I should say, to begin with, that I’m ill. Somewhat seriously, in fact, in that I have some sort of still-unidentified interior issue that’s causing me to have jaundice. Hence, weird skin colour, itching, exhaustion. It’s weird to lead on that, but it’s kind of influencing everything I do right now, including pulling out of San Diego Comic Con.
This week, I do, however, plan to be at London Film and Comic Con, just on the Friday, 26th July, where I’ll be doing a signing at Noon and moderating a Doctor Who panel (with Andrew Cartmel, Mike Collins, Jessica Martin and Richard Dinnick) at 4pm. I really enjoyed the enthusiastic audience I met last year. I may look a bit scary (the upside of all this is that I’ve hit my ideal weight, which is, it seems, ‘skeletal’), but I’m pretty sure that if I manage my energy I’ll be fine. Just look for the writer who resembles that guy in The Quatermass XPeriment.
In other news, Uncanny Magazine, which has won so many Hugo Awards for its SFF stories and articles, are, as always, running a Kickstarter for subscriptions to their forthcoming year of publication, and once again they’ve announced in advance which authors they’ve approached for stories. I’m delighted to be amongst them. Considering that in previous years I’ve only given them a children’s story and a vignette, this time round I’ve promised them some core SF. A subscription to Uncanny allows one to read the cutting edge of the genre. Please do consider signing up.
One of my favourite podcasts, The Writers’ Room, which previously covered all of classicDoctor Who, talking only about each writer involved, has now turned its attention to my favourite show, The Outer Limits. And I pop up as a guest on their latest episode (#7), talking about a single episode of that TV show, ‘Nightmare’ by Joseph Stefano. I’m really proud of the analysis Erik, Kyle and I come out with. It’s a podcast I’m really pleased with, so do have a listen.
And speaking of podcasts, thanks to my podcast partner Liz being very patient, at Hammer House of Podcast we’ve managed to continue in our journey through all Hammer horror movies without any gaps in our schedule. Our latest episode (#19) is a fun one, as we both loved the very Peter Cushing swashbuckler Captain Clegg.
Out now is The Legacy of Time, Big Finish’s epic six-part crossover adventure, celebrating twenty years of Doctor Who at the company! The first story in the collection, ‘Lies in Ruins’ by James Goss, is about the long-awaited encounter between Prof. Bernice Summerfield… and Prof. River Song! It’s about time, right? They’ll probably get on fine. Probably.
And in other Doctor Who news, the Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 10 blu ray came out this week, and, in a very small way, I appear on it. Or rather my voice does. The splendid documentary Looking for Lennie, directed by Chris Chapman, in which Toby Hadoke looks into the life story of director Lennie Mayne, now begins with Toby simply deciding to set off on his quest. But originally he called up two or three fan friends beforehand, asking what they remember of Lennie, and one of those people is me. The extra footage ends up being included in a separate feature, which also allows more time for the memories of Lennie’s family. So that’s pleasing. My favourite thing in the set, though, is Keeping Up With The Joneses, which turns out to be not just a return visit to the locations of ‘The Green Death’, but with many, many people who were present at the time and still live there. It becomes a glimpse into the collective memory of enormous changes in a mining community, and is quite moving.
I’m pleased to say I’m now confirmed as a contributor to Final Cuts, Ellen Datlow’s forthcoming themed anthology of horror stories to do with movies and film-making. To show you what great company I’m keeping, here’s the table of contents:
Das Gesicht by Dale Bailey
Drunk Physics by Kelley Armstrong
Exhalation #10 by A. C. Wise
Scream Queen by Nathan Ballingrud
Family by Lisa Morton
Night of the Living by Paul Cornell
The One We Tell Bad Children by Laird Barron
Snuff in Six Scenes by Richard Kadrey
Insanity Among Penguins by Brian Hodge
From the Balcony of the Idawolf Arms By Jeffrey Ford
Lords of the Matinee by Stephen Graham Jones
A Ben Evans Film by Josh Malerman
The Face is a Mask by Christopher Golden
Folie à deux, or The Ticking Hourglass by Usman T. Malik
Hungry Girls by Cassandra Khaw
Cut Frame by Gemma Files
Many Mouths to Make a Meal by Garth Nix
Altered Beast, Altered Me by John Langan
Final Cuts is out from Blumhouse/Anchor around June 2020.
And in other book news, the Wild Cards mosaic novel Low Chicago, to which I contributed the story ‘A Bit of a Dinosaur’, is now out in paperback. Here’s co-editor George R.R. Martin on why he likes this collection so much.
If you’re coming to LFCC, do say hello, and please treat me gently!
Please Feel Free to Share: