A few things just in. Firstly, my collection from NewCon Press, Microcosmos, is now available for pre-order.
This book, with beautiful cover art (as always) from Ben Baldwin, collects together seven stories written since the publication of my first collection A Thread of Truth in 2007. When Ian Whates of NewCon first approached me about putting this volume together I saw it as a wonderful oppotunity to present an updated snapshot of my short fiction writing. Especially exciting to me is the fact that Microcosmos contains two brand new stories – ‘A.H.’ and ‘Higher Up’, both of which were written within the last twelve months. The volume also contains ‘Chaconne’, a story I wrote for Ex Occidente Press’s Bulgakov-themed anthology The Master in Cafe Morphine. Master was a very limited issue and sold out more or less straight away, so I’m very happy to see ‘Chaconne’ – a story I’m rather fond of about Russia, music and cats – being made available to a wider audience. You can order Microcosmos online here. I’m also looking forward to signing copies at Eastercon, where the book will be officially launched later on this month.
Another piece of exciting news is that my novella Spin, a reimagining of the Arachne myth and the second in TTA Press’s standalone novella series, has gone to press and is now also available for pre-order.
This little book is very close to my heart and I’m really rather excited about it coming out. You can read more about Spin here – there’s been some very generous advance press – and also place your order.
And finally, Eibonvale Press have just announced the table of contents for their forthcoming railway-themed anthology Rustblind and Silverbright, to include my brand new novella ‘Vivian Guppy and the Brighton Belle’. I won’t say this story wrote itself (if anyone knows the secret to that technique, do let me in on it… ) but it was one of those rare stories that did seem confident of itself from the first, and gave me genuine and daily pleasure throughout the writing process. Most stories I write take a considerable amount of time to find their form – it’s not unusual for me to rewrite the beginning of a story three or four times before I’m happy with the way it’s going. But I loved the voice of Marian, this story’s narrator, from the off, and I was happy to let her take charge!
I can’t wait to see what David Rix at Eibonvale comes up with for the cover design of this anthology – given his passion for trains, it promises to be a beauty.