I came across this Zen Koan recently and thought it would make a good story prompt – perhaps along SF-nal themes of consciousness and perception. I believe it is attributed to (or about) Hui neng, the sixth and last Patriarch … Continue reading
For the first time in my life I had the pleasure of being interviewed for a podcast! This took place earlier this year at the brilliant Archipelacon, along with my partner, Gaie Sebold. We talked with the humungously charming Greg … Continue reading
It struck me recently that there is a word of near comprehensive application and functionality, and that word is ‘Trousers’. It’s a lovely auditory word, the kind that is a pleasure to say under almost all circumstances. It can be … Continue reading
Just a few years from now advances in physics lead to a full understanding of gravity, and our ability to manipulate gravitational fields. Humanity being what it is, the first commercial application was the anti-gravity brassiere. As with all new … Continue reading
Last Thursday I went to the funeral of fellow-writer Mark McCann. I wasn’t a close friend, I only knew him through our mutual membership of our writing group (London genre group, the T Party). He was intelligent and well-educated man, … Continue reading
Last week I can back from Archipelacon, the Nordic SF&F convention at Mariehamn, in the Åland Islands of Finland. I had a great time, the convention itself was quite special, and here’s why: It was brilliantly well-organised. It had a … Continue reading
So here I am back from the excellent Archipelacon where Regina Kanyu Wang gave a video-report on Chinese fandom to a packed room, followed by a Skype chat between us in Finland, and her in Shanghai. Which is kind of … Continue reading
I’ve been dipping a toe back into LARP this year, not playing, just helping out in the monster crew for some games. It’s been really nice to get back into it, I’ve missed the escapism and the sheer good fun … Continue reading
Last week I decided to start walking to work. It’s already done me a lot of good. Let me explain – I work from home. Up until last week my commute was nothing more than the distance between the bedroom … Continue reading
Here’s another free story – this one’s about war, the invasion of an alien planet, and what happens when it all goes horribly wrong.. This particular story had about the longest gestation of any I’ve written so far. Although I … Continue reading
