Wyrd Conversations

To celebrate the release of my forthcoming novella, House of Wyrd, from the Absinthe Books imprint of PS Publishing, I have engaged in a series of conversations with people who have been vital to the creation of the volume. Book publishing is such a team effort, and I want to highlight the various processes involved.

First up, artist Lisa Laughy and I livestreamed a video conversation about the alchemy of book covers on the 27th of June which you can watch in its entirety here. We talked about our careers, how we connected, and Lisa’s fabulous cover artwork and endpapers for my novella, House of Wyrd. 

On July 3rd, Managing Editor of Absinthe Books, Marie O’Regan, and I talked about Marie’s path from being an avid reader as a child, to her start as a writer, and her first work as an editor. It’s an interesting and wide-ranging discussion over 90 minutes about the practicalities of being an anthology editor: pitching to publishers, working with writers, crafting an anthology, and producing the best volume possible. We also discuss Marie’s work as the Managing Editor of Absinthe Books, and how she has curated her novella list.

The following week, on the 9th of July, publisher Nicky Crowther and I beat back Internet Gremlins to have a fantastic conversation about Nicky’s early influences as a reader, how she and her husband Pete Crowther met, and how Pete launched PS Publishing back in 1999 with four novellas. Early on, Nicky worked as Art Director (and admin) for the press, but has become increasingly involved in running the business over the decades, ably assisted by a solid team. Across 80 minutes we cover so many topics: the importance of social events such as conventions for meeting fellow authors and selling books, how the business has changed, and the large array of titles that PS Publishing now produces.

Finally, on the 16th July at 3 pm, I’ll be having a chat with fellow Absinthe authors, Helen Grant and Tom Mead, about our forthcoming novellas – we might even do a little reading from them!

Thanks to everyone who has tuned in for the live conversations, and to the many more who have watched the videos on playback!