Colin Harvey – author

Last week was actually a pretty good week to be ill, insofar as there can ever be a good time for that. But it was reading week — the idea being that we catch up on reading set texts, textbooks and general reading. So since for a lot of the week all I had the energy to do was read, it fell out quite well.

But this week it’s back to reality with a vengeance.

I can’t quite work out whether in recent years –perhaps because we’ve been involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, or perhaps because there are fewer and fewer left of those who served in the World Wars– we’ve made more of Rememberance Sunday, or whether I’ve just become more sensitive to it with the passing of time.

It always makes the weekend of my birthday oddly poignant, but I thought it’s important that we at least mark the sacrifice of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for what they believe is right. Even a couple of minutes’ worth of silence is only one-thirtieth of an hour, less than one seven-hundredth of a day.

If you have a chance to listen to Eddie Butler’s eulogy to Sir Tasker Watkins, the former president of the Welsh Rugby Union, do so. It almost literally takes the breath away. I can’t imagine how terrifying the experiences in that Normandy cornfield must have been.

They’re like buses, interviews; nothing seems to happen for weeks, and then along come a whole clutch of them.

Virtually the last thing I did before falling into bed on Monday evening was to record December’s Angry Robot podcast with fellow Robot-eer Matt Forbeck and the humungously talented Mur Lafferty. I came away not completely happy with the interview since (I think) I sounded like a croaking frog and my brain kept short-circuiting, but that’s the whole point of podcasts — they’re live and (relatively) un-edited; what you hear is what was said.

More comfortable was the e-mail interview with The World’s Biggest Bookstore in Montreal. I’m to be their Featured December author, and they’ll blog the interview on November 29th. I’ll post a link nearer the time.

And a couple of of weeks ago Salon Futura editor Cheryl Morgan was kind enough to trek over to the wilds of Keynsham -where I live- and interview me for the third issue of the magazine. It’s online now here. 

Cheryl also has some nice things to say about Damage Time and several other new titles in the feature ‘Better Living Through Software.’

Bear in mind that Salon Futura is funded by donations and a few low-key adverts, so if you like what you read there and want to keep it going, throw that odd quid that you found down behind the couch into the donations pot, via the donate page.

Yes, full disclaimer time: Salon Futura editor Cheryl is the publisher of Dark Spires, which shares Andy Bigwood’s cover with this month’s issue. But even if she wasn’t, I’d have banged the drum for it anyway; I think that as a grown-up magazine -I initially used adult, but didn’t like the implication, which is in itself an interesting comment on the way that word’s been hi-jacked- as a grown-up magazine aimed at discourse about literate, grown-up SF, Salon is an important development.

So there. 🙂

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes.

I was going to take the day off, but the weather is so bad that we’re stuck indoors so I have little option to stay in and blog…especially since I’m still not a hundred per cent. Which brings me as neatly (and as lamely) as a Radio 2 presenter to today’s post…. 

About six weeks ago, a friend wrote to me about a visit to a Detroit bookstore.  A couple of days ago, while confined to bed, I recieved an update:  “The thieves have apparently had their fill {and stock is in]: note that Winter Song is shelved between Charlaine Harris and Erica Hayes. Apparently the bookstore thinks Winter Song is vampire porn. Congrats, Colin, that’s a good market to be in!”

Hey, do you see me complaining? I’ll take vampire porn anyday…except that it doesn’t appear to be Winter Song — it’s been so successful that we’ve had to cunningly disguise it as Damage Time. 

Joking apart, that’s been a feature of the two books coming out so soon after each other — one sells through, and the other one takes its place.  It happened in Bath, as well. Does that mark a new trend, of short-life displays.

It’s been at least a couple of years since I spent a whole day in bed, but yesterday I finally stopped fighting the damned virus and just slept for most of the day. Today is better, and I thought I’d better show my face in the land of the living before the kids completely trash the place.

And what do I find? Bristolcon has gone viral with blogs all over the place: from the official page, which reminded me that I never thanked MEG, Greg P. Bear, Andy, Cheryl, Heather, Roz, and of course last but not least — Jo. And the rest of the Dark Spires team who were able to make it — Gareth, Adam, Eugene and John. Unfortunately Liz and Guy couldn’t make it (I don’t subscribe to the rumour that he got the day wrong!) and Sarah was ill.

Sorry, rambling a bit there… where was I? Ah, yes…blogs on Bristolcon  — Juliet E. McKenna has one over at LJ, Nick Walters has one at WordPress,  and Gareth L Powell has one on his website. (That’s him on the left of the photo, btw…) A full list can be found on the Bristolcon website under ‘feedback.’

Now I’ve properly caught up on the overdues, time to get on with some new stuff. That’ll be tomorrow.

Well, that was good. Bristolcon 10 was over three times the size of last year, with an attendance of over 150 people. Now, that’s a proper con. The panels were well attended — I opened on the Juliet E. McKenna moderated Publishing panel with Mike Shevdon, Andy Bigwood and Dave Bradley of SFX, then sat in on the Joe Abercrombie interview, both of which were excellent. I followed that with an hour on the con dealer’s desk and then the Dark Spires launch.

That went pretty well, although it became a little chaotic (mea culpa) as the event progressed. There were definitely learning points to be taken from it. Like, put the box -and the designated treasurer- at the end of the line. Still, we had  good sales, and people seemed to like the actual finish of the book, which is marvellous, IMHO.

After a late lunch and a visit to the Dealer’s Room to pick up Murky Depths 14, containing Neil Beynon’s ‘Stone,’  onto The Future of Science panel. Impressed as expected by Alastair Reynalds and Gareth L Powell, but it emerges that Paul Cornell’s urbane exterior camouflages an Inner Science Geek…

The Programme culminated with ‘Writing Fight Scenes,’ in which Joe Abercrombie was repeatedly thrown down by Juliet E. McKenna and Meaney-san. I was supposed to moderate this panel, which turned out to be an exercise in futility, but by this time a worsening chest infection (which has seen me confined to barracks while Kate and Sharon hit Bath) forced me into withdrawing from both my panel and the 6.50 reading.  Cheryl Morgan was a more than adequate replacement.

And so, here’s looking forward to next year…

Well, here we are; Sunday night is already falling on the first night of winter time, and I’m just about done.

Four reviews, five guest blogs and a post of my own on Suite101, culminating in a review of the third anniversary Black Static, which is maybe the best issue I’ve read yet.  The lowest I gave any story was one of the three Highly Recommendeds, an Outstanding, and a Year’s Best contender.

Plus a horror film blog over at Film Making Mumblings.

That’s about three hours work this afternoon. More on that later…

Tomorrow I’m going to start posting extracts from Dark Spires, if I get time, I’ll do two a day — if not, I’ll do one. So expect actual blogs to be thin on the ground for another week, at least until after Bristolcon. But next week is not only post-con, but it’s Reading Week as well, which gives me about fiften to seventeen hours extra to…well, read.

Have fun this Hallowe’en night….mwahahaha…

Another day of reading and writing and blogging ; I finished Iain Banks’ excrable A Song of Stone and wondered why I’d bothered with it; then turned my attention to the contents of Black Static, which was much more enjoyable.

On the writing front once I’d finished revising Ultramassive, I turned my attention to Suite101 where I have a procession of guests traipsing through the visitor’s lounge to celebrate Halloween weekend, while I’ve posted the daily update over at Film Making Mumblings. 

I have a horrible feeling that the blog yesterday may have been an academic own goal. It seems that if we use something that’s been published and then use it in an assignment, we’re guilty of self-plagiarism. (Wtf?) So my thoughts on writing to brief are out, or I have to re-work them substantially.

Hmm, interesting…

One of the advantages of my course is that it allows the embryonic writer to experiment, and most importantly, to make mistakes. Every writer who wants to make some kind of career out of writing should first identify what sort of writing they like to do.

Writing briefs requires that one identifies one’s target audience.  The writer should use any personalized rejection slips to refine the process of targeting. *

There are two methods suggested of writing to brief;

i.    Write what you want and hope to find a place for it.  The drawback to this is that you may write for years without ever selling anything. The market does not create niches for new writers.

ii.   Research and plan where to send it.  That can make the writer feel stale, and their work second-rate.

However, there is a third way…

iii. The amalgm is to write roughly to a brief, so that you write what you want, but tailor what you write so that the length will fit, and the story fits…so don’t send Analog a fantasy story.

Those who apply option i may take longer to sell their work because there is no specific niche; Philip Pullman is one example of this. Geraldine Kay took 63 attempts to sell her novel, while I took 72 — but in a way the process becomes self-motivating. Giving up is an admission that the writer has wasted that time in writing and submitting to date. 

A counterview is that the writer has to know when a work cannot be sold because it is not of sufficient standard. Every writer needs what Roger Zelazny called ‘an ego the size of a house’ and above all persistence. But self-belief and stubborness -like everything else – can be taken too far. 

*My scriptwriting lecturer Rachel Bentham took today’s lecture. She used to edit a poetry magazine, and she wondered why the male contributors would submit on more than one occasion, whereas the women that she rejected wouldn’t submit again. She wondered why this was. 

I have a theory; at the risk of generalizing, it could be that the women had lives beyond writing — children, careers, etc.  The men were probably more obsessive about their writing. And according to one (female) passer-by, ‘men are genetically programmed to overcome rejection…’

Since it  is out today, I felt I ought to write a few words –unfortunately, I don’ have a bottle to crack against its bows– but yea, verily, I declare this novel Damage Time to be out as of about…5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Actually, it’s probably been out for hours or days. These distinctions are entirely artificial, like birthdays, and Christmas. What actually changes, because a clock ticks over? This is what distinguishes from the animal kingdom, of course…that we can consciously note the time. But at times it can get a little out of hand…I’m thinking of the Millenium for example, but yes, today probably applies as well….

Anyway, enough waffle. There are two more flash extracts up on the site with experimental artwork by moi, based on Chris Moore’s stunning cover.

And since it’s still Halloween Week over at suite101, I’ve posted a review — this time Gary MacMahon’s fine but harrowing The Harm.

(it’s amazing how many variations on that you can get by omitting one letter from that title — I variously typed ‘he harm’ and ‘the ham’ and ‘the arm’ before finally getting it right…)