Archive

Speaking at the London Book Fair

Somehow, I’ve managed to get myself inveigled onto a panel at the London Book Fair, next week. I’m no stranger to panels, having talked on subjects ranging from the correct uses of Social Media (that was a few years ago!) to fandoms and sales and marketing, all the

On Crashing and Burning, and What To Do About It

With the public unveiling of certain Files, a couple of weeks ago, I (yes) crashed and burned. We know everything’s vile, and we know we’ve been the slowly boiling frog for ten years and more, but that crossed a threshold, and I just couldn’t deal with it.

New Book Day!

Delighted to announce that my character novel Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith is up for pre-order, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it loosed upon the world! It’s a very special book, not only because of Aestred herself and the Auto-Tapestry, a character and a relic that

What the Techbros Can’t Understand

Lots of talk about the AI bubble finally bursting, and about the desperation of its supporters to ram their failing product down our necks. ‘Consumers don’t understand it’, they cry, like we’re too dim, or too traditional, or too scared of new technology or horizons. I’m not

The Magic of Spaced

In early 2004, when I was four months pregnant, I ran an FP event for Pegg and Frost, who spent much of their time trying to name my unborn child ‘Simon Nick’ or ‘Nick Simon’. Twenty-plus years later, with Isaac now working for FP himself (and turning into Tim Bisley,

Ubiquitous End of Year Round-Up

This year, my son turned twenty-one. I know I should list the books here, the things I’ve achieved and read and written and learned and seen, but this year, my son turned twenty-one. He’s not had an easy time of it, but this was the year when he

Comics, Manga and Reading

Many years ago, I had someone tell me I’d never be published because ‘everything I read was crap’. Every time they saw me with a fantasy book, or with something happy and simple, they’d tell me that it wasn’t good enough, and that I should read something

Farewell Pixie

Farewell, Pixie Farewell, little tuxedo friend, with your mad white whiskers that caught our attention on Facebook, and that brought you to your new home. We were kitty-less and there you were, you and Coco, in need of a new family. How could we resist? Farewell to your willful streak

World Fantasy Con

Absolutely fantastic time at World Fantasy Con on Saturday, set against the backdrop of a perfect, sunlit Brighton (always glorious in the Winter, and we lucked out, as it was a particularly fabulous day). Since Covid, my Con-going has been pretty sparse, partly because of the change in job (don’

Attack On Titan - The Big Rewatch

Ten years ago, prompted by random images online (not like that, smutty) I blundered across a strange phenomenon called Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. 'The Advancing Giant'). I’d never watched Anime (other than Akira and GITS, back in our CyberPunk days), and was absolutely gob-smacked,

On Writing and Originality

Years ago, when I watched Doctor Strange for the first time, it gave me a case of the grumps. Not because of Marvel exhaustion  – we hadn’t got that far, at the time – but because the ‘broken hands’ narrative was exactly the same as that of my protag in Artifice.

New Anthology Goodness

Not one but two forthcoming anthologies, both with fantastic line-ups and that I’m very proud to be included within! Darkness Eternal from the Black Library, with a choice selection of the very best WarHammer stories:   One Million Years by Nate Crowley Altar of Maws by Peter Fehevari The Light

A Very Unhappy Cat

Recently, I bought an item of clothing from an Instagram ad (was an impulse, and before anyone says anything, I knew it was a mistake even as I did it). The site mary-jane.co.uk looked smart and legit, clearly stated that it was UK based, had lots of very

Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith at Waterstones Piccadilly

It's all about the murder mystery at Waterstones Piccadilly, next Saturday 20th September, from 1 - 2pm. Come and chat to Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith, and grab your signed copy of Who Killed Nessie? That way, you can solve the biggest Whodunnit, right there on the shop

BFS Panel: Write for the Fight

Delighted to be joining some suitably scrappy SFF cohorts for a BFS Online event, Write for the Fight, on Wednesday 3rd September 2025, 7pm (BST). Many of you probably know that I did more than a decade in Dark Age and Medieval re-enactment, running round muddy fields, occasional beaches and

Brand New Special Edition

Or: How Gorgeous Is This? Specials Editions are The Way. Somewhere along the line (or the shelf) as books became collectibles, we had the rise of the spredge, the exclusive retailer/publisher hardcover, the souvenir anniversary edition, the pretty, boxed set of your favourite series… all the gorgeous things that

Archeology in the Back Yard

A long time ago, in a High School not so far away, I was fortunate enough to study Archeology at A level. Ardingly was one of only three (or something) schools in the country that offered the option, and I absolutely snapped it up. I did my dissertation (not what

Another Award for Fight Like A Girl!

Another Award, you say? Why yes, we’ll have some of that! Very happy to see Fight Like A Girl 2 doing this well, and nominated for a second major UK SFF Award, this time from the British Fantasy Society. Contents are as follows: * Foreword by Roz Clarke & Joanne

On Rediscovering Old Books

At times, I’ve got rid of books. I remember owning the original Fighting Fantasy Out of the Pit art book, which used to drive me nuts as there was no shelf that would take it, and I ended up getting rid of it, somewhere between house moves. Now, of

Catching 'Em All at Pokémon Day

So many years of running events, and somehow, I’ve never run one for kids. Not a conscious choice, just a demographic thing, I guess. There have been lots of kids at events (queueing for the big YouTube stars, or running free at store launches, hoping their get their mucky