Mark Webb's Blog, page 17

Dimension6 launches

I’m very excited to see a new speculative fiction magazine launch in Australia. It’s Dimension6, Keith Stevenson’s latest venture through his publishing house Coeur de Lion.

Long time readers might recall that I a few …

Getting to “The End” – novel first draft finished

Well, last night I wrote the words “The End” in the notebook I’ve been writing my novel Unalignedin. Those that have been following along with the blog know that I’ve been trying a

Galactic Chat – 2014 season off and running

After a bit of a hiatus over the summer break, the Galactic Chat podcast is off and running again for 2014.

David McDonald kicked off the year with a fascinating interview with one of my favourite authors, Kaaron Warren. Warren is a stalwart of the Australian horror scene, with some truly disturbing tales. I’ve reviewed a few of her works over the last couple of years, including, and.It’s a great listen.

Alex Pierce then moves the year along with an i...

Short story sale – Robot and Raygun

Well, good news in the Webb household as I celebrate my first short story sale for actual money.Wefting the Warpis a 4,300 word science fiction story and has been bought byRobot and Raygun,a new UK based online and print magazine. From their blurb:

Robot and Raygun features all kinds of science fiction, from post apocalyptic worlds to starships travelling through the voids of space and all that lies between. It is our aim to help fire your imagination and to envision the many futures that lay...

2014 Ditmar Eligibility Post Roundup

Last year I produced a roundup of all the Ditmar eligibility posts I could find. TheDitmar awardsare the Australian national awards for speculative fiction that are voted on by members of the speculative fiction community. Theawards are usually attached to the National Convention, which is being held this year in Melbourne at Continuum X.

The nomination process for the 2014 Ditmars is open until 30th March, and can be found atthis online form.

While there is awiki sitethat contains a pretty com...

Ditmar eligibility 2014

The Ditmar awards are the Australian national awards for speculative fiction that are voted on by members of the speculative fiction community. The awards are usually attached to the National Convention, which is being held this year in Melbourne at Continuum X.

The nomination process for the 2014 Ditmars is open until 30th March, and can be found at this online form.

Follow the following link to awiki sitethat contains a pretty comprehensive list of works that are eligible for the Ditmars. Wel...

My new writing process – 2 months in

So, at the end of last year I wrote a post about . In it I put forward a new writing process, to try for “slow and steady” progress. I thought it might be time for an update on how it is going.

I’ve tried a lot of different techniques for getting more regular in my writing. After trying a lot of pieces of software, I’ve landed on Scrivener as my preferred electronic writing tool of choice. But as I’ve commented elsewhere, when writing directly on the computer I f...

The Darkness Within by Jason Nahrung – review

Long time denizens of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of Jason Nahrung‘s work. If you don’t believe me, have a read of my reviews ofand.Also, check out the barely-contained-fanboy-enthusiasm in my. I’ve also tended to highlight his short fiction as I’ve come across it. I like his work, no doubt about it.

So when I realised there was another Nahrung book out there, back from the dim dark past of 2007, I knew I wanted...

Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart – review

I first came across Dirk Flinthart’s work when reading back over the New Ceres project, a shared world Australian spec fic project which occurred a while back. Dirk’s work featured in both the anthology and the stand alone (links are to my reviews of both). I enjoyed his stories in both, so when I saw he had brought out his first full length novel, I was intrigued. I also really liked the cover, to be honest. Iconic Australian imagery doesn’t often find itself on...

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson – review

Brandon Sanderson is fast becoming one of my favourite “popcorn” authors. I first came across his work (like many others) when he was selected to finish the Wheel of Time series, but he has fast become a strong name in the genre in his own right. I find his books to be real page turners, if running somewhat long at times. It’s nice to have a more modern and sophisticated version of the big, fat fantasy’s I used to enjoy through my teenage years.

Given all this, I was interested to see what San...