The exact release date for my science fiction novel, Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet is still undecided for now, but I figured it was time to unveil the cover anyway. Glitch started as a serial destined for the website but I enjoyed writing the project so much that it grew into a full length project. The novel my homage to the old Flash Gordon serials (I’m doing a rewatch of the 1936 Buster Crabbe series at the moment) so when it came to the cover, I really wanted to evoke the old Flash Gordon movie posters. About the time I was looking around for a cover artist, Hugh Howey mentioned the artist he’d started using, M.S. Corley. I really liked the look of his covers and ended up commissioning a custom cover for the Glitch. I’m really happy with how it turned out so, without further ado, here’s the cover for Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet. A huge amount of work went into the image and it fits the action packed nature of the book perfectly. So, a massive thank you to Mike for creating such an amazing cover. The book itself is finished and edited and is now sitting with the first of several proofreaders. Once the … Read More
Get The Girl in the City for FREE
For the next few days, my science fiction novella, The Girl in the City, is available free of charge on Amazon Kindle (US UK Canada). This is the first time I’ve made the book available free and the offer ends May 2nd. Next month, I’m going to be “going wide” with The Girl in the City and making it available on Kobo, iTunes and any other ebook platforms I can find. That means I won’t be able to offer the book for free very easily. I’m also considering increasing the price at the same time. That means it’s likely to be at least a year before the book is available as a freebie. So, if you fancy reading an action packed science fiction tale, now is the chance to pick one up for less than the price of most things. Here’s the description… With the oppressive Transport Authority controlling every aspect of their existence, Leah and her father do what they can to carve a good life for themselves. Leah spends her nights scavenging in the rural zone around the City, risking capture by the Wild Ones as she hunts for salvage her father can trade for food and other essentials. But when Leah takes a bag of salvage … Read More
Guardians of the Galaxy
We really are living in a golden age of science fiction and fantasy movies and TV. The (relatively) low cost of computer generated imagery coupled with the suitability of genre blockbusters for 3D conversion (and the associated additional income) have created an evironment where it’s finally feasible to create pretty much any ridiculous scenario authors and screenwriters can come up with. And…It’s wearing me out. I can only take so many explosion laden blockbusters before I retreat to the subtle charm of an indie character piece. I pick and choose which of the big films I go to see (no Transformers or Turtles for a start) and this year I’ve seen three – Lucy (which I talked about here), Edge of Tomorrow (which I thought was surprisingly good but neglected to mention at the time) and now Guardians of the Galaxy which we watched in 2D. I have to say, I’m happy with my choices so far. Guardians is quite different to both Lucy and Edge of Tomorrow but I enjoyed it just as much. It’s fast paced and doesn’t take itself at all seriously. The 80s vibe worked really well for me and I was reminded of The Last Starfighter (although I … Read More
Daily Science Fiction
I’ve recently signed up to the Daily Science Fiction mailing list. As the name suggests, they email a new science fiction story to subscribers every weekday. Most days the stories are short (less than 1000 words) but Friday’s story is longer. Stories are also posted and archived on the website a week after their email publication and published as a monthly ebook anthology. Obviously, with so many stories nobody is going to love all of them but the short length makes them very easy to read. I’ve made the daily email one of my daily rituals and I look forward to seeing a new tale in my inbox every morning. Highlights for me over the last couple of weeks have been Butterfly Shaped Objects by George Potter, A Stitch in Space-time by Nicky Drayden and Gifted and Talented by Sadie Mattox. Well worth a look, there’s a wide variety of science fiction there so you’ll probably find something you like.