Hey folks – just a heads-up for those of you who (inexplicably) don’t subscribe to Futurismic*.

One of my excellent blogging crew over there, Edward Willett, has a new novel out from DAW Books. It’s called Marseguro**, and he’s giving copies away – click on over there to take part. You’ve got until Sunday 17th February.

He’ll ship international, so no worries if you’re not Canadian. And hey, y’know – free books! Get to it.

[* How easy do I have to make it for you, huh? ]

[** You can sample the first few chapters of Marseguro on Ed's website, if you like.]

Here it is, fellow writers – a decent excuse to make that first visit to Second Life that you keep putting off.

The Future Fire, a UK-based speculative fiction e-zine, has just announced a short fiction competition in its latest issue. Says editor Djibril:

"… in this issue, we launch the The Future Fire / Black Swan writing competition with a first prize of $500.

"There’s a small technical barrier to entry, but no cost involved: the contest requires you to register and enter the Second Life virtual world and visit the Black Swan sim, which is a spooky, atmospheric island with a raised pathway, sculptures, events, and inhabitants.

"Visit for as long and as often as you like, and then write a story of up to 2,000 words inspired by your experience and submit it to The Future Fire by midnight on December 10th 2007."

Full details (and the SLURL for The Black Swan) can be found on The Future Fire’s website.

$500? A published short story? Can’t argue with that, can you? It may be time for me to write my first ever story intended for anywhere other than here …

Oh, and if you’re thinking you might make a visit to Second Life, drop me a line – I’d be glad to show you the ropes (and some of the cooler neighbourhoods).

Cheers to Ariel, the all-hearing-news-conduit of UK SF Book News Network, for the heads-up.

I’m sure there’s a good few of you reading VCTB who don’t get sent more books than you have time to read*, and who in fact would like more books, preferably without paying for them. For those people, I shall pass on some news from the UK SF Book News Network.

UK genre publisher Orbit are celebrating the release of the latest Kelley Armstrong book (No Humans Involved), by offering you the chance to win every book that they publish in the next twelve months – which will be about sixty titles.

All you have to do is email orbit[AT]littlebrown[dot]co[dot]uk with the answer to the following question:

How many full-length novels has Kelley Armstrong written set in the Otherworld?

The answer should be easy enough to track down. Answers to be in by Thursday 31st May. Good luck!

[* I'm not complaining. But donations toward buying my own home, or simply renting a lock-up somewhere, would be gratefully received.]

Gareth L. Powell is offering you the chance to win a signed original manuscript of an as-yet-unwritten story – all you have to do is pick the name and nationality of the heroine. It had better be a name that fits a tough determined lady, knowing Gareth’s stories …

Looks like we have a winner. Continue reading “Glorifying Terrorism competition results”