Dan Smith's Blog, page 27

Buying Porn

Yeah, I thought that post title might get your attention. Anyway, now you're here, you might as well read the rest.

I was in Waterstones on Monday and I did something I didn't think I would do. Hmm. You'd think I'd be proud, really, but it took me a while to sum up the courage to ask if they were going to stock my book. I spent a while looking at the 3 for 2 table, waiting until the queue was short and then I sidled up to the counter like I was going to buy porn. Or a Dan Brown novel. Anyway, ...

eReaders – Useless come the apocalypse

The best of the best

On the news they keep telling us about climate change and impending power shortages and new strains of flu. The future looks bleak. The future looks dark. Now,  I like a good apocalypse story as much as the next person. Looking across my DVDs, there's a few films up there that involve the end of the world. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (original and remake), Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks later, Terminator, The Beyond … actually...

Dry Season's First Review

Click for full size view

I received an email this morning from a good friend who I used to work with but now only drink with. Actually, when I say ONLY drink with, well, isn't that enough? Anyway, he drew my attention to this morning's Metro and Dry Season's first review. It's appeared a little earlier than expected, but hey. In a flurry of excitement, I rushed out to the station, but it was after twelve by the time I got there, and all copies were gone. But being a resourceful friend (and...

Orion – gives good book

A short post. Really it's just an excuse to show you this picture of the first copies of my book. I went down to London yesterday to see my editor and some of the others at Orion and came back with books. Books that I have written. They've done a fantastic job and the cover looks great. I can imagine it catching a few eyes in the bookshop.

So thanks to Gen and Jon and everyone at Orion.

And here's that picture …

Have you ordered yours?

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Dan Smith
dan@dansmithsbooks.com

The Road – It's not Mad Max

I went to see The Road last night, and I wondered how many people in the (quite busy) theatre were expecting to experience the excitment, adventure, and 'Mad Max' type shennanigans that the trailer suggested they were going to see. But Mad Max this is not. The film is bleak and grey and not for the faint hearted. It does a pretty good job of translating Cormac McCarthy's powerfully emotive and harrowing novel to the screen – unfortunately losing the beauty of his prose – but I can't imagine...

The Eleventh Doctor

Here's a little treat for any Doctor Who geeks out there who haven't already seen it. Just click on the logo for a preview of Series 5.

2010 could be an exciting year for the new Doc. He looks a bit like an unfashionable university lecturer – or perhaps an anesthetist – with that wonky bow tie and tweed jacket, but, hey, he's the doctor, right? And there's a few familiar faces like the weeping angels and the daleks for me *ahem, cough* for my daughter to get excited about.

Dan Smith's Official...

There is life away from Pandora. Honest.

I read an article in the paper today about an Avatar Web Forum for people who have been enchanted by Pandora, the brightly coloured world of James Cameron's new blockbuster Avatar. The article was referring to a thread in which people with their own Na'vi names were discussing different ways of coming to terms with the non-existence of Pandora and the tedium of living in the real world. Heading over for a look, I found people wanting to learn Na'vi (the language spoken by the blue...

Gotta love the Brits

Gotta love the Brits. I just dropped my son off at school – trudging through the snow – and it's amazing how we all nod a greeting, force a smile and say, 'Bit chilly.'

Bit chilly? It was minus seven degrees out there, with more than twenty centimetres of snow to plough trhough and  fifty centimetre icicles hanging from the eaves. Bit chilly? My face is numb, like a polar bear just sat on it. Bit chilly? I'd say it was @&%!! freezing.

Ah well, it does look beautiful, though. Everything so...

Dangerous and Compelling

Happy New Year to you all. Let's hope it's a good'un for everyone.

Well, with snowmageddon in full swing out there, life is trying to get back to some kind of normality. Children are back at school – well, mine are, anyway – and things are quiet again. Oh, and it's only just over a month until DRY SEASON is published. Reading about the sun and the sand and the river and the jungle will be the perfect antidote to all this cold weather. And we have a quote. For the book, that is …

Dangerous and...

Limbo

That whole period of a week or so that runs from Christmas eve to New Year is great but, well, a little weird dontcha think? Time seems to drop into some kind of limbo. Normality ceases. Everything falls out of synch so sometimes you even have to check what day it is. The decorations you put up start to morph from something colourful and festive into something that you're going to have to put away. A reason to have to go up into the loft. Indigestion sets in, yet you can't help yourself...