Fiction Uncovered

Fiction Unovered, a new lottery-funded site aimed at promoting mid-list authors, launches today, with support from retailers including Waterstones and Foyles. The lead illustration from the site (also shown here) is by my mate and yours, pen and ink illustration specialist Johanna Basford.

Working the line

For those interested in this sort of thing, a piece of mine has just been published over on Futurebook, The Bookseller's digital-oriented blog. It's mainly aimed at publishers, but might be of interest to some of you lot. Also good if you like old pictures of American prospectors.

So, pumpkins

We should be talking about them, right? Given the time of year and our vegetable-related monicker. Also marrows, various squashes, sweetcorn and those gourd things (possibly inedible). Oh, and apples too. I had stewed apple and custard last night. I saw some pumpkins, but haven't eaten any yet.

In other news, I'm still alive.

Okay, let's take it a bit more seriously then. Top horror short stories? William Peter Blatty did one about a group of toys that was rather freaky. Anyone know what it was called? Fifty points available.

#crtweetup

Or, why I've been MIA for some time. The last month or so an awful lot of my time has been spent organising the first Creative Review tweetup, which took place at the Design Museum last night, involved lots of free LEGO and Moleskines, oh and alcohol, and praise be, went off rather swimmingly.

There are lots of photos here of people having fun. And yet more on Flickr.

The New Goodbye 1.5

For anyone owning an iPhone who wants money off of books at Foyles or free entry into their publisher days, then you need to--if you haven't already done so, be downloading The New Goodbye, as it's just been updated, and that is one of the new treats. Loads of Foyles goodies, plus a new free chapter, a short story and that animated video by Order.

Mr Blog

So. Aliya's treatment is apparently coming on well (see this old blogpost if you've no clue what I'm talking about), but as she readies herself to come back into day-to-day living, I've been advised to steer clear, so I'm off to the Whiteley motherland for a break at the end of the week, while she road tests her new-found sanity.

Elsewhere, the app update is 'in review' and should be with iPhone owners soon in all its Foylesy goodness.

For those of the Twitter persuasion, or not even, I'm currently over on PC Advisor of all places, talking about my work there.

And in lieu of my blog-mate's wit, I'll let someone else do the amusing stuff. Readers, I give you, Mr Blog.

First night nerves

I am very much enjoying Beth and Emma Kilcoyne's Roger And Val Have Just Got In (a new sitcom/play thing going out on BBC2 at the weekends at the moment, with Dawn French and Alfred Molina, for anyone unfamiliar with it).

Beth has a nice blogpost over on the BBC concerning the first night of broadcast.



Sorry the player doesn't fit properly on the blog.

In other news, the update for The New Goodbye app has been submitted to the App Store, along with the snazzy Foyles partnership stuff. Should be live in a week or so.