Fiction submission advice

Every now and then I take on a guest editing spot. It’s not something I could ever do too much, because I’m a writer and that’s where my focus lies, but I enjoy trawling through a slush pile occasionally to find some gems that deserve publication....

Dream Shadow at Tales To Terrify

I love it when my stories get podcast. It’s so great to hear a reading of something you’ve written and to hear that reader’s interpretation of your words. In this case, those wonderful people at one of my favourite podcasts, Tales To Terrify, have...

Video interview – dark fantasy, martial arts and more

The wonderful Joanna Penn pinned me down for an interview over Skype recently. Of course, I was more than happy to chat about some of my favourite things, like writing dark fantasy and horror, novels and short stories, martial arts, travel and so on. We had a good...

On posting award eligibility lists, including mine

It’s that time of year again when all the various awards open for nominations. It’s also that time of year when a bunch of people start bitching and moaning about authors shilling their published work. But fuck those people. Awards are all about talking up...

Guest post from Gillian Polack – Medieval Military

I’m starting the new year with a guest from Gillian Polack. She’s been here before, has very interesting things to say and has a new book out. Take it away, Gillian. Thank you, Alan, for hosting me. I thought I’d talk about the military side of my novel,...