Archive | March, 2009

Have I discovered a new species?

30 March 2009

1 Comment

While walking into town to return a DVD on Saturday, I encountered a group of seagulls milling around outside Tesco.  No doubt they were up to no good. As I walked past them, most of them either hopped away or flew off.  One, however, remained.  On closer inspection, it turned out to be the weirdest [...]

Continue reading...

Workshops, Bologna and IF2

25 March 2009

1 Comment

No word yet on how things are going for INVISIBLE FIENDS over in  Bologna.  Not really expecting to hear anything back until next week some time, and even then the best I’m hoping for is some vague rumblings of possible deals that may or may not happen in the future.  Keep your expectations low, that’s [...]

Continue reading...

Bond. James Bond.

22 March 2009

6 Comments

I finally found time to finish SILVERFIN today, the first in Charlie Higson’s Young Bond series. I’m a latecomer to the series, solely because I never expected it to be any good. I’m pleased to report that I’ve been wrong all these years. SILVERFIN is a great read, full of action and adventure, and it [...]

Continue reading...

First Invisible Fiends quote

18 March 2009

0 Comments

I’ve started sending advance copies of INVISIBLE FIENDS: MR MUMBLES out to some of the many children’s authors whose work I admire, and I have now had the first response.  It comes from Scream Street author, Tommy Donbavand.  Tommy calls the book: “A terrifying start to an unmissable new horror series.  Guaranteed to make you [...]

Continue reading...

An interview with me

16 March 2009

0 Comments

A few weeks ago I was asked to give an interview for the website Tall Tales and Short Stories.  I agreed, and it’s now up on the site.  If you fancy finding out a bit more about me and how I got into this whole writing lark, click here to go and take a look. [...]

Continue reading...

Trying to get ahead

15 March 2009

0 Comments

Normally I don’t work on Sundays.  It’s nothing religious or anything, I just promised myself ages back that I would try to take at least one day off a week, and Sunday seemed like the obvious one. Today, though, I’m here working, trying to get a head start on the mountain of work that is [...]

Continue reading...

The Idea Fairy

12 March 2009

0 Comments

In preparation for a two-day visit to a local school to run storywriting workshops, I’ve been preparing myself for some of the questions I expect I might be asked.  Chief among these is the age-old “Where do you get your ideas from?”. It’s a question all authors have probably been asked at one time or [...]

Continue reading...

What was your favourite childhood read?

7 March 2009

4 Comments

Children’s books have changed a lot since I was a boy.  In many ways I think they’re better now than they ever have been, and children also have a much wider range of authors, subjects and genres from which to choose. I was always a big reader when I was young, although I actually skipped [...]

Continue reading...

3 Tips for Writing Horror

6 March 2009

2 Comments

Prior to writing INVISIBLE FIENDS I didn’t really have all that much experience of horror. I’d seen a few horror films in my time, but I’d never really read any scary books, so I came to the genre with fresh eyes, and have hopefully managed to bring some of that to the series. Since IF [...]

Continue reading...

Invisible Fiends proof copies

2 March 2009

1 Comment

Today I received a fantastic surprise in the mail – the proof copies of INVISIBLE FIENDS: MR MUMBLES, the first book in the horror series I’m writing for HarperCollins. I took some photos of myself holding the book, but I haven’t shaved in a week and in every one I turned out looking like someone [...]

Continue reading...