Ian Whates

The front cover of my first novel through Solaris, The Noise Within, has magically appeared on Amazon, where previously there had only been a blank space!  Delighted with the cover, which is by the unreasonably talented Dominic Harman.  The book is the first in a sequence of space opera tales with a twist or two, and is due out in May.

Tags: books

Much of my time when not actually writing is spent running my own independent publisher, NewCon Press, which I set up almost inadvertently in 2006.  This promises to be the most exciting year yet for the Press, with a host of new titles being launched.  First up is an anthology of all-new vampire stories (being launched at World Horror Con), then an SF anthology, a novel by Ian Watson and another by Keith Brooke, all being launched at Eastercon… and there are more to come!

Full details at:  www.newconpress.co.uk

Tags: newcon press

I seem to be building up a fair number of convention and other appearances at the moment.  If you’re likely to be at any of them or feel tempted to come along, please feel free to say ‘hello’.  I’ll try to update this as time goes on, but currently I know I’m going to be at:

March 25 – 28 World Horror Con in Brighton   http://www.whc2010.org/  

April 1 – 5       Odyssey, Eastercon, at Heathrow  http://www.odyssey2010.org/ 

April 22^nd         Forbidden Planet, London, Author signing

April 28^th         Arthur C Clarke Award, London  http://www.clarkeaward.com/

May 8^th            TWF Anniversary, Oxford  http://www.thewritefantastic.com/anniversary.html

May 16^th          Lincoln Book Festival 

                        http://www.visitlincolnshire.com/things-to-do/events/lincoln-book-festival

September 17 – 19 Fantasycon, Nottingham  http://sites.google.com/site/fantasycon2010/

October  9 – 10  NewCon 5, Northampton  http://www.newcon5.com/    

Tags: appearances

My debut novel, City of Dreams and Nightmare, was released via Harper Collins imprint Angry Robot on March 4^th (UK and Australia, due out in the USA this August).  This is the first of a series set in the fabled city of Thaiburley, a multi-tiered metropolis of social strata and complex politics.  Most of the narrative takes place in the basement level, the City Below, where Thaiburley is at its dirtiest and deadliest.  The novels are urban fantasy with a heavy dose of SF and a side-order of steampunk.

Inevitably, I’ve been both excited and nervous about how the book is received, but, judging by the reviews to date, so far so good.

http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2010/03/city-of-dreams-nightmare-by-ian-whates.html

http://eithin.com/cirw/2010/03/02/ian-whates-city-of-dreams-and-nightmares/   

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/13/science-fiction-roundup-eric-brown

The second volume in the series, City of Hope and Despair, is due out later this year.

Tags: books

This is my new blog.

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