure that was full of interesting historical detail as well as the backdrop for a romantic story. Don't get me wrong these books were not Mills and Boon by any means. They were intelligent, sophisticated and to be honest very, very sexy. What teenager wouldn't like them?

As I grew up I read many historical titles but the Catherine stories always stayed with me. I guess I learnt a lot about life and relationships from them and they also gave me the love I have for writing historical fiction myself - even though mine always have a heavy dose of horror as well!

So, why am I sharing this story with you?

When I was looking around for material for Moonrise the Catherine books came back into my mind. I searched them out, discovering that these wonderful books were no longer in print, though old, battered copies could be found. The books had never been put into a digital format either and I wondered if the rights were available. I mentioned them to Telos Director Stephen Walker, explaining how popular the books had been, and after a little research Steve came back to me to say that not only were the books available. What he also discovered was that there was a 7th book in the series that had never been translated into the English language. He then told me that Telos was going to buy the rights and do new editions/translations of them. Hence Telos Moonrise: Romantic Encounters was born.

New Cover: Artist Martin BainesIt was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me and I was really thrilled. A burst of memories from my somewhat unhappy teens came back, reminding me again how literature had been an amazing part of making my life so much better in those days. And that my love of it came from my mother.

So now, after much work, the first book in the series Catherine: One Love is Enough is almost ready for publication and we expect this to be made available on 31st March 2015 in both paperback and in digital for the first time.

This seems like an important reprint to me. Perhaps because of the childhood connection and also that I feel some really great literature will be made available to a new audience.


PRE-ORDER BOOK 1 HERE



The new translation titles are as follows:

1. Catherine: One Love is Enough
2. Catherine
3. Belle Catherine
4. Catherine: Her Great Journey
5. Catherine: A Time for Love
6. A Trap for Catherine

And for the very first time in English
7. Catherine: The Lady of Montsalvy

So if you do like a little bit of romance, with great adventure stories and some really interesting history thrown in, then maybe give this a try!

2014 - A Year in Review

On January the first this year I woke up with a strong sense of excitement that 2014 was going to be my year. This feeling didn't dispell all through January - in fact it only got stronger.

In January we took a trip with Frazer to Sedgefield Racecourse, where Frazer and his friend, John O'Loan, sponsor a handicap race. Here we met Emily Maguire for the first time, never knowing that she was soon to become Frazer's partner in business and love, and we all had a tremendous day out.

On that same weekend we also found our dream home and began the process of buying.

In February our events kicked off again with the fabulous Gallifrey One in Los Angeles. This is the biggest Doctor Who event I know and it is also a brilliant time for us because we get to see friends old and new. This year, I can honestly say, was the best one so far. The event pulled in a whopping 3500 people - but is always capped because the organisers don't want it to grow beyond a stage that makes the event less fun than the intimate reunion that it has always been. So - we will never see more than this many people fortunately - and for this reason Gallifrey retains this amazing warm feeling of being part of a huge family that stretches out across the pond and involves people from the Europe, USA, Australia and Canada. It is also a brilliant place to meet people. We also launched my short novel The Darkness Within: Final Cut in LA.

Dave ProwseIn March we were at the first ever Em-Con event in Nottingham, which proved to be a really good one for us. I was amazed by the many new faces that came specifically to our table because they had read my books and wanted my new titles. This was a one day event and we sold out. And the reason I was so surprised by this was because I had never been to Nottingham for an event of this sort before. It surprised me that there were so many readers in the area that loved the genre. Also got to hang out with Dave Prowse - who is a total sweetie, the Red Dwarf guys: Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules (who we see regularly at events), our bestie Frazer Hines, the gorgeous Eve Myles, and briefly met Kai Owen.

Caroline Munro, Martine Bestwick
After Em-Con I was a media guest at the fabulous Memorabilia in Birmingham. An event that is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine. It was a really fun day and I got to see some people that are becoming regular friends at these events, like Caroline Munro and Martine Bestwick.

Sci-Fi Weekender in Pwllheli - I helped to organise the author track for the second year running and managed quite a few of the on stage interviews which was great fun as always. Great to see loads of regulars returning to see us and as always we had a tremendous time with all the Telos authors that attended.


With Jonathan Ross

In April it was Wales Comic Con,  another favourite event for us. Terrifically organised and always with great guests. This time I got to meet Jonathan Ross, and catch up with the darling that is Eve Myles, and also got a great hug from Gareth David Lloyd - the Torchwood crowd are so awesome!

In between times the purchase of our new house suffered delays - but we struggled through them and I was commisioned to write a variety of short stories, as well as working on my novel Jinx Town, which is the first part of a sci-fi/fantasy trilogy. The trilogy was purchased by Telos Publishing in March and the release of Jinx Town should be early next year due to delays on cover art. I also sold two Cthulhu stories - the first was called The Vessel and this was published by April Moon in April in their anthology The Dark Rites of Cthulhu, while the second was Keeping the Faith which was sold to Chaosium for their anthology The Summer of Lovecraft. I was also asked to write my first piece of non-fiction for SFX Magazine - and I penned a piece about the Julian May novel The Many Coloured Land for their book club section.

With Gareth David Lloyd at
Wales Comic ConWe had a little time off as the purchase of our new house approached and the organisation of moving our home and David's business and Doctor Who collection - all of which could have been a logistical nightmare but for the super movers we used. Who helped pack, move and relocate us brilliantly.

Tony HeadWe attended Geeks Unleashed as guests on 11 May. And a couple of weeks later we exchanged on our new house. That's when the nightmares really began. I don't want to go into that too much, except to say that although the survey came back fine, we ended up needing a new flat roof, a repair to a gully roof, a new conservatory roof, various windows replacing, a new boiler, new shower, and no end of decorating nightmares when wallpaper was removed and plaster fell off walls. Anyway we finally moved in a month later and the work continued a bit around us, but we've slowly tamed the beast and are now delighted with our new home.

In the middle of moving I received an email from Simon Clark, who I knew as an author of many amazing horror novels. Simon asked me to pitch a story to him for an official Sherlock Holmes anthology which would be published by Constable and Robinson in 2015. I was up to my eyes in decorators and we were commuting back and forth to the new house every day, but I told the decorator I wouldn't be in and I sat and wrote out the pitch. This was accepted and Simon then asked me to write the story. I had an early September deadline. Once we were in the new house I set to work on it and The Curse of Guangxu came to life and was finally accepted for the anthology in September. I was delighted! I had never written in any universe but my own before and writing an authentic story for The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad was definitely an exciting, and enjoyable, challenge.This book is due for release in April 2015 and I can't wait to see it!

We planned to take off a couple of months from events while we organised ourselves (best laid plans
Peter Davison
...) and one of the things we had to do was ensure that Telos Publishing, was back up and running as soon as possible. We managed to do this, within the first couple of weeks and have been working full steam ever since. A week after our move we attended a Steampunk event called Doncaster Steampunk on the Saturday - which was fun and helped to take our mind off some of the stress we'd been under. On the Sunday we went to Nottingham Book Festival.

June and we were invited to SFX Magazine's 250th publication celebration in London. It was amazing night and we caught up with some friends we hadn't seen for ages there.

David J Howe with Katy ManningIn July David and I drove to Birmingham to give a talk to the Birmingham Science Fiction Group. It was a really fun evening and we were treated very well. There was also really good attendence at the event.

We had a couple of months rest for events and then got ourselves back into proper work mode, and started to live and work properly in the new house. In between times I wrote a new short novel in my Kat Lightfoot Series.

This was What's Dead PussyKat and it was published just in time for the Asylum weekend.
 
Our calendar for Autumn began with KnightCon in Doncaster at the beginning of September and was then followed by the Asylum Steampunk Weekend in Lincoln - which was superb as always. Here we hosted the official launch of the new book and I also ran a writing workshop at the event, ending with a writing competition for those who had participated. There is some really great writing talent amongst the Steampunks and I hope to see some of their great ideas in print one day.

We hosted a book launch for What's Dead PussyKat and for one of the Telos Moonrise novels, Captains Stupendous by Rhys Hughes. A superb read - it was great to work with Rhys on the book and to meet him in person the first time at a signing event at Forbidden Planet in London.


In September I received an exciting email and phone call and was invited to Pinewood Studios for a meeting. Things are still up in the air as a result of that meeting but am hopeful that something will develop from it.

Also in September we took in a beautiful little cat called Jinx who we found at Sleaford Cat Rescue. She's now become a very big part of our life.

Welsh Celebrity Ghost Stories was published by Bradwell Books in September. This contained a non-fiction memory piece about a real-life ghostly experience I had as a child. It was a charity anthology for Cystic Fibrosis.

I received another exciting email asking me to pitch for an audio. I did pitch and my idea was accepted. We are currently in the drafting stages of this audio, but as this hasn't been announced yet I can't say more.

Other stories sold in this time period was my Cthulhu tale The Book of the Gods to Fox Spirit for the anthology Wicked Women and my phobia story Achluaphobia: The Promise, with Western Legends and the anthology Phobophobias both of which are now available in print and ebook formats.

On October 15th - my birthday - David proposed to me. And I said yes. We are now very, very happily planning our wedding for next year. It was a massive surprise, totally unexpected, and I couldn't be happier with the lovely ring he bought me as well.

David and I also collaborated on a story called Survival of the Fittest which has been chosen by Brian Sammons for the April Moon anthology Flesh Like Smoke. 

A flurry of Doctor Who events happened in October and November, starting with Dimensions in Newcastle. This was a really fun and full on weekend. We were placed next to Michael Troughton and his lovely lady Roxy, and the four of us hit it off which really made the weekend even better. We also met up with Frazer Hines and made friends with Kai Owen. Much laughter ensued as Kai has a brilliant sense of humour and really cracks us up!


One day after Dimensions we flew into Orlando for the fabulous Hurricane Who event. This is a
With Paul McGannsmall, intimate gathering, and we always go a little earlier so that we can spend time with Jennifer and Ed Comstock who are really good friends in Florida. We got to hang out with them for a couple of days, joined by Steven Sigal, and then went onto the hotel on Thursday to begin our work for the convention. This was super fun, joined by Kai Owen, Terry Molloy and Peter Davison, we all went out to Joe's Crabshack on the second night at the hotel. Great food and much laughter. David did all of Peter's interviews and I did a reading from my new book as well as judging the masquerade on Saturday night. At the end of the weekend we felt like we'd made some more friends.

Julie Holmes, Emma Campbell-Jones,
Daphne Ashbrook On the Monday we flew on to New York and headed for the hotel for Long Island Who - wow!

Here we met up early with our friends Frazer Hines, Daphne Ashbrook, Joshua Lou Friedman, Julie Holmes, Amy Windham and Colin Spaull. There was a massive guest list at Long Island and by Wednesday we had also been joined by Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Wendy Padbury, Debbie Watling, Nev Fountain, Jason Haigh-Ellery, Nicola Bryant, Emma Campbell-Jones, Terrance Dicks and many more ... Because we had started the week there early a few of us went on the train into Manhattan on one day. This was a bit of an experience - and we had a walking tour, taking in the sights, and even saw the 9/11 memorial which was heartbreaking and beautifully thought out.

Terry Molloy, Howard Hayes,
David and Josh Lou FriedmanWe went on the Staten Island Ferry and got some great shots of Liberty Island. After that the week was one of socialising. A trip to a winery and the Brewster house was arranged for the guests - a fantastic day! And a super evening meal was also arranged as a treat for us all by Howard Hayes and the convention. We were spoiled rotten before the event even started!!

As per last year L.I. WHO was a massive success. We took part in the guest dinner, panels, the hilarious Saturday night Match Game, did readings, met and chatted to loads of wonderful people that we hadn't seen for a year. Then, after many Long Island Iced Teas, and late night parties, sadly, it ended.

On Sunday night the organisers had arranged for us to have a Thanksgiving Dinner. It was wonderful. But they had also sorted out one more surprise. They put out champagne, and then produced an engagement cake and specially signed card for David and I. I cried my eyes out. What lovely, amazing, wonderful, caring and thoughtful people!

Next year L.I. Who - already a tremendous success in just its second year - will most definitely be bigger and better and we can't wait to be there again at a new hotel - a Hilton no less!

We came home feeling such a massive high. I'm still not over it yet!

Linzi, Cary Elwes and MeA few weeks later and we drove to Birmingham and another Memorabilia event, where we were joined by my
lovely helper Hazel Prosser who had organised everything beautifully for us. My daughter Linzi also came and it was a terrific event for her because she got to meet one of her favourite movie stars in the green room - Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Lady Jane, Bram Stoker's Dracula). We also caught up with Ayshea Brough, Martine Beswick, Caroline Munro, the guys from 'Allo 'Allo and Mark Lester (Oliver) as well as many more! This was also David's first Memorabilia and he had lots of people come to see him to sign their books. A very successful event!


Tim DryIt was also brilliant to meet Tim Dry who is a well known actor (The Return of the Jedi) and a writer - we've shared cover space in a couple of anthologies. The most recent being Phobophobias. He is a truly lovely man and I'm looking forward to reading his story.

The last event for the year went with a terrific bang as we joined the line-up for Wales Comic Con's second show this year. This was fab. Terrific guests again, including Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd - both of whom I've already said I love! There was also Shane Ritchie (who seemed really nice) and one of my favourite people, Tony Head. It was brilliant to see Ian McNeice, Simon Fisher-Becker and some of the stars from Atlantis - including Mark Addy - who is such a nice chap. And also Mark Sheppard, who we last saw at Gallifrey in February. Chris Barrie and Danny John-Jules where there representing Red Dwarf - and I really do like these guys so much that it was lovely to briefly catch up with them.

But the year didn't end there and just this week I've had a flurry of work offers - some of which I'll be very excited to tell you about in the new year but can't say more at this point. I can tell you this though, the next Kat Lightfoot Mysteries Kat of Green Tentacles has now been commissioned by Stephen James Walker at Telos Publishing and so Kat's adventures will continue hopefully next August!

Writing successes in summary:

The Darkness Within: Final Cut (Telos Publishing)
Jinx Town: Part One The Jinx Chronicles (Telos Publishing)
What's Dead PussyKat: Kat Lightfoot Mysteries #3 (Telos Publishing)
Audio - to be announced in 2015!
The Curse of Guangxu, (Constable and Robinson) The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad
The Vessel (April Moon) The Dark Rites of Cthulhu
Keeping the Faith (Chaosium) The Summer of Lovecraft
The Promise: Acluaphobia (Western Legends) Phobophobias
The Book of the Gods (Fox Spirit) Wicked Women
Survival of the Fittest With David J Howe (April Moon) Flesh Like Smoke
Kat of Green Tentacles: Kat Lightfoot Mysteries #4 (Telos Publishing)  
Book Club The Many Colored Land, (SFX Magazine, Issue No 253) Autumn 2014The Boxes, (Childhood Memory Piece) Welsh Celebrity Ghost Stories (Bradwell Books, Sep 2014)

And I also received an 'Honorable Mention' in Ellen Datlow's Best of 2014 list for my short story The Jealous Sea which was published last year by Grey Friar Press in Terror Tales of The Seaside. I'm obviously very thrilled about this as I highly respect Ellen and believe her to be one of the most decerning editors in the business.

For life, work and definitely love, this year hasn't disappointed at all.

Happy New Year all - I'm hoping that 2015 will be even better - but it will be hard to top this one for me.

CHRISTMAS DEAL ON KAT LIGHTFOOT MYSTERIES

Hi All,

It's that time of year and if you are thinking of getting your loved one something different then why not consider buying books?

The following titles from Telos Publishing - when purchased direct from their website - ALL COME SIGNED.

First off - A DEAL FOR CHRISTMAS

BUY ALL THREE KAT LIGHTFOOT MYSTERIES AND SAVE £5.97!! 

To buy these books merely add all three titles to your shopping cart - then use the following code at checkout :christmaskat



Zombies At Tiffany's : Kat Lightfoot Mysteries # 1

Kat Lightfoot thought that getting a job at the famed Tiffany’s store in New York would be the end to her problems … She has money, new friends, and there’s even an inventor working there who develops new weapons from clockwork, and who cuts diamonds with a strange powered light. This is 1862, after all, and such things are the wonder of the age.

But then events take a turn for the worse: men and women wander the streets talking of ‘the darkness’; bodies vanish from morgues across town; and random, bloody attacks on innocent people take place in broad daylight.

Soon Kat and her friends are fighting for their lives against a horde of infected people, with only their wits and ingenuity to help them.

A steampunked story of diamonds, chutzpah, death and horror from the blood-drenched pen of Sam Stone.


BUY HERE £9.99


Kat on a Hot Tin Airship : Kat Lightfoot Mysteries # 2

It is 1865 and the American Civil War has come to an end. Now Kat Lightfoot finds herself in the middle of another kind of war: a family feud involving her brother Henry and his new wife. But what is behind the strange behaviour of this affluent Southern family?

Caught in the crossfire of an implacable spirit’s attempt to wreak vengeance on the Pollitt family, Kat must once again enlist the help of journalist George Pepper and the inventor Martin Crewe to find out what really haunts the family’s past.

In order to learn what devastating secrets the Pollitts are hiding she must first explore her own feelings for Maggie’s brother Orlando, who is one of the seductive Nephilim.

A ghostly steampunked tale of family secrets, voodoo and vengeance from the author of Zombies at Tiffany’s – to which this book is a sequel.


BUY HERE £12.99


What's Dead PussyKat : Kat Lightfoot Mysteries #3

Nothing ever seems to go Kat Lightfoot’s way. If she’s not in the middle of battling a plague of gargoyle-like monsters in 1865 New York, she’s falling head over heels in love with her friend George Pepper … which wouldn’t be so bad, except that every other female is doing the same.

When Kat is caught in a passionate cinch with Pepper, a wedding is afoot, but no-one expected a gaggle of vampire women to be staying at the Chateau Chantel at the same time … nor for them to take such an interest in poor Pepper themselves.

Kat has her work cut out …

A tale of vampires, gargoyles, faith and farce from the author of Zombies at Tiffany’s and Kat on a Hot Tin Airship.

BUY HERE £12.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ... ALL COME SIGNED.

The Darkness Within: Final Cut

Chief Engineer Madison Whitehawk suspects foul play when a series of small anomalies occur aboard the ark ship Freedom. But Madison’s fears are nothing compared to the impending disaster heading their way.

As the team of scientists, engineers and crew take their precious cargo of colonists towards New Earth a deadly parasite has found its way onboard.

Soon Madison, Second Officer Crichton and colonist Syra Connor are fighting for their lives against trusted friends and former lovers.

What is the parasite that changes the minds and behaviour of those it infects? And how can the crew of the Freedom destroy the darkness within?

A thrilling sci-fi/horror novel from award-winning author Sam Stone.

BUY HERE £10.99

Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings

Something is sapping the energy of the usually robust dancers of the Moulin Rouge … Zombies roam the streets of New York City … Clowns die in mysteriously humorous ways … Jack the Ripper’s crimes are investigated by a vampire …

Welcome to the horrific and poetic world of Sam Stone, where angels are stalking the undead and a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf. Terror and lust go hand in hand in the disturbing world of the Toymaker, and the haunting Siren’s call draws the hapless further into a waking nightmare.

Thirteen stories of horror and passion, and six mythological and erotic poems from the new queen of vampire fiction.

Chick-slash has never been so entertaining

Contains the 2011 British Fantasy Award Winning short story ‘Fool’s Gold’.

BUY HERE £12.99