KAT ON A HOT TIN AIRSHIP

Kat Lightfoot returns ... but this time she's fighting a new darkness.

Last Friday I signed the contract with Telos Publishing for my new novella, Kat On A Hot Tin Airship which is the sequel to Zombies At Tiffany's.

To celebrate this forthcoming September 2013 release, you can now buy Zombies At Tiffany's on Kindle.

Amazon UK for only £1.96

Amazon USA for only $3.08

 So help us celebrate this new release and catch up on The Kat Lightfoot Supernatural Mysteries series now!
 

 Zombies At Tiffany's ...

Kat Lightfoot thought that getting a job at the famed Tiffany’s store in New York would be the end to her problems ... she has money, new friends, and there’s even an inventor working there who develops new weapons from clockwork, and who cuts diamonds with a strange powered light. This is 1862, after all, and such things are the wonder of the age.

But then events take a turn for the worse: men and women wander the streets talking of ‘the darkness’; bodies vanish from morgues across town; and random, bloody attacks on innocent people take place in broad daylight.

Soon Kat and her friends are fighting for their lives against a horde of infected people, with only their wits and ingenuity to help them.
A steampunked story of diamonds, chutzpah, death and horror from the blood-drenched pen of Sam Stone.

SILENT SAND AVAILABLE NOW ON KINDLE

I've been asked several times recently when Silent Sand:  Book 5 The Vampire Gene Series would be made available for kindle and here it is!

To buy this from Amazon UK click HERE

To buy from Amazon Dot Com click HERE

"Fast-paced and sexy, SILENT SAND is a stunning fusion of hi-tech thriller and gory folklore. As the action sweeps our vampire anti-heroes from an ancient castle in Wales to Las Vegas, from the court of Louis XV to the sinister military base in the Nevada desert, they stir up horrible secrets that really should remain buried ... What a delight to discover a grown up tale in which vampires are not afraid to be vampires! I devoured it." Freda Warrington.

SILENT SAND

Secrets can be found in the most unlikely places ...

Lilly thought that her vampire lair under Rhuddlan Castle in North Wales was safe ... until the dangerous fixer Darren Preacher tracked it down.

Gabriele Caccini thought that he knew all about being a vampire, but his life with newly turned lover Anya is sent out of control by the discovery of a new strain of vampirism, one which leaves its victims as ghoulish revenants, shells of the beings they used to be.

And deep in the Nevada desert, Lucy Collins, Gabriele's maker, is undercover, working with the CIA investigating the vampire revenants and what they might mean for humanity.

When preacher brings Gabriele into the CIA base, Lucy fears her cover may be blown, but there is something far more dangerous than vampires hiding beneath the sands of Nevada ... something ancient and vengeful, with an eternal patience and lust for revenge.

Soon, the ancient vampire family will find themselves facing their greatest foe yet, something primal and insidious, and from which they have no protection.

A Silver Lining In Every Cloud!

We all hate change. I'm the worst for it ... but this week I found myself in a bit of a dilemma. I woke one morning, went to sit up in bed, using my right hand to support myself, and experienced intense pain.

The pain lasted a few hours and then suddenly disappeared. I knew I hadn't wrenched my arm, and promptly forgot all about it.  A few hours later I reached for something with the same hand and the pain returned. 

It was a terrible shooting pain up the side of my hand that radiated into my elbow.  I found that when I massaged it sometimes the pain would go away.  The problem was if I forgot and turned it in the wrong way the pain would return and each time it seemed to take longer to go away.

I persevered for a few days trying to be careful, however, by Monday I was barely sleeping because my hand hurt constantly. It was obvious to me that it was a trapped nerve, though I didn't know what had caused it.  I made an appointment with the doctor hoping that it is nothing worse. 

A few friends had said to me that it could be carpel tunnel syndrome and because I rely so much on my hands to be able to type, I was truly concerned. As it turned out it was exactly what I had thought and the doctor explained that this was RSI brought on by how much typing I do.  (My average daily output ranges from 3000 to 5000 words a day.)  The doctor advised rest and gave me some anti-inflammatory cream which I was to use four times a day.  I also had a wrist support to stop me twisting my wrist too much.

Obviously this was a source of frustration: I'm currently working on a new novel which has a tight deadline.  Thankfully a few of my facebook friends recommended some speech software.  I even discovered, via writer Steve Lockley, that my new windows 8 laptop had a voice recognition application as standard. An added bonus because it was free and meant that I didn't have to order some software only to then learn that I couldn't get along with it.

I quickly installed the speech recognition application and began to experiment with it. 

At first I found it incredibly difficult to use and almost gave up.  I found however, that trying to use my wrist too much started to give me deferred pain in my neck and shoulders as well because I was over compensating.  And so, yesterday, because I had no choice, I was ready to give the software another chance.

The first thing that struck me about the way I work is that for me, typing is an extension of my writing.  It is so automatic for me to think and then type instantaneously that I can liken it to driving or walking.  When I drive I don't think about pressing the accelerator or the brake. It just happens as a reflex.  When I begin to write my fingers are already on the keys before I've completed the thought.

Obviously writing with a speech recognition app was going to feel different. You might think that speech would come naturally to me.  Strangely that wasn't the case at all.  The first 500 words were stuttering, fragmented sentences until I realized that if I spoke them in complete sentences the software interpreted them better.  It felt as though the app was learning my pronunciation of words.  Although I'm sure this wasn't quite the case, it did seem to have a level of intelligence that helped it translate my mumbled words. Much I suppose like the human brain, but not quite as good.

The thing is, the speech software was more likely changing how I thought about the writing process and how I approached it.  It made me analyse how I write.  And forced me to consider if I could change my routine.

I've always said that it is important to have a strict regime.  Every morning I wake and start working as soon as possible because I find that if I start my day in any other way then it takes me a long time to get into my routine. I don't like noise.  I don't like interruptions.  Any distraction can ruin my writing for the day.  So the thought of changing such a major part of how I work was truly terrifying.

Even so, I persevered with the software and found as the day wore on I was beginning to write almost as much as normal.  Which really surprised me. This was indeed very fortunate because it now meant I could continue working while resting my hand.

It wasn't all plain sailing though.  I did find some difficulty in writing this way.  Firstly, the words don't seem to come as easily when I have to speak them aloud.  They feel different to when I just type them.  Second, it isn't as easy to immerse myself in the world I'm creating because the act of speaking is a distraction.  I also discovered that it is quite difficult to write any graphic description, such as a violent scenes or sexual ones.  I've been trying to analyse why this is and I think it is because of our natural inhibitors that make saying sexual or violent or even gruesome things far more difficult than writing or reading them privately. Also the sex scenes sounded hopelessly corny when spoken aloud! Something that I'm sure I will have to address when it comes to editing the book.

There are still many things I need to get used to about the software.  I haven't quite figured out all of its prompts. For example, sometimes I accidentally delete things when I don't want to.  But thank God for the undo control on Word!

Yesterday I managed to write more than 5000 words by 'speaking' to my computer.  I have occasionally had to resort to typing because my meaning just wasn't clear enough for the app. Or it became confused because I had inadvertently given it a command in a certain word order that made it do something else. So in some ways this was harder work. By the end of the day, though, I didn't feel as mentally tired as usual, so that was a plus side.

I wanted to write this blog to explore how I feel about the change that has been forced on me though.  And I'm still not sure exactly what I feel.  Do I like using the voice app?  Potentially I think it could be a really good thing.  I mean, this could free me up considerably, couldn't it?  

I have friends who use dictation machines to write all the time.  I have always thought that this would create twice as much work because I didn't realise that there was software that could translate the spoken word into a written document for you. You would still have to edit it, that stands to reason, because there are always errors in that translation, but also because nothing comes out right on the first draft. This is no different to your first draft typed version though. Errors and typos always find a home somewhere in the text, that's why we edit and proof read. 

It is really difficult to change something that is so vital to the way I work, though.  In an ideal world my hand will recover and I will go back to writing in my usual way.  However, I may find in the interim that this is a far better method.  I would just have to overcome any natural shyness about writing my usual gory sexual content!! And maybe they will be better for having vocalised them.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that we should not be afraid of change.  Change is often a good thing.  Even though sometimes it is forced upon us.  

And so this cloud has a silver lining.  It has made me think outside of the box and experiment with different ways of working despite my natural dislike of change.  Maybe one day this will even improve my productivity. One can only hope!

HATEFUL HEART AND ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK BARGAIN

Last chance to get a kindle download of Hateful Heart and Zombies In New York and Other Bloody Jottings for the bargain price of £0.77(UK) or $1.20 (USA).

See the direct links below to Amazon UK and Amazon USA.

 Hateful Heart  

 Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hateful-Heart-Vampire-Gene-ebook/dp/B007Z3RV3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368365708&sr=8-1&keywords=Hateful+heart

Amazon USA http://www.amazon.com/Hateful-Heart-Vampire-Gene-ebook/dp/B007Z3RV3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368365890&sr=8-1&keywords=hateful+heart


Zombies In New York

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zombies-Other-Bloody-Jottings-ebook/dp/B007QG1L4U/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1

Amazon USA http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-Other-Bloody-Jottings-ebook/dp/B007QG1L4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368366125&sr=1-1&keywords=Zombies+in+new+york+and+other+bloody+jottings


THIS OFFER ENDS AT MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY 13th May 2013.

THE DARKNESS WITHIN - AUDIOGO

Sam Stone’s Darkness Comes to Audio

Alexandra Arlango, Commissioning Editor - Original Content at AudioGO Ltd in London, has acquired world rights to an original SciFi/Horror novella from award-winning author Sam Stone.

The novella, entitled The Darkness Within, is an exciting and pervasive story set on a spaceship in the far-distant future, and what happens when an alien infection takes hold …
Arlango says about the project: ‘How exciting! I am very pleased to be working with Sam Stone again. Last year AudioGO published her collection of short stories, Zombies In New York And Other Bloody Jottings, and since I came across her work I've been a great fan. Not only does she come up with deliciously sinister tales, but the worlds she creates are atmospheric and her characters memorable. They are perfect for audio.

‘I was thrilled to meet Sam earlier this year, and we started talking about other ideas and things that we could work on together. The result? The Darkness Within, an exclusive new novella commissioned by AudioGO. It might well be set in space. And it might well feature new, malevolent life-forms … You'll have to find out more for yourself. What I can tell you is that I had to stop reading, and look away from the page several times because it was so creepy. This Halloween, things will definitely go bump in the dark!’

AudioGO is the home of BBC Audiobooks and manages all the Doctor Who audio releases among their 10,000 catalogue items. Their clients include books by P D James, J K Rowling, Ruth Rendell and Bernard Cornwall. Their horror catalogue includes work by Bram Stoker, Rachel Caine, M R James, Stephanie Meyer, James Herbert and Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories. For more information, visit www.audiogo.com/uk/.

Sam Stone’s first novel, Killing Kiss, won the silver award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year competition, and her subsequent novels and short stories have gained her much acclaim, including winning the British Fantasy Award. Recent works include the novella Zombies at Tiffany’s and the vampire novel Silent Sand, and Killing Kiss was recently sold to Germany. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is a noted public speaker and lecturer. Sam’s website is at www.sam-stone.com.

About AudioGO Limited

AudioGO (the home of BBC Audiobooks) publish an extensive range of drama, comedy and factual programmes, in addition to abridged and unabridged books, stories, plays and factual pieces. A significant proportion of the collection comes from BBC radio. AudioGO is proud to commission the finest narrators and most accomplished performers. Most titles are available in both CD and download format. Browse through the complete collection at www.audiogo.com/uk

AudioGO was formed in July 2010 after a buy-out from the BBC. Its new owners, led by Michael Kuhn, have ambitious plans for growth. The company is the UK market leader. It also has a successful business in the US and has recently completed the acquisition of Blackstone Publishing, including the downpour brand. AudioGO has a catalogue of over 12,000 audiobooks and downloads.

White Witch of Devil's End

A couple of years ago, David and I were approached by Keith Barnfather, head honcho of Reeltime Pictures, to discuss a project that he wanted to develop. This was related to a character called Olive Hawthorne, who featured in the '70s Doctor Who story 'The Daemons' - which starred Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. The story is one of the most popular of the era, and many fans considered that Olive Hawthorne was a great character, with so much more potential to her than was seen on screen. Keith wanted to tap into this, and to expand on her life and experiences as 'defender' of the little village of Devil's End.

We were asked to produce an overall story arc and to commission writers to create a series of 'Talking Heads' style monologues which would feature the original actress, Damaris Hayman, as Olive Hawthorn, now grown old and wise. I was privileged to be the person who devised the proposal, and then jointly edited the scripts with David, making sure they joined up, were consistent, and told interesting and hopefully entertaining stories of Olive's life.

We contacted several writers who we felt would handle the subject matter with sensitivity and accuracy. Jan Edwards, Raven Dane, Suzanne Barbieri and Debbie Bennett stepped up and delivered some superb ideas and narratives. David and I also wrote one of the stories each. Later, Big Finish writer, Matt Fitton, was brought on board by Keith to act as a consultant script editor and to give the finished script a final 'polish'.

Some time last year Keith and his team shot the main footage with Damaris and he has just revealed the stunning DVD cover online. In his reveal Keith said: '"White Witch of Devil's End" will be a talking head drama featuring Damaris Hayman reprising her role as Miss Hawthorne from "The Daemons". In it, she tells the story of her life in Devil's End as a white witch ... and her fears for the imminent future.'

White Witch of Devil's End is planned to be released by Reeltime Pictures later this year, in time for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who in November, and we are hoping to have copies for sale in October at the Dimensions Convention in Newcastle.

This is my first Doctor Who related project and I am absolutely thrilled to have worked with such a great team to develop and create this script and production.

Killing Kiss goes to Germany

KILLING KISS has been sold for translation in Germany. And as you can imagine I'm absolutely thrilled. What's truly exciting is that I will be going to Germany for a tour and launch later in the year also.

Here is the press release telling you all about my exciting news:

GERMAN DEAL FOR SAM STONE

Gunter Olschowsky, Commissioning Editor for Verlag Bucheinband lnes Neumann, based in Heidenau in Saxony, has acquired German rights to Sam Stone’s award-winning vampire novel Killing Kiss.

The book was published in the UK by the House of Murky Depths in 2008, and is the first in a series of acclaimed novels collectively known as The Vampire Gene.

Olschowsky said of this deal: ‘In Germany, vampires are very popular. Customers, and especially young readers, can’t get enough books about them. Sam Stone has specialized very successfully in vampires and has yet to be discovered in Germany. Bucheinband are proud to introduce Sam Stone to the German book market and to offer German fans another “black pearl” author in this genre. Bucheinband believe that Ms Stone will become a valuable asset to every German fantasy book collection.’

‘I’m looking forward immensely to working with Gunter and Bucheinband,’ said Stone. ‘I love Germany, and can’t wait to visit to help promote the title to German readers and fans.’

Bucheinband intend to launch Killing Kiss (German title: KillerKuss) at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn.

Killing Kiss won the silver award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year competition, and Stone’s subsequent novels and short stories have gained her much acclaim, including winning the British Fantasy Award. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is a noted public speaker and lecturer. Stone’s website is at www.sam-stone.com.

TELOS MOONRISE - UPDATE

Telos Moonrise now has it's own website/blog. This will be the first place that all news, updates and information about our submission guidelines will be.

Find out when Sinful Pleasures - our erotic imprint - and Criminal Pursuits - our crime/thriller imprint is open for submissions.

For more information visit the website now! TELOS MOONRISE. (www.telosmoonrise.com)
  
Looking forward to those submissions!

Sam x

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S - SHORT LISTED

A nice surprise today. I discovered that ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY'S is SHORT-LISTED in the PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE.

The winner is decided on public vote. In other words you 'readers' get to chose and to vote on what you like - not a committee.

So here is the information and link to the FICTION category. Have a look at the line-up and chose your favourite.

Voting is up now! You need to register your email address, wait for your password - then click on the book you want to vote for. 

People's Book Prize

Updated Events Calendar 2013

Hi All,

Here is our updated events Calendar for 2013. There will be more to come ... and lots of interesting news very soon.

Sam x


BIG FINISH DAY 3,  Essex, 23rd March 2013.
Sam Stone and David J Howe will be joining the line-up of guests at this popular event.

For further information check out Tenth Planet Events : BIG FINISH 3

Time: 10am - 6pm
Address: Barking Abbey School, Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 8UF

Date: 23rd March 2013.


WALES COMIC CON, Wrexham, North Wales, 28th April 2013.
Sam and David are happy to be invited back to this wonderful event. They will be available for signings, photographs and copies of all books will be available to purchase at the event.

For Further Information : WALES COMIC CON http://www.walescomiccon.com/#

Time : 11am - 5pm
Address: Glyndwr University, Wrexham, UK
Date: Sunday 28th April 2013.   

ASYLUM STEAMPUNK CONVENTION, 13-15th Sept, 2013
Sam Stone and David Howe will be attending this fantastic event, which has become a welcome part of their yearly calendar. 

The event takes place in various locations around Lincoln Town Centre.

Come and join in the fun, wearing your steampunk finery, and join the party at one of the many wonderful evening events.

For full information on the programme of events : ASYLUM http://steampunk.synthasite.com/

Time: ALL WEEKEND
Address: Lincoln Town Centre
Date 13-15th September 2013

DIMENSIONS 2013, Newcastle, 25-27th October 2013. 
Sam Stone and David J Howe join the line-up of guests for this special celebration convention - which will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.

For more information : Dimensions http://www.tenthplanetevents.co.uk/index.asp

Time: TBA
Address: The New Holiday Inn, Great North Road, Seaton Burn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE13 6BP
Date: 22-24 November 2013. 

HURRICANE WHO, Orlando, Florida, 1-3rd November 2013
Sam Stone and David J Howe join the line-up of great guests for this convention. There will be panels, a dealer's room, cosplay, and great guests!

For more information : Hurricane Who http://www.hurricanewho.com/guests/ 

Time: Friday to Sunday 
Address: Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at Sea World
Date: 1-3rd November 2013.

TELOS MOONRISE

I can now share this information with you taken from the newsletter for Telos Publishing.

I have recently been appointed Commissioning Editor for this wonderful new imprint! TELOS MOONRISE (Information below) and I'm delighted to be involved.

Submissions for 'Steampunk Visions' and 'Dark Endeavours' are currently closed until later this year. However there will be a short submission period for 'Sinful Pleasures' (Erotica) and 'Criminal Pursuits' (Crime/Thriller) and more information on Telos' submission guidelines and the dates of submission will be revealed shortly.


For now ...

TELOS MOONRISE

After much consideration and planning, we are delighted to announce the launch of Telos Moonrise, a new digital and POD imprint for Telos, which we hope will expand to cover a wider variety of fiction than we are currently able to undertake in the more traditional publishing lines. Titles are planned to be made available in ebook formats for Kindle, Kobo and Nook, and for those who still love books, all the titles will also be available as print on demand paperbacks via Amazon.

Consultant and editor for the imprint is Sam Stone, herself an acclaimed and award-winning author, and she will be commissioning and looking for titles in all four of the initial lines which are planned:

o ‘Steampunk Visions’: Explore alternate worlds, past, present and future in our exciting new Steampunk range. There will be action, adventure and, of course, superb gadgets.

o ‘Criminal Pursuits’: Look into the darkest depths of the criminal mind and explore the darker side of humanity with our Crime and Thriller titles.

o ‘Dark Endeavours’: Delve into the supernatural, urban and dark fantasy, or the darkest horror imaginable. Or simply explore fantasy realms and alternate worlds where anything can happen from myth and magic to sword-wielding warriors.

o ‘Sinful Pleasures’: Brings sexual fantasies, love or simply unbridled lust, with good strong stories, believable characters and a large helping of erotica in all its forms.

Telos Moonrise launches with a ‘Dark Endeavours’ title: Absinthe and Arsenic, a collection of dark, mysterious and comedic tales by award winning dark fantasy and steampunk author Raven Dane.

Details of publication dates and other details will be available as soon as they are confirmed. We will make submission guidelines available on the Telos site as soon as they have been finalised, and when the range is opened for unsolicited submissions. Please keep an eye on the Telos news page, and the Telos Facebook page for details.

Ebook Versus Print

I've been thinking a lot lately about the digital phenomenon of publishing and ebooks. There are writers out there that don't have physical copies of their books. It is all online. They have a thumbnail cover, a pdf of their words. It could be on Kindle, Kobo, Nook or any other platform. But it isn't in print. They don't really seem to mind about this too much either because they consider that the digital platform has levelled the playing field and made it possible for anyone to publish a book. I'm not going to get into the good and bad of that today, but the way I see it, it would be a terrible shame if the future meant that we would only have digital ebooks and we lost the printed versions.

If we just have digital books - which can all be deleted at the push of a button - what history do we really leave behind if all of our computer systems and servers were somehow destroyed?

I'm not crying 'Apocalypse' - but technology does go wrong. How many times have you lost files due to computer failure? It only takes that one time when you forget to back up, and everything is gone. Up in smoke. Disappeared. Just. Like. That.

I have always loved receiving physical copies of my books. That's the time when it feels REAL.That's when all of the hard work is rewarded. It exists as a physical thing. My baby has been truly born.

I agree that we have to move with the times, but not to the point of completely eradicating this format from our world. And I really hope that will never happen.

Recently I was recalling how CDs took over from records. I fought it at the time. I loved my records; I still have a player and listen to them. I like the scratchy sound. I like the imperfection. In the same way that I like the smell of fresh print. Or the artistry of a book cover that a designer spent many hours working on. I even like finding the odd print error - mistakes that can too easily be eradicated from digital versions when found.

Now CDs are becoming obsolete. We download MP3s to our phones, tablets and computers. And there is also the piracy aspect to consider. Music is stolen all the time, and artists suffer from the theft. It's NOT the same as lending your friend your CD. Or sharing a paperback with a family member. That is what magazines and newspapers call 'circulation'. More people see or read something, but the actual sales are less than the readership figures.

The ebook revolution has made it easier for the same pirates to steal literary works. This is NOT the same as sharing, or circulation. This is theft. It's nothing more. And although I feel that ebooks help you to reach readers all over the world, the loss of revenue due to piracy is not a good thing. And I don't believe that the people who download illegal music or books are ever going to buy further copies even if they love your work when it's being offered for free somewhere.

There is a plus side to the ebook industry though: we've found new writing stars that may never have made it beyond the slush pile. Some might say that was a bad thing - but I see this as a reflection on readers' tastes and choices. Tastes that were not being addressed by the publishers out there for whatever reasons.

The internet is a wonderful tool. We can expand our fan base, tell people about ourselves, but are we proper writers if our words are never printed onto crisp white pages?

The authors of my youth, the books I loved and cherished, will always be immortal. I can pick their words from my shelf. They live with me in my home. If the battery runs out on my kindle then I can't use it. If I have no internet access I can't download anything. But my paperback or hardback doesn't need battery or world wide web in order for me to read it any time I wish.

The signed books that sit on our shelves are cherished, beautiful and precious. They bring back memories of the meetings with authors. The writer's ink splashed for real and uniquely on the first page of your paperback. Now, there are apps we can download that help us obtain digital signatures of those we admire, but how can that compare to the 'real' thing?

This is not a subject that will stop being explored. Or one that we can finally make a decision on. But I know that I will ALWAYS want physical copies of my books out there. And I will ALWAYS want to buy real books to read. Even if I have them on digital devices as well. Because these devices should be used for convenience but not as a way of destroying something beautiful. Without books we would have no history of the world we live in.

So let's keep on publishing and printing real books. Let's share our words in all ways - but never forget the power of the written word in print. We should never give up on creating these beautiful things: they are the evidence of our existence.

W is Wolf

The beginning of the new year has brought even more good news and I'm delighted to announce that my short story URBAN WOLF was chosen for a new and exciting anthology.

The Demonologia Biblica, Edited by Dean M Drinkel abd published by Western Legends Press, is an alphabet of chilling stories by some very respected names.

My story is W for Wolf and is a werewolf story with a difference.

The full table of contents can be found HERE

Looking forward to reading the other stories in this collection - but for now would like to wish a hearty congratulations to everyone in there.

This is a great start for 2013.

2012 - A Year in Focus

As the New Year dawns on 2013 I would like to focus, as always, on the good things that have happened this year.

2012 kicked off with a bang when David and I were guesting at the SFX Weekender, which took place in North Wales in February. This was the first convention I could attend where I could go home every night and sleep in my own bed! There was a super line-up of other guests. Colin Baker, Brian Blessed and Eve Myles among them. Robert Rankin hosted the SFX awards to much cheering and applause as a well-loved and respected author of Surrealist Fantasy. I might add that I'm a huge fan of his work too.

There were about six thousand people at the event over the course of the weekend and we had a great time. Panels were packed to the doors and great fun. My favourite one being on Apocalypse writing.

David Wacks, Chase Masterson, Me, David J Howe

After the SFX Weekender David and I headed across the Atlantic to Colorado Springs with our friend Frazer Hines. We had all been invited as Guests of Honour to a new convention called GalaxyFest, run by David and Diann Wacks who also run the Colorado Literacy Foundation. The event proved to be something of a show-stopper for us and an amazing start to 2012. We made some wonderful new friends, among them Kevin J Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Guy Anthony De Marco, Dean Haglund, Chase Masterson and Denise Crosby. There was a hard-working team of people helping out at the con and we were made to feel like part of a new and wonderful family generated by the warmth of

With Kevin J Anderson

David and Diann and their fabulous volunteers and friends which included the gorgeous Stacey Vowell, David Boop and Christopher Salas.

During the trip we also got an opportunity to go Western Riding which I enjoyed very much. And we spent some time with a lovely lady called Karyn Valentine who kindly showed us around.

When I returned home it was a massive wrench to leave all of our new friends.

Some new and unexpected writing success then followed - I was invited to write and submit a story for Chaosium, by Editors Glynn Owen Barass and Brian Sammons. The anthology is called ELDRITCH CHROME, and when I submitted my story both Editors loved it. The story is called Sonar City and it gave me an opportunity to write out of my comfort zone because I had to create an new and unfamiliar dystopian world that fit into both the Cthulhu Mythos and Cyberpunk.

After that Brian and Glynn asked me to submit to their Cthulhu Steampunk anthology and Brian also sent me the guidelines for another anthology he was working on called EDGE OF SUNDOWN, with Editor Kevin Ross. I didn't make the final line-up for the the Steampunk anthology (congratulations to all of the writers who did) but my story The Puppet Master was chosen for EDGE OF SUNDOWN, which was a western/horror anthology. I was delighted.

In between times I finished my latest Vampire Gene novel Silent Sand. When I finally turned this over to my editor Terry Martin at The House of Murky Depths, the feedback was excellent. They felt this was my best work to date. Terry Martin also commissioned a fantastic new artist, Martin Baines, to design the cover for Silent Sand and as you can see it is pretty terrific.

This book is available signed direct from my website with any of the other Vampire Gene Series Books HERE, or in any reputable book stores, direct from Murky Depths, or Amazon.

When I finished Silent Sand I sent in a pitch to editor Stephen James Walker, at Telos Publishing. It was four lines, offering to write a novella that would be both Steampunk and Horror. I expected Steve to come back with a request for a fuller outline, or more information, instead he replied with 'How soon can you do this?' and 'I'll send a contract over'. Within 24 hours I had a contract to write Zombies At Tiffany's and a great advance. Because I was so pleased with the cover for Silent Sand, I recommended Martin Baines to Telos also. The cover he produced for this book was even better than I could have imagined. I love real art on my books.

Zombies At Tiffany's so far has received the best acclaim in terms of reviews this year. My favourite being when I was compared to both H G Wells and Alan Moore. I couldn't have had any greater compliment!

You can buy it in paperback form only for the time being. An ebook is due for release in August 2013. Buy signed copies direct from TELOS. Or you can purchase this book on Amazon or in book stores.

Further success came when I was approached by Peter Mark May from Hersham Books, he had asked editor Stuart Hughes to put together a PentAnth - a book that consisted of five stories on the subject of Siblings. For this I wrote the story Imogen - which was published in September in both paperback and ebook formats.

Buy SIBLINGS for £2.02 on Kindle
Buy SIBLINGS for £4.30 in Paperback

Imogen was later chosen by Salt Publishing for their Best British Fantasy Anthology 2013. Needless to say,  I was extremely pleased by this and the subsequent reviews the book has had.

My career took another unusual turn when AudioGo editor, Alexandra Arlango, picked up my collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings and bought the rights to make it an Audio Book.

In her press release Alex said, "We are very excited to be working with Sam. She is a fresh and unique voice in horror and her short stories weave deliciously dark tales involving vampires, werewolves and clowns."

The collection is unabridged but only contains the short stories (not my commentaries on them, or the poetry), plus one bonus story, Walking the Dead, a black comedy that fitted in just right. The audio has also received some excellent reviews and it was a wonderfully exciting process to liaise with the editor about how the audio would be done.

You can purchase a download of the collection direct from AudioGo.


Chaosium editors Brian Sammons and Glynn Barass put out an open call for yet another anthology. This one was Atomic Age Cthulhu: Terrifying Tales of the Mythos Menace, and I was once again challenged to produce a story with a difference. This one was set in the 1950s with a Cthulhu twist. Fall Out was chosen for the final table of contents and I was absolutely delighted to be working with these great editors once more.


As well as writing work, this year has seen David and I being invited to many events as guests. In April we were guests at the huge event The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, in Peterborough. Here I made some more new friends and met some people that I had admired for many years, the fabulous and totally adorable Christopher Lambert and the very warm Adrian Paul of Highlander fame among them.

Me with the two Highlanders!

I really took a shine to two other media celebrities that I had the privilege to spend a little time talking to when we were all in the green room: Eve Myles and Montserrat Lombard. Both these lovely ladies were really likable and I hope to see them again at something else in the future.

The Peterborough event had the biggest media and Author guest list I've ever seen and it was extremely well attended.

Sometime after this we joined the Victorian Steampunk Society at MCM Expo and had the most entertaining weekend with Lady Elsie, Major Tinker, Ian Crichton and the gang. I love these guys so much! MCM Expo was supported by around 50,000 people. It was full of people cosplaying, and having a great time. It's the biggest one I've ever been to and it was great fun.

We began our book tour of Waterstones in September to promote the new books and attended Wales Comic Con, which proved to be massively successful. There I met someone I've admired for a long time: Anthony Stewart Head of Merlin and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. Tony was lovely. I also learnt that he had been asked to do the reading for Zombies in New York by AudioGo but had been too busy because it was such short notice. I was gutted, but thrilled that he had been asked anyway, and so I gave Tony a copy of Zombies At Tiffany's and stole a few hugs. And yes, I am blushing in this photo but don't tell anyone!

Another lovely new friend I met up with was Mark Lester. David and I met Mark initially at The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and I was really impressed with how normal and down to earth he was. So it was lovely to see him again at Wales Comic Con too!

Wales Comic Con had its best turn out yet this year and it was also great to see so many local Steampunks in attendance.

Also there was our best mate Frazer Hines, Gareth David Lloyd, Spencer Wilding, Virginia Hey, Chris Barry, Warwick Davis and many more stars including some of the cast of Game of Thrones.

We returned once more to The Asylum Steampunk convention in September. And we love this opportunity to get together with our friends, in splendid Steampunk fashion. We launched Zombies At Tiffany's and Silent Sand and my two new babies went out into the world in their finery for all to see for the first time. A convention high-light was the inaugural Steampunk awards and we cheered with happiness when our friends were short-listed and the best novel award went to Raven Dane for her super book Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron. A read I can fully recommend to anyone looking for a brilliant Victorian roller-coaster novel with Steampunk, alchemy and a dirigible or two!

Thanks go, as always to the gorgeous Lady Elsie and the dashing Major Tinker for putting up with us at Asylum and for all the hard work they and their crew put in to make the weekend so amazing.

As well as all of these events we were recently invited to attend the annual Dimensions Convention in November which was huge fun and allowed us to catch up with some of our friends in the Whoniverse.

A highlight of the event was joining our friend Chase Masterson and the Big finish crew for dinner and getting to chat with the lovely Sylvester McCoy, who was looking extremely dapper! I'm happy to say we will be joining Tenth Planet again for several more events next year - Dimensions and Big Finish Day being two of them. Can't wait to see everyone again!

Part way through the year I was invited to open Vampire Sunday by Grimm Up North, which was an excellent day of  back to back Vampire Movies, and I did a reading and a Q and A for them. This was the first time I had read an extract from Silent Sand. The event was extremely well attended and the reading well received by a very appreciative audience. In October we joined Grimm Up North again for GrimmFest in Manchester, and David and I introduced and hosted one of the films. This was called Attack of the Werewolves. I can thoroughly recommend it. It was a Spanish black comedy, with proper special effects and make-up rather than relying on CGI. The werewolves reminded me of the Lon Chaney Wolfman (in a good way) but the story was very modern.

Other noteworthy events - although I am actually confused now about the dates when they happened! This year has been a total whirl-wind - I was invited to a reading event by This Is Horror, which took place in the Electric Theatre in Birmingham. Jasper Bark hosted the event and the other two guest speakers were David Moody and John Llewellyn Probert. We took part in a recorded discussion about the works of Stephen King and then we all did a reading, followed by an in depth question and answer session. I was incredibly impressed with how Jasper Bark handled all of that too. He seems to have a remarkable memory!

Throughout the year David and I have been building a calender of events because of invites to various conventions and comic cons for next year. One that has particularly pleased me the invitation to Sci-Fi Weekender next March because we had such a good time last year at SFX Weekender. We are also going back to Colorado and GalaxyFest (YAY!), and I'm delighted to say returning to the wonderful Gallifrey Convention in Los Angeles to celebrate 50 years of DOCTOR WHO with all our friends there.

I have also been commissioned to write another novella, and a novel in six parts that is going to be serialised. However, because contracts are still being negotiated at the moment this is all I can tell you for now. But more to follow on this soon I hope.
 

So that concludes my 2012 round up. I'm thoroughly looking forward to 2013 even though it promises to be our busiest year yet!

Publications for 2012
Zombies at Tiffany's (Telos Publishing) Aug 2012
Silent Sand (The House of Murky Depths) Sept 2012
Imogen (Hersham Books, Siblings) Sept 2012
Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings (AudioGo Audio book) Oct 2012

Commissions and Publications for 2013
Sonar City (Chaosium Eldritch Chrome) TBA
The Puppet Master (Chaosium, Edge of Sundown) TBA
Fall Out (Chaosium, Atomic Age Cthulhu) TBA
Imogen (Salt Publishing, Best British Fantasy 2013) April 2013
* Novel - TBA
* Novella - TBA
* Screenplay - TBA

*More news on the Novel, Novella, and a screenplay to follow early next year. Plus exciting news on a graphic novel of Zombies at Tiffany's.

Happy New Year everyone.

Waterstones Event Cancelled

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to postpone my Waterstone's Arndale Centre, Manchester, signing.

I will be returning to the store in the new year and will post details when the date is set.

Sorry if this disappoints or inconveniences anyone at this time. The store does have stock of all of my books, so if you need anything you can still go in and buy it before Christmas.

If you wish to have signed copies then you can order these directly from HERE. (But please do this by Monday 17th December at the latest as this is the last day I can process the orders.)

Wishing you all a Happy holidays and see you in the New Year.

Sam x

This Week I'll be At ... MANCHESTER

WATERSTONES ARNDALE CENTRE MANCHESTER, 15th December 2012.

Sam Stone and David Howe will be revisiting this super store in Manchester town centre.

Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.

David's horror collection talespinning will also be available.

Address: Waterstone's Arndale Centre, Arndale Centre, Manchester, Lancashire, M4 3AQ 
Time: 12-4pm
Date: 15th Dec 2012.

See you there!

Apocalypse. Again?

So the world is going to end is it?

I keep hearing from various sources that the world is going to end ... Again! This time it is because the Mayan Calendar comes to an end.

We seem to have an obsession with the apocalypse lately: though I’m sure that this is nothing new. Religious factions have declared the end at many intervals. As a child of about 12 I remember something being bandied around at school about impending doom. Since then it seems that the world has been ready to end in one form or another several times.

In the year 2000 our technology was all going to crash leaving us in total crisis. Well that didn’t happen, unless I missed it?

So I’ve been thinking, how is the world going to end – or rather how would I like it to happen?

Well ideally I wouldn’t like it to end at all. But let’s have some fun with this anyway!

Here goes with a list of my five favourite apocalypses:

1) Zombie Apocalypse has to be my first choice. If we are going out, at least give us a chance of survival (even a narrow one). And it would be such fun blowing the brains out of the undead, or practising the double-tap on the neighbour, now turned zombie, for all of those annoying, noisy things they did. I only see this as actually possible if some kind of government experiment went wrong like a virus being released into the atmosphere. For the really religious it could be that hell is full and so the dead have nowhere else to go (That’s been done already though and doesn’t really work for me as being quite as plausible). So I’m sticking with the scientific option. Although my vampire Lucrezia did cause a zombie meltdown in New York at one time (http://www.audiogo.com/uk/zombies-in-new-york-zombies-in-new-york-sam-stone-gid-1013665o). That’ll teach her to leave her Renfield alone for too long ... 

2) Why not have an Alien Invasion. I’d love that. It would please all of the conspiracy theorists because – hey they were right all along and ‘the truth was out there’. With aliens let’s make it as sick as possible please. They want us for food ... that’s really not nice for people who consider themselves at the top of the food chain, right? What’s for dinner ... you are! They might want us for breeding because they are trying to make a new race? Ick! Kill me now! (Or maybe not. They might prove to be uber-compatible with humanity. I mean most things have two eyes, a nose and a mouth, don't they? We could surely cope with some extra appendages, tentacles and the like. Those sucker things could be useful if you don't have fingers.) They want us for slaves ... well that one doesn’t necessarily say the ‘end of all things’, though does it? But at least it gives the survivor types time to build a resistance. We could have years of fun with that one! They want to build a new intergalactic highway and our planet happens to be in the way? I think Douglas Adams has that one covered. Okay, my favourite and the most gross ... experiment on us: we are just lab rats to them, and that’ll teach us for all the cruel things we did to animals in our time!

3) We could go Super Nova? That should please the scientists (because, yes, we know they are always saying the Sun is going to explode one day and kill us all) and it is the most plausible ending we could have. So the world is going to end tomorrow ... and we all run about trying to get our affairs in order, praying for salvation or just basically having the best sex we’ve ever had. Of course there will always be those that go looting for the hell of it, but that won’t make any difference if the planet is going to explode in 24 hours. Let them have that new 70" TV if they want it so badly! The world's ending, who cares? The best thing to do in this case? For me it would be best spent with my loved ones, wearing my best clothing, and go out with dignity. The last thing you want to do when you arrive at the pearly gates is look like you were dragged through a hedge backwards. I'd prefer something far more torturous though. Why not the Sun just snuffing out one day, like a light bulb that's burnt out? We'd survive a bit for a while. It would bring out the best and the worst in humanity and some of might even make it off the planet in a giant Space Ark in search of a new world ...

4) Meteoroid Showers sound like fun. If it was good enough to wipe out the dinosaurs then why not humanity when we are only the size of domestic animals compared to them? So we could have a meteoroid shower that infects anyone who watches it with some kind of super radiation. We all mutate and turn into freaks, scrabble about the planet in pathetic, and sometimes amusing ways, before we lose the intelligence to actually grow plants, breed animals and more importantly make wine. Awful ending! A world without wine. Just can't imagine that one. Or the meteoroids could hit the Earth so hard they punch holes in the planet which then stops spinning. Gravity fails and we all fall off into space. Not plausible? Okay how about this: a big asteroid falls into the sea, pushing all the water onto the land, so that we all drown. Erm ... ridiculous (but it's been done time and time again!). Besides, Bruce Willis will probably slip into a vest, get in a rocket, shoot out to space, plant some explosives on the offending lump of space rock, and blow it to atoms long before it hits the Earth. It could all be caused by some mysterious Emperor though, and it might take a blond, buff, football star, a mad scientist and a reporter to thwart his evil plan.

5) Global Warming is my least favourite ending. It’s slow, it’s dull, it’s - so what? I’m slapping on the sun screen and I'll sit this one out ... And there is always a chance that the ozone layer will repair itself, right? Of course there could be a new Ice Age. That’ll teach us! In the UK we’d have no chance; we can’t even cope with an inch of snow or a bit of ice on the roads. When that happens, everything comes to a standstill. I think if this is going to happen I'm moving to Alaska: they probably wouldn’t even notice the difference there and they have all the right vehicles, tools and clothing to cope with it already. As long as the vampires didn't attack of course. We could have a flash freeze though, like they did in The Day After Tomorrow. I liked that one. It was very cruel the way people and things just froze on the spot. But there was hope for survival and some people made it by burning books in a library. That would never work for me though ... I’d rather freeze than burn books.

If the world is going to end any time soon, and I doubt it is because some ancient Mayans didn’t make a long enough calendar, then I think the most plausible options are going to be scientific, and not based around superstition and myth. We’ll know in advance that it really is going to happen, or at least the scientists in the world will.Whether they choose to tell us or not is another matter.

Anyway, if I'm wrong and the world is going to end sometime in the next few weeks, then I had better get my latest book finished. I’m on a deadline and I’d hate to fail to reach it. Now that would be the end of the world ...

The Next Best Thing? Me? Really?

I was recently tagged as The Next Best Thing by editor Brian M Sammons.  I have been fortunate to be chosen on three occasions now for anthologies Brian is editing or co-editing. So I'm really pleased and flattered that he considers me worthy of passing on this mantel. Thanks Brian. Here's to great sales for Eldritch Chrome (Edited with Glynn Owen Barass), Edge of Sundown (Edited with Kevin Ross) and the latest one Atomic Age Cthulhu (Edited with Glynn Owen Barass). All of these anthologies are planned for some time next year.

Now I have the utmost respect for the following people who I believe could also be the next best thing ...

Tagged

Debbie Bennett

Robert Harkess

Jan Edwards
Kit Cox

Now onto answering the questions :)

What is the working title of your next book?

I’m currently working on two new projects but can’t really talk about them at the moment because they are subject to contract. As well as those two, there’s a finished novel which is being considered by an Agency in America at the moment, and I’d rather not talk about that until it has a publisher attached. There’s also another novel in the works, but that’s in the early stages of planning at the moment.

However I’d love to talk about my two most recent books SILENT SAND and ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S.

2)    Where did the idea come from for the book?

SILENT SAND – A Vampire Gene Novel – is number five in the series and sees the return of my characters Gabriele Caccini and Lucrezia Borgia. Gabriele is captured and taken to a secret military base in the Nevada Desert. There Lucrezia is working as a scientist, doing experiments on a new form of vampire. Like the fourth book, HATEFUL HEART, SILENT SAND is  a stand-alone story though it follows on chronologically from the other books. The idea for the story came from a ‘what if’ question. What if my vampires, following on from the threat in HATEFUL HEART were to face an even bigger and better foe? As always the book contains blood-thirsty fierce vampires, sex and lots of action. ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was an idea that came from a dinner table discussion with my partner David J Howe. David and I were discussing what title might be evocative in today’s market and the title came about before the idea of the story. I didn’t want to write something that was a direct knock-off of the Breakfast At Tiffany’s story that the title might imply. Instead this is a completely original story, but with some tips to the hat to both Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Shaun of the Dead. It is also my first dabble at writing within the Steampunk genre. I really enjoyed inventing the weapons and gadgets which appear, so I’m sure I will be doing more in the future. In this book you’ll find Zombies, Steampunk weapons and a large helping of black comedy.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Both books fall into the horror category, but I like to mix the genres so SILENT SAND is Horror/Fantasy and ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S is Horror/Fantasy/Steampunk

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

If ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was made into a movie, I’d really like to see Frazer Hines as Rocky the gangster, Mandy Patinkin as the Jewish manager at Tiffany’s, Anthony Head would be brilliant as the inventor and as for Kat Lightfoot (my kick-ass heroine) she should be played by an unknown actress who has the look of a young Audrey Hepburn.

 5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

SILENT SAND: The ancient vampire family find themselves facing their greatest foe yet, something primal and insidious, and from which they have no protection.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S: A Steampunked story of diamonds, chutzpah, death and horror from the blood-drenched pen of Sam Stone.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m not working with an agency at present, but my partner David is checking contracts and chasing deals for me. Both these books were commissioned prior to writing.

SILENT SAND was commissioned by The House of Murky Depths. I pitched the story and plot in a phone call with my editor Terry Martin and he bought it on that basis. In face I only sent him the full synopsis when he needed it to commission the cover art.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was commissioned by Telos Publishing after I pitched a four line synopsis to Editor Stephen James Walker.

I don’t believe in self-publishing: though I make no judgement for those that do as it is often a way to get known and some people have become hugely successful by doing it. I write because I love it, but I also want to be sure that what I want to write will also sell. This is also my livelihood and I can’t afford to spend months writing something that won’t be sold. I love working with editors to discuss and refine ideas, and I love the process of writing: creating characters and worlds for them to inhabit.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

SILENT SAND took a few months to write. I am a fast writer and tend to do all my planning in my head beforehand. This means that when I come to put the words down, they flow easily as I already know where I’m going with the story.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was written in ten days to first draft. On my first edit I added about 10,000 words more. It was then passed on to my editor. From beginning to end it took about three weeks to complete it and I’m extremely pleased with the end result.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

That’s a tough one! I don’t really think that my writing or stories are like anyone else’s. However, people who like adult, fierce vampires often enjoy my vampire series. So if you like Anne Rice, Christopher Pike, Stephen King or Dean Koontz, you will probably enjoy my writing too.

I did have one reviewer say that my writing in ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S reminded him of H G  Wells and Alan Moore, which is a rare complement!

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My partner David always inspires me. We talk a lot about plots and character and story – all of which are equally important to me as a writer. David helps me refine my ideas. He’s my muse.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

I like to write lots of action and try and keep my writing style very fast-paced. My readers often tell me they find my books to be page-turners. I’m not a big fan of long wordy sentences, or of using words that make my readers have to stop in the middle to go and find a dictionary. Reading should be FUN. It is entertainment. And entertain is what I hope I do most of all because losing ourselves in a good story is what it is all about. A lot of writers forget that.

Plus, no matter what subject you are writing about, it’s usually all been done before in some way or another. I see it as a challenge to try and approach things differently. My Vampire Gene series for example, isn’t written in a formulaic manner. Each book is different and hopefully gives my readers new surprises and new philosophies to consider. It’s why the zombies in ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S aren’t just humans infected by some communicable disease. They are caused by something evil getting into the hearts of the soldiers at war. Something sees and fills the darkness within them.

I think it’s important to have multiple levels within your stories, even though different readers will interpret them in different ways. It’s what keeps it interesting for me as a writer, and which keeps the readers coming back for more. And as I say, it’s all about the readers.