The Situation

Several years ago, at a convention, I went down for an early breakfast with one of the books I’d bought during the weekend. The breakfast was huge, which was just as well because the book completely captivated me. Read it until the toast was soggy and the tea cold. The book was PS Publishing’s edition […]

Spring cleaning

Yes, I’m aware it’s nearly December, but sometimes you have to do these things when the whim takes you. So, if you’re a regular visitor (yes, I know who you are, all three of you), you might have noticed that last night I gave the site a lick of paint and moved some stuff around. […]

Your other national language

Saturday evening sees me pottering around on the netbook while I wait for the lamb tagine (which is currently flooding the place with some amazing spicy smells) to cook. And in the background I’ve got this afternoon’s St Mirren v Hibs match on BBC Alba, with commentary in Gaelic. No, I do no speak Gaelic, […]

Bits and pieces

Coming (reluctantly) to the end of welcome and recuperative break in the Trossachs, and catching up on a few nuggets of news that have come my way over the last week or so. The Ephemera (plus a mini interview) was featured last week at Indie Books Blog, a terrific resource for discovering new, indpendently published […]

May’s reading

Chunky style reading this month. No shorts, but the new Interzone only just arrived so hopefully something from that will make June’s list. Odalisque by Fiona McIntosh – been quite a while since I read a genuine THE* Fantasy novel, and it’s always good to keep up with what’s happening. This one was actually published […]

Maxwell: master of imagination

Nice piece in the Scotsman noting that it’s 150 years since physicist, James Clerk Maxwell took the world’s first colour photograph. Maxwell was a hero of mine during my student days for being the guy that came up with the equations that neatly explain how electric and magnetic fields work. Like PJ Moore, noted in […]

Signal boostage : the Vandermeers uncovering Finland

When I was in Warsaw with Jeff Vandermeer I got interested in European (specifically Polish) genre fiction, and during that weekend Jeff told me that he and his wife Ann would be spending some time in Finland the following week. Finland, he told me, has the most amazing SF community. You should definitely go to […]

Gary Gibson teaching SF

Just a note to boost the signal that SF writer Gary Gibson is going to be teaching a couple of courses on understanding and writing Science Fiction as part of Strathclyde University’s summer learning programme. Gary’s a great writer with a lot of experience in the SF field, so if you fancy taking up SF […]

Interview, with Polish Curtains

While I was travelling to Eastercon, SF Signal posted an interview That Jeff Vandermeer did with me while we were in Poland. I talk quite a lot of nonsense, but the curtains are nice I think.

Post Eastercon -in transit

Just a micropost while waiting for the sunny morning train out of eastercon. Been an highly enjoyable weekend. Of course. With so many great and creative people to pass the time with, it couldn’t not be. And hugely pleased for Aliette de Bodard and Ian McDonald, not only for being deserving bsfa winners but also […]