*THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED* TO BE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT FUTURE GIVEAWAYS, SIGN UP TO MY NEWSLETTER HERE.
I’m giving away a copy of Richard Morgan’s epic science fiction classic ALTERED CARBON and it’s been signed by the man himself. To be in with a chance of getting a copy click here before midnight on 30th April 2018 (GMT) (Ts&Cs apply)…
Good luck!
Just a quick update, but another big thank you to everyone who’s pledged so far – you’re all scientifically proven to be more gorgeous, intelligent and frankly awesome than those who have yet to pledge… That’s science. You can’t deny that. Why not join their ranks and help me make it to 200 backers? Click here and hit that big blue ‘Pledge’ button.
Oh, and here’s me reading an excerpt if you like to try before you buy…
You may have seen some online chatter about this book’s editor Simon Spanton being made redundant from Unbound. Here’s the story on the Bookseller: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/unbound-makes-four-editors-redundant-due-cost-cutting-773346
Simon is a top bloke, and a fantastic editor with an incredible track record, and he was the main reason that I decided to go with Unbound for this book. I have been assured that Simon should still be able to work on the book, a) once all the redundancy negotiations are over in about a month’s time, and b) should he choose to do so.
Whatever happens, I will do everything I can to ensure that this book will be as good as it possibly can be. If you have any concerns do please leave a comment below, or drop me a line and I’ll get back to you with the answers.
Until next time, thanks again for all your magnificent support!
Mark
I had the pleasure of speaking to the superb Ed McDonald on the podcast this week. Ed talks very honestly about his first year as a professional author, achieving his dream of getting published, and then he asks the question, “What next?” It’s a very revealing chat and you can listen here.
I was over the moon to see my friend Deborah Haywood’s movie Pin Cushion premiere at the East End Film Festival last weekend. It’s funny, dark, and cat lady mad with a brilliant cast. Have a look at the trailer here.
And if you’re looking for a major time suck, the BBC have opened up their sound effects archives for non-commercial use. There’s some really freaky stuff available for your delight. Listen to this doll singing Oranges and Lemons and tell me you won’t be sleeping with the lights on tonight…Oh, and I’m 77% funded on The End of Magic with less than a month to go! If you’ve not pledged already, now would be a wonderful time to do it. Just click here and hit that lovely blue pledge button.
Till next time, happy writing!
Mark
Hi everyone – the three-quarters funded marker is just a couple of pledges away and it’s kind of crept up on me. Again, massive thanks to everyone who’s pledged so far, and do please continue to spread the word (send them here!). In the meantime, here’s a little quiz you can share with anyone who’s not yet pledged…
Till next week!
Mark
Big love and thanks to all new backers of THE END OF MAGIC this week. We’re up to 68% and it would be great to make 70% by the end of the week.
It was great to see some of the 5-pack bundles get pledges… I bought a 5-pack myself last week to get copies of the book for a few friends who aren’t fans of the internet (and after the news these past few weeks you can hardly blame them!).
If you know someone who loves a bit of fantasy but doesn’t relish the idea of shopping online then do please ask them to drop me a line here and I’ll do everything I can to help. Until next week, here are some choice words from the book…
Mark
I loved this Tweet from VE Schwab asking authors if they had received rejections of their work recently…
She was deluged with replies, some from some very big names, and one from me. Only last week, I had a book pitch rejected by a publisher. The response I got was, “We pissed ourselves laughing, we loved it, we just don’t know how to sell it.” And that’s fine. I appreciate the honesty and know that there would be nothing worse than slogging away on a novel for however many months only for the publisher to give a shrug on publication.
I more positive news I was inspired by blog posts from a couple of writers friends. Julian Barr talks about what he strives for here, and Laurence Doherty talks about working up from rejections to the NI New Writers Focus Scheme here.
And the big treat for the week is the Bestseller Experiment live show with Orion editor Emad Akhtar (pictured above). He answered all sorts of listener questions on writing, editing, storytelling and WWE wrestling… Yes really. You can listen here.
Till next time, happy writing!
I really enjoyed speaking to Cavan Scott on this week’s episode of the Bestseller Experiment. He writes on licence – that is, he writes for some of the biggest franchises and series in the world, including Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek. Listening to how he worked his way up from sending pitches to Big Finish Audio to becoming an influential writer of these beloved universes, and now writing his own fiction, was inspirational stuff. And moreso, now I’ve just learned that Cavan is bringing back Jaxxon the Rabbit, a cocky gunslinger who featured in one of the first ever Star Wars spinoff stories in the weekly comic.
It’s a fun episode, and you can listen to it here.
My co-presenter this week was the wonderful Jenn McMenemy, whose own podcast The Ancient History Fangirl, has just launched its second episode and it’s a blast. Check it out here.
In other news, I hit 60% funded on The End of Magic this week! A huge thanks to everyone who has supported the book so far. As a reward (punishment) here’s me reading from the book with another terrible “comedy” accent…
If you haven’t pledged yet, then please visit here and hit the big blue ‘pledge’ button: https://unbound.com/books/end-of-magic/
Mark Stay Writes 