On Wednesday 19th April from 5:00-6:00, I’ll be on this panel giving advice on what authors should do across various digital platforms to best represent themselves.
Byte the Book’s Justine Solomons will chair this discussion and she’ll be joined by Bookswarm’s Simon Appleby, Marketing Mentor and Confidence and Mindset Coach Kelly Weekes and Writer and me! The discussion will be followed by drinks and a facilitated networking. You’ll find more details here.
UNWELCOME is now available to buy on digital in the UK on the usual platforms, including Apple and Amazon.
Here’s the quick synopsis…
Londoners Maya and Jamie (played by Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth) escape their urban nightmare by moving to the tranquility of rural Ireland – only to discover malevolent, murderous goblins lurking in the gnarled, ancient wood at the foot of their new garden. Additional cast includes Golden Globe nominee Colm Meaney, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (DERRY GIRLS), Chris Walley (YOUNG OFFENDERS), and Kristian Nairn (GAME OF THRONES).
Much talk of farts in this episode of the podcast with Matt Brown, author of the splendid Compton Valance series, the Dreary Inkling School books and The Mab, a retelling of Mabinogi for children.
Matt is a former children’s TV presenter and offers some great insights into writing for children… and yes, we talk a lot about farts, Ben Elton, The Young Ones, David Williams, rejection, writing without fear and more.
Also, in the extended version of the podcast, me and Mr D get into the recent hullaballoo over editing the less progressive bits from Roald Dahl’s books. You can listen to that by popping over to Patreon and becoming a chart topper supporter.
Here’s a first for the podcast: twins! I spoke to twin brothers Zack and Michael Urlocker about their 50s noir thriller The Man from Mittelwerk, and it was refreshing to speak to a pair of writers so honestly about the ups and downs of collaboration.
The regular episode of the podcast is on all the usual providers and Youtube below… but if you’re interested in my various collaborations then do check out the extended version for our patrons as I go into working with the likes of Jon Wright and Rowan Coleman and (coming soon) my wife Claire in some depth. You can subscribe here.
I’ll be signing in the Authors’ Corner all day with the wonderful Kit Cox, FMA Dixon and Tom Gaskin. If it’s like the old Herne Bay Sci-Fi by the Sea (same organisers!) it promises to be a wonderful day out for all the family! I’m particularly excited as one of the guests is Paul Warren, who played Mr Sniff, one of the Redcaps in Unwelcome! It’ll be great to finally meet him. Grab your tickets here.
So much good stuff in this week’s podcast. I got to chat with Richard Armitage about his new Audible original thriller Geneva. I think writers can learn a lot from actors in how they approach a script and develop characters, and Richard was very generous in sharing the methods he uses.
This episode also sees the return of Mr D, and in the extended version of the podcast (for subscribers) we discuss his night in Leicester Square seeing Unwelcome. If you want support and subscribe to the podcast, pop over to Patreon and become a Chart Topper supporter and you’ll get access to over 120 Deep Dives.
Before I wrote about witches, I wrote about Robots and it was eight years to the day when the novelisation of Robot Overlords was published! And so to celebrate, I’m selling the paperback at half price for one week only exclusively at the Woodville Village bookshop. That includes the DVD and Blu Ray bundles, and the bundle with all my books. Click here to grab your copy.
Here’s the film’s trailer to whet your appetite…
I had a great fun answering the questions in an interview with the good folk over at Gingernuts of Horror, where — among other things — I reveal who would win in a fight between the Redcaps of Unwelcome and the Witches of Woodville. Click here for the full interview…
One of the easiest jobs I had when I was a sales rep was selling Simon Scarrow’s books to booksellers. Of course, the writing is superb, but so much of that first book, Under the Eagle, had everything it needed to become a bestselling series. A great premise, a great package, and Simon knew exactly who his readers were. Lots to absorb in this one! I was joined by guest co-presenter Julian Barr, whose own fantastical historical fiction is definitely worth checking out. Have a look here!
It’s been two years since The Crow Folk was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public! And to celebrate I’m selling the paperback for half price for one week only exclusively at the Woodville Bookshop. That includes signed copies and the bundles of the three Woodville books and the complete collection.
THE CROW FOLK paperback is half price exclusively in the Woodville Bookshop from now until 10th February while stocks last and all that! Click on the images below to grab your copy…
Mark Stay Writes 