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sold: The Far-Enough Window
Nov. 9th, 2010 05:08 pmThe contracts are now all finally signed, done and dusted for the Spanish-language publication of my "fairy tale for grown-ups of all ages", The Far-Enough Window. This was first published in 2002 with spectacular interior illustrations by Ron Tiner; the plan is to use these in the Spanish edition as well. The publisher is the new, Madrid-based company Torre de Marfil ("Ivory Tower").
Just to add icing to the cake, among the other authors to be represented on Torre de Marfil's debut list are Ian Watson and Steve Redwood (the latter being influential through recommending The Far-Enough Window to Torre de Marfil's Maria Cirujano and even lending her his own personal copy!).
Obviously I'm thrilled to bits. The Far-Enough Window -- my attempt to bring back the Victorian-style fairy tale à la George MacDonald -- has always had a special place in my heart. The few reviews it got were generally exceptionally flattering, which was a great reassurance to this generally nervous writer; but in reality here was one of those books where I wouldn't have cared if everyone else hated it.
just what the world needs: more me
Oct. 28th, 2010 04:44 pmAt this very moment you can find at the otherwise excellent fantasy-writing website Magical Words a guest blog post by moi, complete with comments . . . an' more comments . . . an' . . . an' . . . well, everything, really. The title of my rant is There are Far Too Many "Writers", and you can find it in its full fulminating splendour here.
Big thanks, obviously, to the MW crew (especially Stuart Jaffe, who set this up) for letting me pollute their bandwidth.
*Inferno* reviewed
Oct. 18th, 2010 05:29 pmEllen Datlow (
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ellen_datlow) has just circulated contributors to her award-winning 2007 anthology Inferno to let us all know there's been another review of the book, even after all this time. The reviewer is Colin Harvey; the venue is the Black Static site, where Peter Tennant's been running an Anthology Month in which guest reviewers each discuss a favourite anthology. Here's Colin Harvey's contribution:My favourite anthology is Ellen Datlow's wonderful Inferno. Datlow is one of the best editors in the business, and here she is at the very top of her game. The anthology deservedly won the 2008 Shirley Jackson Award, and featured a wonderful range of tales, several of which were nominated for Locus and World Fantasy Awards on an individual basis.
So many of the twenty stories and novelettes are good, that it's hard to know where to begin -- in fact, there are hardly any that are not outstanding. My particular favourites include John Grant's extraordinary 'Lives' about a very lucky boy and the people he outlives, and his father who finally realizes the truth about his son's secret. Lee Thomas's claustrophobic, erotic 'An Apiary of White Bees' is a close second, while Glen Hirshberg's 'The Janus Tree', set in a Montana mining town is also excellent. But perhaps best of all is Pat Cadigan's stunning 'Stilled Lives'; I defy anyone who visits London to look at the city in quite the same way again. Several Black Static contributors are present as well: Paul Finch and Mike O'Driscoll both contribute fine pieces, in the case of the latter one of his trademark South Wales stories.
today's insufferable egoboo #2
Oct. 14th, 2010 09:55 am. . . and there's now a different and somewhat longer interview with me by Chris Redding (author of The Corpse Whisperer, etc.) on display at her blog. Here you will discover more, and more intimate, details of my youthful fling with Marilyn Monroe than I have ever revealed before.
today's insufferable egoboo #1
Oct. 13th, 2010 10:25 amThanks to my having, er, Puddled, I've now been interviewed by
jongibbs for his An Englishman in New Jersey blog: you can, if masochistically inclined, read all about me here.humility korner
Oct. 5th, 2010 10:30 pmThis evening the news came at a special awards ceremony held in the Beverly Hills Hilton as champagne glasses tinkled, mermen and mermaids frolicked fishily in the heated swimming pools, the paparazzi almost outnumbered the glitzerazzi, and the Archangel Gabriel himself attended incognito but was soon ejected for making a nuisance among the young ladies queuing up to get refills of Hawaiian punch.
In short, we were all there for the announcement of
Organized and hosted annually by Jon Gibbs (
jongibbs) on his An Englishman in New Jersey blog, this is given to the author-nominated book or book project which, in the opinion of the voters, has the best and most enticing title.To my intermingled shock, delight, ecstasy and amazement, this year the honour of receiving
went to, well,
for my title The Dragons of Manhattan. You can see that very title in situ here:
Flushed with spontaneous false modesty, I accepted the voters' decision like a shot. The only downside of winning, really, is that I was also rooting for Pam's and my friend E.F. Watkins (eilwatkins), whose Hex, Death and Rock'n'Roll in the event came second.
The full results can be read here. Many thanks to Jon Gibbs for taking the time and making the effort to organize the contest.
eilwatkins), whose Hex, Death and Rock'n'Roll in the event came second.The full results can be read here. Many thanks to Jon Gibbs for taking the time and making the effort to organize the contest.
PhACT, the Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking -- a rationalist organization -- very kindly invited me to address them, and I accepted like a shot in case they saw sense and changed their minds. I'm going to be strutting such paltry stuff as I can muster on September 18. Here's the blurb from their site:
Upcoming Meetings
Saturday, September 18, 2010 - Denying Science - John Grant
Is global warming merely scaremongering by climatologists conspiring to protect their jobs? Is evolution "just a theory"? Do vaccinations cause autism? Did Pasteur recant the germ theory on his deathbed? Were those results showing a correlation between cigarettes and lung cancer faked up by anti-smoking Nazis out to stop us all from having a good time? Does HIV/AIDS exist as a disease at all or is it a figment dreamed up by greedy drug companies?The ideas behind all of these questions are ridiculous, of course: to believe in such notions you'd have to refuse the best understandings of modern science -- in essence, set your face firmly against reality. Yet many people, from average citizens to entertainment stars to powerful politicians, prefer to do exactly this rather than accept scientific findings that, for ideological, religious, or merely infantile reasons, they dislike. Some would quite literally prefer to watch their child die than admit that modern medicine works. And some denialists of science -- those who've convinced themselves and expend great effort convincing others that we have nothing to fear from greenhouse gases -- would rather see civilization founder than accept the need to change their daily habits.
John Grant is the author of the highly successful and sometimes controversial books Discarded Science, Corrupted Science, and Bogus Science, among about 60 others, and has won several international writing awards, including the Hugo (twice) and the World Fantasy Award. The book he is currently working on, Denying Science: Conspiracy Theories, Media Distortions, and the War Against Reality, will be published by Prometheus next year. In this talk he will, in effect, offer us a glimpse of a work in progress.
Here are the details of time and place:
Saturday September 18
2.00pm
C2-28 Lecture Room, Center for Business and Industry, Philadelphia Community College, 18th and Callowhill Streets, Philadelphia
Non-members welcome
Admission
There's a street map here that shows the Philadelphia Community College and a very snazzy (although not wonderfully helpful for Firefox users) campus map here; the Center for Business and Industry is the building at top right of the map. As for parking, here's from the PhACT site:
Note: Parking is available in the college parking garage, but it is no longer free as in the past. The Saturday rate is $3.00.
If the Westboro Baptist Church turn up, Dragon*Con-style, to bray and bawl their infantile obscenities, I shall ask Pam to deal with them in her customary fashion.
sold: "Memoryville Blues"
Jul. 31st, 2010 06:20 pmI've just heard from Peter Crowther that he and Nick Gevers would like to buy my dark urban fantasy novelette "Memoryville Blues" for The Anthology Series Formerly Known as Postscripts.
I am, of course, absolutely cock-a-hoop about this. So I'll shut up and stop irritating you.
Yes, all, there's a review by Declan Burke on prime-time radio of the Gerard Brennan/Mike Stone anthology Requiems for the Dead that you can listen to here -- in fact, I'm sure it'd be possible, were one technoliterate, to download the mp3 file so one could play it on multiple occasions, perhaps -- who knows? -- to one's party guests. To anyone with a loose wallet, anyway.
I'm far too modest to mention that, well on through, there's a "hat's off" to my own humble offering, "The Life Business", which is apparently a "terrific story" -- a point of critical evaluation that I've been repeating to Pam on occasion, sometimes even while asleep.
Talking of reviews that have made me more insufferable than usual, it's no accident that the Amazon.com review I cited the other day by John L. Murphy is a cut above the average: I've discovered from Mike Stone that it's a cross-posting from Murphy's excellent site Blogtrotter, which I strongly suggest you visit: lots of good stuff there.
Requiems reviewed again . . .
Jul. 16th, 2010 11:02 amThe customer reviews on Amazon.com are frequently less Times Literary Supplement, more . . . well, lavatory wall, to be honest, but every now and then someone posts a review there that seems pretty professional. A reader called John L Murphy (who I see by clicking the relevant link has reviewed extensively on the Amazon site) has just given the full treatment to Requiems for the Departed (edited by Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone and published by Morrigan, as if you needed telling).
Naturally everyone's agape to find out what he said about my contribution to the anthology, "The Life Business", so here we go:
Grant draws upon his [. . .] teenage stint as a British cadet to integrate disturbing and emotional reveries into his shape-shifting characters. "The Life Business" haunted me more than most previous ones, try as they might to shock or rattle. Grant, as a fantasy master, successfully conjures otherworldly senses into his narrative eerily.
Requiems for the Departed reviewed
Jul. 12th, 2010 05:41 pmRequiems for the Departed, the anthology of crime stories inspired by Irish myths/legends, among which editors Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone foolishly included a tale of mine, has been reviewed on the Critical Mick blog.
Naturally I skipped past all of Critical Mick's opinions of other people's stories to the end of the review, my story having been placed last in the book perhaps in the hope that no one will get that far. Here's what he had to say:
"The Life Business" by John Grant
Memoir meets memory, the childhood crimes whose hammer blows and sharp chisels shape our adult lives. Grant's account of a summer camp on the banks of the Foyle, pre-Troubles, shines a beam far brighter than any Rupert Bear flashlight could cast. R4tD closes with a fantastic twist.
Critical Mick says: Requiems for the Departed: Irish Crime, Irish Myths showcases magnificent stories of Ireland immemorial and unforgettable. May a perpetual light shine upon this legendary collection.
b there or b^2
May. 4th, 2010 12:14 pmThere's good reason why I've been looking so twitchy and nervous these past few weeks . . .
May 8th meeting of the Garden State Horror Writers
Fantasy -- How Subversive Can You Make It?
A talk by Hugo award-winning author John Grant
The event takes place Saturday, May 8th at the East Brunswick
Library, 12 Jean Walling Civic Center, East Brunswick, NJ 08816-3529.
The business meeting starts at 11 am, followed by the talk at noon.
Non-members welcome.
The GSHW is a multi-genre group catering to writers from all walks of
life. The group has hosted presentations by authors such as
Elizabeth Bear, Gregory Frost, and F. Paul Wilson. Membership is
$35.00 per year. For information about the group call 732-276-7531
or visit www.gshw.net.
ToC for *The Company He Keeps*
Apr. 26th, 2010 10:07 amPS Publishing has announced the Table of Contents for The Company He Keeps (aka Postscripts #22/#23), the bumper anthology (31 stories, 150,000 words) that's edited by Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers and due out this summer:
THE COMPANY HE KEEPS -- Lucius Shepard
THE HUMAN ELEMENT -- Eric Brown
BULLY -- Jack Ketchum
MOVING DAY – Robert Edric
NE CADANT IN OBSCURUM -- David Hoing
THE HOLLOW FRAMEWORK FOR THE COTTON MAN -- Catherine J. Gardner
NEVER ALWAYS COMES -- Joel Lane
THE MAN WHO SCARED LOVECRAFT -- Don Webb
THE MEN AT THE MOUND -- Jonathan Thomas
HARVESTING THE MOON -- Ursula Pflug
ONE HUNDRED SENTENCES ABOUT THE CITY OF THE FUTURE: A JEREMIAD -- Alex Irvine
MARCO THE MAGNIFICENT -- P.D. Cacek
ALICE BLEEDING -- Rio Youers
DREAMSPACE -- Quentin S. Crisp
THE FISHES SPEAK -- Michaela Roessner
ONLY ONE GHOST -- John Grant
OSMOTIC PRESSURE -- Jack Deighton
THE RESCUE -- Holly Phillips
SIGNS ALONG THE ROAD -- Richard Parks
THE DESICCATED MAN -- Chris Beckett
THE FIGURE IN MOTION -- Steve Rasnic Tem
SINNERS, SAINTS, DRAGONS, AND HAINTS, IN THE CITY BENEATH THE STILL WATERS -- N.K. Jemisin
ARE YOU SANNATA3159? -- Vandana Singh
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S BREAKDOWN -- Gregory Norminton
THE FOREVER FOREST -- Rhys Hughes
PILLAR OF SALT -- Robert Swartwood
THE FARMER’S WIFE -- James Cooper
DRIVE-IN -- Peter Hardy
ADAM IN AMBER -- Gary Fry
PAGES FROM AN INVISIBLE BOOK -- Darrell Schweitzer
OF HEARTS AND MONKEYS -- Nick Wood
The cover illustration is to be by J.K. Potter, a fave artist of mine; I'll aim to post it once it becomes available. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about being a part of this book.
ToC for *Dragon's Lure*
Apr. 18th, 2010 09:49 amThe anthology Dragon's Lure, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jennifer Ross and Jeff Lyman, is to be launched in a few weeks' time at Balticon. And at last I have a copy of the contents list that I can share with you.
[cover by Thomas Nackid (www.tomnackidart.com)]
Baited Breath, by John Grant
Weathermaker, by Vonnie Winslow Crist
The Gargler's Game, by Patrick Thomas
He Who Burns, by James Chambers
Flying Away Home, by Misty Massey
Among the Ember Oaks, by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
The Bakunawa, by Mike Penncavage
Perchance to Dream, by CE Murphy
Off-the-Wagon Dragon, by Hildy Silverman
Thus The Trap, by Bernie Mojzes
The Dragon Song, by Randy Farran
Point of Etiquette , by CJ Henderson
The Dragon's Retorte, by Claire Stephens McMurray
Red Dragon Symphony, by Robert E. Waters
The Fall Of Teotihuacan, by DC Wilson
Lord Bai’s Discovery, by Jean Marie Ward
Fire in the Hole, by Keith RA DeCandido
Drawing Fire, by Anna Yardney
The Dog and Pony and Dragon Show, by Jeffrey Lyman
Red Talons, by James Daniel Ross
The Dragon Muse, by David B. Coe
Weathermaker, by Vonnie Winslow Crist
The Gargler's Game, by Patrick Thomas
He Who Burns, by James Chambers
Flying Away Home, by Misty Massey
Among the Ember Oaks, by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
The Bakunawa, by Mike Penncavage
Perchance to Dream, by CE Murphy
Off-the-Wagon Dragon, by Hildy Silverman
Thus The Trap, by Bernie Mojzes
The Dragon Song, by Randy Farran
Point of Etiquette , by CJ Henderson
The Dragon's Retorte, by Claire Stephens McMurray
Red Dragon Symphony, by Robert E. Waters
The Fall Of Teotihuacan, by DC Wilson
Lord Bai’s Discovery, by Jean Marie Ward
Fire in the Hole, by Keith RA DeCandido
Drawing Fire, by Anna Yardney
The Dog and Pony and Dragon Show, by Jeffrey Lyman
Red Talons, by James Daniel Ross
The Dragon Muse, by David B. Coe
The book's to appear from Dark Quest and will cost a mere $14.95 -- tremendous value even if you quite understandably decide you can't face reading the first story. Pre-order to make sure of a copy, or turn up to the Balticon launch: Garden Room, Sunday May 30, 7pm to 9pm.
Requiems for the Departed blurbed
Mar. 29th, 2010 04:45 pmYou almost certainly won't recall that a while ago I was crowing insufferably about my story "The Life Business" being accepted by Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone for their anthology of Irish crime stories, which was at the time called The Red Hand of Crime.
It has gone through a name chance since then, and is now called Requiems for the Departed, under which title it has just been blurbed by the estimable Reed Farrel Coleman:
Requiems for the Departed is as Irish as a broken heart, yet universal in appeal. Stuart Neville’s “Queen of the Hill” alone is worth the price of admission, but it’s only the cream at the top of the pint. With stories from the likes of Bruen, McKinty, Moore, and Grant, you’ll want to squeeze every last drop out of this glass.
Natch, the editors are cock-a-hoop -- as who wouldn't be?
review Clockwork Phoenix #3?
Mar. 29th, 2010 11:35 amMike Allen (
time_shark), editor of the Clockwork Phoenix anthology series, has announced that ARCs of Clockwork Phoenix #3 -- which contains a story by me but is otherwise good -- are now available for purposes of review. In the usual way, there are limited quantities of the physical ARCs, theoretically infinite supplies of the PDF version.For further details, see the announcement on Mike's LJ.
moi, moi, mais rien que moi
Jan. 28th, 2010 01:06 pmSometimes these things require a while to gestate . . .
Trusty Google Alerts this morning, er, alerted me to the fact that a very long interview with me has just been published on the Conversations with Writers website. Natch, I hurried to have a look, my interest piqued not least by the fact that no one's done an interview with me for at least a few months.
Curiosity deepened as I read. While I recognized my own phrasing, my own opinions, my own bugbears, my own general dimwittery, I had no recollection whatsoever of having given this particular interview. It's actually a pretty good interview, so an ol' egoboo/publicity whore like me had no complaints whatsoever about its publication, you bet.
Neurologically speaking, though, I was becoming a little concerned.
And then I cottoned on. Internal evidence reveals that the conversation (almost certainly an e-conversation) was conducted in the first part of 2002 -- i.e., approaching eight years ago. Why it should have taken so long for the piece to reach publication is a mystery to me, but there ya go. Bearing in mind that a lot of cliches have flowed under the bridge since then, it's kind of unsurprising I've forgotten this effort.
Whatever: If you'd like to know a few of the things I was cheering or whingeing about eight years ago, many of which cheers and whinges I today entirely disown as the self-indulgent ravings of a madman, the interview can, once again, be accessed simply by clicking these words.
oh, my: another review of Bogus Science
Jan. 12th, 2010 08:08 amJonathan Cowie has nice things to say about the book at Concatenation:
Flat Earths, hollow Earths, geocentricism, Atlantis, faked Lunar landings, spiral time, psychic physics, Charles Fort, ancient technological civilizations, non-existence of the Dark Ages, perpetual motion, the yeti . . . Bogus Science is a wonderfully engrossing tour of misleading exotica. [. . .] This exploration is huge fun as well as an excellent companion to Grant's Corrupted Science: Fraud, Ideology and Politics in Science [*]. Fascinatingly fantastic. And, yes, of course I recommend it.
[* Cowie's link is to his review a couple of years ago of Corrupted Science which finished: "It pains me to say this (as my own climate change book is just out) but if you only get one non-fiction book this year then make it this one!" Yes, since you mention it, references to that concluding sentence have been dropped into conversations from time to time.]
