Strange Creatures

Outside the sun is shining but it's incredibly cold. In fact  I was out earlier this morning and there were a few flakes of snow in the air. Snow - in May! Maybe the Mayans had it right and we're approaching the end of the world.

Taking a little bit of a break from writing - well not really - and doing a bit more community work. I say not really because I'm drafting a new chapbook with an artist friend which we might try out with various publishers.

The subject of the book is Strange Creatures and it arose out of some of the stuff I've been doing for Career on odd creatures. A few people have been in contact with me with suggestions for future creatures on the Career blog site and I thought well why not do a bit of a chapbook on these entities. So when Andy contacted me - he worked on some of the books I'd done for Barrons Publishing in New York, it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. Who'll publish it I don't know but we're putting a sampler of sorts together and hoping to do it like an old-style chapbook of odd and dark creatures which you probably won't find anywhere else. It's an interesting thing to do and keeps my hand in writing whilst I'm doing other things.

I'm also working with Gina at Career on the edits for A Haunted Mind the new Lovecraft book which will be out soon and after that American Vampires which i know some of you are patiently waiting on. After that I'm not sure and so the chapbook is a good way of keeping busy. Hopefully, it'll see the light of day although with the publishing world the way it is I wouldn't think it'll be any time soon - but you never know.

I've had an invite to address a convention in Cheyenne in Wyoming and I might go to that - at the moment we're sorting some of the practicalities out. So if I do and you happen to be in Wyoming around the 29th September, come up and make yourself known to me. I think I should go if we can get it sorted out as it would give me a chance to connect with my US readers.

If you read Chinese or Russian, I have three or four foreign editions out in those areas too. Maybe they'll give me an invite to go over there as well - one can always live in hope!

Anyway, hail is hitting the window and there's football on television I think so might take a break and go and watch that. I'll keep you all up to date about the possible Wyoming trip if we can get it up and running. And if the chapbook takes off we'll talk about that as well.

Things are moving if very slowly.  

American Vampires

A lot of people have been in contact with me asking me when American Vampires is coming out. I'm really flattered that there's so much interest. My answer is that it will be later this year - I'm told that it's not even been pre-advertised for pre-order on Amazon as yet so it's a little way off yet. But do keep watching.

Note from the publisher - American Vampires is set to ship in September for an October publication.  Click Here for More Information.

Before that we have A Haunted Mind coming out which will be at the end of the summer. Gina and I are looking through the edit now and it looks like there will be very little to change so we can maybe go for earlier than we had anticipated. And then we're through to American Vampires! Keep watching.

A number of others have asked if there'll be another book coming out before the end of the year or maybe next. I don't know. I've been talking to Career about a couple of projects but we haven't agreed anything yet. There's also a possible book with an Irish publisher on highwaymen - there's a lot of local interest here about that one - but once again nothing's firmly agreed. The publishing world is in such turmoil everywhere, it's difficult to tie future books down but if things work out you'll be the first to know.

I'm busy writing a couple of things on football at the moment - yes, I am a big football fan nd follow the English Leagues. Mary, my wife, is a huge Arsenal fan so when they lose there's really no living with her. My son is Manchester United - whom I'[m not keen on. My own team - I got into this when I lived in the East End of London years ago - is West Ham who are in the Championship. However, I have a strong feeling that they could make their way back into the Premiership under Sam Allerdyce. They won 6-0 yesterday against Brighton which has restored my faith. So writing something about that for local magazines. I'm told there is another Bob Curran who is an American football coach - maybe he and I should meet up some day.

Easter Wishes!

Well, American Vampires is almost complete. I have just finished the last section and have it off to Career. This only leaves me a Conclusion to do - which I'm hoping to have finished before Easter - and that finishes off the work.

If you look on my previous blog you'll see the cover which I've seen and approved. I think it looks very dramatic and eye-catching. So what next? Well I've sent Career a couple of ideas including a full proposal but nothing agreed as yet. I'm up to my eyes in developing a tourist route here in Northern Ireland as part of the International Appalachian Trail so that'll keep me busy for the next week. And I've a couple more proposals out there so watch this space. However, as Mary my wife and the children are off school for the Easter Holidays I'm going to take a few days off. I have a heap of reading to do - and I have been asked to do a couple of comic strips.

At the moment I'm working on a project with young people using comics as a reading tool and getting them to design their own, so I'm doing a bit on that. Enough to keep me going but there'll be new books out - to all those that asked, don't panic. I'm not done with writing yet.

But be sure to have good Easter. Make sure you've plenty of Easter eggs. I'm off tomorrow to buy my wife one - we've been together for thirty years and I've never missed buying her an egg at Easter yet! See you later in the month but in the meantime Happy Easter.

American Vampires Again

I hope that everybody had a very happy St. Patrick's Day. I've been meaning to update this blog but have been suffering from a few computer problems which I've had to sort out. So trying to get the final touches to American Vampires finished under a little bit of pressure. But we've most of the book done and like A Haunted Mind I've been sending the sections up to Gina as they get done.

This is, I think, the side of authoriship that a lot of people never see - it's not just all about sitting down and writing the book, it's putting the bits and pieces together and working through everything even after it's finished. I've always looked on a book as a kind of collaboration between the author and the publisher and that the two of us have to work to make the book the best that it can be. So we have to sit down and work out all the technical stuf as well.

I'm liasing with Ian too who'll be doing the illustrations for both books. Just for a change, he won't be doing the cover for American Vampires - that's done by a new artist. Jeff who works at New Page sent me down the cover for this book the other day and I have to say that it looks pretty striking - not the kind of volume that you'd miss of a shelf. You're getting an early look!  I hope that the text is up to the fantastic cover.

Getting ready for Easter and I'm trying to get a few days off. I do have another book proposal in with New Pager but haven't heard anything back from them - they need to go through meetings and the like. But am trying to plan things out for later in the year - I work about five months ahead, It's the only way I can do things and there might be something on the comics front again, so keep watching.

Anyway, I've promised to make my wife a cup of tea so I'd better go and get it for her. Somebody wrote and asked me if I had "drowned my shamrock" on St. Patrick's Day? I have to admit - and this is supposedly a terrible admission for an Irishman - that I don't drink. Haven't done so for nearly 30 years. Not out of any real convictions but I just don't. How's that for a confession? It makes for a cheap St. Patrick's Day though. Will talk soon I'm sure providing this computer holds up

Haunted Mind Off to Bed

Well, at long last, A Haunted Mind is finally finished and has been sent off to Gina my editor. This was the longest book that I've ever had to write for Career and also one of the most detailed. But I think it's been worth it - I can't think of another Lovecraft book that's like it. None that I've ever read. This will now go to a review edit and then we'll progress to a final edit and it should be hitting the stands later on in the year. I see information is already up here so that you can all pre-order it.

But no time to rest as I've American Vampires to finish - it's almost done and I should have it finished within a month or so. I have a new proposal in with Career and I'm working on a new science fiction book pieces up which might be up on the Amazon webpage very soon. This is a new area for me so I'll be interested to see how it goes - it's pretty much in the vain of Star Wars but a little bit different so hopefully it'll appeal to those fans. We'll see how it goes anyway.

But keep your eyes out for the launch of A Haunted Mind. I'm rather pleased with it - as is Gina - and I've been sending stuff down to Ian Daniels who will be illustrating both it and American Vampires and he seems to like it as well. But it's been a real task and when it was finished I put my feet up for an afternoon and watched the football - alas I am a fan of English football. You can't live in my house and not be -Mary my wife is a big fan of Arsenal whilst my son follows Manchester United, much to my disgust I'm afraid.

I used to live in the East End of London and the only two teams you could support there were West Ham and Leyton Orient, so I finished up as a Hammers fan. They're in the Championship at the moment but are expected to come back into the Premiership - although they'd need to play better then they did today! 1-1 with Doncaster who are struggling. I should have stuck to writing this afternoon! At the moment the rugby's on - Ireland against Scotland so I'll go and watch that. I promise I won't leave it so long until my next blog.

Lovecraft and Vampires

I haven't been keeping this blog up to date because things have been hectic. I've had a few medical problems - nothing major but taking up time - and I've been playing catch-up since. The health service here in Northern Ireland is a bit of a mess and I've been back and forth to get various medial tests don whilst they determine several things. With the result that I'm running behind on the Lovecraft book. However I've hopefully sorted things out with the terrific help of Gina my editor and we're certainly on track for publication.

I was barely out of hospital when there were problems with one of the community projects that I'm working on which required my time as I'm chair of the entire project. That held me up as well but New Page have been very understanding and Gina and I are working towards a final edit. So the book shouldn't be delayed.

American Vampires is also generating a lot of interest. I was on the Barb Adams show last weekend and we could really have talked for much longer. Barb very kindly e-mailed me and invited me back for a more in-depth interview. Some of the things which we were going over on the Vampires book - for example a vampire chair and a vampire well - seem to have appealed to her. So listen out for that when the book comes out - I should be doing several interviews.

Oh and went to see The Woman in Black as part of a birthday treat - Valentine's Day is my birthday. It was excellent in places - lots of spooky atmosphere although I wasn't too impressed with Daniel Radcliffe's acting which seemed a bit wooden to me. Very much like Harry Potter for my liking. But it did have good bits - even if some pieces were borrowed from other ghost stories - and it really is good to see a really spooky story on screen instead of what passes for "horror" these days. Now if somebody would do A Turn of the Screw by Henry James which is also one of my favourite ghost stories and works on a lot of levels. But I also do like Susan Hill's book - one of the better stories - and I did like the film. Go and see it

Shouldn't be too long for the Lovecract book - I think it's due out late Summer/early Fall. And this will give me a little time - we're already starting to think about follow up - to look at Jackers and get it onto the Amazon website. Tell you about that next blog but it's coming. Off now to get something to eat but will be back soon

Cthulhu and Other Things

First, bear with me for a moment as I'd like to thank all those who wrote to me concerning the Sandie Williams thing. I think Sandie has the right to express her opinion and if she wants to write to me again, I would welcome the mail. If she doesn't like my work or thinks it's not up to speed then that's her privilege - she has access to more of her family records than I have but that's fine. I hope she finds some of my work acceptable and my thanks to those of you who clearly do. It gives me great heart.

Right. Now out of hospital which wasn't all that pleasant an experience and held up a lot of my writing. But I think that it was worth all the hassle and am feeling a great deal better. However, they need to keep taking blood samples to check my status and I suspect that our National Health service now owns more of my blood than I do. I had to take a couple of days more or less off - my wife insisted that I take a rest after what I'd been through - and I've been running like a mad thing ever since trying to catch up.

I'm still working on A Haunted Mind and we're almost there. This is going to be a massive book - quite possibly one of the longest and most complex that I've ever written - but it's been really revealing. I've learned a lot about Lovecraft and his inspiration since I've been doing it and it has taken me into byways which I've found amazing. I've also found it one of the most difficult to write as I want to get a lot of things right and it meant really going ino the Mythos and making connections. I've had to look at not only the books but at role playing games and comics - which was really no real hardship for me as I'm a big comics fan - in order to get some sense of continuity from the Mythos.

I've been talking some of the aspects of the book over with Gina , my editor - since I wasn't sure about the length of time I'd be in hospital I've been sending her up sections of the book as I finish them so that we have something to work on - and we think that this is going to be a fairly detailed book and one wich I truly hope will be a good contribution to the Mythos. But you will determine that.

Now a quick query. Some of you know that I've a page on Amazon as well and I was thinking of using that to test out some chapters of a new SF novel. Don't tell New Page but I've been working on a couple of space novels in secret! If you'd be interested in seeing the fruits of my work, I may put them up on Amazon in the next few months or so. I've been talking to Adrian who does some of the comics with me - I had a meeting with him on Tuesday - and he may even do a cover for it. Then we might do an e-book or something - we'll see what the response is like. But would you be interested?

It's very different to the stuff that I do for New Page but those that have read it like it so I'm thinking of going with it. Let me know what any of you think anyway. Must go as there's something to eat ready but will be back again . See, I'm writing more of these. Will let you know as soon as A Haunted Mind is finished and then it's on to American Vampires for which I've just done the Catlaogue Copy! The work of a writer is never done!