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British Fantasy Award nomination
I’m reeling from the news this evening that I’ve been nominated for a British Fantasy Award in the Best Comic/Graphic Novel category for my writing on the Jennifer Wilde mini-series Unlikely Revolutionaries, along with artist Stephen Downey, and writer Karen Mahoney (who wrote the stand-alone JW story The Wilde Hunt). The comics were published by Atomic Diner Comics in Dublin. I’m honoured to be nominated in such talented company. Here’s the entire short list: Best Comic/Graphic Novel Demeter, Becky Cloonan (Becky Cloonan) Jennifer Wilde, Maura McHugh, Karen Mahoney and Stephen Downey (Atomic Diner Comics) Porcelain, Benjamin Read and Chris Wildgoose (Improper Books) Rachel Rising, Terry Moore (Abstract Studio) Saga, Brian…
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Solstice signing at Sub-City Comics
Thanks to Rob Curley at Sub-City Comics in Dublin, and the fabulous PR crew at Dark Horse Comics, I’ll be doing a signing of issue 1 of Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland at Sub-City Comics at its new location at 62 Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland 2, on Saturday, 21 June from noon – 4pm. I’m looking forward to chatting to people about the comic book on the day! I only wish my co-writer Kim Newman, and our artist Tyler Crook, colourist Dave Stewart, and Letterer Clem Robins could be there! The first issue will be hitting the shops on Wednesday, 18 June, so there should be plenty of time to…
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Contes pour faire peur
By the way there is a paperback edition of Twisted Fairy Tales available in France, titled Contes pour faire peur, which is translated by Marie-Paule Zierski. Here are the details: Editeur : Terres Editions Collection : BEAUX LIVRES Langue : Français ISBN-10: 2355301646 ISBN-13: 978-2355301643 Purchase: Amazon.fr
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RIP Minnie
Recently my dog Minnie died at home after a short illness. It’s taken me over a week to begin composing this message because her death has hit me (and my husband Martin) so hard. Minnie lived with us for just over a decade and we thought we had another 2-6 years together. Perhaps people are surprised that I didn’t immediately share the news to social media, but I was too raw to discuss it, and grief for me has a private dimension. Instead I informed close friends and family, and went about all the sad duties that fall upon you when a pet dies – including deciding how to dispose…
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Bone Mother optioned
I’m delighted to announce that my short story ‘Bone Mother’ has been optioned by the National Film Board of Canada’s Animation Studio with the view to make a short stop-motion animated film, which will be adapted and directed by Sylvie Trouvé and Dale Hayward, and produced for the NFB by Jelena Popovic. I’m going to cut and paste what I wrote back in 2009 when ‘Bone Mother’ was podcast on Pseudopod. I wrote the first draft at Clarion West in 2006, and it was a pivotal story in my progress during the six-week workshop. I’d written a mediocre story the week before, and I felt extreme pressure (from myself) to produce…
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D.I.C.E. 2014
On Saturday the first wave of guests for D.I.C.E. (Dublin International Comic Expo) – 27 – 28 September, 2014 in Dundrum, Co. Dublin – were announced. I’m delighted to be part of the event, and among such great company. And that’s a terrific poster designed by Irish artist Phil Barrett who is also on the guest list.
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The Green Book – issue 3
Today I received my contributor’s copies of The Green Book: Writings on Irish Gothic, Supernatural and Fantastic Literature, issue 3. The Green Book is a handsome anthology of essays and reviews published regularly by The Swan River Press, edited by Brian J. Showers. Issue 3 is devoted to examining the work of Ireland pre-eminent 19th century supernatural writer – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It’s the 200th anniversary of Le Fanu’s birth this year, so it’s quite right the work of Dublin’s ‘Invisible Prince’ gets a proper celebration. This issue comes with a postcard as a lovely extra – it’s a rare image of Le Fanu’s death mask (© Anna &…
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mourning the death of salutations
Recently on Twitter I made the following observation: I wish people wouldn’t forget salutations. So many emails & IMs burst at me with information, without a polite Dear; Hello; or Good Morning. And I followed it up with It’s like someone rushing into your house and firing a question at you, without first saying hello. I find it disconcerting. I understand why this has happened. Text messages and IMs have much to do with it. Text messages are limited to 140 characters so dropping even an economical ‘Hi’ makes sense. Most people have smartphones containing all the names and photos of their contacts now, so the majority of the time…
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Easter eggs
Since I’m not religious, don’t like chocolate, and I’m a freelancer Easter doesn’t loom large in my calendar as an important holiday. However, the weather has been marvellous this year, and people are in rare good humour, so there’s been a great vibe – plus the Galway Food Festival is on so the city is buzzing. Although I don’t partake of the chocolate variety I do like normal eggs, and always buy organic. A lot of the time I get eggs that originate from a poultry farm in the Burren called Poulataggle. When I bought my most recent carton of eggs I found a surprise inside (as seen above). It’s…
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Witchfinder 2 cover
Yesterday I was being all enthusiastic for Julian Totino Tedesco‘s cover artwork for Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland issue 1 on my blog, and late that evening Comic Book Resources announced the July solicit information and covers for Dark Horse Comics. Including Julian’s cover for issue two of Witchfinder. It’s one of my favourites! Oh yes, dark, gruesome events loom for issue 2…
