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atwood interview
There’s a very interesting interview from yesterday’s BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour with Margaret Atwood about her seminal text, The Handmaid’s Tale, which is twenty-five years in print this year. In the past Atwood has dismayed those of us who enjoy genre writing by trying to disassociate herself from science fiction, but thankfully when the issue of The Handmaid’s Tale being within a science fiction tradition was raised in the interview she didn’t argue against it – although she seemed more comfortable associating herself with the likes of Huxley and Orwell. I didn’t read the book when it first came out, but I was eighteen when it was lent to…
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Jack O’Leaf
I was pleased to capture this image this morning just using my mobile phone camera. Halloween might be over, but this looks like a Jack O’Leaf to me. It was a frosty, sunny morning in the woods today, which can mean good photos if you can find a subject. There is little foliage left on the trees after the rain and wind over the weekend (not as bad as predicted). The view from my office is of my back garden, and of the three trees I can see there are perhaps half a dozen leaves hanging on grimly to the stark branches. I’ve begun putting out peanuts in feeders for…
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three secrets of writing
The above picture is Sir Terry Pratchett twenty years ago when he attended the first Octocon convention in Ireland as Guest of Honour. It was early in his career, and I remember him as affable, friendly and willing to socialise with the fans (not always the case with authors). The convention introduced me to his work, and I’ve been an admirer of his Discworld novels ever since. Today, Pratchett has sold over 70 million books worldwide and his hair is much whiter. He’s also coping with early-onset Alzheimer’s with rare honesty, as evidenced in last year’s two-part BBC documentary. Pratchett is currently in Trinity College Dublin for a month as…
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flashback to Greece
Yesterday’s post with its emphasis on sunshine reminded me that this time last year I was in Greece as part of the first World Conference of Screenwriters. I was running the conference blog and social media, and it was a wonderful, if exhausting, few days in Athens. The above picture is of the Parthenon at dusk on the opening evening of the conference. It’s one of the cluster of ancient buildings that make up the Acropolis – which is perched on a flat-topped outcrop 150 meters above Athens. Our international group of screenwriters and Guilds representatives was extremely fortunate to get a private tour of the Acropolis just as twilight…
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get it while it’s sparkly
I snapped the above picture nearly a week ago, on the last bright morning before we turned the corner into Winter and settled into November. It’s been grey wet days since then. It was a lovely surprise to stumble upon a variety of mushrooms in the woods on that occasion, as it’s somewhat late in the season for a lot of them. The photograph of this duo was a special delight, because I managed to capture the magical quality of a sunny late autumn morning. I like the extra shine in the image, even if it could be taken for a flaw. We’re heading into colder weather soon, with a…
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young pitchers
Today I was part of a judging panel for the Pitching Competition at the 16th Galway Junior Film Fleadh. It’s the third year the event has run and the second year I’ve been one of the judges. The event took place in the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, and there was a sturdy turnout of people despite the gales and lashing rain. This year saw the largest number of applicants for the award, and from them three finalists were picked: ‘Rocky the Racehorse’ pitched by Aisling Dolan, Convent of Mercy, Co. Roscommon ‘Web of Lies’ pitched by Emma Finnerty, Ard Scoil Mhuire, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway ‘Rineen Ambush’ pitched by Paul…
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non-horrid Halloween news
The picture above is another delightful shop window decoration from Galway city this weekend. Last night the clock went back by an hour, so this evening descended with the swift snick of the guillotine blade. On my way home in the early darkness I had to drive through patches of dense fog in the lower-lying areas – such as on the winding country road to my house. It’s as if it was conjured up to put the official spooky stamp upon the night. Yesterday I received the news that my short story ‘Involuntary Muscle’ will appear in issue 35 of Theaker’s Quarterly Fiction, which is due out at the end…
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Samhain Abu
I caught this cheeky chappie tangled up in a net in a café door in Galway today. I love this time of the year, with all the ghoulish decorations. There’s even a festival going on in the city this weekend called ‘Galway Aboo‘ – which is a play upon the common Irish phrase Gaillimh Abú, which means ‘Up Galway’, and is usually used as encouragement during the county’s sports competitions. I hope you’re all planning a fun, frightful weekend. There are plenty of horror films on television so I’m spoiled for choice. I’ve seen most of them several times already, so I will have to root out something I haven’t…
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All Hallow's Read
A new tradition for Halloween evolved this week via an idea Neil Gaiman proposed called ‘All Hallow’s Read‘. It’s a simple concept: give a friend/colleague/family member a scary book to read for Halloween. It’s not only to promote book-giving and reading, but also to remind us that the tradition of telling scary stories on his holiday run deep. You could make it as easy as giving a friend your favourite scary book, or perhaps you could read out frightful tales on Halloween to family members. It’s a fine idea. In a few years I hope this tradition cements so deeply in our culture that we will believe it was always…
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Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2010
World Fantasy Convention is happening this weekend in the USA, and in conjunction with that event I’ve received word from editor Paula Guran that Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2010 is now available. Here is the Table of Contents: THE HORRID GLORY OF ITS WINGS, Elizabeth Bear LOWLAND SEA, Suzy McKee Charnas COPPING SQUID, Michael Shea MONSTERS, Stewart O’Nan THE BRINK OF ETERNITY, Barbara Roden FROST MOUNTAIN PICNIC MASSACRE, Seth Fried SEA-HEARTS, Margo Lanagan A HAUNTED HOUSE OF HER OWN, Kelley Armstrong HEADSTONE IN MY POCKET, Paul Tremblay THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, Holly Black STRANGE SCENES FROM AN UNFINISHED FILM,Gary McMahon A DELICATE ARCHITECTURE, Catherynne M. Valente THE MYSTERY, Peter Atkins VARIATIONS OF A THEME FROM SEINFELD, Peter Straub THE WIDE,…
