FantastiCon in #Hull - 14 Days and Counting

Funny how life can change. One moment I'm attending Hull's FantastiCon as an inquisitive visitor, the next I'm invited to participate on a panel!

On 16th August the Mercure Hull Royal Hotel will be the venue for an SF/F and gaming extravaganza hosted by Fantastic Book Publishing. It's part of its launch for its Elite: Dangerous tie-in novels that seems to have taken on a life of its own and now includes Cosplay, RGP Gaming, Dr Who actors and an I-AM-A-DALEK, independent films, a Star Wars speeder bike complete with a green screen,  R2D2, and...er... me.

I'm on a panel with Stuart Aken and JS Collyer talking about our books. For obvious reasons I shall be concentrating on the Torc of Moonlight trilogy, and this is where I really should have written faster as those taking notice will recall that only books 1 and 2 are available.

And Cosplay? If there are any Roman legionaries attending, do call by the author table. Other than that, what costume to wear for a Celtic water deity? I knew I should have bought that torc when I saw it advertised.

If you're on Facebook, FantastiCon has an Event Page, a link to the Programme, and as can be seen below, a rather eyebrow-raising YouTube trailer. I think I need to raise my game.

York’s Street Entertainers – Present & Past

In York recently, I paused to consider the many street entertainers in the pedestrianised city centre. 

The singers and musicians were very ‘now’, even if the electric jazz close to the striped awnings of market stalls in Parliament Street was wonderfully mellow to the ear. Beneath the shading trees in Saint Sampson’s Square we stopped for refreshment and to listen to alternating guitarists with voices as languorous as the summer heat. Walking along mediaeval Stonegate, teeming with locals and visitors, fleeting strains from an unseen saxophone teased the ear.

With a nod to the Minster, we turned into Low Petergate, an even narrower mediaeval street following the course of the Via Principalis of the Roman fortress beneath its foundations. Here we came face to face with a man dressed in as near as modern motley as it’s possible to get, his concentration on elaborate body movements as he manoeuvred a crystal gravity ball to the fascination of onlookers.

But it was in King’s Square where the true action was taking place. A master of his audience, a fire-eater was rousing the crowd prior to juggling burning brands blindfold.

Market stalls and street food, itinerant entertainers... today, 500 years ago, a millennium past, two millennium even, all that would be different would be the dress of the audience. It makes a historical novelist content.

Chatting about... Post Traumatic Stress

Some time ago I was asked to contribute to Ella M Kaye's site It's All oKaye with particular reference to 'lights in the dark' as applied to a fictional character's emotional arc. It's now live, so do hop across to discover how I envisaged, and subsequently handled, Nick Blaketon's mental trauma in The Bull At The Gate.

After all, if your dead lover temporarily erupted in a gush of water in your room how would you explain the ensuing devastation to the person downstairs? Yeah, right. And how do you think that would take its toll on you?

The Bull At The Gate - paperback launch

Where did the month go? Mostly in bringing the paperback of The Bull At The Gate to launch, and promoting Books 1 and 2 in the Torc of Moonlight trilogy. But it has its rewards as reviews are coming in:

“...Utterly gripping. A fascinating journey around contemporary and Roman York is the background to a compelling plot. The nuances and ambiguities kept me guessing - something I always enjoy...”

“..Nick's vulnerable mindset is totally convincing after such a disturbing experience in Book 1...”

“...An absolute brilliant read, an absorbing, gripping book...”

 “...Here history is not an alternative universe but the continuous integration of the 'present' – a fascinating concept...”

Reviews can make a book, and their lack can so often break a book. In truth it’s always been the way, but authors feel it more keenly now. Mainstream publishers do check the number of reviews on distributions sites when deciding whether to renew a contract, and for indie authors many internet promotion portals determine entry by the number of reviews.

I’m lucky in that SF/F retailer Fantastic Book Publishing is distributing signed paperback copies of both Torc of Moonlight and The Bull At The Gate.

So let me make a plea on behalf of all authors. Leave a short review on the books you read. It does help us, honest.

Copies of both the ebooks and paperbacks (alas not signed) can also be found at

Amazon (all stores) ¦ Barnes & Noble (USA) ¦ Book Depository (Worldwide Delivery)