Matthew Lang's Blog, page 17
July 1, 2011
The Secret of Talmor Manor @ Top2Bottom
Kathy of Top2BottomReviews has had a squizz at The Secret of Talmor Manor, and she's given it a rating of four kisses (out of five) and the cover four out of five as well!
"It didn't take very long for me to find myself lost—all in the best way of course—in Matthew Lang's The Secret of Talmor Manor. And lost is a good description, because it's not just us, but Jake as well, struggling to discover what is going on. What's better is that we have front-row seats to the untangling of the mystery. And tangled it is! Lang does a fantastic job keeping—okay me, he kept me—guessing right up to the end."
Read the full review here.
Read an excerpt here.
Buy the book here.
There's also a bit of an interview over here, if you're interested in seeing what goes on in my strange mind at any given point in time.
June 13, 2011
Festivals and Rumours
Big shout out to the crew of the Emerging Writers' Festival, which saw little me take to the stage for my first ever festival appearance and panel chat. Also, I'd really like to say thank you to Carmel F, who was my pen pal artist sponsor, and in no small part responsible for the wide range of artists present at the EWF.
I'm taking a break from public appearances, and will be getting back to what I'm meant to be doing, which is putting on a cabaret writing my next novel. However, there have been some rumours floating around that I may be heading up to Newcastle for the National Young Writers' Festival. Exactly what I'm doing up there well… predictions are welcome.
May 21, 2011
Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came along to the launch of my book last night at Hares&Hyenas. If you missed it… well, we packed out the bookshop, had more than a few drinks and had some amazing entertainment from Kaye Sera and the Melbourne Rainbow Band. Massive shout out to them for coming along to perform and support the ALSO Foundation, and to Fei Mok for bringing along three beautiful pieces of art for auction, all of which sold well.
I saw quite a number of books being sold, along with at least a few CDs, so hopefully we'll have a bit of money to give to ALSO. It probably won't be anywhere near the $500,000 or so that they need, but if we can put a small amount in, that's a small amount towards fixing their problems. And more importantly, if everybody puts a small amount in, there won't actually be any problems and the ALSO Foundation will be around for years to come.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone who came along, and here's to the next one…whenever that is!
Matt
May 17, 2011
Launch Artwork: Sneak Peek
I can't believe the launch is only three days away, and things are looking good. The print copies of The Secret of Talmor Manor arrived in the warehouse last Friday and should be in Hares&Hyenas shortly–and most importantly, in time for Friday. And I've got my hands on a little preview of some of the artwork pieces Fei Mok will be auctioning off in support of the ALSO Foundation, and I thought I'd share them with you here (click the images for a larger view).
I Believe in Fairy Tales
To Love Life
To Love Life–Poem detail (poetry by Ellen Bass)
See you at the launch and remember, all proceeds from the auction will be going directly to the ALSO Foundation, along with a portion of all book and Melbourne Rainbow Band CD sales.
May 15, 2011
Got Geek? Vignette Press call for submissions
Vignette Press is currently calling for submissions for it's next indie offering: Geek Mook.
mook -
1. A bound hybrid publication issued in a series.
2. Not quite a magazine, not quite a book.
3. A collection of surprising, unconventional new writing.
geek -
1. An awkward or socially inept person.
2. A person obsessed with technical or non-mainstream interests.
3. A carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, such as biting off the head of a live chicken.
Geek Mook explores the worlds of hackers, gamers, steam punk fashionistas, trekkies, neo-punk trainspotters and obsessives of all the other fixations that give us a reason to stave off death (and quite frequently sex as well). As primarily book and literary geeks ourselves, the editors especially welcome submissions caught in the intersection of geekery and the literary. We'd love to learn about the ways the ways geek, literary and human have crashed up and mashed up in your lives and imagination: explain to us the aesthetics of coding; remember a childhood struggling with the unfair dice rolls of AD&D and ADHD; trace the interconnections between infidelity and Star Trek; show us the human heart beneath the steampunk carapace.
Submission Guidelines:
We are accepting nonfiction, fiction, infographics, poetry, illustration and other art forms which work well in a black and white print format. Submissions may be from 500-3000 words, though we envisage sweet-spots around 1250 words and 2500 words. We will consider longer pieces where the work is so good, we'd feel silly bowing to any word count rule. Geek Mook contributors should not assume specialised knowledge or vocabulary on the part of the mook audience, though they can and should expect intelligence and curiosity. The pieces need not be homogenised, however, and we welcome work that, like A Clockwork Orange, pushes us out a little past our cognitive and linguistic depth, sinking yet strangely still able to breathe.
Vignette Press appreciates the guts, labour and dedication required to produce good writing and art. Unfortunately, at the moment, we are not in position to express this monetarily. Each contributor will receive two complimentary copies of the Geek Mook.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
Coding
Conventions
Steampunk
Cosplay
Cinema
Fan fiction
Hacking
Online communities
Collecting
Music obsessions
WikiLeaks
Dungeons and Dragons
Superheroes
Zines
Blogging
Code poetry
Memes
Speculative fiction
Submissions open 1 July 2011 and close 31 July 2011. Please email your submission together with a fifty word bio to geekmook@gmail.com
~*~
Although submissions are not yet officially open, you can send works in for consideration now–just don't expect a response until July. Good luck and happy submitting.
Matt
Secret of Talmor Manor Review: 4 Cups at Coffee Time Romance
The Secret of Talmor Manor has been reviewed over at Coffee Time Romance and More, receiving a rating of 4 Cups for an outstanding read.
"This story has both a great mystery and an even better mystical element to its plot. There is fantastic dialogue and debates between Jake and Nate, discussing everything from pagan runes to agnosticism. The conversations feel so intelligent and real, it is easy to get caught up in the character's thought and emotions."
Don't forget there's still time to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a signed copy of the novel ahead of it's launch at Hares&Hyenas on Friday the 20th!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Secret of Talmor Manor
by Matthew Lang
Giveaway ends May 19, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
May 12, 2011
May 10, 2011
You are cordially invited…
I am extremely happy to announce that the fantabulous Kaye Sera has agreed to host my book launch. She joins my friends and special guests The Melbourne Rainbow Band and queer artist Fei Mok in supporting the ALSO Foundation. Please feel free to spread the invitation around to anyone who you think might be interested, and I hope to see you all next Friday!
May 8, 2011
Jaffa Books: Call for Submissions
Brand spanking new eBook publisher Jaffa Books is still looking for novels to publish. They're after outstanding writing in any genre, with a length over 60,000 words. From what I can see they have excellent royalty rates, and their contracts are non-exclusive after 6 months. They are brand new, and don't have a track record I can look at but if you'd like to get published and think your work is up to it, you might want to check them out.
DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with nor involved in Jaffa Books. I have no works published by them or under consideration by them. The owner is an internet acquaintance of mine, but we have no other relationship.
Good luck and happy submitting.
Matt
May 6, 2011
Top 10 Romance Novel Professions
So according to GalleyCat, there's a new book coming up that looks at what romance novels tell us about society.
According to neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, based on an analysis of 15,000 Harlequin books, the top ten professions for romance novel straight heroes are:
1. Doctor
2. Cowboy
3. Boss
4. Prince
5. Rancher
6. Knight
7. Surgeon
8. King
9. Bodyguard
10. Sheriff
I like Number 3. It's very non-specific. I'm assuming that refers to the boss of the romantic heroine. What does this list say about what (straight) women want in their leading men? What would the list be if we analysed 15,000 gay romance novels? No really, I want to know.
For the curious, the book is called A Billion Wicked Thoughts.
In other news, the Melbourne Rainbow Band are joining me at my book launch for The Secret of Talmor Manor to support the ALSO Foundation. They have a new CD out, called 15 & Fabulous and the track list looks pretty cool:
TRACKLIST:
The Dam Busters March
The Man from Snowy River (Listen to an excerpt)
Hold On, I'm Coming (Vocals: Julie Leder)
Selections from 'Hairspray'
Pacem – A Hymn for Peace (Listen to an excerpt)
Virginia
The Doors in Concert
Big Spender (Vocals: Julie Leder)
The Genius of Ray Charles
Tribute to Count Basie (Listen to an excerpt)
Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons
CDs will be available for sale on the night, and a portion of all sales will be going to the ALSO Foundation, so remember, mark down the 20th of May in your calendars and come on down to enjoy the night! For those of you on Facebook, you can find the event here.
