Graham Edwards's Blog, page 27

Ghostwriter Diaries – On Pseudonyms

The novel I ghostwrote earlier this year will be published soon, under pseudonym. Today I learned what that pseudonym is to be. It’s a strange feeling, acquainting yourself with someone who doesn’t exist … yet who is in many respects your own self. Like looking into a mirror and seeing a stranger staring back.

The pseudonym is anonymous, so if you pick up the book you won’t know it’s me behind the curtain. That’s okay. I didn’t write the thing alone – I was just the blunt instrument wielded by...

The House On Memory Street – An Undead Manuscript

The House On Memory Street is anovel I’ve been trying to write for a VERY long time. Until I get it right, itwill continue to float throughthe void along with all the rest of myUndead Manuscripts.

Thefollowing extract- takenfrom one of the many versions of this unrealised book – will do little to edify you further. ButI hope it might dust your day with a little intrigue:

The House On Memory Street – Extract

The Eagle

1

The eagle flashed past the little kitchen window, just a shadow against the sun...

The Story Behind “Talus and the Frozen King”

Online literary magazine Upcoming4Me has just published my short essay The Story Behind Talus and the Frozen King. The essay provides a glimpse into the thought process I went through while planning my latest novel.

Here’s how the story begins:

“A stone-age Sherlock.” It seemed like a good idea at the time. A cute concept for a novel that would riff on the well-established conventions of the detective genre. And an opportunity to exploit the natural mismatch between our modern perceptions of wh...

Mab – An Undead Manuscript

Mabis another of my Undead Manuscripts – an unfinished fragment of a novel that I like too much to consign it to the grave. I began it in 2010, on the back of a single idea: “What if you woke up from death?” Once I began writing, a secondidea attached itself to the first. I’m reluctant to share it here because Imay go back to itin the future. But I will say this: it’s thesecond idea that led me to choose the working title ofMab.

Like all my other abandoned novels, Mab israw and uncertain, but...

“Talus” Review Roundup – 8

Three new reviews for Talus and the Frozen Kinghit the airwavesthis week:

Fantasy Literature

Talus, with his Holmes-like attributes, is a familiar character: preternaturally observant, highly rational, super deductive, a lover of puzzles, often condescending (though not, it seems, purposely or cruelly so), a sharp taskmaster and teacher, and quite at sea when it comes to the emotional side of human equations. The twist, and it’s a good one, is that this detective is also a bard, and so is quite...

Station

I used to draw for pleasure all the time. Now I rarely have the urge. However, today the mood took me and I spent a happy hour sketching thisstrange futuristic structure (I have old sketch books filled with stuff like this). I’ve called it Station but really I’ve no idea what the heck it is. Maybe you can tell me …

Where The Ideas Come From

Where do you get your ideas from?

It’s the cliché question every fiction writer gets asked. Over and over again. It bugs the hell out of some people, but I rather like trying to come up with answers, because the creative process fascinates me.

I say “answers” in the plural, because I believe the muses are capricious souls, with as many moods and methods as there are stars in the firmament. Nevertheless, if you look hard enough, you can find patterns in their behaviour. Even Calliope is a creatu...

I’m Interviewed by A Fantastical Librarian

I’ve been interviewed byMieneke van der Salm, who runs the excellent blog A Fantastical Librarian. Mieneke reviewedmy novel Talus and the Frozen King recently, andkindly invited me to take part in one of her Author Queries, as part of a special week in which she’s celebrating historical fiction.

Here’s what I had to say in answer to Mieneke’s question: What drew you to writing about the Neolithic?

I hated history at school. Too many kings and queens, too many disconnected revolutions and civil...

“Talus” Review Roundup – 7

In the interests of giving you a balanced set of views, I’ll kick of this latest roundup with some conflicted comments from Harry Markov at SFSignal:

SF Signal

I’ve had a maddening experience with Talus and the Frozen King because when Edwards nails it, this book is a page turner. I had no idea who the murderer was and all the suspects had the motivation to commit the crime. I loved the concept and how the investigative process translates into the Neolithic era. But when Edwards misses the mark...

Plotting Talus II

It’s all right. You’re safe to click on the picture. Even thoughit maps out the plot of my next novel -thesequel to Talus and the Frozen King-I’ve blurred out most of the detail. So there are no spoilers. Promise.

So why show you the picture at all if it’s all blurry? Firstly,posting it here on the blog makes thisa kind of groundbreaking ceremony. A ritual moment. The book is begun. It’s official. Now there’s no going back.

Secondly, I thoughtsome ofyou might likea peek into my writing process....