Weight Matters

I have been struggling with my weight for some time now and have had to come to terms with the fact that no one is going to wave a magic wand to make it all better for me. It's something I have to face and deal with myself.
In order to shed the pounds I have been training 3 times a week, swimming 2 times, and walking whenever I can for the last 3 months. I have also been watching what I eat and had previously cut the worst things from my diet - like crisps - which I really like. Despite doing all this I've barely lost any weight.

On the plus side though I'm definitely toning up, my clothes are fitting better, my stomach is flatter and I feel thinner. Even so, us women are obsessed with poundage aren't we? And despite the obvious results I wasn't completely satisfied. And I'm not sure that many women would be because the media has brainwashed us to be obsessed with size 'zero' figures.

The high street stores don't help one little bit on this score. They have a lot to answer for. If I go to buy clothes I can be a different size in every shop. Matalan are the worst for this ... a size 14 in M&S would be an 18 or 20 there. When I was genuinely a size 8-10 I used to have to buy 12's in New Look. There doesn't seem to be a really universal size anymore and I'm no longer sure what size I actually am. In one store my bottom half will be a 10 another a 14. Believe me that kind of thing messes with your head.

Weight and size matter to women, even if you look okay in your clothes. We don't want to believe we are obese (and believe me the British Medical Board charts say that someone of my height and weight is obese ...), and I don't want to buy clothing that is labelled several sizes bigger than they should be. That certainly doesn't help anyone's ego or sense of worth.

My quest for answers on the weight loss problem led me to my doctor. The weight gain was initially caused by a variety of things. Change in lifestyle and then serious health problems resulting in major surgery last year didn't help. All of this not withstanding, with my current good health and increasingly improving level of fitness even my doctor thought I should have lost a significant amount of weight by now. Blood tests ensued and I'm relieved that they have all come back fine (even my liver! Though that is very hard to believe!!!).

After taking dietary advice, I've been under the impression for some time that the problem might be that I just don't eat enough and that my metabolism is shutting down and storing the food. This is entirely possible because if your body goes into starvation mode it stores everything it can, making it even harder to lose weight. I've monitored it, tried to add things like fruit, but most of the time I struggle with this because I don't feel hungry. I was always brought up to believe that you don't eat if you aren't hungry too, so this goes against everything I've been conditioned to believe. Food should, in today's health terms, be consumed little and often. So basically 5 small meals a day is healthier than two.

Over the last three months I've forced down breakfast (mostly feeling nauseated), and tried to eat regularly to combat the state of my metabolism. It hasn't really worked though, and I'm beginning to understand why. I think I've been deluding myself all along.

Yesterday I was told about this app: My Fitness Pal which you can use on your IPhone, or on your computer. The clever little gadget actually scans bar codes on your food as well. It's an easy way of keeping a food diary and it helps you calculate how many calories you need to eat that day as well as in what combinations of carbs, fat, protein, sugars and so on.

I started using it yesterday and I've already dropped 2lbs although the jury is still out on that one - will have to see if those pounds stay off and I continue to lose more as I tend to fluctuate around the same weight by a pound or two anyway!

Even so, I think this new app may be useful in making me more aware of my food intake - or indeed lack of if that is the case. Maybe foods I thought were OK, just weren't, or maybe it was the portions. Having this gadget is also making me think about sizes of those portions as I don't want to go over my daily limit.

Maybe I have been cheating but just kidding myself that I hadn't.

So why will this new fangled gadget stop me from deluding myself again? Who's going to know if I eat something and then don't add it?

Well ... I will. If I cheat and don't add everything then I am just fooling myself and really what is the point of that?

The other thing I have discovered is that My Fitness Pal calculates how much you've burnt in your exercise and that gives you back more calories which means you possibly still could have your glass of wine (I've cut mine out completely for now though). I think knowing how much my hard work is burning is a real help and might just encourage me to work even harder!

But don't take everything it does as 100% accurate. I was advised that it isn't, but if it helps me gain a modicum of control over my food intake, makes me think twice about making unhealthy choices, then I think I'm going to be on a winner anyway.

It's time for a healthy snack ... and a walk ...

BRITSCIFI - The National Space Centre

Slight Change of plan due to double-booking. Arndale Centre Waterstones to be re-arranged shortly ...

I'm now very pleased to announce our activities for this weekend because we will be joining this fabulous line-up at The National Space Centre for BRITSCIFI Weekend!

A celebration of all things science fiction and British! From the amazing puppets that brought the mind of Gerry Anderson to life, through the years of hiding behind the sofa from the Daleks and on to a journey with the crew of Red Dwarf, British Science Fiction has a lot to shout about, so come along and join in the fun.

Join me on SATURDAY with David J Howe, Frazer Hines, Colin Baker, Terry Malloy and many more.

The event takes place as follows: Saturday and Sunday 10th-11th March 10am-5pm.

At:
National Space Centre
Exploration Drive
Leicester
LE4 5NS

Website Info here:
Space Centre

Call or fax for more details:
Switchboard: 0116 261 0261
Group Bookings: 0116 258 2111
Education/School Bookings: 0116 258 2111
Corporate Bookings: 0116 261 0261
Fax: 0116 258 2100

SO IF YOU'RE IN LEICESTER OR NOT TOO FAR AWAY WHY NOT COME AND JOIN US!

This week I'll be at ... Waterstones Arndale Manchester

WATERSTONES, Arndale Centre, Manchester, 10th March 2012.

Sam Stone will be signing copies of her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 10th March 2012.

Address:Waterstones, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AQ

Robert Harkess - Guest Blog

Boxes

I spent a long time trying to figure out what I was going to say on this blog. I mean, Sam has been kind enough to let me use this space as part of my ‘blog tour’, and I wanted to do something a little more meaningful than just drop  in a plug for my new book and throw a quick wave over my shoulder as I walked off into the distance.

In mid November I read a blog post by Marsha Moore on Fantasy Faction. It was the second part of a longer piece that was breaking down and defining subgroups of fantasy genres that Marsha referred to as ‘Low Fantasy’. There were seven categories and three sub categories just in that article, and whilst I’m in no way suggesting Marsha was doing anything wrong, I must admit it shocked me.

Look, I know humans generally have a need to put things into neat boxes, but when I was in my twenties we made do with SF, Fantasy and Horror and that was good enough for anybody.

More seriously, it worries me a little that things are getting so fined-down now. OK, many people wont really give a fig if Harry Dresden is or isn’t in the same sub-sub-genre as Simon R Green’s ‘Nightside’ stories, but I hate the thought of someone thinking they only liked a certain sub-sub-genre, and subsequently missing out on a wealth of other material. It’s like only eating one specific type of pizza.

It doesn’t just affect readers. It matters to writers too. Publishers want the writer to be a ‘brand’. ‘RB Harkess, Young Adult author’ is much more definitive than ‘Joe Bloggs, who writes SF, Fantasy, a bit of horror and some urban fantasy’. You can see their point, and it makes it easier for the bookstores to know which shelf to put you on.

Problem is, I wouldn’t want to just be writing one type of story for my whole career. That’s one of the reasons I like writing for the Young Adult market; the lines are a little more blurred, the fences between the sub-genres a little lower. My first story - just published as an e-Book by Proxima and available from Amazon - is called “Aphrodite’s Dawn” and is a science fiction adventure. The story I am working on at the moment is a blend of Urban Fantasy and Steampunk. I’m expecting both to be published under the same name. In the ‘adult’ market I probably wouldn’t be able to, certainly not if I’d made a name in one genre or the other.

So what’s my point – apart from plugging my wonderful new novel? I suppose, like Canute is supposed to have tried to turn the tide, I may be trying to argue against human nature, but I’m wondering if its time we stopped trying to slice things ever finer, subdividing ad absurdium. Or, to put it another way, perhaps I’m just suggesting we try to think outside the box.

(You can find out more about R B Harkess, including twitter and facebook addresses, on his blog at www.rbharkess.co.uk)

SFX Weekender

Never having been to an SFX Weekender before, I arrived at the venue at around 2.30pm on Thursday 2nd February with a little anticipation. I live in North Wales and so the Pontins wasn't that far for me to go and I'd arranged to meet my publisher and my friends from the Victorian Steampunk Society there.

My first impression of the venue was that it was far nicer inside than the somewhat stark and bleak holiday camp exterior suggested. The large stage area was ideal for the main timetabled events, as was the screening area that hosted most of the panels. It was very dark in the dealer's room (or Bartertown as it was called) and this was an immediate concern for all of the dealers who were setting up. There was a lovely young lady helping with this called Terrie, who did her best to sort out as many of the problems as possible.

That night I had a small soiree back at my house and it was great to see some friends I hadn't seen for a while. Roy Gray, Rob and Debbie Harkess, Lady Elsie, Ian Crichton, Major Tinker and my publisher Terry Martin. We didn't party too late though as we all had to be up early the next day.

On Friday we arrived early but the action had already begun. The dealer's room was buzzing. I wasn't technically doing anything until 12 midday when I was programmed to sign at the Forbidden Planet stand but I wanted to be at our own table anyway.

By lunchtime we had sold five full sets of my Vampire Gene Series of novels and I headed over to the Forbidden Planet table ready to do my signing. It was great fun over there and I had some time to chat with the lovely Jon Harrison, putting the world to rights about publishing and signings and selling books.

At 1pm, a chap called Steve Shooter from Leeds Indie Radio arrived to interview me. The interview went well and Steve is great fun. In the middle of the recording Lady Elsie from the Victorian Steampunk Society brought me some lunch - fish and chips -and I happily munched my way through them during some of the recording as I was starving!

After a hellish journey from London (there was a serious derailment which effectively cut off Euston Station from the rest of the UK) author Raven Dane reached Prestatyn and Pontins. She found her way to our table in Bartertown, and Lady Elsie and I fetched her a drink from the chaos that was the restaurant and within minutes she was selling her own books.

There was a fantastic and positive vibe all weekend in Bartertown and it had been there from the Thursday onwards. People were having a great time, us included. It was fun to see the professional entertainers on their stilts, sporting costumes that were combinations of Alien and Transformers (I think!) along with various other guises of Steampunk angels and corsetted dancers.

At 5pm I was on the What is Steampunk? panel. Which I felt went very well. The discussion was moderated by lovely Jonathan Green, author of Pax Britannia. Panellists were Stephen Hunt, Raven Dane, Me, Lady Elsie, Ian Crichton, Lavie Tidhar and the wonderfully fun Robert Rankin. The discussion ranged from literature to fashion in its exploration of what Steampunk is and can be. The panellists even discussed the ethos of the current Steampunk movement and the fact that Jules Verne, by today's standards, could be considered Steampunk (he certainly was innovative for his time!).

After us, David J Howe (my partner, lover and best friend) was on the How to Get Published Panel. Moderated by Guy Haley, this panel also included Simon Spanton (Gollancz), Anne Clarke (Orbit) and newly published writer Anne Lyle.

Straight after David's panel, Bartertown was sealed off for the evening. By then we had met up with three old friends of David's: Gordon Roxburgh, Dominic May and Tony Jordan. The three of them joined Raven, Lady Elsie, Ian Crichton, David and I and we went off to our favourite local Indian Restaurant - Rozi's - for a fantastic meal.

Saturday came around very quickly. This was an interesting day as it didn't seem to be as busy in the dealer's room as Friday had been. I started the day with a panel at 11am What is Urban Fantasy? Moderated by Mark Charan Newton, the panellists were Benedict Jacka, Stacia Kane, Ben Aaronovitch, Paul Cornell and myself. Quite an impressive line-up I thought! This panel discussed what each of our perceptions of what Urban Fantasy was and it was a lot of fun.

Following the panel I got back to the table to find the queue for the 12 midday signing had already begun and I spent the next hour signing copies of The Vampire Gene series and selling Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings. By about 2pm we had completely sold out of Zombies, David's own collection Talespinning and Raven Dane's Cyrus Darian and the Technomicon.

The rest of the day went by in something of a blur because I was constantly being asked to sign books and photographs and chatted to many, many people.

At 3pm I was on the We're all Doomed! panel. Moderated by Guy Haley, this panel included the super Ken MacLeod, Paul McAuley, Gareth Powell, Simon Bestwick and little old me. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was somewhat intimidated by the esteemed company I was keeping, but the panel went extremely well and we had a lot of fun. As usual my obsession with zombie-proof toilets came into the conversation ...

After the panel, I returned to my table to find yet more people waiting for signatures. Which was very cool! A bit later, wanting to get out of the crowd and get a drink, David and I headed to the green room. Brian Blessed was sitting there on the sofa and so I introduced myself to him as he has recently just joined twitter and was following me and all of the other guests that were on the line-up list for the convention. Brian launched into a long story about his trials and tribulations of learning to use technology. He is such a character.

Because we had sold out of everything we had brought, aside from copies of Telos' new guide to the TV show Supernatural, we decided to pack up and go back home at 6pm to get ready for the SFX Awards ceremony later that evening. We had a quick snack, got changed and arrived back around 7.30pm. By 7.45pm David and I had wine (two enormous pint glasses - the wine was cheaper to buy by the bottle, but they wouldn't let you take the bottle with you!) and were sitting near the front of the main stage area waiting for the evening to start.

This was one of the funniest and most enjoyable award ceremonies I've ever been to. Made so, without doubt, by the marvellous Robert Rankin and his gorgeous wife Raygun. The evening opened with some of the lovely girls who had been on stilts all weekend doing a fantastic, upbeat dance number. Then Robert and Raygun were escorted through the audience by Darth Vader and his evil Storm Troopers, some of whom were covered in red bloodstains so had obviously been up to no good before the evening started. Robert was wearing a stunning Emperic Kimono and Raygun, sadly, had to carry his train. It was a magnificent entrance and not having been to the SFX Weekender before I didn't realise what a brilliant double act Robert and Raygun are.

The awards began, much humour ensued. To see the full results then click HERE. Some highlights of the video acceptances: Neil Gaiman - not only is he a genius but he also has a keen sense of humour. Is it me or does George RR Martin look like Captain Bird's Eye? Stan Lee - a legend. Complete legend. It was great to see Brian Aldiss receive the much deserved award for Outstanding Literary Contribution, and smashing that he was actually present. So many of the other winners could not attend for varying reasons.

The awards ended on a high note. A perfect end to a perfect day with Robert and Raygun performing a special version of 'A Perfect Day' - fortunately David captured this on video:



But that wasn't the end of it ... we then partied into the wee small hours. It was fabulous to spend some time again with producer and writer Phil Ford (Sarah Jane Adventures), who David and I know from the Doctor Who circuit and particularly from Gallifrey in Los Angeles. We'll be really sorry not to join him this year at Gallifrey. Phil had with him the truly adorable Anjli Mohindra, who plays Rani Chandra in Sarah Jane Adventures. We were kidnapped by them and taken to the pub ... forced to drink whisky! I was glad to spend time with another woman who enjoys whisky like I do! It was brilliant to catch up with Ken Macleod in the bar and have a chat with him. He is a really special, talented and very genuine person.

We stumbled into our beds about 2am on Sunday morning - the party was still going strong when we left - and David, Lady Elsie and I all felt like we didn't want to leave, but we were by then absolutely exhausted. Thus ended our very positive experience of the SFX Weekender.

And, being on my doorstep, I'll definitely be going again next year. See you there?

This weekend I'll be at ... SFX WEEKENDER

SFX Weekender 3 comes to Prestatyn this weekend and I'm delighted to be on their list of attending Guests with my partner David J Howe.

Also there, Anthony Head, Colin Baker, Sylvestor McCoy, Brian Blessed, and many more ...
For further details check out the line-up below.

My schedule so far includes the following :

• Friday 12 midday Signing copies of 'Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings' at the Forbidden Planet table.
• Friday 5pm 'How Do You Put the Punk Into Steampunk?' Panel
• Saturday 11am 'What is Urban Fantasy?' Panel
• Saturday 12 midday Signing copies of 'Vampire Gene Series' at the Murky Depths Table with Raven Dane and David J Howe
• Saturday 3pm 'We're all doomed! Is the path to humanity's salvation revealed in science fiction?'
  Panel

I WILL ALSO BE GIVING AWAY FREE BADGES/SIGNED PHOTOS WITH EVERY BOOK PURCHASE.

The rest of the weekend you'll find me in the Dealer's room with Murky Depths and Telos or perhaps in the bar! See you there!

Time: ALL WEEKEND Date: 2nd-5th February

Address: Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park,Central Beach, Barkby Avenue, Prestatyn, Denbigshire,

North Wales, LL19 7LA

For more information visit: SFX Weekender 3.

Hersham Books Five Story Anthology

Hersham Books have recently announced their line-up for their latest five Story Anthology provisionally titled 'Siblings'.

The line-up is :

Stuart Hughes, Sam Stone, Richard Farren Barber, Sara Jayne Townsend

& Simon Kurt Unsworth.

For more information on this on other titles publsihed by Hersham please go HERE.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

I have recently discovered yet another case of pirating of my books. This time 'Futile Flame' but thanks to the network of writer Jacqueline George I discovered the infringement and the way to deal with it.

It seems there is a law now The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) which allows the author to post a legal document that serves notice to the website and they have to remove the content immediately.

The guilty party this time was www.ebookr.com but they are upfront about the DMCA and thanks to erotic romance author Cari Silverwood, who provided me with the template of the DMCA to help me remove my books from the site, I now know how to go about this. I have therefore submitted the DMCA to Ebookr and I am expecting the books to be removed immediately.

If you are an author and have found your works illegally on any site then you can email me for the template and I'll point you in the right direction.

Email sam@sam-stone.com

Hammer Out Book of Ghosts

The Hammer Out Books of Ghost Stories is a collection of short stories published in aid of HAMMER OUT.

This fabulous new collection is available NOW from Fantom Films and all proceeds go to the charity Hammer Out

Including:

Foreword by Tracey Childs

Immortal Monster by Sam Stone

The Widow and the Deserter by Alex Barrett

Sleeping Lions by Niall Boyce

Orbyting by Jan Edwards

The Noise from the Flat Upstairs by S.E. Branson

Tower Song by Richard Howard

Deadline by Paul W.T. Ballard

The Attic Nursery by Raven Dane

Chillers and Breathers by Sam Stone

We Attract that which we Fear the Most by Louise Jameson

Last Rites by Simon Guerrier

For Further information about the charity and to purchase copies please cheack out the Fantom Films website.

Appearances for 2012 so far ...

SFX WEEKENDER 3, Prestatyn, North Wales. 2nd-5th February 2011

Sam Stone and David J Howe are amongst the guests appearing at this event.

Time: ALL WEEKEND Date: 2nd-5th February

Address: Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park,Central Beach, Barkby Avenue, Prestatyn, Denbigshire,

North Wales, LL19 7LA

For more information visit: SFX WEEKENDER

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/09/19/david-j-howe-and-sam-stone-at-the-sfx-weekender/

WATERSTONES, Wigan, 18th February 2012.

Sam Stone will be signing copies of her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 18th February 2012.
Address:Waterstones, 6 The Grand Arcade, Wigan, WN1 1BH

All purchases include a choice of signed photograph or badges. 

GALAXYFEST 2012, Colorado Springs, USA, 24th-26th Feb 2012.

Sam Stone and David J Howe will be appearing as International Author Guests of Honor with Kevin J Anderson, Frazer Hines and many more writer guests and celebrities.

Time: ALL Weekend. Panels, Interviews, Creative Writing Workshop.
Address: Antlers Hilton, 4 South Cascade, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-1695, USA.

WATERSTONES, Arndale Centre, Manchester, 10th March 2012.

Sam Stone will be signing copies of her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 10th March 2012.
Address:Waterstones, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AQ

All purchases include a choice of signed photograph or badges.  


WHITBY GOTHIC WEEKEND, Whitby, 27th-29th April 2012

Sam Stone and David J Howe will be appearing at the Rifle Club, Whitby during the Gothic Weekend. Copies of all books will be available to purchase with free signed autographs.

Address : Rifle Club, West Cliff Sports Ground, Crescent Avenue, Whitby, North Yorkshire.
YO21 3EW.
Time: TBA

MCM EXPO, London, 25th-27th May 2012.

Sam Stone and David Howe will be author guests on The Victorian Steampunk Expedition Stand at MCM EXPO. Copies of all the books will be on sale with free autographs. Signed photos also available.

Address: ExCel Exhibition Centre, 1 Western Gateway  London E16 1XL. 
Time: TBA

MISCELLARIUM 2012, Sunderland, 11th-12th August 2012

Sam Stone and David J Howe join the line up of guests at the first ever Miscellarium Convention to take part in panels, talks, signings and readings.

To book and for further information: Miscellarium 2012

Address: Seaburn Centre, Sunderland, SR6 8AA,
Time: All Weekend.

BRITCON MN, 30th August to 2nd September 2012, Minnesota, USA

Sam Stone and David J Howe will be appearing as Author Guests of Honor, Frazer Hines and many more writer guests and celebrities from the UK.

To book and for further information contact BRITCON

Time: ALL Weekend. Panels, Interviews, Creative Writing Workshop.
Address: Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington, 3900 American Blvd West, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States 55437

Miscellarium 2012

I'm very pleased to announce that I will be a guest at Miscellarium 2012 with my partner David J Howe. Other writer guests on the list so far are Paul Magrs and George Mann.

For further information of this exciting convention please following this link : Miscellarium 2012

More information and updates on this to follow.

Authorhouse: Abusing the rights of authors

Just before Christmas I learnt that a self-publishing company called Authorhouse were infringing the copyright of my first novel.

The novel was originally published with them in January 2007 as Gabriele Caccini however I believe that the contract I signed meant that I retained all rights and only had to give them a month's notice in order to remove the book from sale.

Almost five years later I am still fighting that battle.

Authorhouse charge extortionate amounts of money to provide what they claim is a professional service to allow authors to publish and promote their own books. Knowing nothing of the industry at that time I fell foul of their advertising and hype and chose to go down the self-publishing route with them. I won't go into this process except to say that it was very, very expensive and the serviceI received was never as good as they promised it would be.

Fortunately though, in 2008, The House of Murky Depths took up the Vampire Gene series and my self-publishing days were over. All should have been fine except that Authorhouse continued to sell the book despite my requests that they cease. How do I know? Well, they sent me royalties.

You might think that at this time I would have nothing to complain about - I was receiving the royalties after all - but I realised by then that Authorhouse was taking a massive cut of the income whereas I, the person who had paid for everything in the first place and taken all the risks, was earning a measly 86 pence a book. They were charging £13 a copy, so that's a royalty of around 6.5% of the cover price. I went to their website, only to learn that my book was still active, despite my telling them to remove it. The book was still available through Amazon and other websites and after many letters, as well as phone calls to their head office in the USA, Authorhouse eventually agreed to remove the book from sale.

Authorhouse operates as a print on demand (POD) service. There was no stock. All books ordered were printed and sent as they were ordered. So it was clear to me that this would mean that NO MORE books would be printed or sold because I had given them notice in early 2008 that they were not allowed to sell the book from July 2008 onwards.

By late 2009 however the book was still being sold, and I was still getting royalty statements and cheques from them for one or two copies a time. 

When I asked them why the book was still showing as available on Amazon, the excuse they gave me was that they had no control what Amazon offered. And, they said, Amazon probably had stock of the book. Well - as I said earlier - I knew this was probably untrue as the book was POD only.

I let it go though because finally the royalty cheques stopped coming and the Authorhouse website now said the book was unavailable.

You can imagine my shock when I logged into my Amazon account only to be offered the kindle version of my own book. Authorhouse - no longer under any contract with me - had taken it upon themselves to create an ebook.

Since then, and after phoning them several times with absolutely no response, I resorted to going straight to Amazon with the complaint.

This is where my tale takes a happy turn. Amazon have just confirmed that the listing for Gabriele Caccini will be removed from their site. That they respect the intellectual property of authors and that the information I provided has proved to them that this is in fact an infringement of my rights as the author.

So, the moral of this tale is ...

Self-publishing is never a good idea - but a worse one if you get involved with a company like Authorhouse who don't respect your rights and will continue to sell your works even when you instruct them not to.

Contact Amazon if you do have an issue and make sure you provide all the evidence you can to prove you are right. But ultimately I'd recommend staying away from self-publishing companies who charge high prices and make promises that they can't keep. There is a 'rule' that in publishing - and by that I mean 'proper' publishing - the money only goes in one direction ... TO THE AUTHOR. Remember that only reputable publishers can get your books in bookstores and stocked by distributors.

People and Places: The Last Few Years

As a new year starts I have been reflecting as always on everything that has occurred during the last one. I found myself flicking through my picture albums and was truly surprised at how many people I've met over the last few years. For that reason I thought it might be nice to collate some of those memories in this one blog.

Tanith Lee, Sam Stone, David Howe

In 2008 I met my icon, Tanith Lee, for the first time at EasterCon in London. Tanith has been a huge influence on my work and made me realise how diverse you can be as a writer. She also read Killing Kiss and gave me some fantastic feedback and a blurb for the cover. I can tell you I felt completely unworthy! Since then, I've only come into physical contact with Tanith once more, at World Horror Con in 2010. She greeted me like an old friend and I was privileged to spend some more time with her again at the event. She's a lovely, talented lady and continues to be an inspiration to me. This picture was taken at the NewCon Press Launch of The Bitten Word. My story, Fool's Gold was in this collection and later went on to win the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction. I am still very proud of the story and was delighted that it won the award. The story was reprinted in my collection, Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings by Telos Publishing in February 2011.

David, Sam, Frazer - Santa Monica Pier

In February 2009 I went to the Gallifrey Convention in Los Angeles for the first time with my partner David Howe. As one of the leading experts on Doctor Who, David was a guest at the convention and it meant that we were mixing in some very interesting circles. That year I met Gary Russell, script editor on the series, for the first time as well as the lovely Phil Ford, writer and producer of Sarah Jane Adventures. Also I met someone who was to become extremely important in our lives: Frazer Hines. Frazer arrived on a different plane to us but I first spotted him on the bus as we were collected to be taken to the hotel. Later we started talking in the bar, with Wendy Padbury, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don't want to go into the whole story of how David, Frazer and I became friends - but it started at Gallifrey and we ended up spending the rest of the trip sight-seeing together. We've been firm friends ever since. I would even say that Frazer feels like family to us.

Back: Emily (with a bear behind).
Front: Roy, Sam, Frazer

That same trip, however, Frazer invited us to lunch with Roy Dotrice and we went out to meet him at a lovely restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. During the lunch we mentioned we were sight-seeing and Roy suggested we have a look at La Brea Tar Pits. Then we all went off to the Tar Pits and Roy came with us. 

We had a lovely afternoon and at the end of it Roy bought me, and our American Events Coordinator, Emily Danyel, a keepsake: a toy mammoth. I have it in my kitchen and I call it Roy as a tribute to that day. I hope the real Roy doesn't mind! I came away from the experience with some ideas for a story, which later evolved into Tar and can be found in my collection.

Raven Dane, Sam and David

Back in 2007 I met Raven Dane. We had been MySpace and Facebook friends before we met. Raven is a vampire/horror writer who has recently diversified into steampunk and comedy fantasy which she executes with terrific humour and flair. She and I have become very close since then and our mutual experiences in the publishing industry have consolidated that friendship even more this year. I was shocked to realise that I didn't have many pictures with Raven considering how much I see her at various events - but here is one of my favourites of us at the FantasyCon Banquet 2010 in Nottingham. I was shortlisted for the Best Novel Award for my second Vampire Gene novel Futile Flame. (Stephen King was also in the line-up that year with his novel Under the Dome.)

Simon Clark, Storm Constantine and Sam

Sam with Adam Nevill

I had attended FantasyCon since 2007 and there are a few very decent people I'd like to namecheck. In no particular order: Debbie Bennett, Jan Edwards, Peter Coleborn, Jenny and Pat Barber, Steve Tribe, Vicky and Tim Stock, Ian Whates and Ian Watson (NewCon Press), the divine Anne Sudworth, Storm Constantine, Simon Clark, Steve Savile, Robert Sherman, Adam Nevill, Chaz Brenchley, Steve Duffy, Mark Chadbourn, Paul Cornell, Neil Gaiman, Kim and Del Lakin-Smith, Steve Lockley, James Barclay, Nicholas Royle, Freda Warrington, Pat Cadigan, Christopher Fowler, Paul Campbell, Johnny Mains, Roy Gray, Peter Tennant, Colin Harvey (RIP), Lee Thompson, Guy Adams, Michael Marshall-Smith, Adam Greenwood, Rob MacKellar, Charles Rudkin, and many more.

In fact it was a fateful meeting at FantasyCon 2007 that led me to my current publisher Terry Martin, while he was there promoting his magazine Murky Depths. I met Terry and his gorgeous wife, Liz and we struck up an immediate friendship. I saw them again the following Easter at EasterCon. By then I knew that I was a finalist for an important American Independent Press Award. When I won the Silver Award for Best Horror Novel with ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards, Terry launched a new book imprint, The House of Murky Depths, and I signed my first three book deal. Killing Kiss was relaunched in September 2008 at FantasyCon and the series has gone from strength to strength under Terry's guidance.

Sam, Paul Cornell, Terry and Liz Martin (NewCon 4)

Left to right (Back Row): Alan Walsh, Ed Comstock,
Tommy Knight, David Howe, Ben Adams, Kim Pfiefer-Adams,
Jocelyn Thomas, Zoe Pfiefer, Jen Comstock, Sam Stone.
(Front Row) Frazer Hines, Jarrod Cooper.

A lot of my most interesting encounters have occurred through the Doctor Who world that David introduced me to. Over the years I've made some terrific and genuine friends who live in the United States as well as those who live in the UK. I was privileged to be invited to sing at the wedding of our dear friends Ben and Kim Adams, which took place at the Gallifrey Convention in 2010. Frazer Hines gave the bride away (reluctantly), David was Best Man and I was Maid of Honour. Also in the wedding party was the lovely Tommy Knight (Luke, Sarah Jane Adventures) who was the ring bearer if memory serves. Tommy and his mother Sandy were lovely people and they took to the whole experience of Gallifrey with enthusiasm. All of the people in this list I feel I can count as real friends. We may not see each other more than once a year, but I know they would be there for David and I if we needed them. Adding to this ever growing list are two more two dear friends, Tony and Jane Kenealy. The Gallifrey weekend is incredibly short but having dinner with Tony and Jane on the Sunday evening has become something of a tradition. I'll miss that this year because, due to other commitments, we can't make it to Los Angeles.

Steve Roberts, Frazer Hines
and Sue Cowley

Of course I can't mention Doctor Who without also giving a namecheck to some other very important people. Steve Roberts, Sue Cowley and Tony Lee. Steve and Sue were David's friends long before I came on the scene. Until recently they both worked for the BBC. Steve is a key member of the team who works on and restores all the Doctor Who DVD releases. I met them in 2008 I think, when I first joined David at the Tavisode pub meetings in London. These meetings occur once a month. Unfortunately we don't live there anymore and so don't get to see the crowd as often as we would like.

Larry Niven and Sam

At the 2011 Gallifrey a man came over to see David and I at our table in the dealers room and was asking me loads of questions about my work. Me being me, I didn't realise I was talking about my books to someone as important in the Science Fiction and Fantasy world as Larry Niven. In fact he was so interested in my work that I was really shocked when I realised who he was. What a gentleman and a lovely man. I think he rather enjoyed the cuddles and kisses I gave him that day. But then so did I!

Sam and Alan Moore

At Eastercon 2009 there were many very interesting meetings. The first, and the funniest, was when we left my daughter, Linzi, sitting on a sofa in the lounge drawing while we went off somewhere. When we came back she was sitting next to this man with dark hair and he was wading through Linzi's sketch pad with a great deal of interest. My first thought was, 'Oh, who's this guy chatting her up?' Linzi was only 16 at the time. We all sat around the sofa, pulling up various chairs as Terry and Liz Martin joined us. The man was telling Linzi that her art was really good and she was graciously accepting the compliments. Then, a woman came over with a copy of V for Vendetta and asked the man to sign it. At that moment, Linzi's eyes fell onto his name badge. It was David Lloyd. The poor girl flushed bright red and hurriedly collected her sketch pads, pushing them into her bag out of sight. I have to confess it took me even longer to realise what was happening but she was really embarrassed about him looking at her art. 'Oh Mum,' she said to me later - clearly mortified - 'I can't believe David Lloyd was looking at my crap art!' Clearly he didn't think it was crap, but Linzi had believed he was merely being polite. We spent the evening with David after that and I quickly learnt that he wasn't the type to just be polite about anything! It was a very fun conversation we had about sex and sexism - and women - I can tell you! I later briefly met the amazing Alan Moore at NewCon 5 in Northampton. That was in October 2010. He was a very nice man, friendly and affable - I loved his shoes!

Lady Elsie, David, Linzi

Also at EasterCon 2009 we met the Victorian Steampunk Society founders, John Naylor and Karen Grover, also known as Major Tinker and Lady Elsie. I'm not sure that David will appreciate me telling this story, but I'm going to anyway. In the dealers room I left David standing at a table, while I wandered off to talk to someone. At that moment, Lady Elsie moved into the place beside him that I'd occupied. At the time Lady Elsie and I both had our hair the same length, with a reddish under-colour, beneath the blonde. Lady Elsie was wearing black and red and a corset. I guess you can see where this is going now ... Through David's peripheral vision he thought I was still beside him. He reached out, put his arm around Lady Elsie's waist and, I believe, squeezed her bottom for good measure. You can imagine his face when he turned to see a shocked woman beside him that wasn't me. A few minutes later, David found me, red-faced he insisted I came with him to see someone. And this was the first time I met Lady Elsie. We were dressed and looked so similar at the time that she instantly forgave David for groping her and we had a good laugh about it.

Raygun, Robert Rankin, Linzi, Sam

After that I was invited to be a guest at the 2010 Steampunk convention in Lincoln, The Asylum, which Karen and John run. I went along with Linzi and we had a fantastic weekend. I launched my novel Demon Dance there to great success and started to get to know Karen and John a little better. At this event I also met one of my other writing icons, Robert Rankin and his wife Rachel (AKA Lady Raygun). Linzi has been an ardent follower of his work for years and she was so excited and pleased to meet Robert. Over the course of the weekend we got to know him and Raygun a little bit and I really enjoyed their company. It's amazing how many friendships are forged at conventions.


I could talk more, with anecdotes and stories of my adventures, but I think I'll just add a few of my favourite pictures of people I've met. It's been an exciting time and I have high hopes for 2012.

Sam with the lovely - and tall -
Spencer Wilding

Sam and comics writer Tony Lee 

   

Hammer actresses Martine Beswick and Caroline Munro
with David

 

Sam and Hammer actor Shane Bryant

 

Caroline Munro, Sam, Vera Day, David, Emily Booth and Linzi

   

   

I finally met my long-time Facebook/Myspace pal, J R Le Mar, in
Los Angeles in 2009. This pic was taken at Gallifrey in 2010

Sam with Steve Roberts

Robert Shearman and Sam
at FantasyCon 2008 

The mighty Noel Fielding and Sam Stone
at Waterstones, Arndale Centre 2011

Final Appearance for 2011

As 2012 rapidly approaches I can truthfully say I'm ready for a rest. This is the details for my final signing event this year. I hope to see many of you there, and look forward to seeing lots of you at the SFX Weekender 3 in February!

WATERSTONES, Arndale Centre, Manchester, 17th December 2011.

Sam Stone will be signing copies of her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 17th December.
Address:Waterstones, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AQ

All purchases include a choice of signed photograph or badges. 

This week I'll be at ...

WATERSTONES, Trafford Centre, Manchester, 11th December 2011.

Sam Stone will be signing copies of her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Sunday 11th December.
Address:Waterstones, 42 Regent Crescent, Trafford Centre, Barton Dock Road, Manchester
M17 8AP

All purchases include a choice of signed photograph or badges.

Distractions.

If you're serious about being a writer it helps to identify what distracts you and develop strategies for avoiding or dealing with them at the time. Writing takes a lot of stamina as I said before. It's very easy to become distracted and procrastinate. The only way to avoid this pitfall, I've found, is to have a set working regime.

From waking up I have to set the right tone, make the right environment to have a productive day. Even though I know this is somewhat OCD in its structure.

I wake, switch on my laptop - which is beside my bed - and then get a cup of tea. Once my computer is on I check my emails, look at facebook to see if there is anything I need to respond to, I usually post a status, then I come off and open my working document. (At the moment that is the fifth Vampire Gene novel 'Silent Sand' but I am also working on the second book in a new fantasy series as well.)

I usually get myself back into my novel by reading and editing the previous chapter. This helps me to recapture the flow and mood I was in the previous day. If you finish working in the middle of a chapter or after starting a new one this can make starting work for the day much easier. 

So, I've done all of the usual things. Wake, tea, proof-read, edit, continue a chapter. Then I have to start to dodge the distractions.

My distractions:

• Dogs barking all day in the house next door.
• Telos orders are coming in thick and fast. 
• Meal times.
• Phone ringing.
• Facebook notifications on my phone.
• Twitter on my phone.

How I deal with them:

• Shout through the wall at the dogs to shut up/ or try to ignore them.
• Ignore emails - don't check for them until after the working day is done.
• David brings me a yogurt for breakfast most mornings/ sometimes we eat breakfast before I start working. I stop for lunch but this can affect the flow so I try to work until at least 1pm first.
• I do usually let David answer the phone - often it's not for me anyway.
• Come off the Internet straight after checking FB, Twitter etc.
• Ignore my phone vibrating and force myself not to answer the notifications or twitters until lunch time.

One of the things I need to learn to do is shut down my hotmail email. That way, when I'm working, a little box won't be popping up to tell me that an email has arrived. (I'm OCD about answering them immediately and so this is a habit I really need to change).

This is where the next part of a strict regime comes in:

• Set word count targets. For example I like to write between 3000 and 5000 words a day. If I've only written 1000 then I'm disappointed with myself as this means I've done no more than an hours actual writing time in any one day. 

This varies for all writers so don't take my routine as being the only one. We all work differently. I know writers who are delighted with 1000 to 2000 words a day for example. These will be excellently crafted words that are edited until the writer feels they are perfect. Some writers don't like to move forward until the previous work is as close to perfection as they can get. For me this is quite frustrating though. I used to work like that, and now realise that I need to just write the story, finish it and then I can luxuriate in perfecting and polishing. Also - constantly editing is a distraction and can be a form of procrastination (at least it is in my case).Can you imagine continuously tweaking but never actually finishing anything?

Another thing that distracts me is housework. I handle this in a variety of ways.

• Don't leave the room I work in until I've finished writing for the day then I don't see the mess and I'm not distracted by it.
• Set days/times to clean that are separate form work days and times and then you know you have organised and can stop worrying about it.
• If you achieve your word count target by 1pm you are then free to go off and do other things in the afternoon such as washing, ironing, cleaning, shopping if you feel you want to.

If I've achieved 5000 before lunch, I'm happy to go away and do other things for the day. If I haven't achieved the set amount, then sometimes after lunch I read and tweak that morning's work. Invariably the word count grows and improves with each edit, and it certainly is better for the extra attention. Being strict about work times has another positive influence on writing. I don't lapse into total stream of consciousness. I think this style of writing can be self-indulgent. Having a break can help you see the faults in your narrative and also gives you opportunity to reflect on where you need to sow important seeds because of something that occurs later in the text.

An unavoidable distraction is research. Recently I was writing a Cthulhu story and I had to research different things at different points in the story before I could move on. Once you start trawling the Internet for information you can actually forget what you were doing. Research is important though. It can mean the different between making a plot plausible and making it appear weak and lazy because it is too vague.

For all of my books and stories I usually have some form of research to do and this does take you away from the actual writing. However, doing the research at the point when you need it can really help the flow of the narrative as you use it. I was researching something science based recently. I have a photographic memory and so I read the research, tried to make sense of it, went away and thought about it, and then when it came to writing it into the piece the information just flowed in naturally. So this was one distraction that paid off in the end.

Bargains in Ebooks

Looking for presents for Christmas? Got a Kindle?

The first three Vampire Gene titles are available in a variety of Ebooks.

Here are the bargain places to buy them :

'Killing Kiss' Kindle = £3.98            Buy the paperback for £8.99
'Futile Flame' Kindle = £4.99           Buy the paperback for £8.99
'Demon Dance' Kindle = £4.99        Buy the paperback for £9.99

This Week I'll be At... LIVERPOOL ONE WATERSTONES

WATERSTONES, Liverpool One, Liverpool. 26th Nov 2011

Sam Stone will be launching her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 26th November.

Address:Waterstones, 12 College Lane, Liverpool, L1 3DL.

Demon Dance Does Digital

Finally Demon Dance is available to read in digital format. The first to filter through is here.


Shame they haven't used the new version of the cover but you can't win 'em all.

If you have IPad, IPhone, Kindle or Sony, the book will be coming through any day now in those formats. So, watch this space :)

An Interesting Encounter

Anyone who knows me well will know that I am not a fannish type of person and I'm very unlikely to squee no matter who I meet. I don't care very much for celebs who have made their career on being in programmes such as Big Brother for example. What I do admire, however, is real talent and people who've worked for their status. I have favourite artists such as Anne Sudworth, Vincent Chong, Russell Morgan, and of course Rick Fairlamb who did such a wonderful job on my new vampire gene book covers. I naturally admire good writing. Among my favourite authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sheridan Le Fanu, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Kelley Armstrong, John Ajvide Lindqvist and Graham Masterton.

Yesterday I was signing at Arndale Centre Waterstones in Manchester with David J Howe promoting our latest books when I had an interesting encounter. Okay I had been told that Noel Fielding star and creator of The Mighty Boosh would also be there but I didn't expect quite the crowd that turned out. His talent is undeniable and he is enjoying the fruits of his labour for his surrealist comedy and art.

I caught my first glimpse of Noel when he came down from the Green Room around 12 noon and immediately went out into the crowd of adoring fans (400 or more) and greeted them with a very friendly and approachable manner. There was much screaming and excitement that rippled through the crowd and this was totally infectious. Then Noel went into the window of Waterstones and proceeded to do an art demonstration by painting a picture directly on the window. Inside and outside there were crowds of teenagers screaming and cheering - and what a lovely bunch they were too!

I couldn't see very much at that stage because I was in the middle of the store at my table and David and I were technically working. But I did go over and introduce myself and Noel immediately shook my hand and kissed me on the cheek. Which was nice!

After the demonstration, Noel went back upstairs and I managed to catch a few moments with him. It was there that I learnt he also had the lovely Dave Brown with him who also works on The Mighty Boosh and is a photographer, choreographer and comedian in his own right. I was a bit of twit yesterday because I didn't get a pic of Dave but used his fabulous photographic skills to take the pics of me with Noel on my camera. But in defense of myself I was a little flustered as I felt really cheeky going to ask them to sign the book during their short break. I'd obviously sneaked off to the green room to say hello and I really wasn't sure how I would be greeted. I needn't have worried of course as they both welcomed me with loads of hugs and kisses as well!

Okay exaggeration - 2 from Dave - 6 from Noel. Maybe it was me who was doing most of the hugging too!

As the afternoon progressed Noel and Dave began signing their new book which is called The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton. You can buy a copy HERE. It's a beautiful book with a padded cover, full colour prints of art work and photographs and of course - scribblings done by Noel - designed and most of the photography by Dave. Currently Waterstones are selling it with a £4 discount - you would normally pay £19.99 for it and it is worth it too! Noel and Dave's fans were queueing for autographs for hours and were incredibly upbeat and fun to be around. I was talking to a lovely group of girls as they waited and even spotted people I knew among the crowd. Each fan was given autographs and photo opportunities and lots of time as Noel and Dave patiently greeted them.

As I said earlier - I'm not easily impressed by 'celebrity' but what I am impressed with is talented celebs who understand the nature of fandom and treat their fans with respect and kindness. This is what I saw yesterday - and a whole lot of fun was involved in it all too. Noel and Dave enjoyed talking to people.

As I was leaving I went over to say goodbye to them. Noel was talking on a fan's phone to yet another fan - brownie points again I'd say! I said goodbye, Noel had requested a copy of Zombies and I arranged for one each for him and Dave to be left for them in the Green Room. (Hope they like it!)


Once again I got another kiss and hug from them both. When I turned, some of the lovely girls I'd been talking too were waving to me from the crowd. (Now wishing I'd asked their names - but hopefully I'll see them again).

I came away very happy yesterday. We'd had a brilliant selling day and we'd met some really nice people - everyone was lovely.

Noel and Dave I salute you. You are talented, fun, and most of all you appreciate the fans that made it possible for you to be where you are today. I don't think you'll ever be spoilt by showbiz. You both seem to have your feet firmly on the ground. Well done guys. Great meeting you and I hope we do meet again.

GalaxyFest 2012

Just a reminder that GalaxyFest 2012 in Colorado Springs tickets will be going up this Monday. You can still purchase your weekend pass at the previous rate.

The weekend will be hosting a long list of guests including Sam Stone, David J Howe, Frazer Hines and Kevin J Anderson.  For full guest list see HERE

To buy your pass click HERE

More news of exciting ways to get involved to follow shortly.

This Week I'll Be At ... MANCHESTER ARNDALE WATERSTONES

WATERSTONES, Arndale Centre, Manchester, 12th November 2011.

Sam Stone will be launching her new book, Hateful Heart, Book 4 The Vampire Gene Series, at this very popular store. David J Howe will also be there with his new collection talespinning.

Time: 12-4pm Date: Saturday 12th November.
Address:Waterstones, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AQ

Where ideas come from ...

This morning I woke at six am, and thinking it was an unGodly hour to get up on a Sunday, decided to make myself go back to sleep. That's easier in Autumn, as the morning was still very dark and so I let my mind drift onto the current novel, and posed myself a problem as I fell asleep. When I woke, two and a half hours later, the problem was solved and I could see for the first time all of the story for this book laid out before me. And particularly the extra plots that would be running through it, which was the subject of my problem.

This is one of the ways that ideas form for me - or indeed how literary problems sort themselves out.

David J Howe calls this the 'What if ...' and that's a good way of starting to thinking about what I perceive as 'the problem'. You can see his thoughts on 'The Power of If ...' HERE.

Half sleep germination has its problems of course. You could go back into full sleep and completely forget the idea that seemed so viable when you were drifting off. I know a few writers who keep a notebook beside the bed for such moments. That's never really worked for me though as I prefer to brood on ideas before committing them to the page in any form.

The other thing I do is people watch. Sometimes I don't even realise I'm doing it, but a moment of observation will appear in the strangest of places. In 'Demon Dance' for example, a conversation from my childhood surfaced in my memory and formed the dialogue of two incidental characters hiking in Llanberis. So even the things you observed as a child can be used to colour or create a scene or a character if the content fits.

Ideas spring from a casual comment, a fleeting conversation, sometimes they come from reading the works of others, which is why authors are often so well read. I have a habit of avoiding reading current fantasy or horror while I'm working. I prefer to read other things instead as I don't like to inadvertently take on someone else's ideas. It's better to create worlds with the surety that you aren't reproducing a world you've recently read about.

New writers, however, should read as much as possible. It's were you learn about your market place ... but I think that's another blog for another day.

If you want to know where ideas really come from though, I suggest you look deep into your own mind. My ideas come from deep inside mine. They are part of who I am. They are drawn from the things I've experienced in life (that's not to say I've met vampires, werewolves, aliens or been thrown through a time-portal back to the Garden of Eden). Normal, or abnormal experiences, however, are used to give the characters I write about genuine feelings and depth.I won't get into the old cliches about my childhood, or the things I've suffered. Everyone has been through experiences good and bad which a good writer uses to make their characters behave in a way that's believeable.

The reality is all the ideas should come from you.

A way to generate ideas of course is to brain-storm (PC fanatics will hate it that I use this term). Some people do this by writing a synopsis that works out all the kinks in the plot before they begin writing. It's a good method if it works for you as it gives you a road-map before you start, and makes it easier for you to write the full piece. Others do the 'What if ...'

Talking through the plot of a story, explaining it to someone else, can also help you come up with better ideas. I brain-storm with my partner David: he's great at making me think about things a bit more. He'll ask me questions about my characters and I realised that by answering the questions I was able to fully develop my own understanding of the characters and their behaviour - thus improving the narrative.

As you begin to explore the limit of the story the possibilities suddenly become boundless. Ideas are limited only by your own imagination. That's not to say all ideas are good ones. Some are non-starters. I sometimes dream new ideas. My story 'The Toymakers House', which features in my horror collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings, came from a nightmare I had. I was writing the collection at the time, and so I was forcing myself to write one story after another. In many ways this is harder than writing an entire novel. Simply because a novel is based around one main theme, or idea, with set characters. Writing a collection meant I had to create many characters, many themes and plots and keep them all within around 8000 words each. 'Toymaker' wrote itself, as the nightmare was so vivid that I knew the location, the characters and the awful things the toymaker did before I starting writing. My subconscious mind had already created it. I don't really know where this 'idea' came from though - other than some inner recess of my resting mind. This doesn't always work out though. I had another nightmare recently that I woke from thinking this would make an excellent novel, but when I sat down to write up the synopsis I felt no real passion for the story and it just didn't have the same depth that 'Toymaker' had for me.

Fears and phobias are always good to use - especially your own. I have a fear of heights and this is enhanced because I also suffer occasionally from Labrynthitus (an inner ear problem that makes you feel dizzy to the point of falling down and being sick - not an aversion to the David Bowie movie!). When I'm in high places that dizziness comes on and I'm convinced I'll fall. The idea of vertigo as a plot is not an original one - but how you use it can be.

You see you can't just discuss 'where ideas come from ...' without exploring their execution. But I'll end my thoughts here for today and ask you the question that is frequently asked of me ...

'Where do you get your ideas from?'

It's hard to come up with one main answer isn't it? But I guess the ideas can come, in the first instance, from what inspires you.