VanderOrc

Jeff VanderMeer thought Walter (Stan Nicholls' Orc) on his book cover was too ugly and decided to beautify it with some strategically-placed stickers.

Orbit got wind of it and came up with a competition for the first five people to send them their attempt at improving on Walter's appearance. Here is my shot:-

Just goes to show, sometimes things aren't as bad as they first seem.... hehe, sorry Jeff!

The Fix Cone Zero Review

The fine people over at The Fix (an American review site) have done a write-up of Cone Zero

“And now for something completely different.” In Cone Zero, a Nemonymous anthology/magazine from Megazanthus Press, the authors remain unassigned to their stories pending the next edition (or some other future revelation)".

The reviewer is a certain Janice Clark who enjoyed the whole anthology. So far all reviews for Cone Zero have been positive and one reviewer even mentioned Cone Zero and The Nebula Awards in the same sentence! WoW!

A Parting Gift (Fantasy Short Story Podcast)

I thought I'd try my hand at Podcasting so I've recorded a Fantasy Short Story of mine called 'A Parting Gift' It was harder to do than I thought. First of all I got tongue tied and had to do about a dozen different takes. Then I wasn't happy with the mic so I bought another one. I still sound as Welshy as anything though and even if the story doesn't make you laugh then probably my narration will! Boyo, like! Anyway, the link is up the top, or here:

A Parting Gift

It's in mp3 format and is about 5.5meg, the software used to record was Audacity which is great to use and what's more, it's free!
The fine background music is by Bjorn Lynne and his site is well worth a browse and downloads of effects etc can be obtained from Shockwave-Sound

I hope you enjoy the story, let me know what you think :)

Fossil Hunting

As we had about two hours of sunshine this bank holiday weekend the family decided to go fossil hunting on the beach at Llantwit Major

The beach looked really promising with the giants cliffs laid out like stepping stones and the numerous rocks and boulders stacked up beneath them. I thought we'd get an ammonite or two but after a couple of hours searching all we came away with was what looked like a fossilized thread- worm and a cockle-shaped pebble which could be a fossil, we aren't sure. The other thing we came away with was a couple of soaking kids (if there was a rock pool to find then they found it, and fell in) and a family with a hearty appetite. The sea air was bracing and the day was a success, even though the fossils proved harder to find than I imagined.

BTW, this isn't one we took home!

More Cone Zero News

There is a nice review of the Cone Zero anthology over on the Serendipity site which ends with, quote

'I expect to see Cone Zero on the lists of this year's best anthologies. It will richly deserve any such place.'

Oooh nice! I hope someone takes notice!

Cone Zero can be bought here - BUY
and don't forget there is a cash prize for whoever works out which author wrote what story!

Nicole Cooke Wins Gold For Britain & Wales!

Britain got its first Gold Medal in The Olympics in Beijing thanks to Welsh girl Nicole Cooke who rode to victory at Juyonggguan.


The last few yards had me holding my breath, but what fortitude, what guts. She was brilliant. The only downside is that China has negated on its promise to improve human rights. A promise that they made when they were awarded the Olympics, and their word has been broken by not allowing the showing of non-International Olympic Committee countries flags in the games’ venues. Supposedly this is associated with China’s efforts to prevent dissent. Namely Tibet.

However, a spokeswoman for the British Olympic Association said: “This ban appears to be in line with Rule 51 of the Olympic Charter.”

But rule 51 does not mention flags. It states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.

So here is Y Ddraig Goch,

China, your dragons are nowhere near as good-looking as ours, no wonder you didn't want our flag to be shown...

Looks more like a bloody eel with legs!

Short Story on Scfi UK Review

I'm extremely pleased to say that one of my short stories has been taken up by Richard Hawkins for his Scifi UK Review website.
It's called 'What Visions In The Dark Of Light'
It's a dark sf/f/horror story, I hope you can pop over there for a read and perhaps leave a comment on it. Richard will be reviewing my novel
'Flames of Herakleitos'
sometime in the future too.

A bit of good news - Steve Upham (Screamingdreams editor/publisher) is home from hospital and on the road to recovery. He's still very weak and still under the care of his doctors but on the mend.

Best wishes, Steve :)

Bob

Cone Zero Thoughts

Well I've read Cone Zero cover to cover and enjoyed every one of the fourteen stories (yes even my own one, well I had to check it was all ok, didn't I?) I can't say which was my favourite as it might give away one of the authors and Des Lewis, the editor, is having a competition which will pay out £50 to the winner. here are the details :-

CONE ZERO AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION COMPETITION

A prize of £50 (GBP) by PayPal from Nemonymous to the reader who guesses or assesses (by whatever means) the most correct authors of the stories in the CONE ZERO book..

The authors themselves are not eligible to enter.

Deadline: March 4th 2009 (when authors are due to be revealed).

If there is a tie, the prize will be shared.

The Editor’s decision is final.

Please write to bfitzworth@yahoo.co.uk with your choices. If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your entry within a week, please try again. You can enter the competition up to three times, but each entry will be treated separately.

The story titles:
"The Fathomless World"
"The Point of Oswald Masters"
"Cone Zero" (page 23)
"Cone Zero" (page 33)
"Cone Zero, Sphere Zero"
"An Oddly Quiet Street"
"Always More Than You Know"
"Cone Zero" (page 129)
"Going Back For What Got Left Behind"
"Cone Zero" (page 147)
"The Cone Zero Ultimatum"
"Angel Zero"
"How To Kill An Hour"
"To Let"

The authors in a random order:
Neil James Hudson
Colleen Anderson
Jeff Holland
John Grant
A.J. Kirby
Eric Schaller
Kek-W
S.D. Tullis
Stephen Bacon
Sean Parker
Dominy Clements
Bob Lock
Grant Wamack
David M Fitzpatrick

Here is a first review of the anthology, and it's a pretty good one: REVIEW

Screaming Dreams & Steve Upham News

Steve Upham the editor and publisher of Screamingdreams (and also my friend) has been taken ill and was rushed into hospital on Monday. He hasn't been well for a while and when I saw him at the Academi event in Pontypridd I was surprised by how drawn and ill he looked but he's not one to complain much and he just soldiered on. However, Monday was the last straw for his ailing body and he ended up in intensive care with suspected damage to the heart muscle through a virus that he hadn't been able to shake off. I spoke to his Dad today and was told that they are hoping to move Steve to The Heath in Cardiff once they are satisfied he is stable enough.
For the moment Allyson (Ally) Bird has stepped into the breach and is carrying on with Screamingdreams business until Steve is back on his feet she is having help from Paul Campbell. Ally's book 'Bull Running For Girls' is a SD publication and will still be released at FantasyCon where she is hoping to run the SD table in the dealer's room. She's also having a mini-event in her home town in October and will be touring local libraries. Ramsey Campbell said about her Shadow upon Shadow story 'A Dark Tale Indeed!'

Have a good launch Ally!


Get Well Soon Steve!

Science Fiction Convention Wales

Academi's first SF/F/Horror Convention called 'Space, Time, Machine and Monster' took place today in The University of Glamorgan, Treforest and a very successful con it turned out to be.

The first lecture my wife and I attended was Jasper Fforde's Jayne Eyre, Vampires and Time Travel which was a great laugh and very well done. Jasper certainly knows how to captivate an audience. An hour seemed to fly by and although there were questions allowed at the end I didn't get around to asking mine as we had to move on. However, I did manage to grab him as he went by and got him to sign a copy of his 'The Big Over Easy'.



Had about ten minutes to wander around the various tables where writers, books, publishers and others of the writing fraternity were hanging out. Bought a couple of books and signed a few of my 'Flames of Herakleitos' and then it was time to make our way to the next hall where Rhys Hughes was giving a presentation on OuLiPo.

OuLiPo - (pronounced oo-lee-PO) stands for "Ouvroir de littérature potentielle", which translates roughly as "workshop of potential literature". Phew, this is one method of writing which I think would be too demanding for me. I like to write poetry which has its restraints but OuLiPo is another thing altogether. Imagine trying to write a novel that has no words with the letter 'e' in it! (As done by Georges Perec in his 300 page novel La disparition).

Rhys's lecture was very well put together and gave a great insight into a method of writing that I had little knowledge of. Managed to get Rhys to sign my copy of 'The Postmodern Mariner' and 'Doorways' (an anthology edited by Steve Lockley for the event) I also had it signed by Steve himself, Paul Lewis and Tim Lebbon. I'd have liked to have tracked down the others but time was running out, it was time for lunch!




The final lecture we attended was by Steve Lockley who read aloud the 1902 short horror story by W.W.Jacobs called 'The Monkey's Paw', strangely enough I had never read this so didn't know what to expect. However, as the tale unfurled I realised how many other stories have been written, since this ground-breaking one, that follow in its footsteps. Later we discussed the tale and an interesting debate ensued, once again time seemed to go quickly and soon we were back in the foyer again where it was time for a photo shoot. Here are some of the snaps, unfortunately I only got one of Rhys and he had to close his eyes didn't he!

So, all in all a very good first con by Academi. I hope it is the beginning of a regular occasion.

Geoff Nelder, award winner author and the British Managing Editor of the excellent magazine 'Escape Velocity' (note my book on his table! I wonder if he bought a copy? Hehe)

Jasper Fforde and me (this is a spot the difference - can you?)

Rhys (exhausted after his lecture)

Steve Lockley and me



Some of the visitors




Tim Lebbon



Steve Upham of Screamingdreams




And that's all folks!

Welsh SF/F/Horror Con

Just a reminder that this Saturday there is a SF/F/Horror Con in Wales
(a rare beast indeed!)

A Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Conference for the Valleys

Saturday 21 June 2008, 10:00am - 4:30pm
University of Glamorgan, Treforest
Tickets £5 / £3 concessions; available on the door only

More details here at Academi

Cone Zero Bookcover

DF Lewis's anthology Cone Zero is at the printers and Des hopes that it will be launched next month. He has updated his website Weirdmonger with a graphic of the book's cover and very nice it looks too.



As I've said previously, I'm really pleased to have made the grade for this antho and am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

Steampunk Book Delivered!

Jeff Vandermeer's Steampunk book has arrived! A dark shadow swept across my house this morning and I thought a thundercloud had obscured the sun but it was a bloody great iron-clad Zeppelin that Jeff had commisioned to deliver my free book.
Ok, ok, it was my usual postman... but he was on a steam-powered bicycle. Oh, all right, he was on foot... but his shoes were emitting large clouds of vapour (well the weather in Wales is particularly warm for this time of year)
Anyway, I promised Jeff I would photograph the novel in a typical steam-powered environment and so I jumped into my road-going vaporetto (it's like the Venice type taxis but I've converted it to caterpillar-tracked locomotion so it's multi-terrain) and made my way down to Swansea's Industrial Museum and took a few photos, here they are:

First up is the book's flyleaf with a sketch of Jeff's Zeppelin with a dedication from him and his lovely wife Ann and a command of 'Ballast Away!' I just hope the ballast was dropped over an uninhabited zone!


Next we have little old me holding Steampunk next to a concept FTL steampowered dragster...



And here we have Steampunk enjoying a bit of Welsh sunshine next to a steam-powered wormhole generator...


And you though Wales only invented Tom Jones and laverbread eh?

Thanks for the book, Jeff and Ann. I look forward to reading it.

CONE ZERO

To say I am honoured and pleased to be among the fourteen authors who have been chosen for inclusion in DF Lewis's Nemonymous 8, or Cone Zero as it will also be known, is an understatement.

Nemonymous is a unique publishing venture because Des does not attach the authors' by-line to his or her story. The authors are noted in the fly-leaf and the stories are in random order thereby preventing any bias towards 'named' writers etc. There will be fourteen tales in Cone Zero and those were selected from hundreds of submissions, they will all have to contain something about the phrase Cone Zero but can be about any subject. The authors selected for this exciting anthology are allowed to say they have been chosen but must not divulge the name of their story. In about eight months time Des will make know to the world who wrote what by releasing the information online and it will also be published in the next Nemo book 9.

Cone Zero is pencilled in for a launch in July 2008 and Des has a competition going (probably with a prize, knowing him) for the first person who correctly guesses the 14 authors, well here is one! He also does a competition when the books are out for who can guess correctly which author wrote what story, again a ground-breaking idea and Jetse de Vries of Interzone won last year's.

Des's Competition:

HERE'S A NEW COMPETITION (15 April 2008): The names of the 14 'Cone Zero' authors will be announced as soon as the book is published. Meanwhile, please write to me at bfitzworth@yahoo.co.uk with your assessment as to who these authors will be. These authors are able (if they wish) to announce elsewhere about being in 'Cone Zero' with an unnamed story and I've already tracked down some of these references for myself by various means. You can have as many goes at this as you like, each go being taken separately. The prize for the most right is a free 'Cone Zero' and any other Nemonymous editions you haven't already got. If there is a tie, there will be a tie question. (The authors themselves are not eligible to enter)

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy/sf/speculative fiction and usually borrows elements from say the Victorian era and gives it a twist. One of my favourite steampunk writers is China Miéville
He sets his stories in a fantasy world that uses both clockwork and steam-powered technology and I'd recommend starting with his 2001 Arthur C Clarke winning novel Perdido Street Station.
Anyway. imagine my happiness when reading Jeff Vandermeer's Blog I came across his challenge to have the latest Steampunk Anthology which he and his wife Ann had edited to be photographed in a suitable steampunk place. I immediately thought of Swansea's Industrial Museum where there are displays of steam-powered paraphernalia which once made Swansea become nicknamed 'Copperopolis' as it was the world's largest copper producer during the 1800s



I duly suggested this and low and behold I won an advance copy of the book which is now winging its way over the Atlantic to me on the proviso that I have it photographed in said museum... woo hoo!

My brother-in-law, Tony Harwood is a keen modeller and has scratch-built numerous steampunk models and his site is definitely worth taking a look at.

AlienSkin

No, I haven't come down with with a bad case of eczema, AlienSkin is a well respected American SF/Fantasy/Horror Writer's site, founded in 2002 by Froggy Bottom Press and they have just accepted and published a short story of mine entitled: DAWN'S KISS. It is a paying market but I am more than content with just having another short story of mine published. Here is a link to the story and I hope you enjoy it.
DAWN'S KISS

Well worth a read!

Anyone who trawls through my musings on this blog will know that I rarely recommend a book to read (other than my own! Buy it! Buy it now!) and Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument Of Kings (however, LAOKs has only just arrived and I am about to read it, but going by his previous two and from what I've already heard about LAOKs I don't expect to be disappointed).


Anyway, I have another book which I think is worth talking about and that is Bone Song by John Meaney. I just happened upon it and saw that it dealt with thaumaturgy, hexs, spells and the like and wondered how he would handle those things compared to what I'd done in 'Flames' and it was a bloody good read!



Bone Song is a weird cross genre book spanning fantasy/horror/sf/detective and kept me reading until late into the night. The main protagonist is a tough cop who gets dragged into body guarding a Diva (opera-singer) who has had her life threatened. You might think this is a normal detective story but when you enter John Meaney's world where the energy which powers your home, your transport, everything, is not provided by your run-of-the-mill fossil fuel or nuclear power station but from the corpses of the dead then the word 'normal' can quickly be kicked into touch. Normal isn't a word that can be used anywhere in Bone Song, it is wildly different and hugely enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading his next one which is called Dark Blood.

Discounts @ Screamingdreams

If you get over to Screamingdreams website you'll find that Steve Upham is offering a discount on all his books and that includes
'Flames of Herakleitos'.
So, if you want to save a little money get over there quick before Steve's generosity runs out!

Arowin's Return

This is a short story of mine in the Fantasy genre, it's called Arowin's Return and I have entered it in the Sffworld's short story competition which is now taking votes. You can guess what I'd like from my readers! Yes, your vote!



So, first of all, if you have time, read the story:






Arowin's Return

The rasp of steel on whet-stone was the only sound as twilight fell. All was still. The very earth seemed to be holding its breath as it too realised the last battle was about to be fought.
Arowin had no preconceptions of victory. He knew that it would be just a matter of time before this last enclave of humanity would be over-run, and just as the day was ending, so too would be Man’s freedom in Demetaes. However, he took satisfaction in the fact that his stand on the final bridge before Moridunum would buy his wife and people time to reach the caves that would now be their last sanctuary, their last hope for survival. Perhaps from those caves a new dawn for Mankind would rise in some distant future. He would not be there to see it, but perhaps his bloodline would.


He smiled as he tested the sword’s edge. Blood from his thumb sprung deep red then flowed down his hand to the floor. It was if a signal had been given. Had they even smelled that drop of blood? For the quiet was disturbed by a sound. It was like the noise of locusts or crickets. The rub of chitin against chitin, magnified a hundred, no—a thousand fold. The Scarabi. They had breached the outer perimeter of humans. They had reached the ultimate bridge before Moridunum. They had found its final defender, Arowin and the old mage's sword. Gruffydd's sword.
With a sigh, he threw the whet-stone into the river, watching it spiral end over end before splashing and disappearing beneath the waters. Waters that would halt the advance of the Scarabi for the only way for them to proceed was through him.


“Let them come,” he said softly.


Gruffydd’s sword glimmered violet in the dying light as he reached into his pouch for the last potion. It would have to do. There were no others. He pulled the stopper out with his teeth and quaffed it down. It burned the back of his throat and warmed its way into his belly. The cut on his thumb healed up and he felt rejuvenated. The potion would heal him over a short period but not stop a mortal wound. At least it would buy him more time.


Movement out on the plain made him look up. Three men were running towards the bridge. Perhaps running is not the word as their wounds hampered any speed. Behind them the Scarabi appeared. Their vast numbers infested the plains… and the numbers grew. One man stumbled. The two stopped to raise him, and all three paid the penalty. Now they were within bow range and arrows peppered the ground around them.
Arowin sheathed his sword and lifted his longbow. He drew an arrow from its quiver. Raising the bow, he pulled the bowstring to his cheek and sighted on the nearest Scarabi. It was a shot of four hundred paces and the draw was the most the bow could give. His fingers let fly and the arrow sped out over the crouching men’s heads and straight into the throat of the leading Scarabi warrior. A cheer went up from the three who were now on their feet again. Arowin let fly another arrow and another Scarabi fell. Four more succumbed to his marksmanship before a spear caught the last man of the three and he fell mortally wounded. His comrades hesitated and any chance of them attaining the bridge was lost as the Scarabi charged. The men were ripped to shreds by the frenzied horde; Arowin dropped the bow, unsheathed the sword, and positioned himself at the foot of the bridge.


Red earth marked the spot where they had fallen. The Scarabi’s chittering stopped as they watched him. Suddenly the mob parted. A giant insect-like creature, larger than the normal Scarabi, strode forward. It bowed to him and took up a fighting stance. Arowin had no time for formalities and smiled back, beckoning their champion on. The horde produced a rhythmic sound as they once more rubbed chitin on chitin or snapped claw-like appendages. These warriors had no need of weapons. They were weapons. Arowin calmed his breathing, took a defensive stance, and waited. He didn’t wait long. The champion, with reputation at stake, screamed and charged. Its claws scythed at Arowin’s midriff but the man flowed aside, one foot behind the other, and swivelled as it thundered past. Gruffydd’s blade sang as it whipped through the air and cleaved the champion’s head from its shoulders. Green blood fountained up from the stubby neck as the body stumbled on a few feet and the head described a lazy arc over the bridge wall and into the waters beneath.


“If you see my stone down there be sure to tell me,” laughed Arowin.



The rhythm of the horde stopped. He whipped back around, held up the bloodied sword and shouted.


“Who is next?”


They all were…


It is said, days later, survivors approached the bridge in wonder at the dead Scarabi piled up at its entrance. Of their dispatcher there was no sign. None was expected. Scarabi left nothing. All that was found was a fragment of blade. A fragment that glimmered violet from a blade that was made never to remain broken.
Rumour arose that the Scarabi had deliberately destroyed the weapon somehow. For it was foretold it would regenerate its owner. A warrior would return. It was proclaimed that a nemesis, forged from the Scarabi's own fear, would lead men from their caverns and defeat them. So, the Scarabi, in their trepidation, made sure the sword shards were sent to the corners of Demetaes. To deep places, safe places where they were never to be found.
The Golden Age of Man was over. Devastation ruled the world. Myths and legends sprung up amongst humans. Some were remembered from generation to generation; some forgotten through time.
One legend remained… Gruffydd’s sword and the return of its owner, Arowin.






Well, if you enjoyed it then a vote would be appreciated:



Vote in circle number three Arowin's Return

Arrivederci Nonna

Sadly my wife's mother passed away on Wed 30th January 2008 after a terrible three months stay in Singleton Hospital. I am so tempted to tell the story here of the last days of her life but have to bite my tongue. So instead I will just wish this lovely lady a fond farewell, arrivederci Nonna.

Preditors and Editors Result, a thank you and some other news

Well I'll start with the good news because all the rest is bad. The results of The Preditors and Editors Poll is through and Flames of Herakleitos was voted up to seventh position and for that I would like to thank all of you who took the time to vote for it, I really appreciate you taking the trouble. I can now add this graphic to my blog as being in the top ten :)

Ahh... now the bad news, my mother-in-law, a lovely quiet, unassuming Italian lady lies gravely ill in Singleton Hospital. She has terminal cancer and is going through a terrible time. It is so sad and painful to see her the way she is, but we are unable to do anything for her other than stay by her bedside and hold her hand.

But that's not all, our daughter (who just had a lovely baby boy, Raphael) is in hospital too with liver problems. Twice they have attempted to drain the liver which is enlarged and infected but failed. However, today they did manage to go in through her side and fit a tube and the liver is being drained, but she is in extreme pain even though sedated and on various pain-killers, including morphine. My blog might not be updated for a while as we have our little baby grandson staying with us and all our time is spent with him or in the hospitals.

My next car

I'm thinking of changing my Mazda 6 for something non-Japanese (a small protest over their whaling policy - see previous posting if you are interested) and stumbled across the new Lamborghini Reventon which I'm very tempted with...



it's only about £800,000, has a 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds time before running on to a top speed of 211mph, but wait, it also has...

A G-force indicator – like those seen in fighter jets!

Well, I'm ready with my deposit, but only if they have it in Ferrari Red...

Preditors and Editors Poll

That well known SF/SFF site Critters.org is doing a poll of all things SF/SFF/Horror, including SF/SFF novel of 2007 and

Flames of Herakleitos

is in there and just gagging for your vote. So, if you have two minutes and the inclination to vote for me I'd appreciate you clicking on this link VOTE

Many thanks!

Steve Upham of Screamingdreams and Estronomicon is also there with nominations for best editor and best short story anthology, I know he'd like a vote too!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

To everyone who reads my blog I'd like to wish you all a

And I hope 2008 brings you all that you wish for!

SF GEEK?

Tried this test after seeing a link from the Whispers of Wickedness site and scored 86

	I received 86 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Guess the Sci-Fi Movie Sounds hereCanon powershot

I'm a Grandpa again :)

After almost eighteen hours of labour my daughter gave birth to her third child this evening, whoohoo!

Raphael was born by caesarian and a month premature and weighs in at 4lb 9ozs.