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Tales of Horror, mixed with the Nightmares of a Writer,
with a final spattering of Dark Fantasy for Children added to the cauldron. The work of Catherine J Gardner & Phoenix Rendell. One Soul. Two identities.
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By: Cate Gardner,
on 8/1/2013
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The wonderful Dagan Books, publishers of anthologies such as 'Fish', 'Bibliotheca Fantastica', and 'In Situ', are starting a speculative fiction magazine for short fiction.
Lakeside Fiction is open for submissions from today and they are accepting stories up to 2500 words. They are looking for Science Fiction (hard, soft, near-future etc), magic realism, urban fantasy, and apocalypse fiction. Payment is 1 cent per word with a minimum of $10.
Give them a go.*
*This is an instruction to both me and to you.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 7/23/2013
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My story 'The Scratch of an Old Record' is available in audio over at
Tales to Terrify, and narrated by the excellent
Kim Lakin-Smith. The podcast also contains a story by Christopher Golden.
The Scratch of an Old Record originally appeared in Necrotic Tissue magazine, edited by R Scott McCoy.
Although, this is my first official audio story, there's two more coming soon in an anthology. Details will follow when I stop twirling in my chair and get down to regular blogging.
Although, twirling in the chair is exercise of sorts.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 7/13/2013
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Over at Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews, Mihai Adascalitei has reviewed my latest novella
In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair.
Here be an extract:
“In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair”is the latest example of Cate Gardner’s prowess in weaving fantastical worlds and strange events and to confirm that she is one of the distinct voices of modern speculative fiction.
You can read the rest of the review
here. The novella is available as an ebook in the
UK,
US and
Canada and is published by
Alchemy Press.
Many thanks to Mihai.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 7/3/2013
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Here be a couple of anthologies that my stories will shortly be appearing in...
Here be the official blurb:
From the post-apocalyptic American West to the rural terror in New Zealand, this major anthology has evil spirits, bin-Laden style assassinations, steampunk, sexual dysfunction, a twisted version of Peter Pan, the folklore of standing stones, mermaids, alien tour guides, zombies, gruesome beasts, voice-controlled police states, environmental disasters and off world penal colonies. Unmissable. Featuring (among others) Simon Bestwick, Joseph D’Lacey, Cate Gardner, Carole Johnstone, Tyler Keevil, Kim Lakin-Smith, Alison Littlewood, Cheryl Moore, Mark Morris, Adam Neville, Lavie Tidhar, Sam Stone, Steph Swainston, E.J. Swift, Lisa Tuttle, Simon Unsworth, Jon Wallace.
It contains my story, Too Delicate for Human Form, which was previously published
FISH, and Simon Bestwick's Dermot which was previously published in Black Static.
My story Weird Beautiful Muse will be appearing alongside stories by Barry Napier, Aaron Polson, Natalie Sin, Mary Rajotte, Michael Hultquist and others in Return to New Bedlam, which is edited by Jodi Lee.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 6/30/2013
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After a glorious weekend in Manchester, I arrived home to find Sally had broken her neck and was lying unnoticed on my bookshelves. Don't worry, Sally is a ceramic doll from The Nightmare Before Christmas and I have super glue.
If only we could be fixed as easily.
Thank you to everyone who offered support in my 'writer's block' cry for help and especially to Deborah Walker whose wonderful advice got me writing again. So far, I've written one short story (This Contagion) and am hoping it's not a one-off. It shouldn't be, especially as, after a visit to Manchester Museum yesterday, I am full to the brim with ideas. Now I just have to beat the procrastination gene.
Some other news:
Alison Littlewood won my In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair competition. Thank you to everyone who entered and who has purchased the novella.
I finally subscribed to Duotrope because I missed it.
Oh, and I my google-fu found this review of Shimmer 16, which contains my story 'The Binding of Memories', over at Casual Debris. They kindly said the following about my story: "Dreamy and unique, a good concept well delivered, and a story that well represents the shimmery quote from above."
By: Cate Gardner,
on 6/20/2013
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You know when you forget how to do something you've always done. That. I'm drowning in that. I'm typing this onto a blank Word page while the Bestwick writes for all he's worth in the kitchen (and I have serious word envy). I'm not supposed to be typing this, I'm supposed to be writing a story, the beginnings of a novella, a novel, anything. Heck, I'd even settle for some bad poetry at the moment.
I've come to a complete stop.
I have time. I'm not complaining about lack of that. Actually, the only thing I'm complaining about is me. Sure, I have more things filling my life at the moment but there is still plenty of space for words. I'm also aware some people have no more than ten minutes here and there to write and they get stuff done in those ten minutes. They get stuff done and their lives are difficult. I can have a long hour stretching ahead of me and all I fill it with is a growing sense of dread and sickness. I lie awake at night sometimes worried that I'll never write again, that something has misfired in my brain. It's possible I suppose.
I've written a sum total of two short stories this year. Two. I used to do that in a week (heck I've been known to do that in a day and sell them to excellent markets). I've also written a short novella (or wait, I may have written that last year - whatever, it certainly wasn't recently). It feels like my head is full of things and yet when it stares at a blank screen or a blank page it's empty. There's not a single word floating around in there.
One thing I'm getting very good at is staring into space. Hopefully something weird and wonderful will float by the window and inspire me or maybe the gremlins will climb from beneath my desk and fix the broken bits in my brain. They need me sitting in my office, at my desk, so they can steal my pens and break things--otherwise they have no purpose.
I don't know if writers block exists. This feels more like writer erosion.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 5/22/2013
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My novella
In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair is now available to buy as an eBook from Amazon (
UK,
US,
Canada, and
France). Here be a blurb...
'Escaping the birdcage in which she's imprisoned is only the beginning of Kathleen's journey; on the other side of the mirror she'll have to evade the Devil, and the attentions of the Perfume Thief...'
To celebrate it's release I'm running a competition where you can win a signed hardback of my novella
Theatre of Curious Acts, a paperback anthology
Attic Toys, a notebook (with a birdcage on, of course) and a set of magnets. To enter please purchase the eBook on Amazon (it's only available for Kindle), and Tweet or Facebook status that you've purchased it via Amazon. Amazon normally have a widget for that kind of thing. If you don't play with Twitter or Facebook (or are worried I won't notice your entry) then send an email to
[email protected] and let me know you've bought it. Closing date is my birthday - June 20th. Good luck.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 5/9/2013
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Hot on the heels of my novella acceptance from Alchemy Press, I am (again) delighted to announce that Simon Marshall Jones has accepted my novella 'The Bureau of Them' for
Spectral Press. It should appear in early 2015.
Spectral published my chapbook
Nowhere Hall in 2011 and I'm delighted to be working with them again.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 5/1/2013
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I am delighted to announce that Peter Coleborn has accepted my novella 'In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair' for the Alchemy Press Novella line. It will appear as an eBook later this year and then in print as part of a collection of novellas sometime next year.
This makes me smile and possibly happy dance. Who am I kidding? I so shook my ass when I found out. I should add, I was on a train. No one saw although I may be on CCTV.
If you have a strange novella hiding in your bottom drawer or are working some strangeness into novella form, then the guidelines are here:
http://alchemypress02.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html
By: Cate Gardner,
on 4/10/2013
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Seen as my last post was all about me, I think it's time to make one all about someone else.
I've met Priya Sharma on a couple of occasions at writing events in Liverpool and Halton, and she has to be one of the modestest (is that even a word - it sounds wrong) people I've ever met. Her latest story 'Rag and Bone' is published at Tor and is set in my home town, Liverpool. It's a marvellous story of a rag and bone seller, with emphasis on the bone, and the poor in an alternative 19th century Liverpool. Trust me, you should read it.
Link here: Rag and Bone by Priya Sharma
By: Cate Gardner,
on 4/8/2013
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Some reviews, which have appeared on the net over the past few weeks. I used to be better organised, more on the ball, not so distracted, fa la la la la...
Lois Tilton has reviewed Shimmer 16 over at Locus Online. Here's a snippet of what she had to say about my story, The Binding of Memories:
...a darkly amusing, imaginative bit of absurdity. You can read the rest of the review here.
Sam Tomaino also reviewed the story over at SFRevu Reviews. Here's a snippet:
...This story gets darker and darker until its end and certainly fit the purpose of having “a strange and original idea” and being a very good story, too. You can read the rest of the review here.
Haralambi Mmarkov reviewed the anthology Fish from Dagan Books. here's a snippet of what he had to say about my story, Too Delicate for Human Form:
...In a typical Gardner fashion, an already weird concept with its haunting, mournful beauty descends into madness. You can read the rest of the review here.
Paul Weimer reviewed the anthology over at SF Signal.
..."Too Delicate for Human Form” is a haunting fantasy story of the unexpected legacy of a girl’s aunt and a magical secret with a sharp sting in the tail. You can read the rest of the review here.
And, lastly, but by no way the least, James Everington reviewed my novella, Barbed Wire Hearts over at his blog and amongst the delightful things he had to say...
...But it's easy enough to describe how damn good they are. And this novella (published by Delirium Books) strikes me as possibly the strongest book of hers I've read – in common with the best novellas, the form allows the plot to be fully satisfying but without any extraneous fat.
As I said in the title... It's All About Me. Apologies for that. Go make yourself a cup of tea and dunk some biscuits in it. Don't like dunking biscuits. Me neither.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 4/3/2013
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A month or so ago Damien Walter (of The Guardian) invited authors to tell him about their books or books by other people as part of his great SciFi and Fantasy hunt. Someone kindly nominated my book,
Theatre of Curious Acts (if I remember correctly it was The Bestwick - he shall be suitably thanked). After sifting through 800 or so, Damien has chosen his top five and I'm delighted to say he's included Theatre in the list.
Here's a taster of what he had to say about it...
"The Theatre of Curious Acts by Cate Gardner is a small but beautiful package of mystery and wonder disguised as a novel. Gardner begins her story in the trenches of the first world war, where Daniel Cole is doing his best to hide from the suffering and death around him..."
You can read the rest of his comments and check out the other four books
here. This most definitely made my day.
Another Twisted Tales event last night. First one in awhile and a bit of a landmark as before snagging the Bestwick, I used to meet him for coffee in Liverpool before Twisted Tales events and then we'd go to the readings.
This time the guests were Adam Nevill (always charming), Stuart MacBride and Steve Mosby. The theme, as you can guess from the poster to the left, was serial killers. Each author read a piece from their books and then David McWilliam hosted a discussion on serial murder, crime and its connection to horror, before opening the questions for the audience to ask the authors.
I haven't read anything by Stuart MacBride or Steve Mosby before so I'm looking forward to checking out their books, especially as I haven't read any crime/thrillers in a wee while. Stares at to read pile. Falls over.
After the event, we went for a meal in China Town with several awesome people including Ramsey & Jenny Campbell, Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane, David McWilliam, Stuart MacBride, Adam Nevill and Glynn Morgan. Lovely food even if I did have a minor spat with the Bestwick over what I was eating because I couldn't make up my mind. I can be annoying. Also good to see
Priya Sharma and Roy Gray again. Hopefully, I haven't missed anyone out.
Actually, food caused me no end of problems yesterday including the death of my porridge. It went splat all over the work kitchen sink. Guess, I'm a cereal killer. You have permission to groan.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 2/19/2013
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After waiting weeks (and part of last year) to see Les Misérables, I finally saw it today. Does a mad-dance-scream combo and grins madly. Love, love, loved it. Just resisted singing along during the movie, but I've spent the time since we left the cinema singing, skipping and being generally annoying. This is not unusual.
I want to see it again. NOW. In fact, I threatened to watch the 10th Anniversary Concert on DVD this evening but Mum has lent it to someone. Noooooooo! Maybe, I could watch 'Once More With Feeling' instead.
Skips some more.
Then, when we were leaving the cinema, I opened my Gmail and discovered to my unrestrained joy that I'd sold a short story to
Daily Science Fiction. Look out for my story 'Puppet Man' sometime in the coming year. You can read my previous Daily Science Fiction stories
here and
here. And, if you're in the mind to submit something yourself then you'll find guidelines
here.
Skips away.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 1/27/2013
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Lots of goodness this week.
Received my contributors copy of 'Burning with Optimism's Flames' (edited by Jay Eales). It contains my story '...and from the tower she did fall.' All the stories are set in the Faction Paradox universe (an off-shoot of the Doctor Who universe). Mine is a dark little tale about ravens, men in terror-bird masks and a killer. You can also read a review over at Daniel Tessier's blog.
Issue 16 of Shimmer is now available to purchase. It contains my cake-filled story 'The Binding of Memories'.
Finished the first draft of my novella and the first draft of a short story, which makes this coming week 'second draft week'. I also have a clearer idea where my novel is going and am back at the excited stage. Keeping up with my steps (what do you mean you don't care about my steps! Pfft). 87,562 steps this week. Best week so far despite the snow.
I usually hate walking in the snow.
No, make that, I usually despise walking in the snow. Oh, how I moan.
Not this time though. It was after eleven at night, the lighting was glorious, very few people were about and the Bestwick and I got to trample through the virgin snow, holding hands and pelting each other with snow balls. Everything looked so pretty. Although, no snowmen were built. Shame on us.
I told you there was lots of goodness.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 1/20/2013
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It snowed.
Only a little snow for Liverpool and Manchester but enough for me to finally get to wear my pink flowered Wellington boots. Possibility of my falling over in them is high. I am normally very steady on my feet. Honestly.
She lies.
Because I'm a wimp when walking in the snow (the Bestwick can confirm this) it put a dent in my steps this week. However, I did get my required 70,000 with 73,443 for the week. If someone could blow away the ice from my street for tomorrow morning I would be very grateful.
This Foolish & Harmful Delight is now at 14,490 words. Getting there. I also have a plan for another short story. Or rather, I have notes that will hopefully become a feasible plan when I type it up later. Bizarre prompts were supplied by the Bestwick. Really need to write a new short story not just plan on writing one.
Okay, back to the grindstone. Or rather, may cheat and read some blogs and make a lettuce sandwich. I'm so rock 'n'roll.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 1/13/2013
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So the photo of the week this time is of some wee ducks taken at Dunham Massey in Cheshire. The Bestwick and I had a delightful day sinking in mud, looking for a slaughter house and getting rather close to stags (thankfully of the animal variety and not the drunk variety). Or, as close as I needed to with my camera. Their antlers were huge. I may have annoyed one in particular by calling it Charlotte.
Continuing with my 70,000 steps a week challenge. This week I accumulated 84,771 steps. For the coming week, I'm still aiming for 70,000 steps but rather than building extra steps up by using a stepper of an evening I'm going to concentrate on the midriff section. I won't be bouncy at all soon. Who am I kidding?
My novella 'This Foolish & Harmful Delight' is now at 7,297 words. Not many words written this week but a new twist to the plot. Excited to see where it leads me. Still sorting out the future chapters of Last Seen Drowning. I also scratched out a 900 word plan for a new short story 'The Roar of the Beast at the Station at the End of the World', but I'll probably change that title as it reminds me too much of Rob Shearman's awesome '
The Dark Space in the House in the House in the Garden at the Centre of the World'. But it'll do for now.
Back to the typewriter... Only I don't use a typewriter.
I miss typewriters.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 1/6/2013
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Having been rather neglectful of this blog lately, I thought it time to dust it off and attempt to keep it up to date. New Year resolution and all that. Which, of course, means I may neglect the blog again come February but the spirit is currently motivated.
I thought that each week I would add a photo of the week. Hence, the photo to the left. It was either this wild, magical tree or a steaming pile of horse dung. I think I made the right choice. It was taken on New Year's Day at Clifton Country Park. Please feel free to write a story about said tree. I may do so too. Eventually.
On the writing front I've been working on a commissioned novella 'This Foolish & Harmful Delight' and have completed 4361 words this week (up to Saturday). I'm rather foolishly delighted to be writing again. I appear to be back on track. Heck, I may even catch up with reading everyone's blogs soon. It's like a mini-miracle. I've also been reading through and editing the first 10,000 words of my novel 'Last Seen Drowning' before I move on to re-writing the next 50,000ish words.
I've also decided to walk 70,000 steps a week (averaging 10,000 a day - ooh, look I can do maths). Imagine my delight when I discovered that a bunch of people were doing the 'Million Steps Challenge'. We have a
blog and everything. So far this week (1st to 5th Jan) I've walked 62,136 steps (easily within my 10,000 steps a day by 12,136 - ooh, more maths). I'm aiming for three and a half million steps by year end.
And that is that, for now...
Read the rest of this post
By: Cate Gardner,
on 12/18/2012
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My day took a delightful turn when I discovered that my novella, Theatre of Curious Acts, has been nominated for 'Short Fiction of the Year' in the This is Horror Awards 2012. Thank you to whoever nominated it - I'm blowing kisses in your direction. I wonder if the coming apocalypse this December 21st will be caused by my wanton kisses flying about the globe.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 12/13/2012
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I may not have achieved much writing-wise this year, or have written anywhere near as much as I usually do, but I'm very proud to finally have a story in Shimmer Magazine. The issue is out in January and E. Catherine Tobler has built a rather pretty trailer for it:
That be all.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 11/19/2012
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Jim McLeod kindly interviewed me for one of his Five Minutes slots over at his blog. Here there be talk of mud wrestling, World War One soldiers and ghosts.
And this may have just entered the category of shortest blog post ever... Although, possibly not.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 11/14/2012
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I've been ignoring my blog. Bad writer. Be assured I have slapped my wrists with a ruler. In fact it broke. So what to report...
1) Since last I visited this here corner of the internet I have fallen down several hills (that may not actually classify as hills) with Pendle Hill (or close to) being the most spectacular. Conclusion: I need walking boots or the Bestwick should give me a piggy back on the downward slopes. What I learned from this: sheep hide their humour well.
2) Received my contributor copy of
Circus - Fantasy Under the Big Top. I remain stoked by the fact I have a story in a Prime anthology. Dreams are made every day be they big or small. I just vomited.
3) Because if you're making a list there should be at least three things.
4) My story 'Too Delicate for Human Form', which is forthcoming in Dagan Book's
Fish anthology, has been selected for Proxima Books' anthology 'Best British Fantasy 2013'. Falls over. Bruises nose.
5) I will / should (someone tie me to a chair - leaving my hands free to type) finish editing my ghostly novella 'The Bureau of Them' this week. When and if I stop procrastinating and exercising and eating and.... Now I'm just coming up with lame excuses.
And that is my cue to leave this blog. Hopefully my next post shall follow shortly or at least within the month.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 10/22/2012
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Bernie Mojzes tagged me and now I must write a post about my WIP - which is almost finished. Praise (insert here whichever deity or random object you worship) chocolate. I miss blogging. I miss having the time to catch up with blogs and twitter. I don't twitter as much as I used to. You may have noticed. Or not. I hope you haven't because that means a) I've got away with being semi-silent, and b) you're not stalking me; but it also means a) no one notices me, and b) darn, you're not stalking me.
Oh, and my WIP is a novella rather than a novel but I will start working on a novel again soon, I promise, maybe, no I definitely will. Sorry, the angel and the demon on my shoulders are having an argument (at least they're not chips). I just have one more project to work on (about 20,000 words long) and then I can write three books at once (two middle grades and one adult) because that is so happening.
What is the title of your book?
The Bureau of Them.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The story was born of numerous places. Firstly, I fell in love with the Katy Perry song 'The One That Got Away' (check it out and try not to sniffle) and wanted to write a story about lost love. Secondly, there is an old building that I pass on the way home from work. It's empty, it's ugly (1960s or 1970s), the windows are covered in grime and in that grime people have written messages - some obscene some the general x loves y. I realised one of my characters was trapped within the building. Thirdly, I pulled a page out of a catalogue (Urban Outfitters or something similar) that had pictures of objects - a metallic owl, blocks, a tape measure and other stuff, and wanted to include them in a story. Thus, The Bureau of Them was born.
What genre does your book fall under?
Horror. It's a ghost story.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Ooh, I've never considered who could play Katy and Glynn. Now I must think (cogs turn, cogs rusty). My knowledge of the current crop of young actors is rather limited so I'm going to pretend it’s the 1980s and cast Jami Gertz as Katy and Judd Nelson as Glynn. Jack Nicholson can play the twisted leader of the ghosts, Yarker Ryland.
What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?
Evil question - I should just delete it but…
Ghosts watch from behind the windows of the abandoned building, waiting to destroy those who once loved them.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Neither. As it's a novella, I'll be sending it to publishers myself. Beware, the ghosts could land in your inbox soon (although, probably not as I suspect you're not an editor and if you are an editor, 'hey, you're looking good today' and please do not judge me on this sentence).
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I can't remember. About a month. I could check in my writing diary but that would require effort. It's Monday. I don't do effort on a Monday.
What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?
Oh… Erm… I'm not certain I can.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
A little metallic owl.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's set in the streets I grew up in and I've kept some of the buildings from that era (although they're long gone) and moved them to a modern setting. I guess that would only interest the reader though if they were interested in stalking 'little me' and that's just odd or if they grew up in those same streets. Sheil Road Flats and Boaler Street school anyone? Anyone? Okay, shall have to think of something else to pique the reader's interest…
Well there is a little metallic owl if you're into owls and a broken butterfly pin if you're into butterflies or pins. If you like having your heart broken, then this is a tale of lost love that is determined to remain lost. These are ghosts who have forgotten who they were and do not recognise what was once dear to them; all they know is that they no longer exist and thus believe the places they haunted in life should disappear too. They are destroying the world and in doing so, Glynn is also destroying Katy.
Now, I'm supposed to tag five people. Of course, I don’t expect you to play along but as I'm falling behind on my blog reading and not up to date on what everyone is writing I'm going to choose some folk in the hope that I'll find out what their current WIP is the lazy way.
Last weekend, I attended my very first convention - Fantasycon - and I loved it. Here are some of the things that occurred and helped make it something to remember...
- Simon may never forgive me for making him run from our B&B to the convention hotel because I wanted to attend Rob Shearman's reading. The run included stairs. I will apologise eventually. Maybe. Probably not. It was Rob Shearman after all. I also attended readings by Simon Bestwick (duh!), Alison Littlewood, Gary McMahon, Graham Joyce and Jon Oliver.
- Beware of Graham Joyce and seemingly innocent lists of signatures. Always check under Joyce's thumb. Several writers signed their names to the List of Cunts. Snort.
- An absolute thrill to finally meet Ray Cluley and to discover that his girlfriend, Victoria, is VH Leslie who's had stories published in Black Static. At several points during the weekend I was surrounded by Black Static and Interzone authors. This makes me part of the gang, right? Right? It's almost like having a story within the pages, right? Simon and I went for a meal with Ray and Victoria on the Friday night. A definite highlight of the weekend. The following night we returned to the same restaurant with the brilliant Gary & Emily McMahon. I ate swordfish. This is exotic for me.
- Arriving at a disco via the dance floor when your boyfriend is an extrovert and you are an introvert is scary. I demanded a pint of cider and after a few sips discovered my rhythm - or rather, no longer cared whether or not I had rhythm. I didn't have rhythm.
- Beware of DJs with a wicked sense of humour.
- I can hold my drink. Cue one boyfriend who was slightly less concerned when I demanded he buy me another pint of cider.
- During the British Fantasy Awards the room erupted when Rob Shearman won the award for best collection. Although all the winners received generous applause, the announcement of Rob's win almost brought the hotel down. In fact, I suspect parts of Brighton are still shaking. Adam Nevill got a rapturous applause too. Someone needs to check if the hotel is still standing.
- Despite claiming we would, the Bestwick and I never managed a trip on the big wheel. We ran out of time. It wasn't because we're wimps or that we were still trying to catch our breath after running to Rob Shearman's reading. Although, hearing Soozy Marjoram's report of her experience on the big wheel I'm rather grateful to the beast that stole time.
- Nina Allen is so lovely.
- Alison Littlewood & Fergus are lovely too. But this I already knew. In fact, lots of people were lovely and in some cases bonkers. I appreciate bonkers. Amongst the lovely and the bonkers who I spoke to (leaving out those already mentioned) were Graeme Reynolds, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Jay Eales, Rosie Seymour, Christopher Teague, Rio Youers, Lynda Rucker, Mark West, Selina Lock, Joel Lane, Gary Cole Wilkin, David Price, Simon & Lizzie Marshall Jones, Neil Buchanan, Maura McHugh, and... okay, I've mentioned him before but... Rob Shearman. So, so excited to meet Rob. I don't think it showed though. Apologies to all those I forgot to mention (I have just face palmed)
- Somebody forgot to attend any panels. That would be me. No matter the awesomeness of the Guests of Honour if you get lost in Alice in Wonderland corridors you'll never find your way to their interview. Oops! In fact, I think my reflection is still trapped somewhere in the basement of the con hotel.
- I didn't take many photos because I suffered a strange case of Behind Camera Shyness. This is a new illness. I'm going to prescribe something sugary.
- I developed an addiction to ice cubes. My home made ice cubes do not compare. I would also like to continue having breakfast in bed. Someone arrange the latter.
- Roy Gray (of Interzone / TTA Press) kindly gave us a lift to and from Fantasycon. Much thanks to him. I think he survived the experience.
- Candy floss was consumed.
- Most important of all, the convention made me desperate to write. I'd lost a little of that want over the past few months. Oh, and did I say, I met ROB SHEARMAN!!! This may have pleased me.
By: Cate Gardner,
on 9/24/2012
Blog:
The Poisoned Apple
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Normally you'll find me raving about how cool my city (Liverpool) is but on this rare occasion I am going to rave about a city close to mine - Manchester. For those who falsely believe Manchester is superior to Liverpool note that this is a one time event...
Liverpool is way cooler. For one, it has me in it.*
The folk at
This is Horror were holding an event at MadLab to celebrate the launch of
Thin Men with Yellow Faces, a chapbook by Simon Bestwick and Gary McMahon.
(Side note: MadLab was far less mad than expected - colour me disappointed - although we did spend some time in an Odd Bar before the event. I'll take whatever strangeness I can find.)
The wonderful Jasper Bark hosted the event (a seriously brilliant host) and there were readings by Ramsey Campbell, Conrad Williams and, of course, Simon & Gary read an extract each from their chapbook (available to purchase
here - although if you're at Fantasycon this week I believe you'll be able to pick up a copy there (hint - it's brilliant and chilling). Jasper interviewed all four authors and then there was a panel discussion. There was also an ass pressed up against the window - I missed that bit. I always miss everything. Oh wait... I didn't miss the bit where I was pointed out in the audience. I believe I may have fallen under my chair at that point. I'm such an attention seeker obviously.
It was lovely to finally meet Michael Wilson and Jasper Bark, and also lovely to meet Dan Howarth again, also Jo Baldwin (who had the most gorgeous coat in the history of coats - priorities people), Ian Graham, John Costello, Conrad Williams, Ramsey Campbell, Jenny Campbell, Ronnie Bark, Pat Kelleher, Shaun Hamilton and other folk. Fabulous, fabulous night, which was rounded off with a meal at a Korean restaurant with a bunch of good folk.
Now I shall scrutinise the Fantasycon programme and decide which panels, readings etc I want to attend. I already see two things that clash but I have a plan. A cunning plan. Okay, it may not be that cunning.
*actual ego can fit on a pin head (but not
the Pinhead)
**Manchester is also rather cool because it's where the Bestwick resides
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It was really lovely to see you again too, beautiful!
Congrats again on your story in Shimmer. I'll check it out.
All the best and hope to see you again,
Priya
Thanks, Priya. Hopefully we'll bump into each other at another event.
Sounds like a good time, Cate!
These events looks fabulous. Very jealous.
Always, Lee :D
They are, Deborah :D