Pat Kelleher Reading

Hey all,

So as you know, me and Jenni hit the Derby QUAD over the weekend, to meet some extraordinary people, drink a little beer, talk - a lot - and generally get our vibe on with the community of British writers, current, new, up-and-coming and aspiring.

A fantastic time was had, by us and by the people around us. Not, you understand, because you were around us, but because they were also at the very good event we just attended.

I mean, they probably also enjoyed being around us; as far as I know, we were perfectly charming company. Jenni was, certainly. I was a little drunk for some of it, so I may have just been loud company. Charmingly loud, maybe. I don't know. I mean, you don't, do you? There you are, getting on with your evening, having fun, thinking everyone around you is having a good time too, but maybe they're not, and they're too polite to say. Does that ever bother you? Or did it not, but now it will?

Anyway.

So we will be getting some kind of blogpost out about our experiences - tomorrow, hopefully - but in the immediate term, here's a bit of a treat. Our own Pat Kelleher was there, pimping his latest ouvre, No Man's World: The Ironclad Prophecy, and fine company he was too.

He also did a reading, Sunday afternoon, and I was on hand to capture it on my phone:

Forgive slightly shaky camera work.

Anyway, more tomorrow.

Sleep tight...

David

Alt.Fiction this Saturday!

Tomorrow David and I will be heading off to Derby for one of the best alternative literary festivals around, Alt.Fiction!

Not only will you be able to meet the editors (us!), but Pat Kelleher, the author of the No Man's World series, will be on several panels, and reading from his newest book on the Sunday.

Gary McMahon, author of The Concrete Grove (Solaris) and Hungry Hearts (Abaddon) will also be there, as will Paul Kane, author of the Arrowhead trilogy and Paul Finch of Stronghold fame.

From Solaris we will have science fiction author Ian Whates and acclaimed fantasy novelist Juliet E. McKenna doing the rounds!

Check out the Alt.Fiction website for ticket details, you can turn up for the Saturday, the Sunday or the whole weekend. View the programme for full details of all the sci-fi, fantasy and horror-themed events on offer.

-

Abaddon & Solaris FantasyCon Vlog III!

Okay, okay, that proper blogpost with text and pics still coming.

Here's the third video:

FantasyCon 2010 Blog Part II: More Vloggery

Righto. Will do a bloggy blog with pics and stuff in a bit. In the meantime, a second vlog:



Cheers,

David

FantasyCon 2010 Blog Part I: The Vlog!

Hola chaps,

Will be getting onto you with some quality typage (such as you have come to expect from us here at the Abaddon Books Blog) a little later in the day, but I decided to start with an exciting foray into Vlogging! Yes! We're totally twenty-first century here at Abaddon Towers.

Or I am. Jon's catching up.



Cheers,

David

Podcast Coming Up!

Hi all,

The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast second instalment, "Juliet McKenna and the SFX Weekender: From Lescar to Camber Sands," is underoing final editing now, and should be up tomorrow afternoon.

Featured is an interview with Solaris Books author Juliet McKenna and a reading from her book, Blood in the Water, and a convention report from Editor-in-Chief Jon Oliver and the roguishly charming David Moore on their recent jaunt to the SFX Weekender at Pontins Camber Sands, including interviews with Abaddon's own Al Ewing and Jonathan Green, with a dalek, and some pretty exciting surprises.

Keep an eye out on the blog. Should be a good one.

David

SFX Weekender: Eleventh Post

(Following on fron the tenth post, just here.)

So, a quick wrap post for our adoring fans. Here is Mr. Al Ewing serenading us with Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell's "Fever" on the Karaoke stage at the SFX Weekender on Saturday. Yes, his voice is really that deep. No, he's not putting it on.

He also gave us a memorable rendition of Larry Weiss's "Rhinestone Cowboy," and I offered Satchmo's "What a Wonderful World" (okay, I did put it on, but rather well if I say so myself) and the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" (I also gloriously cocked up the Gorillaz' "Clint Eastwood," but the less said about that the better; let's just say that Del tha Funkee Homosapien's job is in no danger just yet), but they were sadly not captured.

Then on to the Masquerade Ball, DJ'ed by Pat Sharp. Do you know what? He's not all that. I danced a couple of songs, thought "blow this for a lark," and went and found some friends.

Crashed out at a fairly responsible 2am, did some last minute packing, and cleared out around 11.30 on Sunday. Our wonderful PR girl left her mobile at Clackett Lane services and I had to drive back and forth on the M25 for half an hour, but an otherwise uneventful drive and a splendid weekend had by all.

And that more or less wraps it up. Some final images I didn't get around to including:

There were more David Tennant cosplayers than you could shake a stick at. There were, in fact, no other Doctor Who cosplayers that I could see (not withstanding one bloke in a multicoloured scarf, who may have been trying for the world's worst Tom Baker impression, or may just really dig long multicoloured scarves; I will leave it up to history to decide that one), although I had it on good authority that there was a Troughton cosplayer.

I mean, good show that man. Troughton's a courageous decision and one of my favourite Whos. But, you know, I didn't see him.

Our very own Jonathan Green signing one of his Ulysses S. Quicksilver books for a fan. Jon wasn't in for the long haul - I believe he has a tiny one at home, so fair play - but he kicked around for about a day, and I had a chance to chat with him and capture an interview for the next podcast.

And finally, the resident 2000AD artists Leigh Gallagher and Clint Langley did some sketches live at the event: here's Leigh with Defoe and a zombie, and Clint with a massive Dredd.

I believe they were given away as prizes, which must have been a good coup for someone.

Right. Off to get some more caffeine.

David

SFX Weekender: Ninth Post

Eighth post is here.

So, yeah, some more costumes for you. Pretty cool, I thought.




Part ten here.

SFX Weekender: Seventh Post

Sixth and final post last night is here.

So we hit a bar in Rye last night to have a bit of a drink and get down. Here's us around the table.

Not me, obviously. I'm holding the camera.

The taxi driver recommended it to us. We walked in and Brian Glover shouted at us to keep off the moors and stick to the path.

Well, he didn't, really, because he's dead and that would have been creepy. Also awesome.

Seriously, it was quite a nice pub and they were quite friendly.

The DJ was extraordinary. He'd brought about fifty CDs with him and was all "yeah, come up and let me know any requests!"

Fifty.

So we went up and asked, but even trying to be as cheese-friendly as we could, we had about a 30% hit rate. His face fell every time we asked, but he was so happy every time he could help. It was kind of half-DJ, half-Spaniel.

So now it's Day Two of the con (Day Three onsite). Tired, bleary, slightly hungover.

Living the dream, baby. Living the dream.

Eighth post, for those reading the whole thing in order, is here.

SFX Weekender: Fifth Post

Fourth Post is here.

Check these out. They got girls on stilts wandering around freaking people out.

Mmm... giant, terrifying women in fishnets.

Next post is here.

SFX Weekender: Third Post

So the Second Post is up on the Solaris blog.

And the con is in full swing. We're selling books - Paul Kane's Arrowhead and Broken Arrow are quite successful today, as are Scott Andrews' Lee Keegan books - chatting folk up, and pottering about.

Our very own (and 2000 AD's) Al Ewing has been up for a comic-writing workshop along with 2000 AD's Leigh Gallagher, talking up the audience and getting them to call out plot ideas while Leigh drew.

The ideas posed a bit of a challenge, in the end; they ended up writing a story about Dredd investigating an MP who bought porn on expenses, only to discover that the porn was poisonous.

Hm.

At any rate, above is Al rocking the mic like a born MC, and below is Leigh getting his penmanship on.

Fourth post is here.

SFX Weekender: First Post

Hi all,

As promised, I am blogging live from the SFX Weekender, where I will be updating you intermittently throughout the day.

So we got on site yesterday after my first time ever driving a van - a harrowing, but in the end reassuringly straightforward experience - and went for a pint. Because that's how we roll.

Then we unloaded the van and had another pint.

Then we went to find our chalets and had another pint.

Then we wandered around Camber looking for a fictional restaurant, gave up, grabbed some supermarket pizza and came back for another pint.

Limped out of bed at around 8.30 (or so; some got up earlier than later), sorted the boxes a little and saw these guys.

Do you suppose convention stormtrooper guys turn up, see other convention stormtrooper guys, and think, "Oh my god! Somebody else came dressed as the same thing! I'm going to just die."

No?

Whatever.

Breakfast at some horrifying cafe where the woman made us fix her lights before we were allowed to sit down - this is actually true - and back to set the stall up.

More as the day progresses. I'm really just in it for Tom Baker.

The second post is here.

Leeds Thought Bubble Convention

Hey all,

Just a quickie. Al Ewing (of Pax Britannia: El Sombra, Tomes of the Dead: I, Zombie, and The Afterblight Chronicles: Death Got No Mercy), Simon Spurrier (of The Afterblight Chronicles: The Culled; both of them, for that matter, regular contributors to 2000 AD) and Antony Johnston (of Dreams of Inan: Stealing Life) will be at the Leeds Thought Bubble Comic Convention on the 21st of this month. Get down there and poke them. Tell 'em I sentcha.

Al informs me he'll also be DJing at the after-party at Alea Casino on the Saturday night.

While you're online, check out Al's, Si's and Antony's blogs, or follow them on Twitter at @Al_Ewing, @sispurrier and @antonyjohnston.

Cheers,

David