#therelicguild

HELLO! 

August is always a busy time for authors and I have a schedule. I am doing stuff! 

On August 9th I’ll be at Blackwell’s Bookshop launching The Watcher of Dead Time (book 3 of The Relic Guild Trilogy) alongside the pretty cool James Barclay who will be launching his new and brilliant book Heart of Granite. And it gets better! The rather awesome Jon Wallace will be joining us as host to ask all the important questions. We might just solve the world’s problems. Or not. But come and join the fun and bring your friends. Details can be found by clicking right...HERE! 

And then on 11th August I’ll be at the amazing Goldsboro Books for Fantasy in the Court. There’ll be wine and authors and books and so much hanging out that is you can’t afford to miss it. Details can be found by clicking...HERE!

And then from 12-14th August, I’ll be at Nineworlds generally having a whale of a time. You can find the con schedule by clicking...HERE! And this is what I’ll be up to:

WORLD-BUILDING: No One Sells Happy Life Day Cards

Bouzy, 10:00am - 11:00am (Living Words)

I’ll be moderating this panel, discussing all things world-building with the ever brilliant Chris Wooding, Stephanie Saulter, Genevieve Cogman, Al Robertson and James Barclay. 

WITHOUT FEAR

Reims, 5:00pm - 6:00pm (Living Words)

Moderated by Tom Fletcher, me and Paul Cornell, Tom Toner, Sue Tingey, Sebastian de Castell and CJ Daugherty will be discussing all things YA.

GENRE FUN-TIME Room 101

Epernay, 5:00pm - 6:00pm (Living Words)

Anne Perry will be moderating this one, and trying to control me, Jason Arnopp, Stark Holborn, Bex Levene and Matt Blackstad as we desperately try to stuff our most hated cliche into Room 101. 

ROUNDUP of STUFF! 

To celebrate the release of the paperback of THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (book 2 of The Relic Guild trilogy) I will be signing at Colchester Waterstones at 12.30pm on 28th May. And as you might have guessed, the ever brilliant Jen Williams and Den Patrick will be joining me! We’d love to see you there, so come on down (or up or sideways) and say hello! 

I’m happy to announce that THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS has been longlisted for the Gemmell Awards. The Relic Guild was longlisted last year but sadly didn’t make the shortlist. The competition is strong again this year, and I’m delighted to be sharing a space with so many friends and fabulous authors (including Den and Jen, don’t you know). Voting is up to you, the reading public, so if you enjoyed The Cathedral of Known Things and liked it’s cover this is your chance to help it make the shortlist. I’m nominated for the Legend and Ravenheart awards. Voting is as easy as peasy, and you can do it right...HERE! 

Next, I’ve appeared on a couple of podcasts lately, and had a lot of fun doing them. Awesome Dave Probert invited me on his show Tangential Deviation and we had fun talking about probably everything in the universe. Check out the results HERE! And then, my old Uni pal and very funny guy Zeke Iddon asked me to help him land a plane. Seriously. So we headed off to Lapland and had a good chat and laugh. To find out if we successfully landed, go right...HERE! 

And then there’s a couple of blogs I did. Again, both to celebrate the release of THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS. The first is over on the mighty Jo Fletcher Books blog, who have an exclusive short story of mine, seen for the first time in print, and also some cake advice that no writer can do without! You can find that HERE. The second one is over on the Carabas blog and is about the importance of music to my writing process, including The Relic Guild soundtrack! That’s right...HERE! 

Lastly, I’ll be attending some conventions this year - Nineworlds, FantasyCon, BristolCon - and first up will be EdgeLit. I’ll be on a couple of panels and maybe a few other things, and I hope to see you all there! 

Convention time is almost upon us and I really can’t wait. 

LOOKSEE! 

Mighty Gollancz has just revealed the cover to my new book THE WATCHER OF DEAD TIME (book 3 of The Relic Guild) and to say that I'm happy with it would be the most understated understatement that I could understate. Once again, the artwork is by the brilliant Chris Gibbs with design by the amazing Jamie Tanner. I'm over the moon with my friend the cow about this one! 

I can't wait for this one to hit the shops and for readers to discover how the story ends. Release is scheduled for 18th August, but THE WATCHER OF DEAD TIME is available to preorder right...HERE!

Purchase details for THE RELIC GUILD (book 1) be found...HERE!

THANK YOU! To all the very fine folks who helped me to promote the release of my new book THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (book 2 in The Relic Guild series) with the pictures above. Every single person who I put the call out to agreed to be a part of the fun and games, and I’d like to send love and respect to each one of you. 

The amazing Team Gollancz: Marcus Gipps, Gillian Redfearn, Simon Spanton, Sophie Calder, Emily Lunn, Genn McMenemy, Paul Stark and Craig Leyenaar.

My Mighty agent John Berlyne, my fearsome copy editor Olivia Wood, and the hugely talented audiobook narrator Imogen Church. 

The interviewers, reviewers, bloggers, booksellers and all round champions of authors everywhere: Nazia, Ewa, Boo and Stefan Fergus.

My fine and brilliant fellow authors: Joanne Harris, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Peter Newman, Emma Newman, Gareth Powell, Ian Whates, Aliette de Bodard, Anna Caltabiano, James Barclay, Jen Williams, Lucy Hounsom, Alex Lamb, Robin Stevens, Mark de Jager, James Oswald, Jon Wallace, Den Patrick and John Hornor Jacobs.

And last but not least, the two special ladies in my life Mrs Ed and Mini-Ed.

SATURDAY 4th

18.45-19.45 in the Armstrong Room Women in Miyazaki: Hayao Miyazaki retired last year, probably for the final time. He leaves behind a legacy that includes many strong female characters that go far beyond the normal clichès of animation such as the ‘Disney Princess’ or ‘Evil Stepmother’. 

Tim Kirk (mod), Edward Cox, Karo Leikomaa, Anna Rafferty, Smuzz.

At 20.00-21.00 in the Johnson Room I’ll be reading a chapter from my forthcoming novel The Cathedral of Known Things. The mighty Al Robertson will also be there, reading from his awesome novel Crashing Heaven 

SUNDAY 5th

15.00–16.00 I’ll be in the NewCon Press roomon the Writing David Gemmell panel, along with the fabulous Gaie Sebold, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Freda Warrington, and Ian Whates

I’ll be found lurking at the Gollancz party (11.15-12.15). I’m also scheduled for a signing, but as yet I don’t know if this is on the Saturday or the Sunday. I’ll update if and when I get confirmation.

Other than that, you’ll see me around geeking out! Looking forward to seeing you all next weekend!! 

You find some odd little things that make you laugh on the internet. This was brought to my attention: it's the blurb for THE RELIC GUILD after it was spun around in the Google Translator machine (Click here to read the original) I have no idea which language it was translated from, but its the little things that make me laugh, and Clara has never been so manly... :)

"The magic has caused the war. The magic is prohibited.  The magic will save us.

  It is said that the Labyrinth was once a great place to meet, a large city in the middle of an endless maze in which one million human housed the Houses of Aelfir. The Aelfir, who had brought trade and wealth, and a future full of promise. But when the miracle-workers, great lords of men and Aelfir together, have gone to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth has become a forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind high walls a hundred feet. Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and miracle workers have vanished into myth. 

LOVELY FOLKS! Here are 12 festive reasons why the tale of THE RELIC GUILD would make a fine Christmas Present…

Thought you knew where modern fantasy was at? The Relic Guild will change your assumption - The British Fantasy Society (FULL REVIEW)

This is a fantastic debut, and one that worked for me on pretty much every level – Civilian Reader (FULL REVIEW)

A formidable debut from an author with huge potential - Fantasy Faction (FULL REVIEW)  

An intriguing, original and enjoyable book, a daring mix of genres -Starburst Magazine (FULL REVIEW)

Smart, energetic fantasy that grips you from page one and delivers a genuinely memorable experience - The Eloquent Page (FULL REVIEW)

I soon found myself engaged in the richness of Labrys Town and its varied residents - Fantasy Book Review (FULL REVIEW)                

This is far from your ordinary fantasy story - The Book Plank (FULL REVIEW)

A true feat of imagination - UpComing4Me (FULL REVIEW)             

Sometimes a book comes along that reminds you of the pleasure of being a reader - SFBook Reviews (FULL REVIEW)

A do not miss fantasy title for 2014 - Parmenion Books (FULL REVIEW)       

Took me somewhere I didn’t recognise and hauled me in as easily as a goldfish in a tea strainer - The Book Bag (FULL REVIEW)