I am conscious of (one of) Adam Roberts‘* projects, seeking “to write a short story for every sub-genre and premise that SF has made famous; to assemble a collection in which I can try my hand at all the hackneyed old conventions …”. My reading habits of course change over time, but in my life […]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE MACGOWAN! “I believe in miracles,” Shane MacGowan said recently in response to a question about his religious beliefs … . “I’ve seen miracles happen in my life. It’s a miracle every morning when you wake up.” “I’m concentrating on my health at the minute,” … and to this end he has given up […]
History should not be rushed. It is important to take time to reflect, and to have access to all relevant materials before coming to judgment. And while all views may be subject to revision (just ask Stalin), I am fairly confident of our maturity in the cultural sphere, and so believe that this is one […]
I’m writing a story featuring a blind person, which led me by some circuitous and probably inappropriate path, to think that I should mention two of my stories that are available free for your listening pleasure, via podcast. First up is my first ever published story, “Good Boy”, no longer in print, but available in […]
I had a dream, and it was bloody awful. I blame my younger daughters. They were discussing stress dreams, so then I went off and had one. I was in India, catching a bunch of trains, and every time I was on a platform I saw someone die. People just leaping into trains. I won’t […]
Just repeating myself … In 1849, hungry gold miners crossing the Nevada desert noticed some glistening balls of a candy-like substance on a cliff, licked or ate the balls, and discovered them to be sweet-tasting, but then they developed nausea. Eventually it was realized that the balls were hardened deposits made by small rodents, called […]
… you know you want to! Christmas is coming, as I can tell from the 4.30pm sunset. O Southern Hemisphere, I miss you and your heatwave Christmas! A hot roast lunch with a side of cold prawns. Hot Christmas pudding, followed by pavlova with chilled fruit and cream. Everyone knows Jesus wasn’t born in winter […]
Too often I just settle, but now I wanted more. I find it easy to commit, I’m prepared to put in the hard yards once the initial blush has worn off, but it occurred to me, why am I doing this even when there was no fist blush. Back in university days, a friend studying […]
Pretty chuffed to see my story ‘Crop Rotation’, included by Ellen Datlow in her long list of honourable mentions of horror stories for 2016, associated with volume 9 of The Best Horror of the Year. I was very happy that ‘Crop Rotation’ was published in the anthology ‘At the Edge‘, edited by Lee Murray and […]
Hanging out with HP Lovecraft and Ramsey Campbell, amongst others …
Nobody is looking 