Empire of Salt Victim's League

Weston Ochse has written to me to tell you guys that there's a new Facebook group that's been created to support those horrified by the zombie carnage in his Tomes of the Dead novel - it's called the Empire of Salt Victim's League.

Our thoughts are with those poor souls....


There's also two competions which are only open to UK fans, so get in there quick, Brits!

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Pax Britannia Competition - For the Devonshire Air Ambulance Trust

Ever fancied seeing yourself immortalised in a steampunk novel? Well now you can!

Abaddon Books author Jonathan Green is running a competition in aid of the Devonshire Air Ambulance Trust. http://paxbritanniablog.blogspot.com/2010/04/win-walk-on-part-in-dark-side.html

How to Enter
All you have to do to qualify is make a small donation to charity. My sister-in-law is running in this year's London Marathon for the Devon Air Ambulance. If you sponsor her via her Just Giving page, along with the comment 'Jon Green sent me', then on the day of the marathon I will put all qualifying names into a hat and, after the race, get my sister-in-law to pick one. It really couldn't be easier.


The Prize
A walk on part in the next Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novel Dark Side, due to be published by Abaddon Books by the end of the year. It will be up to me how you appear in the book and whether you're a hero, a villain or a third class laundry room attendant, but your name will appear somewhere within the book.

So, if you'd like to enter this competition simply follow this link. To find out more about the work of the Devon Air Ambulance click here. I look forward to reviewing your entries in due course.

- Jonathan Green



The proposed cover, which is a reference to the 1902 French film Le Voyage dans la lune.

It'd be awesome if you guys pimped this in your own blogs/twitters and so on. It's for charity after all!

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The Third Podcast is Up!

Hi all,

Sheesh. To think, only two months ago the first Podcast was going up. How young and naive we were. We thought we were changing the world. We thought we knew the lot. Now, two months on, we're putting up the third podcast, and we're older. Wiser. More seasoned. Makes you look back on old times and get all nostalgic.

Yes, you heard it right! The third Abaddon & Solaris Books Pocast is even now on your iTunes Store! Point your iTunes to this link, or search "Abaddon" (or "Solaris") in the "Search Store" box at the top-right corner of iTunes, to check it out. As usual, if you reeeeeeally luff us and have subscribed to the 'cast, iTunes should find and upload the new episode automatically.

Jenni, Jon and David, at Abaddon Books and Solaris Books thrill with the "most insanely groundbreaking instalment yet"* of their much-loved, widely-discussed podcast.

The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast #3: Staples of Horror! is introduced by desk editor David Moore, who they didn't let do any real interviewing this time as he scares authors. Editor-in-Chief Jon Oliver interviews Greg Staples, cover artist and comics legend, about his inspiration and his thoughts about different art media, and junior editor Jenni Hill runs around the World Horror Convention at Brighton interviewing our authors. Simon Bestwick, author of Tide of Souls, accosts Steven Savile, our new Knights of Albion author, and basically doesn't give him a chance to speak. How rude...

Now, this one's a doozy. It's, like, an hour and a quarter. We're going to try and rein that in next time, but basically, this is how much good stuff we had this month! Think of it as, like, two podcasts. Listen to Jon and Greg, put the podcast away, then come back later and listen to Jenni and various drunk authors. So you're getting two podcasts for the price of one. How cool are we?

Please listen to it, and once again, we'd love feedback. We got some great feedback last time, and have tried to make completely different mistakes this time.

Cheers,

David



*2010, noted talking head and vox pop specialist, David Moore's mum.

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• Not on iTunes, and have sworn to end your life rather than download a single Apple application? Here to help! Just point your RSS client here to download the feed without putting a penny in Steve Jobs' pocket. Keep an eye on the blog for updates, in case we change the host or something crazy like that.
  
• Bewildered by the term "RSS" and unsure what all this means? No problem, ignorant Luddite! Just follow the exact same link, click on the link to the mp3 of the episode you wish to hear, and you can listen right on your browser! Everyone's a winner!

Reviewspam!

Okay,

Another flurry of reviews:

• Hub Magazine Issue 114 includes a decent interview of Simon Bestwick's Tomes of the Dead: Tide of Souls by Derek John.
  
  "‘Tide of Souls’ is an original take on a tired genre, perhaps showing a new way back to its traditional horror roots."
  
  
• The Novelblog's Daniel S. Boucher has written this very nice review of Jasper Bark's Tomes of the Dead: Way of the Barefoot Zombie.
  
  "Crap, just writing all that is giving me the willies again. I mean seriously, who reads this stuff? Oh, wait a minute..."
  
  
• Graeme Flory of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review has written this glowing review for Rebecca Levene's The Infernal Game: Cold Warriors.
  
  "Cold Warriors’ is a novel that’s just as good as hitting you with the supernatural as it is with all the other more mundane stuff... it makes the reader feel that this stuff could really be happening just beyond the corner of their eye..."
  
  
• On that subject, the guys at Falcata Times have written this very kind (if brief) review for Cold Warriors.
  
  "It’s a great setting, it’s got a lot of scope for follow up tales but perhaps best of all its the characters that really come alive to the reader."

Some good reviews there, which is always nice to see.

David

Review

Nice review of Night's Haunting over here.

Sprange builds a story line that moves at a brisk pace and beckons readers into Kane’s world. ... a unique approach towards the idea of magic ... With several plot lines exposed, readers will be immersed in action and intrigue when they enter the world Kerberos. Sprange creates likable characters that are flawed in their own way, making them seem all the more human. The story is compelling and not over indulgent...