Blog Posts

  • protected void onCreate(Bundle icicle)

    I heard a radio program a while back about found poetry. My favourite example was the message you see written out on the buttons you…

  • Eclecticism

    A while ago I bought a USB turntable to transfer my records from vinyl to MP3. I copied a few across, but gave up in the…

  • Cosmopolitan Predators!

    Cosmopolitan Predators!

    … and now for something completely different. Not a novel, not a series of short stories, but a little bit of both. I had the…

  • 500 Horse Burgers

    It’s interesting to see how the media reacts to a story.  When there’s a risk of infection, are they going to scaremonger or are they…

  • A Forest

    I attended some training this week on teaching literacy to teenagers. I was told that the key to persuasive writing was to remember A FOREST:…

  • Les Miserables: Not SF

    …well, you probably knew that anyway. I saw the film last weekend.  I like musicals, though this one is not a favourite – I think…

  • Stories from the Northern Road (Penrose 2.5)

    Stories from the Northern Road (Penrose 2.5)

    The first ever collection from one of the UK’s finest SF authors: Tony Ballantyne, who has been a finalist for the Philip K Dick award…

  • Colinthology

    Colinthology

    Colinthology is a collection of light-hearted, uplifting fantasy and SF short stories, put together in memory of Colin Harvey, who passed away suddenly in August 2011. All…

  • If Only…

    If Only…

    A short story of mine appearing in Nature 489, 170 (06 September 2012) Read it here http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v489/n7414/full/489170a.html

  • Year’s Best SF 17 (ed. Hartwell and Cramer)

    Year’s Best SF 17 (ed. Hartwell and Cramer)

    My story “The War Artist” appears in this collection.  The story originally appeared in Further Conflicts (ed Ian Whates), Newcon Press, April 2011.

  • Strange Divisions and Alien Territories

    Strange Divisions and Alien Territories

    As it says on Amazon: This volume explores the sub-genres of science fiction from the perspectives of authors active in the field, offering both a…

  • Alt.Fiction Spring Writing Weekend

    Alt.Fiction is proud to present its Spring Writing Weekend – the perfect chance for writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror to meet and work…