I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but at some point when I was a teenager I came to believe that hating myself was the only way I could make myself better. I didn’t call it that, but that’s what it was. I decided that judging myself harshly was the only way to protect myself […]
Last night, Sam Sykes, Chuck Wendig and Kate Elliott were chatting about character death and whether it’s becoming an overused trope in fantasy. Unfortunately, I was asleep for most of it, because: time difference, but I’m awake now and ready to stick my oar in. So without further ado… Five Reasons not to literally Kill […]
This was supposed to be a post about Worldbuilding, economics (and possibly The Rock’s abs) because I’m a GIANT NERD, but that’s all going to have to wait. Why? Because Nick Harkaway tweeted this question yesterday: Today’s fleeting conundrum: would you rather read a banal writer on a remarkable life, or a remarkable writer on […]
Last night was The Kitschies, the award for the most intelligent, entertaining and progressive speculative fiction of the year. A marvellous time was had by all. Awards were given to A Tale for the Time Being, Ancillary Justice, the cover of The Age Atomic and Malorie Freaking Blackman who was right there. Also, I somehow […]
Two things have happened repeatedly to me over the last few weeks. First, books keep telling me that ‘Fiction is the art of using lies to tell the truth.’ Second, people keep asking me if it’s deliberate that all the main characters in The Glass Republic, the second Skyscraper Throne novel, are women. The more […]
Just had an interesting little chat with Kate Elliott and Kameron Hurley on twitter, the practical upshot of which is that I’m going to blog a bit more about how I wrote my books, and what I think they’re actually saying. I’ve always been a bit reticent about doing that, mostly because of the following convictions: (a) writers write. […]
Friends, Londonauts, Monsterists, I have news. The Skyscraper Throne comes to an end this year, when Our Lady of The Streets hits the shelves. And this my friends, is where shit gets heavy. Streets run 1000 degree fevers, sewer dragons battle attack helicopters, and last ditch alliances are forged as Beth and Pen make their last stand. You might […]
