2014 - A Year in Review

On January the first this year I woke up with a strong sense of excitement that 2014 was going to be my year. This feeling didn't dispell all through January - in fact it only got stronger.

In January we took a trip with Frazer to Sedgefield Racecourse, where Frazer and his friend, John O'Loan, sponsor a handicap race. Here we met Emily Maguire for the first time, never knowing that she was soon to become Frazer's partner in business and love, and we all had a tremendous day out.

On that same weekend we also found our dream home and began the process of buying.

In February our events kicked off again with the fabulous Gallifrey One in Los Angeles. This is the biggest Doctor Who event I know and it is also a brilliant time for us because we get to see friends old and new. This year, I can honestly say, was the best one so far. The event pulled in a whopping 3500 people - but is always capped because the organisers don't want it to grow beyond a stage that makes the event less fun than the intimate reunion that it has always been. So - we will never see more than this many people fortunately - and for this reason Gallifrey retains this amazing warm feeling of being part of a huge family that stretches out across the pond and involves people from the Europe, USA, Australia and Canada. It is also a brilliant place to meet people. We also launched my short novel The Darkness Within: Final Cut in LA.

Dave Prowse

In March we were at the first ever Em-Con event in Nottingham, which proved to be a really good one for us. I was amazed by the many new faces that came specifically to our table because they had read my books and wanted my new titles. This was a one day event and we sold out. And the reason I was so surprised by this was because I had never been to Nottingham for an event of this sort before. It surprised me that there were so many readers in the area that loved the genre. Also got to hang out with Dave Prowse - who is a total sweetie, the Red Dwarf guys: Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules (who we see regularly at events), our bestie Frazer Hines, the gorgeous Eve Myles, and briefly met Kai Owen.

Caroline Munro, Martine Bestwick

After Em-Con I was a media guest at the fabulous Memorabilia in Birmingham. An event that is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine. It was a really fun day and I got to see some people that are becoming regular friends at these events, like Caroline Munro and Martine Bestwick.

Sci-Fi Weekender in Pwllheli - I helped to organise the author track for the second year running and managed quite a few of the on stage interviews which was great fun as always. Great to see loads of regulars returning to see us and as always we had a tremendous time with all the Telos authors that attended.

With Jonathan Ross

In April it was Wales Comic Con,  another favourite event for us. Terrifically organised and always with great guests. This time I got to meet Jonathan Ross, and catch up with the darling that is Eve Myles, and also got a great hug from Gareth David Lloyd - the Torchwood crowd are so awesome!

In between times the purchase of our new house suffered delays - but we struggled through them and I was commisioned to write a variety of short stories, as well as working on my novel Jinx Town, which is the first part of a sci-fi/fantasy trilogy. The trilogy was purchased by Telos Publishing in March and the release of Jinx Town should be early next year due to delays on cover art. I also sold two Cthulhu stories - the first was called The Vessel and this was published by April Moon in April in their anthology The Dark Rites of Cthulhu, while the second was Keeping the Faith which was sold to Chaosium for their anthology The Summer of Lovecraft. I was also asked to write my first piece of non-fiction for SFX Magazine - and I penned a piece about the Julian May novel The Many Coloured Land for their book club section.

With Gareth David Lloyd at
Wales Comic Con

We had a little time off as the purchase of our new house approached and the organisation of moving our home and David's business and Doctor Who collection - all of which could have been a logistical nightmare but for the super movers we used. Who helped pack, move and relocate us brilliantly.

Tony Head

We attended Geeks Unleashed as guests on 11 May. And a couple of weeks later we exchanged on our new house. That's when the nightmares really began. I don't want to go into that too much, except to say that although the survey came back fine, we ended up needing a new flat roof, a repair to a gully roof, a new conservatory roof, various windows replacing, a new boiler, new shower, and no end of decorating nightmares when wallpaper was removed and plaster fell off walls. Anyway we finally moved in a month later and the work continued a bit around us, but we've slowly tamed the beast and are now delighted with our new home.

In the middle of moving I received an email from Simon Clark, who I knew as an author of many amazing horror novels. Simon asked me to pitch a story to him for an official Sherlock Holmes anthology which would be published by Constable and Robinson in 2015. I was up to my eyes in decorators and we were commuting back and forth to the new house every day, but I told the decorator I wouldn't be in and I sat and wrote out the pitch. This was accepted and Simon then asked me to write the story. I had an early September deadline. Once we were in the new house I set to work on it and The Curse of Guangxu came to life and was finally accepted for the anthology in September. I was delighted! I had never written in any universe but my own before and writing an authentic story for The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad was definitely an exciting, and enjoyable, challenge.This book is due for release in April 2015 and I can't wait to see it!

We planned to take off a couple of months from events while we organised ourselves (best laid plans

Peter Davison

...) and one of the things we had to do was ensure that Telos Publishing, was back up and running as soon as possible. We managed to do this, within the first couple of weeks and have been working full steam ever since. A week after our move we attended a Steampunk event called Doncaster Steampunk on the Saturday - which was fun and helped to take our mind off some of the stress we'd been under. On the Sunday we went to Nottingham Book Festival.

June and we were invited to SFX Magazine's 250th publication celebration in London. It was amazing night and we caught up with some friends we hadn't seen for ages there.

David J Howe with Katy Manning

In July David and I drove to Birmingham to give a talk to the Birmingham Science Fiction Group. It was a really fun evening and we were treated very well. There was also really good attendence at the event.

We had a couple of months rest for events and then got ourselves back into proper work mode, and started to live and work properly in the new house. In between times I wrote a new short novel in my Kat Lightfoot Series.

This was What's Dead PussyKat and it was published just in time for the Asylum weekend.
 
Our calendar for Autumn began with KnightCon in Doncaster at the beginning of September and was then followed by the Asylum Steampunk Weekend in Lincoln - which was superb as always. Here we hosted the official launch of the new book and I also ran a writing workshop at the event, ending with a writing competition for those who had participated. There is some really great writing talent amongst the Steampunks and I hope to see some of their great ideas in print one day.

We hosted a book launch for What's Dead PussyKat and for one of the Telos Moonrise novels, Captains Stupendous by Rhys Hughes. A superb read - it was great to work with Rhys on the book and to meet him in person the first time at a signing event at Forbidden Planet in London.


In September I received an exciting email and phone call and was invited to Pinewood Studios for a meeting. Things are still up in the air as a result of that meeting but am hopeful that something will develop from it.

Also in September we took in a beautiful little cat called Jinx who we found at Sleaford Cat Rescue. She's now become a very big part of our life.

Welsh Celebrity Ghost Stories was published by Bradwell Books in September. This contained a non-fiction memory piece about a real-life ghostly experience I had as a child. It was a charity anthology for Cystic Fibrosis.

I received another exciting email asking me to pitch for an audio. I did pitch and my idea was accepted. We are currently in the drafting stages of this audio, but as this hasn't been announced yet I can't say more.

Other stories sold in this time period was my Cthulhu tale The Book of the Gods to Fox Spirit for the anthology Wicked Women and my phobia story Achluaphobia: The Promise, with Western Legends and the anthology Phobophobias both of which are now available in print and ebook formats.

On October 15th - my birthday - David proposed to me. And I said yes. We are now very, very happily planning our wedding for next year. It was a massive surprise, totally unexpected, and I couldn't be happier with the lovely ring he bought me as well.

David and I also collaborated on a story called Survival of the Fittest which has been chosen by Brian Sammons for the April Moon anthology Flesh Like Smoke. 

A flurry of Doctor Who events happened in October and November, starting with Dimensions in Newcastle. This was a really fun and full on weekend. We were placed next to Michael Troughton and his lovely lady Roxy, and the four of us hit it off which really made the weekend even better. We also met up with Frazer Hines and made friends with Kai Owen. Much laughter ensued as Kai has a brilliant sense of humour and really cracks us up!


One day after Dimensions we flew into Orlando for the fabulous Hurricane Who event. This is a

With Paul McGann

small, intimate gathering, and we always go a little earlier so that we can spend time with Jennifer and Ed Comstock who are really good friends in Florida. We got to hang out with them for a couple of days, joined by Steven Sigal, and then went onto the hotel on Thursday to begin our work for the convention. This was super fun, joined by Kai Owen, Terry Molloy and Peter Davison, we all went out to Joe's Crabshack on the second night at the hotel. Great food and much laughter. David did all of Peter's interviews and I did a reading from my new book as well as judging the masquerade on Saturday night. At the end of the weekend we felt like we'd made some more friends.

Julie Holmes, Emma Campbell-Jones,
Daphne Ashbrook

On the Monday we flew on to New York and headed for the hotel for Long Island Who - wow!

Here we met up early with our friends Frazer Hines, Daphne Ashbrook, Joshua Lou Friedman, Julie Holmes, Amy Windham and Colin Spaull. There was a massive guest list at Long Island and by Wednesday we had also been joined by Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Wendy Padbury, Debbie Watling, Nev Fountain, Jason Haigh-Ellery, Nicola Bryant, Emma Campbell-Jones, Terrance Dicks and many more ... Because we had started the week there early a few of us went on the train into Manhattan on one day. This was a bit of an experience - and we had a walking tour, taking in the sights, and even saw the 9/11 memorial which was heartbreaking and beautifully thought out.

Terry Molloy, Howard Hayes,
David and Josh Lou Friedman

We went on the Staten Island Ferry and got some great shots of Liberty Island. After that the week was one of socialising. A trip to a winery and the Brewster house was arranged for the guests - a fantastic day! And a super evening meal was also arranged as a treat for us all by Howard Hayes and the convention. We were spoiled rotten before the event even started!!

As per last year L.I. WHO was a massive success. We took part in the guest dinner, panels, the hilarious Saturday night Match Game, did readings, met and chatted to loads of wonderful people that we hadn't seen for a year. Then, after many Long Island Iced Teas, and late night parties, sadly, it ended.

On Sunday night the organisers had arranged for us to have a Thanksgiving Dinner. It was wonderful. But they had also sorted out one more surprise. They put out champagne, and then produced an engagement cake and specially signed card for David and I. I cried my eyes out. What lovely, amazing, wonderful, caring and thoughtful people!

Next year L.I. Who - already a tremendous success in just its second year - will most definitely be bigger and better and we can't wait to be there again at a new hotel - a Hilton no less!

We came home feeling such a massive high. I'm still not over it yet!

Linzi, Cary Elwes and Me

A few weeks later and we drove to Birmingham and another Memorabilia event, where we were joined by my
lovely helper Hazel Prosser who had organised everything beautifully for us. My daughter Linzi also came and it was a terrific event for her because she got to meet one of her favourite movie stars in the green room - Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Lady Jane, Bram Stoker's Dracula). We also caught up with Ayshea Brough, Martine Beswick, Caroline Munro, the guys from 'Allo 'Allo and Mark Lester (Oliver) as well as many more! This was also David's first Memorabilia and he had lots of people come to see him to sign their books. A very successful event!

Tim Dry

It was also brilliant to meet Tim Dry who is a well known actor (The Return of the Jedi) and a writer - we've shared cover space in a couple of anthologies. The most recent being Phobophobias. He is a truly lovely man and I'm looking forward to reading his story.

The last event for the year went with a terrific bang as we joined the line-up for Wales Comic Con's second show this year. This was fab. Terrific guests again, including Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd - both of whom I've already said I love! There was also Shane Ritchie (who seemed really nice) and one of my favourite people, Tony Head. It was brilliant to see Ian McNeice, Simon Fisher-Becker and some of the stars from Atlantis - including Mark Addy - who is such a nice chap. And also Mark Sheppard, who we last saw at Gallifrey in February. Chris Barrie and Danny John-Jules where there representing Red Dwarf - and I really do like these guys so much that it was lovely to briefly catch up with them.

But the year didn't end there and just this week I've had a flurry of work offers - some of which I'll be very excited to tell you about in the new year but can't say more at this point. I can tell you this though, the next Kat Lightfoot Mysteries Kat of Green Tentacles has now been commissioned by Stephen James Walker at Telos Publishing and so Kat's adventures will continue hopefully next August!

Writing successes in summary:

The Darkness Within: Final Cut (Telos Publishing)
Jinx Town: Part One The Jinx Chronicles (Telos Publishing)
What's Dead PussyKat: Kat Lightfoot Mysteries #3 (Telos Publishing)
Audio - to be announced in 2015!
The Curse of Guangxu, (Constable and Robinson) The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad
The Vessel (April Moon) The Dark Rites of Cthulhu
Keeping the Faith (Chaosium) The Summer of Lovecraft
The Promise: Acluaphobia (Western Legends) Phobophobias
The Book of the Gods (Fox Spirit) Wicked Women
Survival of the Fittest With David J Howe (April Moon) Flesh Like Smoke
Kat of Green Tentacles: Kat Lightfoot Mysteries #4 (Telos Publishing)  

Book Club The Many Colored Land, (SFX Magazine, Issue No 253) Autumn 2014

The Boxes, (Childhood Memory Piece) Welsh Celebrity Ghost Stories (Bradwell Books, Sep 2014)

And I also received an 'Honorable Mention' in Ellen Datlow's Best of 2014 list for my short story The Jealous Sea which was published last year by Grey Friar Press in Terror Tales of The Seaside. I'm obviously very thrilled about this as I highly respect Ellen and believe her to be one of the most decerning editors in the business.

For life, work and definitely love, this year hasn't disappointed at all.

Happy New Year all - I'm hoping that 2015 will be even better - but it will be hard to top this one for me.

My Typical Week

People often ask me what writing schedule I have. This is a quick diary of my typical week:

Monday
Wake at 7am. Reach over to the bedside table and switch on my laptop. Check Facebook, reply to messages and notifications - then check emails and respond to them.
8am - begin writing for the day.
9am - stop for small breakfast shower and dress.
9.15am - back to work and write until 12.30-1pm.
Have lunch.
1.30pm onwards - Afternoon schedule consists of wrapping Telos Publishing orders (this can take hours).
Brief visit to Facebook and emails again.
4pm Take orders to Post office.
5pm - 6pm begin making dinner.
6pm - Glass of wine.
After dinner cuddle up on the sofa with David and watch a DVD.


Tuesday
Morning as per Monday until lunchtime.
1.30pm Onwards - Prepare Telos Invoices/Delivery notes for shop and distributor purchases.
Collate books and pack in boxes.
Weigh and measure boxes - then book the courier collection for Wednesday. Print and attach shipping labels.
Put all boxes (from 1 to possibly 20 depending what's come in) into the collection area.
Tidy up!!! Cos the packing mess a hell of a mess...
6pm - glass of wine and WELL DESERVED.
Chill with David.

Wednesday
7am -8am Catch up with Facebook and Emails/ May write a blog.
8am - Get up and get dressed. Put the washing on. Eat some cereal and have a cup of tea.
8.30am onwards - Begin Full cleaning of the house, stopping occasionally to change the washing over to the drier and put another load on if there is one.
12.30pm - get a light lunch.
1pm onwards sort out the now dry washing and set too ironing. (During which time I'll put Vampire Diaries on the TV to quell some of the boredom).
3pm or sooner ,depending on washing that day, return to my laptop and check emails and facebook etc.
3.15-6pm Promotion. This could be sending out emails or ringing places - but it's usually blogging, creating events and advertising them in various places.
6pm - you guessed it! Glass of Wine ...

Thursday
Writing morning as per Monday.
Around 1pm and after lunch - Telos Orders and Paperwork.
4pm - Take orders to Post Office or book courier or both.
6pm - I'm not even going to tell you because you know what I'm doing from then onwards ...

Friday
Writing all morning as per Monday.
After lunch - editing any commisioned work - or possibly mine depending where I'm up to and on deadlines. Sometimes I'm just writing ALL day if needed.
4pm - possibly taking orders to Post office - nip out to shops for food and - wine ... (obviously)

7pm onwards - Prepare dinner - (no wine) Collect L from the station.
8pm - L, David and I sit down to dinner - now we have wine.
Watch DVD and chat

Saturday
A bit of a lie in so we get up around 8am instead of 7am. Reach for laptop and spend time checking emails and Facebook. May write a blog.
9am-12am Writing all morning.
12.30 onwards - out to lunch with David & L- Shopping and errands.
3-4pm - Back home, check emails and Facebook then do some editing if urgent.
Make Dinner or sometimes go out to local Indian for Curry.
Evening - relax with the family.

Sunday
8am - Wake, check emails & Facebook - Get shower etc.
10 - 11am - Make a fry-up for 'brunch'. Laze around a little during most of the morning.
After Lunch - Nice weather stroll on the beach/ crap weather back to work writing/editing. Or watch some rubbish on TV with L.
3ish - Take L to station as she goes back to college.
3.30pm onwards - Tidy up. Check Emails etc.
4pm - 6pm - Editing/ possible blog.
6pm - Yes - WINE!
After dinner - curl up on sofa and chill with David.

This is an average week, which is interspersed with interruptions and changes... It doesn't reflect the weeks we spend travelling and signing books. On those occassions my writing pattern is very disrupted. I'm not good at writing on board a train for example - as I hate noise when I'm writing and trains are usually chaotic.

When I'm on a deadline I write every morning and everything else is left to the end of the day - especially the housework. For example when I was working on the 'Zombies in New York' Collection Monday-Sunday consisted of writing from 7am to 1pm every day. This went on for weeks as the deadline approached. Currently I'm between projects - but must start writing the next novel very soon and so my schedule is far looser. Fortunately this month is filled with promotion stuff - lots of Waterstones signings and Frazer Hines' tour, which was good timing as writing schedules go.

I write in the morning as this is my best time - later in the day the other things in our lives get in the way and would be too much of a distraction. It's also why I write in bed - if I see that the house is untidy it gives me reason to procrastinate. Hence not leaving the bedroom until I'm confident that my writing is in full swing - that way distractions don't hold my attention long because I'm in 'the zone'. One main aim is to write or edit something everyday so that my creative brain is constantly being flexed. I even get grumpy if I don't write these days.

Well, that's my typical week and it's a system that works for me but if you are an aspiring author you may do things completely different. You just have to find a balance, and being strict with writing hours is the most important thing you learn if you really want to write as a full-time occupation.

MAD World

This has been one crazy, whirlwind of a week.

Last Saturday morning David and I flew to Isle of Man to meet up with Frazer Hines and Rob Craine for Frazer's first show of his pre-christmas run of 'Frazer Hines - 50 Years in Showbiz Tour. The first was to take place at Erin Arts Centre, in Port Erin. When we got to the venue, however, it looked like disaster was going to strike and we'd have to cancel. Frazer's DVD's wouldn't play in their machine. Fortunately David rescued the situation by figuring out a way to play the film clips - but this only got sorted minutes before the show was due to start.

The show got underway and tech issues continued to plague us with Frazer's microphone constantly going on and off. Like a true professional he plowed on. It's safe to say the audience loved him! It was laughs all the way and the interval came around way too quickly!

The second half of the show I went on with Frazer and fielded the Q & A. Erin Arts Centre patrons asked great questions and as always I learnt something new about Frazer through his answers. He's a man of many talents! And - the laughs continued to the end. This was a very appreciative audience.

Later in the week I drove to Derby to meet up with Frazer to prepare for his show on the Thursday evening. We had lunch, went the the venue, only to realise we'd sold out of the final few copies of his autobiography and so had none to sell there. Fortunately a new delivery was due in the next day - but we were very sorry to disappoint the Derby Whovers (or is that Whoovers?).

The show went very well that night, however. This took place at The Quad, Derby and it was extremely well organised with excellent technology - phew! - and was followed by a very informal chat with the audience immediately afterwards.

But the week didn't end there. Straight after the Derby show we drove back to Wales. Frazer and I had a signing at Waterstones in Llandudno and of course there is still Frazer's show taking place this evening at the Scala in Prestatyn.

But I do really want to talk about Llandudno yesterday. What a well promoted event this was. I'm so very pleased with the sales we made and the excitement that our visit created. Huge thanks goes to all of the staff at Llandudno as they made such a massive effort the last few weeks to tell people we were coming. This consisted of them ordering a lot of books prior to the event and displaying them in full beautifully (we even had Cybermen!). Doctor Who music was played throughout the day and there was a superb poster in the window. We were placed in a prime position and - WOW! - what a busy store! By 4pm we were still in the thick of it as the sales continued to ring up and we'd been booked until 3pm. What a great day!

It really was super for me as a local author to have such a successful signing at Waterstones. So, naturally we went out with friends to celebrate!!

Well, that's the catch up on my mad, mad week so far... There's still more to come so watch out for my next appearances in Yeovil, Truro and Spalding.

TELOS PRESS RELEASE - ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK!

November 1, 2010 - Telos Publishing is very pleased and proud to have recently signed up a new collection of original horror and dark fantasy fiction from the acclaimed and award-winning author Sam Stone. Sam made an enormous impact with her trilogy of Vampire novels, collectively known as the Vampire Gene series (which are available from our friends at Murky Depths: www.murkydepths.com), and we just know that this debut collection is going to blow people away.

There is already film interest in some of the tales - and that's before the book has even been published. ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK & OTHER BLOODY JOTTINGS is an amazing read. Something is sapping the energy of the usually robust dancers of the Moulin Rouge … Jack the Ripper’s crimes are investigated by a vampire … Zombies roam the streets of New York … Clowns die in mysteriously humorous ways ... Welcome to the poetic and horrific world of Sam Stone, where a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf, and Angels are stalking the undead. Walk through the haunting world of the Toymaker and be hypnotised by the Siren's Song. Fourteen stories of horror and passion, and six mythological and erotic poems from the pen of the new Queen of Vampire fiction. Chick-slash has never been so entertaining!

Publishing in February 2011 and being launched at the big LA Doctor Who event, Gallifrey One, ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK will boast a cover by multiple-award winning artist Vincent Chong (www.vincentchong-art.co.uk), and features internal illustrations from the blood-soaked pen of Russell Morgan (www.icarussart.com)

'I wanted to do a collection to experiment with genres and styles,' says Sam. 'As well as my interest in horror fiction, I also love crime fiction, particularly psychological thrillers, and writing a collection of short stories gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizons in terms of the content, style and even voice that I used.'

Sam is known for her vampire series, The Vampire Gene, and the collection contains several stories which link in with that. 'When I was writing Futile Flame, the second in the trilogy, my femme fatale, the vampire Lucrezia Borgia, was such an intriguing character that at the time I wanted to write much more about her history. There is a period of time within that book of approximately 200 years, where we don't really know what she got up to. So the stories began as my exploration of those missing years. I have Lucrezia taking on the nom de plume of Lucy Collins, and working as a blood specialist - an ideal job for a vampire! - and with the police of all ages, solving crimes and getting involved in mysteries.'

The collection also contains some of Sam's horror poetry. 'They're more erotic and mythological than horror, and the ones that I wanted to include in the collection, are those I'm most proud of as they each tell a little story of their own. I tried to encapsulate feelings, character, themes and a plot into a concise piece of writing in each case. I hope that readers enjoy them.'

The collection covers all bases from zombies to vampires, sirens to angels and just about everything in between. 'I was trying to be diverse,' smiles Sam. 'There's even a ghost story in there, as well as, of course, creepy clowns! But in every case I tried to bring a new and unique slant to the writing. I was aiming at being eclectic and I hope I've achieved that. There are several that I am really proud of, and some which I hope will truly shock readers!'

Copies of ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK & OTHER BLOODY JOTTINGS can be pre-ordered from Telos by emailing orders@telos.co.uk or visiting their website: www.telos.co.uk.

Appearances 30th October to 21st November 2010

Erin Arts Centre, Isle of Man - Frazer Hines - 50 Years in Showbiz - Anniversary Tour/ Sat 30th Novemeber 2010.
The show starts at 8pm and consists of a two part performance. Part one will see Frazer talking about his life and experiences over the 50 years that he has been in showbusiness. Following a 20 min interval Frazer will return to the stage with Sam Stone - who will interview him in a Q & A which will be interspersed with questions from the audience.
EVENT TIME: 8pm
Address: Victoria Square, Port Erin, Isle of Man, IM9 6LD Tel: +44(0) 1624 835858

Waterstones - Llandudno/ 6th November 2010.
Meet Sam Stone & Frazer Hines in the busy centre of Llandudno. Copies of all the Vampire Gene Series will be available to purchase.
EVENT TIME: 11am-3pm
Address: Waterstones Llandudno, 37 Victoria Centre, Mostyn CentreLlandudno, Conwy LL30 2NG


The Scala, Prestatyn, North Wales - Frazer Hines - 50 Years in Showbiz - Anniversary Tour.
The show starts at 7.30pm and consists of a two part performance. Part one will see Frazer talking about his life and experiences over the 50 years that he has been in showbusiness. Following a 20 min interval Frazer will return to the stage with Sam Stone - who will interview him in a Q & A interspersed with questions from the audience.
EVENT TIME: 7.30pm
Address: 47 High Street, Prestatyn, Denbigshire LL19 9AH. Tel: 01745 850 197

Waterstones  - Yeovil/13th November 2010
Join Sam Stone with Actor Frazer Hines signing copies of their books at this popular Waterstones store.
EVENT TIME: 2 - 4pm
Waterstones Yeovil, 37a Middle Street, Yeovill, Somerset BA20 1LG. 2-4pm 

The Swan Theatre, Yeovil - Frazer Hines - 50 Years in Showbiz - Anniversary Tour.
The show starts at 8pm and consists of a two part performance. Part one will see Frazer talking about his life and experiences over the 50 years that he has been in showbusiness. Following a 20 min interval Frazer will return to the stage with Sam Stone - who will interview him in a Q & A which will be interspersed with questions from the audience.
EVENT TIME: 7.30pm
Address: Swan Theatre, 138 Park St, Yeovil BA20 1QT.
Tel Waterstones Yeovil for tickets on: 01935 479832

Waterstone - Truro/14th November 2010.
Journeying further to the coast Sam Stone and Frazer Hines will be at this Waterstones stone.
EVENT TIME: 1 - 2.30pm
Waterstone Truro, 11 Boscawen Street, Truro, Cornwall,TR1 2QU

Bookmark- Spalding/20th November 2010
Meet Sam Stone, Frazer Hines & Horror Writer Andy Remic at this in quaint award winning independent bookstore.
18-20 The Crescent, Spalding, PE11 1AF.  Tel: 01775 769 231
EVENT TIME: 11am - 1pm

The Lass O'Gowrie, Manchester - Frazer Hines - 50 Years in Showbiz - Anniversary Tour.
The show starts at 8pm and consists of a two part performance. Part one will see Frazer talking about his life and experiences over the 50 years that he has been in showbusiness. Following a 20 min interval Frazer will return to the stage with Sam Stone - who will interview him in a Q & A which will be interspersed with questions from the audience.
EVENT TIME: 7.30pm
Address: 36 Charles St, Manchester, M1 7DB. Tel: 0161 273 6932

Where I'll be next ... Updated!

Current list of venues Sam will be attending, including bookstore signings. Keep watching as this page will be updated, hopefully with a venue near you!

Exclusive to signings : Buy 2 or more books in the Vampire Gene Series or a copy of Hines Sight and get an signed picture postcard.

NewCon 5 - Nothampton - Saturday October 9-10th
at The Fishmarket, Northampton, NN1 2HL. Sam will be taking part in readings and panels throughout the weekend.


Yale College, - Wednesday 20th October 2010: Time 10.30am-12pm.
Address: at Yale College, Grove Park Campus, Grove Park Road, Wrexham. LL12 7A

• Sam will be lurking in the LRC . Vampire Gene Series books will be for sale at the venue.

Waterstones - Llandudno - Saturday 6th November 2010: 11am-3pm.
Address: 37 Victoria Centre, Mostyn Centre, Llandudno, Conwy LL30 2NG. Phone: 01628 818 300.

• Sam will be signing copies of Killing Kiss, Futile Flame and her latest novel Demon Dance with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography Hines Sight.

Waterstones - Yeovil - Saturday 13th November 2010: 2-4pm :
Address: 37a Middle Street, Yeovill, Somerset, BA20 1LG. Phone: 01935 479832.

• Sam will be signing copies of Killing Kiss, Futile Flame and her latest novel Demon Dance with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography Hines Sight. 

Waterstones - Truro - Sunday 14th November 2010. Times TBA
Address: 11 Boscawen Street, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2QU. Phone: 01872 225765

• Sam will be signing copies of Killing Kiss, Futile Flame and her latest novel Demon Dance with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography Hines Sight.

 Bookmark - Spalding - Saturday 20th November: 11am-1pm :
Address: 18-20 The Crescent, Spalding, PE11 1AF Phone:01775 769231

• Sam will be signing copies of Killing Kiss, Futile Flame and her latest novel Demon Dance with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography Hines Sight. Also, horror/fantasy author Andy Remic will be at the event signing copies of his latest novel, Soul Stealers.

Also ... If you fancy a great night out.

The Swan Theatre, 138 Park Street, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1QT, will be hosting Frazer Hines in his 50 Years in Showbiz: Anniversary Tour on 13th November 2010, 7.30pm - Tickets are on sale at Waterstones, Yeovil at the special rate of £10.00. For further details or to buy your tickets now - call Waterstones on : 01935 479832.

More Bookstore dates to follow...

Demon Dance Launches & Signings

Hi Guys,

There's so much happening in the next few weeks that I thought it best to post a list for forthcoming events.

10th-12th September - The Asylum, Lincoln.

The first book launch for Demon Dance, takes place in Lincoln at the steampunk event of the year, The Asylum. 

The launch is on Saturday 11th September at 3.15pm, in The Orangery, Charlotte House, Union Road, Lincoln LN1 3BJ. Tel : 01522 541 000.

ALL WELCOME! Please note you don't have to be part of the convention to attend the launch.

So no excuses! Join me and The House of Murky Depths as we celebrate the coming of age of the third book in my Vampire Gene Series.

Refreshments will be served!

If you are attending the event - then come along on Saturday to 'The Little Theatre' at The Asylum at 2pm to listen to me read an extract from Demon Dance, and take part in a Q & A. Or come and say hello at the Annual Empire Ball on Saturday evening at 7.30pm in The Asylum.

15th September - Waterstones, Bury.

I will be signing copies of my books at Waterstones, 4 Union Arcade, Bury BL9 0QF Tel: 0161 764 2642 from 2pm onwards with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography, Hines Sight.

17th - 19th September - FantasyCon, Nottingham. 

FantasyCon this year is particularly special for me, as my second novel Futile Flame is currently shortlisted for the August Derlerth Award for Best Novel in the British Fantasy Society Awards. The winners will be announced on Saturday evening after the banquet.


This all takes place in The Britannia Hotel, 1 St. James Street, Nottingham.
 
The House of Murky Depths will be proud to launch Demon Dance at 6pm in the bar outside the dealer's room. Refreshments will be available for anyone who attends.

Unfortunately this event is only open to attendees of the convention.

9th - 10th October - NewCon 5, Northampton.  

NewCon 5 will take place at The Fishmarket, Northampton, NN1 2HL. I will be attending the event with The House of Murky Depths, taking part in panels and generally hanging around the bar - so come and talk to me if you plan to attend!

Hope to see you all at one of these events.

Sam x

Get Frazer Hines Back on TV!

Yesterday I started a campaign with Trudy Messingham to get Frazer Hines back on Doctor Who.

As a huge Who fan myself I've been watching the series and loving every minute of the new Doctor, Matt Smith. I'm not the first to have noticed how very like Patrick Troughton he is. There was some brilliant writing this season - the best in a long time - and all the actors had some great stories to work with.

Frazer Hines has been off our TV screens for quite some time. Some of this was because he was keeping a low profile due to suffering and now overcoming Bowel Cancer. Yesterday, Frazer bravely spoke out about his illness to The Sunday People, opening describing his battle with cancer. It was an inspirational interview and it made me realise how much of an influential personality Frazer is.

But has the industry forgotten this?

His fans haven't. And that's why this campaign has begun. If you want to see Doctor Who's longest serving and much loved companion back in the series then please join us on Facebook... Get Frazer Hines Back on Doctor Who

Other fans have joined the campaign already and a further campaign to Get Frazer Back On Emmerdale has quickly followed suit.
 
More news to follow!

Sam x