Convention Reports

FantasyCon, Brighton, 30th September to 2nd October 2011

2011-10-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Friday 30th September

I dropped Matthew at school, then Jay Eales & Selina Lock picked me up and we set off on our ROADTRIP! down to London. We had a playlist of CDs but didn’t need them, chattering all the way, though as the traffic was quite heavy and the sun was very hot, it perhaps wasn’t quite as glamorous as we’d all perhaps expected. Having said that, it was still an exciting ROADTRIP! and so that’s how we all referred to it for the duration of the weekend.

After lunch at the Pease Pottage Services (great name, terrible design of car park), we hit Brighton at about 2pm. Jay & Selina went to park and I took the bags into the foyer where, almost immediately, the joy of FCon hit me. As I queued up to get my name badge, I got a wonderful hug from Pixie Pants (she’s lovely, she really is), said hello to Sarah Pinborough and Simon Kurt Unsworth, Simon Clark, Martin Roberts, Peter Mark May, Dave Jeffery and a raft of others and knew I’d arrived. FantasyCon means a lot of things to a lot of people - to me, a big chunk of the enjoyment is meeting up with old friends, making news ones and talking about our shared love for the genre. This year, in a change, I was looking forward to meeting up in person with a load of people who’d become Facebook friends since the last Con.

I had a good room - third floor, above the main entrance (a shame I didn’t get a sea view but, on the bright side, it didn’t get any direct sunlight so remained blissfully cool as the Con sweltered in a mini-heatwave over the weekend) and the only issue I had with it was a nightclub over the way which thudded long into the night (but if I closed the window, all was well). I dropped my stuff off, sorted the goody bags, returned the books I wasn’t interested in (my tastes seemed to be the same as a lot of con-goers, if that welcome table was anything to go by) and headed into the throng.

Reading a section from "Mr Huxton Goes Camping" at the Alt-Dead reading

(photo by Peter Mark May)

The programme was packed, which was excellent, though it had the unfortunate knock-on effect that there were plenty of schedule clashes. I went to my first reading - Sara Jayne Townsend - then back to Bar Rogue for the Alt-Dead readings, in the company of Pete May, Dave Jeffery, Richard Barber, Ade Chamberlain and Stuart Young (who also brought me a bag of Robert B Parker novels). The readings went well, we drew a small crowd and then indulged in a Q&A session which was good fun. As the welcome meeting started, we stayed put and I caught up with Simon Marshall-Jones and met his lovely wife Liz and also finally met Stuart Hughes (ex-editor of ‘Peeping Tom’ and my cohort in Stumar Press). By now, it was time to eat and so our merry little band - the Marshall-Jones’, me and Jay & Selina, Stuart, Richard, Pete and Dave - set off. Jay had satellite navigation on his phone, Pete had a print out of local restaurants, but we still got lost. We ended up in a decent place, which was empty but still took ages to serve us, though it allowed for plenty of conversation and getting-to-know you.

At the Indian, with Richard Farren Barber and Selina Lock

(photo by Jay Eales)

Back at the hotel, I bumped into Mark Morris and had a chat with him and Stephen Volk (both lovely men), which is always a treat. Then I spotted Graham Joyce and - after he’d introduced me to Catherine Rogers - I got to tell him just how much “The Silent Land” had moved me. He seemed genuinely pleased to hear it and we had a nice long chat, joined by Simon Bestwick. Back to the Regency Lounge for the raffle which, as ever, went on for far too long - though Sarah and Guy Adams did their best to make it enjoyable - and I won a US edition of Clive Barker’s “Mister B Gone”. A nice surprise was discovering I was sat next to Paul & Mandy Edwards - we’d first corresponded over ten years ago, when Paul edited Unsane magazine and it was great to finally meet them both.

After the raffle, I went straight into the Russell Room for the midnight screening of “The Devil’s Rock”, written by Paul Finch. I’d seen it before, but it was a real treat to watch it with Paul in attendance and we had a short Q&A session afterwards. As we left, at 2am, Chris Teague said he was heading for the bar but I decided to head back to my room.

Saturday 1st October

Hotter today, if possible. Refreshed after a good kip, I had breakfast and sat with Trevor Denyer and caught up. By this time, I’d missed a couple of panels I’d planned to attend, so I went down to the dealer room instead. It was a small-ish, windowless room and it was like a sauna - even with the blowers/fans dotted around, I don’t know how any of them stood it. I wandered around, ummed-and-aahed over “The Five” by Robert McCammon (still too expensive, sadly), introduced myself to Peter Coleborn (I’d done the book trailer for “Rumours Of The Marvellous”) and Jan Edwards, hung around the Pendragon table, hung around the DCP/Hersham Horrors table and then had a long chat with Steve Harris (from the Inner Circle newsletter), John Worley and Stuart Lambeth about the joys of being a teenager in the 80s and working your way through Betamax video nasties! Coming out of the dealer room, I took a wrong turn and suddenly I was in the middle of Spinal Tap, trying to figure out where I was in a maze of corridors and odd, stand-alone blocks of wall.

I had lunch with David Price at a deli in the Lanes, then back for the Alchemy Press launch. Peter sent me upstairs to get my “contributor” copy and got Peter Atkins to sign it, explaining who I was in the process. Now Peter Atkins is a big man, physically and in projection and he’s successful, yet he stood up and shook my hand and enthused about my book trailer and made me feel wonderful. After a quick chat with Mick & Debs Curtis and Gary Cole-Wilkin & Soozy Marjoram (and an agreement that Gary would do the soundtrack to my Spectral Press chapbook and I’d make him a music video), I went to the Hellraiser Franchise panel, which was informative and good fun. Out of there and back to Bar Rogue for the Pendragon Press/Screaming Dreams launch, where I gave Johnny Mains the copy of “Worms” I’d picked up in Great Yarmouth. I bought a copy of his “Lest You Should Suffer Nightmares” as we chatted about sleazy horror paperbacks and Charlotte Bond, sitting next to him, joined in. She was puzzled about the book, so we explained the 70s and 80s horror boom and then it struck me. “When were you born?” I asked and that solved everything.

In the Regency Room, with (from left) Stuart Young, David 'Dai' Price, Terry Grimwood

(photo by Gary Cole-Wilkin)

I went to the Comics Panel which Jay was moderating (though my knowledge of comics is limited to Bullet and The Crunch from when I was a kid and 2000AD into the early 80s, or what Jay, Selina and Stuart Young tell me) and that was enjoyable, then found myself involved in a passionate discussion about the DC-52 (I think) with several folk, including Selina and a woman who clearly thought I knew more than I did.

Greg James caught up with me - Facebook friends for a while now, but our first face-to-face - and we went to the bar where he introduced me to his friends (hi Dolores and Jason!). I then went for a wander, checked out the art exhibition with Russell John Morgan and saw Jon Oliver, with whom I chatted about books and babies.

Arrangements had been made for dinner, so I met up with everyone outside the main entrance and our splinter group - me, Paul & Mandy, Stuart Hughes, Richard and Dai - decided to try out the Pint With A Pizza on the pier. It was a mistake - a grubby pub, cheap and nasty pizza - but the company was terrific and really made the evening. Walking with Mandy back to the hotel, we marvelled that everyone was dressed for summer yet it was 7.30, dark and the 1st of October - very odd.

On the pier, waiting for dinner, with Mandy Edwards, Stuart Hughes, Richard Farren Barber, Dai Price

(photo by Paul Edwards)

Chatting with Paul Edwards

(photo by Mandy Edwards)

The DCP/Hersham Horror went very well, with a good number of writers on hand and cake from Bev Chamberlain. Selina came by and we adopted her and I think she should have sat with us and signed some books.

Eating cake at the Alt-Dead launch, with Stuart Hughes, Dave Jeffery, Steve Lockley and Stuart Young. Peter Mark May hands out the grub!

(photo by Selina Lock)

Martin Roberts had collared me on the first day, telling me he was screening a short film based on Michael Marshall Smith’s “Later”, which is probably my favourite short story. I went into the Russell Room at 9pm - with John Travis, Jay & Selina, Pete, Chris and Stuart - with trepidation but I needn’t have worried, it’s a brilliantly made film, with great central performances from Neil Newbon and Nessa Wrafter and assured direction from Simon Duric (who used to be involved with the BFS). It’s also very touching, not quite reaching the poignancy of the story (which made me cry), but not falling far from it - I left the screening room straight away and had 5 minutes on my own.

Then it was on to the evening’s big events in the Regency Lounge. Pete got me and John Worley seats on the front row and I sat at the very end, in front of Jay & Selina. Teatro Proberto (John Llewellyn Probert and Thana Niveau) performed a stripped down panto-version of “The Blood On Satan’s Claw”, inventively playing all the parts themselves and it was hysterical, a brilliant production that had the audience howling. This was followed by the first set of Burlesque, as organised by Alessa Dark, a troupe of lovely ladies (and, later, a man who I will now always think of whenever I hear ‘Bright Eyes’ played) who put on a fine show (I’ve never seen one in real life, so I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen). One lady came on - Baby Box, I think - and danced to ‘Good Times’, by INXS. All good so far. Our dancer got down to her stockings, knickers and bra and loosened the straps. She looked at me. I looked at her, nervously. She began to move across the stage, coming my way. “Oh no,” I thought, “go the other way.” She kept coming, stepped off the stage, smiled at me. I must have looked like a panicked rabbit to her, then she leaned forward and gave me a wiggle and there was a big reaction from the audience. For my part, I closed my eyes and heard Graham Joyce, sitting across from me, shouting about the unfairness of seat positions or something. Our dancer smiled at me, got back on stage and finished her set and it was terrific. Teatro Proberto came back, to perform “Corruption”, a film I haven’t seen but now desperately want to. It was another barn-storming show, with added puppets this time and one of the funniest things I’ve seen in ages. The burlesque came back, for another terrific set, ending with Alessa herself dressed as a wolf, dancing to Led Zeppelin. Great stuff.

I went to Ramsey Campbell’s Midnight Read, then headed to the bar and went over to see Esther/Alessa, to compliment her and her troupe for the great burlesque performance - she’d been so nervous beforehand, but it went down a storm.

Sunday 2nd October

Bloody roasting today. Up bright and early because I hadn’t heard the message that FCon attendees had until 4pm to check out, so I packed my bags and lugged them downstairs, then lugged them right back up again. I had breakfast with Trevor again, sharing the table with Simon Clark this time, who is a thoroughly nice chap. I went to Alison Littlewood’s reading in Bar Rogue and thoroughly enjoyed myself - she’s very talented and very nice, we only met this weekend and I was won over by her sheer enthusiasm (though her head-girl-style of getting stories in well in advance could get a bit wearing!). After another quick trip to the dealer room, I nipped into the “How To Market Your Novel” panel, moderated by my friend Gary McMahon. It was well attended, had some good names on the stage and there was plenty of good advice (though, on reflection, a lot of it seemed to come down to common sense). I was going to make a point about not giving friends all 5* reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (or your own stuff, for that matter), but there was a sea of hands each time Gary asked for questions. I stayed in the room for the Genre Movie Panel but it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, though some panel members were very refreshing - especially Anne Billson and Stephen Gallagher.

Me, with the "Alt-Dead" poster

(photo by Peter Mark May)

Jay, Selina & I headed out into the Lanes and the sunshine. We had lunch in a pub, I got Matthew a finger-puppet and we headed back, expecting the banquet to have ended. It hadn’t, so we sat up on the bar terrace with Gary & Emily McMahon, the Marshall-Jones’, Dai Price and Rob Spalding. The banquet went on, the weather got warmer and people started to get cranky. By the time the hall was ready, most of us couldn’t get in and so stood in the doorways, watching.

Plenty has been written elsewhere about the awards, about what happened and about the reactions, so I won’t go into details here except that I was there, it was uncomfortable and I wish it hadn’t happened. I was glad when it was over, to be honest and as I collected the bags, I tried to block it out of my mind.

Since Brighton was mobbed, it took ages to get the car, we said our final goodbyes, then loaded up for our return ROADTRIP! (with Raven Dane on board this time, at least until Hemel Hempstead). The traffic was terrible and it took us well over an hour to get out of Brighton, but conversation was easy and brisk and kept us all going on the gruelling drive home. I finally got in at 10.30, a rucksack full of books heavier.

Apparently, this was the best attended Con in years (which I can well believe, there were a lot of people in that hotel) and I enjoyed The Albion, I had a good room and it was very convenient to pretty much everywhere I wanted to walk (though the lift breaking down wasn’t good, I had to help David Hebblethwaite downstairs at one point). The Con itself was fantastic, never a dull moment and that was helped immeasurably by the volunteer red-shirts who - I think - should have won an award themselves (especially the lovely Pixie Pants). The awards debacle aside, this was a terrific FantasyCon and I had a truly wonderful weekend, meeting up with loads of old friends and making plenty of new ones and coming away feeling fully recharged!

Roll on the next one!

I’ve missed out a whole host of people, I know, but it was also great to chat with (amongst many others); John Forth & Esther Sherman, Shaun Hamilton and his lovely wife, Ian Whates and Helen, Donna Scott, Neil Bond, Will Hill, Rob Spalding, Anna Taborska, Reggie Oliver, Terry Grimwood, Steve Upham, Adam Nevill & his dad, Andy Bigwood, Roseanne Rabinowitz, Helen Hopley, Marie O’Regan, Paul Kane, Joe D’Lacey and Paul & Cath Finch.

Terror Scribes Gathering Chesterfield 2011

2011-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Terror Scribes Gathering
The Royal Oak - Chesterfield - 16th July 2011

The message came through from the Terror Scribes Facebook Group - a gathering was going to be held, at the Royal Oak in Chesterfield, on Saturday 16th July. Did I want to go?

A Terror Scribes gathering? Organised by the head honcho, John B Ford, himself? In the spiritual hometown of Chesterfield? Oh yes, I was definitely in.

I decided to catch the train up, for ease and as Alison & Dude waved me off from the platform, I put on my MP3 player, got out my book and settled in (then had to change at Leicester, for the train that would take me directly to Chesterfield). Due to a delay, it was a little after two when I arrived and met up with Steve Bacon. He & I have had a busy year since we last met up (for the first time) at FantasyCon in 20101 - we’ve each written a novella for a joint collection and devised, written and published “ill at ease” with Neil Williams. It was great to see him and we walked up towards the town, catching up (email is great, as is Facebook, but nothing beats chatting face-to-face). It took us a while to find the pub - we later realised we’d strolled right past it - and then we were in, pretty much the last of the bunch to arrive.

The Royal Oak was an old coach-house, very nicely restored and - probably - with a lot of its original features. It was the ideal place for a gathering except turnout had been good, so it was a little cramped. Steve & I made it through the door and that, pretty much, was where we stayed for the remainder of the afternoon. Paul Kane & Marie O’Regan were sitting at the nearest table, along with Jay Eales & Selina Lock (with whom - “roadtrip!” - I’m travelling down to Brighton in late September for FantasyCon 2011) and we caught up with them for a while. Moving away from us, deeper into the narrow room, were Sue & Morgan Philips (who’d done an excellent job, organising the last few gatherings in Leicester), Des Knight, the wonderful John B. Ford, Simon Clark, Paul & Coleen Bradshaw, Simon Bestwick and Derek Fox. The latter had also brought along a few folk - three nice ladies and a chap in a terrific hat - from his writing class. In addition, there were three people I’d never met before, a writer called Lee Wilson and a couple who sat by the door, a very shy lady (who was nice to chat to) and her partner. Later arrivals than us included Martin Roberts & Helen Hopley and Steve Lines & Loretta Mansell - and they had the best excuse, having travelled up from Calne in Wiltshire.

Me, Selina, Simon and Steve

There was a buffet and a well-staffed bar and conversations struck up immediately. Steve & I, along with Simon and Selina (who’d decided to stand by the door to get some fresh air), expounded upon just about everything - comics to horror, the News Of The World to politics in general, feminism and women in anthologies - and it was a genuine delight to stand for an hour or more, talking with like-minded folk.

As a little side-bar here, I have to say I have a deep affection for The Terror Scribes. Back when I first discovered the small press, I kept reading about gatherings and meet-ups and desperately wanted to get involved. My first gathering was in Sheffield, at the Howard, in July 2000 (the original con report is here if you’re interested) and the roll call of people I met that day was incredible, the bulk of whom I’m pleased to say I’m still friends with. It was also the first time I’d ever met a famous writer, in Simon Clark, who was very down-to-earth and approachable. People made the effort to talk to me, to include me and their generosity and friendship has really stuck with me,. I’ve tried to attend as many gatherings as I could in the intervening years (including the fantastic one in Birmingham in 2002) and I’ve yet to go along to one that I didn’t enjoy.

The raffle kicked off then, eventually raising £45 for Alzheimers Care and seeing just about everyone bag at least two prizes. As a nice surprise, Steve had brought along a couple of copies of “Conjure” - always a treat to see that cover! - and I was asked to sign them, which goes a long way to making a writers afternoon! I picked up a Leisure edition of Simon Clark’s “The Tower” and got him to sign it for me.

Unfortunately, some of the gathered had to leave for various reasons and we lost the members of Derek’s writing group and Steve Bacon. Good to see them all, though. The readings followed, a longstanding treat of the gatherings. Derek led, then Coleen, Simon (with an excerpt from “Angels Of The Silences”), Martin (with a story he’d only just written, apparently), John and Sue. I read the train chasing sequence from “What We Do Sometimes, Without Thinking” and Jay followed me. They all seemed to go down well, which is always reassuring.

Me, reading about train chasing. Selina tries not to nod off in the background

By then, time was creeping on so we headed out for the curry house and, watching everyone gathered outside the pub waiting for stragglers, it was good to see so many smiling faces. We made our way through the Shambles and into town - with Simon Clark peeling off to catch his train - to the Indian. Ushered upstairs, we took up a long table and two roundtables, which separated us unfortunately. However, I shared my table with Marie & Paul, Martin & Helen, Loretta & Steve and Jay & Selina and Des Knight, so conversation never flagged.

The curry is an integral part of a gathering and, unfortunately, mine wasn’t good. Since I had to catch a train home, I had my main when everyone else had their starters and it wasn’t particularly warm but it was particularly stodgy. Having eaten what I could, I held out as long as possible but the time had come, so I said my goodbyes, shook plenty of hands and headed off to the train station.

For some reason, the train home this time swapped at Leicester, where I had a 15 minute wait. I stood on the platform with my fellow evacuees, in the gathering twilight, listening to my MP3 player. “Everybody Hurts” came on and the sounds, combined with what I could see - a small station and a bridge, houses being built across the way, the bright shades of day fading to black in the sky - inspired me. I might not use the imagery or the feelings it conjured for a while but I know I will, one day, because that’s what I love about Terror Scribes gatherings (and FantasyCon). I adore being around other writers and creative types, listening to processes, discussing ideas and solutions and always come away feeling re-energised about my writing.

A great gathering and it was good to see everyone again. Now, roll on the next one!

NewCon 5 (9/10th October 2010)

2010-10-12T03:58:00.001-07:00

You know how sometimes you read a report and it appears as if the person wasn't at the event at all? This is one of those, I'm afraid - I had a great time, I met a lot of good people, I went to a reading but I didn't do any of the main panels. So other people might have far more accurate reports of the con than I do. Oh well, I had a good time.

I’d never been in the Fishmarket art centre in Northampton before, but it’s a good space - open and airy, with plenty of natural light. There’s a little café at the top, small special-interest shops down the sides and plenty of room to move about.

Paul from the NSFWG was manning the door when I arrived, so I had a chat with him and Susan (another NSFWG member). Russell Morgan, an artist from Kettering that I knew from Facebook but only met for the first time at FantasyCon, came over - he had some (very good) pictures in the art show and we had a drink and a chat, about writing and drawing, influences and horror and a project that we might work on together.

There were panels and readings through the day - the panels were in the main area (which carried quite a bit of echo), the readings at the back, in a little room that was rather exotically called a studio. I unfortunately only managed one reading - though I did get to meet Sam Stone, which was a bonus - held by Jaine Fenn, Ian Whates and Stephen Palmer, who let Ian read his piece too. Very good, with some great excerpts read, but the room got a little stuffy after a while.

After chatting with Sam about writing, later joined by David Howe, I then checked out the stalls, met Ian Whates’ lovely partner and finally got to see “Shoes, Ships & Cadavers” (the anthology of new writing from the Northampton SF Writers Group, edited by Ian Whates and Ian Watson, with a terrific introduction by Alan Moore). Neil Bond & I oohed-and-aahed over it and it’s lovely looking tome. He & I sat and chatted for a while, joined by Donna Scott (both members of the writing group).

After lunch (where I managed to pick up a long sought 70s sleaze novel from the market in town), I took to door duty with Tim Taylor (also from the NSFWG), where we were entertained by the Jester and his magic show and chatted about writing, our plans and our processes. All good fun.

Then there was a real buzz in the air, as Alan Moore arrived. Now I’ve never met Alan Moore before (he’s a Northampton resident) and the only real contact I’ve had with him has been interviews regarding films of his work, where he comes across as quite crotchety (though it has to be said, having seen the films, I can see his viewpoint). His very lovely words about my story “What We Do Sometimes, Without Thinking” made me think differently, but I was still a bit trepidatious when I went to introduce myself. How much of an idiot am I? “Hello,” I said, “my name’s Mark West and I just wanted to thank you for your kind words about my story.” “Which one’s yours?” he asked. I told him it was the train one and he remembered it, complimented me on it again and was full of praise for the book and what we were doing and then he said “keep it local” What a truly lovely man, all beard and great jacket and rings, but exuding this wonderfully genial air. I didn’t get to sit next to him on the signing panel (damn you, Tim!), instead I was sat between Neil and Dr Steve and had a great time. The book seemed to do well, people were very interested and hey, if you’re a writer, being on a signing panel is terrific fun. Three months ago, I wasn’t even in the NSFWG. Now I was, I’d written a story in a week and met Alan Moore through it. Sometimes, you know, this writing lark is bloody brilliant!

I had to head off a little after this and didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone, but the rest of NewCon partied into the night (and then met up again the next day). It was a cracking con, I really enjoyed myself and can’t wait for the next one.

Donna Scott, Neil Bond and me, on the signing panel

FantasyCon, Nottingham, 17th to 19th September 2010

2010-10-12T03:56:00.000-07:00

After attending many Con’s in the past, only for the Saturday, I decided to push the boat out a bit and stay for the weekend. And I’m really glad I did. I caught the train up and found my hotel, the Plaza, immediately (and thank you so much to Mick Curtis & Gary Cole-Wilkin for suggesting it - lovely room, plenty of space, very close to the Con itself).

So much happened, it’s going to be impossible to try and create a decent blog post so I’ll go with the bullet point method:

Friday
* Got signed in, chatted with Martin Roberts (cool haircut) and Helen Hopley. Bumped into Stu Young and Peter Mark May (the first of many new friends, who I’d already conversed with through Facebook). Had my afternoon planned out, which readings I was going to go to, which panels, all sorted.
* Convened in the bar, met Mick & Debbie Curtis and Gary Cole-Wilkin & Soozy Marjoram (all good people) from the RCMB. Also met Simon Marshall-Jones (SMJ from hereon) - we’d been saying it felt like ages since we last met up, but it was Terror Scribes in July. How times flies. Also met the lovely Raven Dane and Pixie Pants - wonderful ladies.
* Went out for dinner - Zizzi’s, very nice, very expensive - with Stu Young, Pam Creais and Lilly (don’t know her surname, unfortunately). Due to the extraordinary length of time they took to serve us, managed to miss Simon Bestwick and Peter Mark May’s readings. Whoops! On the plus side, Stu gave me two books he’d picked up in local charity shops, a Jesse Stone hardcover (Stu & I love Robert B Parker and often end up talking about him, when we meet and on email too) and a Robert Crais.
* Back to the hotel, met more people, went to the Quiz (our team was bolstered by the wonderful Jay Eales - recovering from graphic dental work that he kept trying to tell me about - and Selina Lock) and two chaps I never really caught the name of. The quiz was tough (seriously, who knows that much about the bloody Transformers) and we came last, though there were only about 6 points between us and the winners.
* “Get Real” panel, which I attended with Stu.
* Back at the bar, meeting and chatting. Called it a night at just after midnight, then was kept up until 3am by the shrieking of Nottingham night-life-folk on the main road outside my hotel.

Saturday
* Up good and early, checked out the hotel breakfast. Decided £16 was too steep, walked around to Greggs and got a croissant. On the way, I bumped in Gary Greenwood, we had a chat and agreed to meet up later. Determined to have a more pro-active approach to the readings and, for the most part, managed it. In fact, the lift (or ready lack thereof) scuppered me more than anything else. So what did I do today?
* Met Gary and Emily McMahon on the way into the hotel. Had a nice chat, talking about awards and work and families. Stu Young came by, gave Gary a copy of “The Godwulf Manuscript”, which he & I have been raving over and which Gary wanted to read.
* Andrew Hook’s reading was great fun, included the penguin head and I got to ask him some questions at the end.
* Gary McMahon’s reading was equally good. I’m very lucky, I’ve pre-read “Pretty Little Dead Things” (an ARC of which appeared over the weekend) but it was great to hear it in Gary’s own voice.
* To the bar, where I met up with Paul and Cath Finch, David Price, Simon Unsworth, the McMahon’s and Shaun Hamilton, who I originally met in Fiction Factory. We took some photo’s. I also finally got to meet, face-to-face, Stephen Bacon. Steve & I have been corresponding for a while now and we’re working on a collaborative project together, but it was great to shake his hand. His wife, the lovely Andrea, had come along for the day with him and it was great to meet her too. I only hope she didn’t get too bored!

Gary McMahon (and the "Pretty Little Dead Things" ARC), Shaun Hamilton, Steve Bacon, SMJ, me, David Price and Simon Unsworth. A gaggle of horror writers.

* Caught Paul Meloy’s reading and I’m glad I did. The story was incredibly moving, written (and read) with power and very affecting. I’ve never been disappointed by Meloy and this was no exception.
* Went to lunch at the Java café with Dave Price and SMJ. By the counter, at a small table, were Stephen Volk, Tim Lebbon and Mark Morris, who all said hi. Stood behind Jonathan Oliver in the queue and the lady behind the counter asked what we were all doing. We explained about the Con and that we were writers. She asked if any of us were famous. As one, we all turned and pointed at Steve Volk.
* Steve & Andrea Bacon joined us for lunch and he & I talked over our collaboration project. I’ve got a good feeling about it.
* “End Of The Line” launch - picked up my copy, got a signature from everyone who was there. When I got to Conrad, shook his hand and thanked him for the confidence burst that FicFac had given me. He’s a gracious man, that Williams.
* Paul Finch’s reading was good, though I only caught the tail end because of the launch and the bloody lifts.
* “The Grass Is Greener” panel. I went in on my own, interested to hear about moving genres (I’m not leaving horror, but my Lost Film novella is functionally a crime story, told in that voice and I’ve been reading a lot of crime lately to absorb it). Paul Meloy came in and joined me. Good panel, very interesting.
* Paul & I have a chat in the reception area, about brands. Decide that it’s all about the writing. He goes to the dealers room, I head up to Ian Whates’ reading. Once again, foiled by the lift but I catch at least 20 minutes. Ian runs the Writers Group I’ve recently joined and it was great to hear him read aloud, even better that he finished early and so I got to ask some questions.
* Back to the bar, where I meet up with John B Ford, who has dropped in for a while and Alison Davies. I haven’t seen either of them for years but, quite literally, it’s as if no time had gone by. John looked good and, despite his dreadful last few years, was upbeat. Let’s hope this isn’t the last Con we see him at.
* “How Not To Get Published” panel, which I’d been really looking forward to but, to my mind, didn’t work at all - it got quite snide, I thought, so I left. Managed to meet up with Jonathan Oliver for a chat a little later, as I wanted to ask him how he liked his novel pitches.
* Back to the bar, for more chat, then SMJ collared me and we sat down with Adrian Chamberlin. The three of us - and Mark Deniz - are working on a 4-writer-collection and we batted some ideas back and forth. One of them, in two parts, was really quite exciting!
* The RCMB Curry trip, wonderfully organised - as ever - by Gary Cole-Wilkin and Soozy Marjoram (and a terrific job they do, I organised a “thank you” round of applause when we finished). We were rounded up, led down, seated and eating really quickly - conversation was loud and passionate and funny and the meal was terrific. Attending were: Paul & Cath Finch, John Travis, Charles Rudkin, Ally Bird, Simon Unsworth, Terry Grimwood, Daniele Sierra, SMJ, Joel Lane, Simon Bestwick, GCW, Soozy, Shaun Hamilton, Mick & Deb Curtis, me, Gary & Emily McMahon, Chris Teague and Gary Fry. Great fun.
* Back to the Brittania and into the awards. Neil Bond and Donna Scott, from my Writers Group, had saved me a place at their table for the event and I didn’t realise, until too late, that I was sharing it with David Riley and Sharon Ring. Wish I’d known at the time, I’d have introduced myself! The awards were good (I wish Selina Lock had won for ‘Girly comic’ but Neil Gaiman - who he? - is, I suppose, a big draw) and Conrad William’s acceptance speech for “One” was about the most moving I’d heard since Tim Lebbon’s last year. Fantastic stuff and I made a point to go and congratulate him and Sarah Pinborough before the evening dispersed everyone.
* Back to the bar. More chat.
* Into the small bar, for the Pan book launch. It was held back by another event running late, so Peter Mark May & I stood chatting with John Forth and his partner Esther Sherman. We chatted about many things, but “Piranha 3D” got a good airing - it’s important, I think, to find folk who share your belief that a 3D film full of boobs can only be a good thing! Great fun, great couple and I really hope that Esther’s promise of a horror-Burlesque performance comes off.
* The Pan Launch was fabulous, helped in no small part by Johnny Mains’ enthusiasm and John L Probert’s incredible oratory skills.
* Back to the bar, more catching up with people (including Matthew F Riley), then back to the Plaza to listen to the Nottingham harpies.

Gary McMahon & I at Chutney's, for the curry

Sunday
I admit, I chickened out. I got a text from Mick Curtis, wishing me a safe journey and decided to head straight for the train station and my pre-bought ticket and reserved seat. If I’d stepped back into the hotel, I’d still be there, I think.

This was a fabulous con, brilliantly organised and run and I had a whale of time! Roll on the next one!

Terror Scribes Gathering Leicester 2010

2010-07-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Terror Scribes Gathering
The Lansdowne - Leicester - 17th July 2010

Off to the Lansdowne once more, for a gathering organised by Sue & Morgan Philips. After struggling with a parking meter at DeMontfort Hall that somehow charged me twice, I made my way to the pub and ‘The Pits’, where we normally meet. Already there were the Bradshaws, Sue & Morgan and Simon Marshall-Jones. It was good to see Sue & Morgan again and brilliant to meet Simon in the flesh - we’ve corresponded a lot over the Net, the past few months and critiqued each others work, but this was our first meeting.

Realising we were both hungry, we went across the road for a cob lunch and sat on some steps in the afternoon sun, watching the world go by and talking all things horror. Fantastic twenty minutes and then we went back into the pub, where Jay Eales & Selina Lock had arrived. Two other newcomers were also there, folk who’d seen the event listed in Ansible and decided to come along. The man - John, I think - took the first reading slot with a (clearly) unrehearsed ramble about how science feeds the horror genre (I think). After he finished, I read an excerpt from “Risen Wife” and then put the “Life Once Lived” chapbook into the raffle (from which I managed a couple of wins and picked up some of Jay & Selina’s comics, which are seriously good fun), Simon did a blog reading and Sue did a reading.

Me, just about to launch into "Risen Wife", as Morgan Philips looks on

Then it was time for nattering and, amongst many other topics, we got onto reviewing and I regaled them with some of the dross that I’ve had to sit through for VideoVista - it certainly kept them amused. We had curry at the Agra again, very nice as always and then it was time to head home. Simon, who comes from MK, was facing a 3+ hour wait so I offered to drive him home (without fully working out the ramifications of such a venture) and we kept up our chat all the way back to that city.

It was late when I got in, but it’d been a great gathering, even though the turnout (due to holidays and illnesses) was low (though as Selina said, at least we all got a chance to talk to each other, which doesn’t always happen). Great fun and over way too quickly, as always. Roll on FCon!

At the Agra - me, Simon Marshall-Jones, Sue Philips, Morgan Philips, The Bradshaws, Selina Lock, Jay Eales

(thanks for Selina Lock for the photographs)

FantasyCon - Nottingham - 19th September 2009

2010-02-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

I keep promising myself I’m going to do a whole weekend one year but, as always, I only did the Saturday this time. Due to heavy traffic, I didn’t arrive until 11.30 but met up with Stuart Young straight away and we found a table and caught up. David Price joined us and conversation ranged wildly from what length we’re writing to at the moment (I’m definitely heading for novella/novel) to which era of Robert B Parker’s ‘Spenser’ novels is the best (perhaps unique to Stu & I, that gambit). I then went to Joel Lane’s reading, which went well and whilst there, Ally Bird bought a copy of “Conjure”, as did Gary Cole-Wilkin (and I bought a copy of his CD single).

After lunch, I bumped into Paul Meloy - who was impressed with all of the “Conjure” stuff - and Simon Bestwick and he & I went outside, so that he could have a smoke before his reading. Michael Marshall Smith also went out, but I still daren’t talk to him (one day, I keep telling myself, I’ll pluck up the courage to introduce myself) and then Gary Greenwood and Martin Roberts joined us. Gary & I caught up and had a good laugh and he bought a copy of “Conjure” too - all good stuff. Simon’s reading was poorly attended (it clashed with the launch of “Best New Horror 20” downstairs) but he carried it off well and we we stayed in the room (and were joined by more) for the John Probert/Gary McMahon double-act - both very entertaining, in very different ways.

Back in the bar, I chatted with David Price, Andrew Hook (who I’d met briefly the previous year, but we’d never really spoken), Steve Mosby (who I’d just re-connected with on Facebook, from back in the Terror Tales days) and Allen Ashley. With all of the other launches going on, the Abaddon one almost passed me by, but I picked up Gary McMahon and Paul Kane’s new books (and Gary and Simon both bought copies of “Conjure”). I went to check out the dealer room (there were less people around than last year and I feel guilty, doing all that looking and none of that buying!), then met Rob Rowntree and had a chat with him, catching up on his news and talking with members of his Crit-group.

The day had whizzed by quickly and it was time for the curry, organised by Soozy and Gary Cole-Wilkin, from the Ramsey Campbell message board (to which I’d invited Jay Eales and Selena Locke - it was good to see them again, after Leicester and they bought a copy of “Conjure” too). Our merry band - including Stu Young, Adriana, Pam, Mick & Deb Curtis, John & Kate Probert, Gary & Emily McMahon, Terry Grimwood, John Travis, Simon Bestwick (and chum from Dark Smile), Joel Lane, Gary Fry and Simon Unsworth - trooped off, took over most of Chutneys, but still got our food quickly (and very nice it was too). Back at the hotel, I finally caught up with Paul Finch, who bemoaned the fact that we hadn’t had a chance to speak or that I wouldn’t be able to join him at the bar later.

Then it was the Awards ceremony (I had high hopes for “We Fade To Grey”, but it lost out to “Best New Horror 19”) and Tim Lebbon’s moving speech for “The Reach Of Children” brought a lump to my throat. After the ceremony, I headed off, saying goodbyes along the way. I’d had a great day and really enjoyed myself, meeting up with old friends and putting faces to previously-only-online-known names. It was great fun and I was filled with a drive to write too, which isn’t to be sniffed at. Roll on next year.

At the curry house - I am sitting across from Terry Grimwood. It was a large party.

Terror Scribes Gathering - Leicester - 21st February 2009

2010-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

The last Terror Scribes gathering I attended was held in Hinkley, in 2004, where I heard just how much John Ford loved what he’d so far read of “Conjure”. Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge and a lot of things have changed but this year, Sue decided to get the TS back on track and so organised a gathering in the heart of Leicester.

I drove over, feeling more trepidation the closer I got - I’ve seen a lot of the old Terror Scribes at various FantasyCon’s, but for some people, it’d be the first time we’d seen one another in five years. I felt new again, as nervous as I did on my first gathering, in Sheffield back in 2000. I shouldn’t have worried though. I found the pub quickly, wandered into the reserved area Sue had arranged and it was like I’d never been away.

Rob Rowntree, Ally Bird & I discussed the parlous state of small press publishing and our hopes and dreams for our writing future, then Rob took me to one side to pass on some news that - quite rightly - has him chuffed to bits. I’m equally pleased for him and hope it all comes off. Back in our area, I sat, on a very low pouf that was difficult to get off of without resorting to a tuck-and-roll, with Jay Eales and Selina Locke, across from John B. Ford, Des Knight (who I haven’t seen since 2003) and David Price. It was quickly time for the readings - Joseph Freeman read from his collection “This Is My Blood”, Ally Bird from her “Bull Running For Girls” collection and I read the prologue from “In The Rain With The Dead”, before putting said copy into the raffle. Derek read a wonderful memoir, of he and a gang of mates getting in to see the Christopher Lee version of “Dracula” and then David Price took the floor, reading a short from his collection. To say it was a very theatrical delivery would, unfairly, be selling the experience short and when he pulled out a tissue, to mime covering a slashed throat that the character had just suffered, I was genuinely concerned that tomato ketchup would be involved!

Then it was time for the raffle, in aid of the NSPCC and I think everyone who took part won something. I was very lucky, winning four times and picking up a set of “Girly Comic”s that Selina and Jay produce. It was chatting time then, but as Jay & I had managed to get decent seats, we stayed put and discussed plenty of things to do with films and writing.

At 6.30, we headed for the curry house (a long standing tradition of TS gatherings) and Jay & Selina had picked a fine establishment though, once again, the more authentic cooking and spices were perhaps just a bit too much for my palete. As was the hot dip that John B Ford was downing as if it were cool yoghurt - we warned Des not to have any but did he listen? The meal was very nice, the company better, the conversation wonderful - old times, old friends, plans for the future both in terms of writing and gatherings. By the time the evening started to break up, towards 9pm, I was content and pleased to have come along. John, Des and Dave were billeted in a bizarre sounding hotel that entailed them walking by my car, so we hit the A6 hill together, pausing only to check out a blue plaque that proclaimed the building was where Tanky Smith, Leicester’s first Private Detective (died 1888) had plied his trade. A master of disguise, the plaque proclaimed, clearly illustrated by the multitude of busts that decorated the building. All of which showed a heavily bearded man wearing a variety of hats. Of course, this struck us as ridiculous and we made fun of poor old Tanky all the way up the hill. As we separated, shaking hands and promising that we’d meet up soon, John & I had a quick word about “Conjure” - Rainfall are going to publish it this year, which makes a nice symmetry.

It was good to see everyone again, it was good to get back into that creative spirit (I always come away from gatherings feeling really jazzed and ‘ready to go’ with my writing) and I hope we get to meet up again soon. Before, one hopes, John, Des, Dave & I confirm our deal to produce a novel-ised biography of a certain Tanky Smith!

FantasyCon - Nottingham - 20th September 2008

2010-02-19T19:50:00.001-08:00

I started out from Rothwell quite nervous - I’d missed last year’s FCon (unfortunately) and I was whittling a bit about the launch of “We Fade To Grey” (the same old “hang on, you’re rubbish, what are you doing with this story in here?” thing), but I left the house at 9.45 and - thanks to Googlemaps who took me on a totally different route to the AA - was parking up at 11.30 or so. This meant I’d missed at least three readings I wanted to catch but I couldn’t do much about that.

I made my way to the foyer, signed in and got the smart badge (on a necklace this year) and met up with Helen Hopley, Martin Roberts, Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan, who were all on the organisational committee this year. I hadn’t seen any of them since the last FCon ’06, but we’d kept up with one another on Facebook and various messageboards. After I got my goodie bag (and if anyone wants a free fantasy novel, first of a trilogy, the size of a fat housebrick, then let me know), I went into the dealer room. Chris Teague was manning the Pendragon table and it was great to see him again - he was happy and healthy and, as always, a great bloke to chat with. We talked about the book, our lives and various different things and I stashed my rucksack behind the table.

Then he showed me the hardback of “We Fade To Grey” and, my God, it’s beautiful. It’s glossy, which I wasn’t expecting for some reason and the paper is nice and thick and the print is clear and pristine and it just looks exactly like you think it should. The cover images reproduced very well too (and, in fact, I got a couple of compliments over the day regarding it).

Simon Bestwick was at the next table, so I stood chatting with him for ages - I can’t remember the last time we spoke face-to-face. He’s doing well with his writing and is heading into the mass-market, which is thoroughly well-deserved.

me, Simon Bestwick, Gary McMahon

Simon Morden appeared, along with Gary McMahon and his wife Emily and we all caught up - Simon & I first met back at the MOT day in London in 2000. Gary was full of beans, with his book launches and reading and nominations in the awards and we talked for a while. Gary Greenwood then turned up, with his wife Ly (pronounced Lee) and it was great to see him again - he’s a good correspondent but much, much better in real life, when you can hear his voice and his inflections. The bloke is a great laugh.

He co-opted me, Ly, Stuart Young and Gavin Williams to go up to the 10th floor (where the readings were all held), to sit in with Paul Meloy, who was launching his collection “Islington Crocodiles”. Paul’s a nice, genuine bloke who can swear more inventively than most and the story he read “All Mouth” had a wonderful passage dealing with “growlers” that had him grimacing and his audience laughing. Excellent story though and I’m really looking forward to getting into the collection.

Lunchtime then - but not before we found the ever-wonderful David Price, as full of life and beans as always. Nobody could decide where to go, until it came down to Greggs or Subway and eventually, we ended up at a little place called Java at the end of the street. I had a warmed sausage, bacon & egg pancetta - very nice. And what a crowd to eat with - Chris, Simon, Stuart, David and Mark Samuels. Sometimes, at Cons, you find yourself in very good company.

Back to the Con for Gary’s reading “Pumpkin Night” - very bleak - that was well attended, before we headed back down to the dealer room. I sat in on a couple of launches, checked out all the stalls (more expense!), caught up with some more folk (including Terry Grimwood) and then it was time for the “We Fade To Grey” launch.

Unfortunately, Paul Finch was otherwise detained on a panel, but the rest of us were in attendance and sat behind the desk whilst Chris and Martin Roberts rustled up a crowd. I’ve never been involved with a signing session and it was really good fun. Chris did his spiel, then handed over to Gary who talked about the genesis of the project (it was all because of me, apparently!). He gave the floor to Stuart, who said he’d ignored everything and didn’t write what he was supposed to, before it was my turn.

I love talking about my own work, but was fully aware that Simon still had to go and the crowd might get restless, so I kept it to a riff on what appears in the book as my story notes. Seemed to go down well though, which was nice.

me, Stuart Young, Gary McMahon, Simon Bestwick

Simon did his talk and then the signing began in earnest, with most of the gathered throng seeming to buy a copy - we’d already signed the hardbacks, so it was paperbacks only (though one chap did get us to sign his newly purchased hardback). More nice comments about the cover art too. Paul Finch then arrived, so more people came to buy and get signatures.

After the crowd dispersed, I stood talking with Rob Rowntree, Stuart, Paul, Chris and Tony Lee. Paul and Rob then had to be at other panels and Chris went back to the dealer room, so Stuart, Tony & I talked films and, in general, the poor CGI we often endure - especially in “King Kong” (“why is it never a normal sky?” I asked, “why is it always sunrise or sunset with plenty of lens-flare?”) and the “Star Wars” prequels (“cartoons” was our considered verdict).

From here, I went to the “Best New Horror” launch in the main bar, which had a nice line up of present authors for the signing session. It looked like Stephen Jones was going to talk, so I found a seat at a table. I recognised the other man at the table, as he’d been in the line for “We Fade To Grey”. I introduced myself, we got talking and I had a really good laugh and chat with him so thanks, Stephen, you were a real treat to spend some time with! In the end, there was no speech and so we joined the line and I finally got to shake hands with Conrad Williams, who is an exceptional writer.

Afterwards, I caught up with Rob - who I see once a year, every year, at these events - and we updated each other on our families, lives and writing. I then broke off to head for a curry (first FCon where I’ve managed to do that). We started as part of a larger group but, as people waited and wandered off, the gang that headed over to Chutney’s comprised myself, Terry Grimwood, Chris, David Price, Jay Eales and Selina Lock. Jay and Selina live in Leicester and are used to full-bodied curries but I’m not and my chicken tikka massala nearly took the back of my throat out! Gary McMahon, his wife Emily, Simon Strantzas and his partner came in and sat at the table next to us and we all chatted for a while, then we headed back for the hotel.

I hung around in the bar for a bit and then went into the banquet hall for the awards ceremony which, on the whole, was well deserved - though I would have liked to see Paul Finch and Gary McMahon win something. One nice thing was that Peter Tennant won a (much deserved) award, which Chris collected on his behalf. As Chris was at my table, I took the opportunity to hold the award, which looked both marvellous and slightly cheesy at the same time. Still, I’d really like one!

After the prizes came the raffle and, like before, I had loads of tickets but didn’t win anything. Guy Adams and Sarah Pinborough made a very good double act running the show though, which more than made up for it.

I finally decided to call it a night at 11.30, then got waylaid by Gary and then by Rob and then by Paul Meloy and didn’t get back to the car park until midnight. I got home at 1.20am, tired but jazzed by the whole experience. This was a cracking con, very well organised and it was great to catch up with everyone and meet some new people in the process.

Can’t wait for next year!

me and Paul Finch, in the dealers room

FantasyCon - Nottingham - 23rd September 2006

2010-02-19T19:48:00.001-08:00

Having experienced some issues with my route-map directions, I lost my trust in them and didn’t arrive at the Britannia Hotel until just after midday, so I missed a panel with Paul Finch and Clive Barker on it. Ah well.

I went to the dealer room straight from signing in and met up with Chris Teague at the Pendragon Press table. I realise that I’m a Pendragon writer but I am seriously impressed with what Chris is doing and his array of titles showed a good deal of diversity and some high quality publications. He also handed me “Audition” on DVD and my first royalty cheque - woo hoo! Grey Friar Press was the next table over and I got introduced to the two Gary’s - Fry and McMahon - and Mr McMahon and I had a good chat (wherein, amongst many other things, I discovered that reading about my block had inspired him to put together a collection, which he then asked me to contribute to!). He was a really nice bloke and I thoroughly enjoyed our chats (all through the afternoon). I also met up with Allyson Bird, who I’d been posting with at Shocklines and TTA Press. All good stuff.

I had a quick look around the dealer room (so many books, never enough money) and then headed through to the bar, where the first people I saw were Rob Rowntree & Lisa Negus, whom I’ve met and hung around with at every Con I’ve ever been to (apart from Wigan). They were doing well, which is good to see, with Rob concentrating more on novels now. Whilst Lisa & I were chatting, a bloke called Mike (that was all it said on his name-tag and - I now feel guilty about this - I didn’t ask what his surname was) came over to tell me how much he’d enjoyed “Strange Tales”. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me - witness the fan letter from Jamie Turner a little while back - and I was astounded. I managed to garble out a thank-you and then he was gone (I did, eventually, meet up with him later and tell him how much I appreciated his kind words and also gave him a card so, if you’re reading this Mike, thank you!).

Rob went off for a meeting, so Lisa and I mingled and had a quick meet with Paul Kane (a handshake, hug and a quick catch-up before he was off to do more BFS business), then stood talking to Tim Lebbon for a while. Lisa then went off to a panel with Neil Gaiman (who’s not as tall as I thought he was going to be), so I headed back to the dealers room.

Gary Greenwood appeared at Chris’ table and it was great to finally meet him - we’ve been corresponding on boards for a year or more now and seem to have been at a lot of the same Cons, but had never connected. He was brilliant to talk to with an excellent sense of humour, very quick and intelligent and I thoroughly enjoyed his company.

We headed back to the bar, with Alison L R Davies in tow and I (almost literally) bumped into Mike Philbin. We stood in the corridor and had a quick chat and then he went towards the dealers room (and I read on his LJ that he didn’t enjoy the day which is a shame and, I have to agree with him, the bar was seriously understaffed).

We got a table in the bar - Alison, Chris, myself, Gary Mc and Gary G. Steve Lockley joined us a bit later and then Garry Charles came over and we got introduced - he loved “In The Rain With The Dead” and it was a pleasure to meet him (and then his wife and children later), he seemed like a nice bloke too. David Price then appeared and sat with us but, sadly, I didn’t get any pictures with him this time (in fact, I didn’t take any pictures at all!). After everyone had gone off for one panel or another, I sat talking with Steve for a while about his plans.

I went to drop some stuff off in the dealer room (I left my bag behind Chris’ table for the day) and met up with Paul Finch (another con stalwart for me) - we had a good chat, catching up with each others news and wondering what was happening with Andrew & Lisa Busby (late of the wonderful Sackcloth & Ashes). Unfortunately, I had to cut our chat short (sorry Paul) as it was time for the Clive Barker panel, which I really wanted to see - reading his “Books Of Blood” in the mid-80s was a real revelation to me and led pretty much directly to my original “Strange Tales”, which, of course, fed the later incarnation.

Paul Kane interviewed him in the main suite and I sat with Chris and David - the room was quite full, but not as much as I’d imagined. I’m not entirely sure what I expected, but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, if that makes sense. Paul did a very commendable job, Clive gave some thorough, witty answers, but there was something… Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the interview and I’m really glad I finally got to see the man, but it actually sort of made me wish I’d known about the BFS back in the mid-80s when the Books Of Blood first came out.

On my way to the bar, I saw Mark & Adriana Samuels, Stuart Young and Katy and another chap. I went over for a chat with them, wished Stu good luck (he was up for best novella) and stood and had a smoke with Katy.

After this, it was back to the dealer room. As is my wont at Cons, I was smoking mini-cigars, so I went out onto the roof for a smoke and stood talking to a woman who was helping out on Anne Sudworth’s stall (I’d noticed a very gothic lady in the bar (it was hard not to notice her) and discovered that she was Ann, whose paintings are spectacular). The lady I was speaking to was a friend of Storm Constantine, who had the table next to the Gary’s and we talked for a while (she said she was interested in horror, I admitted that fantasy left me cold), I gave her a card and it was pleasant - I think one of the great things about Cons is the fact that you talk to people you perhaps wouldn’t normally, about things you perhaps wouldn’t normally talk about. It’s good.

We stayed around for the small press launch (I remember how that felt last year and I watched the faces of folk around me, sharing in their delight), which showed a healthy number of titles from a healthy number of publishers. David Howe gave a rousing speech which boiled down to what I believe - support the small press!

I’d decided to stay as late as possible and was looking forward to going for a curry, but in the end I went with Alison, her boyfriend Scott, Simon Morden, Chris, Gary G, Jonathan Oliver and his wife and the Howe’s to a little pub called “The Trip To Old Jerusalem” (apparently, it’s the oldest pub in England and is built into the rock under the castle). It was very nice, but it wasn’t a curry (which I discovered, on my return, that Lisa & Rob had had).

The dealer room was locked up by then, so Chris & I had to get some staff to let us in - he wanted some books for raffle prizes, I wanted my bag. They couldn’t open the door, so they led us through the kitchens. I’ve never been in a big, professional kitchen before and Chris & I were saying how cool it was that we were in there. He referenced “The Shining” but, as I admitted to him, I was thinking more of “Once Upon A Time In Mexico”!

We went back to the bar, to wait for the raffle to start and I was approached by Jay Eales, who knew me through his LJ. He’s local to me and it was good to meet him and we talked about something I’d discovered throughout the day, that LJ (and various blogs) do serve a purpose. People do read things, you’re not just shouting in the darkness. I found it odd from my end, talking to Tim and Gary G and already knowing about their lives, what they did, their wives names etc., and I’m sure they did too - I actually had people asking me how the garden was coming along! All very cool and Jay’s a good bloke.

We then headed into the main suite for the raffle which, over the years, I’ve heard a lot about, the main thing being that you never come away empty handed. As it was, I set myself a limit of 11pm to leave and by 10.50pm (by which time Rob & Lisa had deserted the table), I hadn’t won but they decided to give all of us losers a free prize anyway (not to be ungrateful, but I got book 1 of a new fantasy trilogy - why are all fantasies written as trilogies?).

At that point, I left but didn’t get a chance to say many goodbyes, though the Grey Friars folk were sitting in the smaller bar so I had a final chat with them, shook hands and then I was gone.
An excellent day, meeting old friends and new and finally getting to see Clive Barker in the flesh. I’m already looking forward to next year.

FantasyCon 29 - Walsall, Birmingham - 1st October 2005

2010-02-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

also the launch of In The Rain With The Dead - for the full report on that, click here

The last time I went to a FantasyCon was in 2000, when it was held in the centre of Birmingham. This was a little more difficult to find and further up the M6, but I was really looking forward to it (and incredibly nervous at the same time) as my novel In The Rain With The Dead was being launched there.

We arrived just after midday, having had a good journey up on the M6 Toll Road (is it worth £3.50? Yes, probably). Once we got signed in (excellent goody bag and T-shirt), we went to see Chris and I got my first look at the book. Now I realise that I’m biased but bloody hell, it looks good. As Alison said, it has a good chunky feel to it, the text inside looks clean and precise and the cover looks nice and glossy and dark. I was really taken with it and stood with it for a while, just looking at it and trying to get it straight in my own head that this was my novel, this was something I’d created, after years of dreaming of being able to. A superb feeling.

We went into the bar to go through the goody bags, get a drink and for me to start signing the signature sheets (which will be inserted into the first 100 copies of the book). Soon enough, Rob Rowntree and Lisa Negus turned up and, as always, it was a real treat to see them. Whilst both are cracking on with their reviews and interviewing, Rob is now moving into pro-sales for his short stories and - considering how supportive he was of me and the novel - that’s great to see.

David Price joined us a little while later, his customarily booming Welsh tones muffled by a sore throat - not that that dampened his friendliness or enthusiasm. I got a picture with him later in the day, since I’ve had one taken with him at every con we’ve both been too!

We had lunch and met up with Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan, with Paul telling us about his latest project, a look at the “Hellraiser” universe multi-media.

Our first panel was a scriptwriting improv session, chaired by Stephen Gallagher with Paul Finch (who we first met at WiganCon, way back in May 2000) and Matthew Holness (the man behind Garth Marenghi). It was a lively session and was the first time that I’ve ever seen the creative process I work through being done aloud, by other people. Great fun and we both enjoyed it.

We stayed in the suite for the next panel, which was Paul Kane interviewing Simon Clark. It was an interesting chat and brought to light some of Simon’s working methods, but what I found intriguing (about both panels) was how people who I would consider to have “made it” are still beset by nerves and setbacks and doubts.

Back in the bar, Paul Finch came over to regale us with tales of working in the TV industry and he was as friendly as when we first met him at WiganCon. After he went to a panel, we sat with Rob, Lisa and Dave and were joined by Paul and Marie, Gail-Nina Anderson and Matthew Holness - not having found Garth Marenghi particularly funny, it was nice to meet its creator, who was friendly and shy, interested in who we were and keen to know about the novel.

The mass book launch took place at 6pm, with Graham Joyce performing a sterling job as the MC, giving a witty and impassioned speech extolling the virtues of the small press as somewhere to nurture talent and explore. Chris’ slot was halfway through and he looked as nervous as I’d felt when I thought I was going to have to do a reading. His anguish was compounded by the fact that the book wasn’t actually there (delivery expected on Wednesday), but he did really well; pointing out Alison and myself and mentioning Matthew and then using the tagline - “a tale of lost love and gut-wrenching terror”. Graham Joyce picked up on that and seemed to like it.

After the launch, I stood at the Pendragon table (Chris had some pre-order forms) and as I tried to take everything in, I realised Ramsey Campbell was standing looking at my book. I didn’t know what to say but, stupidly, opened my mouth. What came out was the cringemaking “it’s very good, you know.” He looked at me, smiled as though he knew I was caught off-guard and said “I’m sure it is.”

After, we sat in the bar to take up the last of the atmosphere and then made our goodbyes to the folks we could see. Both of us had a really good day, it was a superb feeling to be standing in that room whilst my book was being launched and it was brilliant to see everyone again. A wonderful Con, all told.

Marie O'Regan, me, Matthew Holness, Rob Rowntree, Gail-Nina Anderson (seated), Lisa Negus, David Price, Paul Kane

Terror Scribes Gathering - Hinckley - 4th September 2004

2010-02-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

This was held in Hinckley to celebrate the publication of Sue Philips’ “The Waldorf Street Paradox” by Rainfall Books and although we were due to go on holiday the next day (how do we manage to plan that each time?), Alison & I drove up for the afternoon.

We met David Price in the bar and then Sarah Crabtree and her family arrived. Her husband and children went off and the four of us wandered into the main room and got a table. Whilst Alison and Sarah had a good chat, I did some mingling and met up with Steve Redwood and D (from Whispers Of Wickedness), Martin Roberts and his partner, Helen (Martin is very taken with the “Strange Tales” image and chose our prize in the raffle, which was a framed and autographed print of the head image) and had a good chat with Paul Kane, who is taking on some projects for the BFS. In the bar, I met John Ford and we got talking about Conjure, which he really liked. Apparently, he took half of it on holiday with him, thinking he wouldn’t get to read much and whipped through what he had (his partner, Lynne, told me that he kept saying “this is brilliant, this is brilliant”). This is good news for me and I hope he decides to take it (though he kept calling it a novel).

We left about six, before the event swung into the evening. It was a shame to leave so early, but we had a good time and it was great to see everyone again.

Steve Redwood, D, David Price, John B Ford, me, unknown, unknown, Lynne (John's partner), unknown to end of standing

seated - Alison, Paul Kane, Martin Roberts, Sue Philips, Helen Hopley, Marie O'Regan, unknown to end of line

BFS Open Night - Holborn, London - 5th December 2003

2010-02-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

this was the launch of Strange Tales - for a full report on that, click here

I don’t tend to go to BFS Open Nights (since they usually start at 8pm on a Friday evening in the middle of London), but I made an exception for this one as Rainfall Books was launching a series of titles (in addition to Strange Tales were “Black Altars”, by Mark Samuels; “Spare Parts”, by Stuart Young and “Ghosts Far From Subtle”, by Joe Rattigan)

Joe Rattigan, John B Ford, Mark Samuels, me - Stuart Young kneeling

Since it was my first ever launch, Alison & I decided to stay over and booked into a hotel in Bloomsbury. After checking in - it was a lovely old building - and putting on my “Strange Tales” T-shirt, we went for a walk and found the new Forbidden Planet shop (it was huge, apparently 5 miles of shelving!). After spending ages in there, we got something to eat and then headed for the Princess Louise.

This pub also hosted the MOT-Con, though we were upstairs this time. We got settled in (in a booth across from Sue Philips and her family) and waited for the night to kick off. In my opinion, the launch wasn’t particularly well organised (by the BFS folk) and, in addition to a dodgy microphone, I had to read (I chose “The Thief Of Road Signs” as it’s fairly short and sweet) over people’s conversations. But no matter, at least I did it.

After the readings, I mingled and caught up with old friends. Joe Rattigan, Sarah Crabtree and David Price sat in our booth and Mike Philbin - who has taken a real shine to Alison - was a frequent visitor. Mark Samuels and Adriana were there, I spoke with Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan at the bar and Stephen Jones was milling around (though I didn’t get to speak to him again, more’s the pity). Steve Lines and his partner were with John and his partner Lynne and I spent a lot of time at their table, signing books and slotting my bookmarks and ‘art-cards’ into copies. In the end, I signed 26 copies of the book (some specifically for people who had bought copies there) and sold 2 of my own copies that I’d taken to the event.

After the event, since I was on a real high, we went for a walk around Bloomsbury and celebrated my ‘success’ with a take-away garlic bread from Pizza Hut.

me, Sarah Crabtree, Stuart Young

On Saturday, since we were in the capital, we decided to do the sightseeing thing (and also pick up some pictures and atmosphere relating to "White Meat", my collaborative novel with T.M. Gray) and eventually got home at about 4pm. We were both knackered, but it was a good weekend and it felt great to be at the launch for my first collection.

Terror Scribes Rainfall Launch - Holborn, London - 4th October 2003

2010-02-19T18:21:00.001-08:00

This was originally to be the launch of Joe Rattigan’s “Ghosts Far From Subtle” and my own “Strange Tales” but, unfortunately, problems at the printers meant it wasn’t ready. I knew that before we left, but Alison & I did a couple of T-shirts anyway (we printed the head image onto them, using a transfer kit with the PC and they certainly seemed to attract some attention).

We all met at the Princess Louise, where John Ford handed me the proof copy of the book and - to be perfectly honest - I had to sit quietly for a few moments, just turning it over in my hands. As a concept, “Strange Tales” has been with me since 1987 and here I was, holding it in my hands. It was a very exciting (and quite emotional) moment and I was lost for words.

After the Princess Louise staff made it clear we weren't welcome, we headed off to the Cittie Of York pub (much nicer, it appears to have been built out of an old tunnel and had a nice Gothic feel to it). People sat chatting and then John announced the Rainfall News and the readings began. Mark Samuels was first, reading from “Black Altars” and he was followed by Stuart Young. As he started to read, salsa music suddenly came through the speakers and stayed on for the rest of the afternoon (though at a lower level of volume once he’d finished and no, the music didn’t quite fit any of the readings). After Stuart, I stood up to do “Toes” which went down very well (especially with Mike Philbin, who got straight away that it was a black comedy and laughed uproarously from about halfway through). Paul Kane finished off by reading a section from his Funny Bones collection.

We sat and chatted for a while, catching up with folks (briefly, John Ford and Lynne, Sarah Crabtree, Chris Teague, Paul Kane, Des Knight, Quentin Crisp, Bob Covington (and another artist), Gary Couzens (and partner), Martin Roberts and his girlfriend, Steve Lines, the afore-mentioned Messrs. Samuels, Young and Kane and some others I didn't know at all). Speaking to Chris, he seemed as interested in “In The Rain With The Dead” as he’s ever been and was asking some intriguing questions about it.

Unfortunately, we had to leave soon after this to catch our train, but it was another good day in the company of my fellow Terror Scribes.

me, Des Knight, Quentin Crisp, Tony Richards

Terror Scribes Gathering - Leicester - 17th November 2001

2010-02-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

Like the previous one, this gathering was co-organised by Sue Philips and Anna Franklin and held at the same venue (now it's called Decadence, which is a bit more of an accurate description). Rather than sit in an ante-room like before, we had the run of the upstairs which was great - door in the ceiling, low lighting, creaking floorboards (2 out of 3 posed their own problems later on!).

I stayed over on this occasion (as I didn't want to miss any more curry house stories) and met up with Alison Davies (yes, I can see the Kylie thing) and Jonathon Oliver at the train station. We got booked in, met David Price and Paul Kane at the Ibis and made our way to the venue.

Paul Kane, David Price, me, Alison Davies, Jonathan Oliver

There was an initial period of meeting up with old friends and putting names to faces (I finally met Mark Samuels, Joe Rattigan and Mike Philbin) and catching up on gossip, before the raffle (in aid of UNICEF, which raised over £60). There was a quiz and I was on the winning team - with Rob Rowntree, Lisa Negus, Derek Fox and Jonathon - and we handed back our prize money.

It was then time for the readings, which took place at the end of room, closest to the squeaking floorboards (and Cardinal Cox tried to slither around on his belly to minimise the noise but it didn't work!). Graham Joyce, Guest of Honour, started, reading from "Smoking Poppy", his latest novel and it went down very well. Then there was Derek Fox, Alison Davies (who, staggeringly, read from memory and didn't falter once), Mike Philbin (very theatrical performance, reading a quality Hertzan Chimera tale from The Urbanite), Joe Rattigan and myself (I read "The Thief Of Road Signs" which seemed to go down very well).

After some more chatting, we made our way towards the Curry House (where it quickly became clear that Alison had made it her nights mission to get Paul Kane plastered). We took over a large table (Sue Philips, her husband and son, Rob Morgan (of Sarob Press), Alison, Paul, David, Fiona (Joe's partner), Joe, Mark S, me and Jonathon) and had a great time - especially the fantasy partner section where Buffy took a bit of a slating (though I, obviously, voted for Kylie and presented, as my evidence, her sheet in the "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" video).

We got back to the hotel just before midnight and sat in the bar, smoking and drinking and chatting.

We all left pretty much the same time on Sunday and Mark and I shared a table on the "high-speed" train bound for Kettering and London. First off, it went backwards and then proceeded to go all around the houses, arriving in Kettering nearly 90 minutes later (it's only a 32 minute journey normally). But I did find out that he owned a copy of "The Carnival Of Souls" (which I have always wanted to see) and offered to post it up to me.
Terrific company all round - this was the best gathering I've been to so far and I can't wait for the next one!

Rob Rowntree, me, Lisa Negus, Joe Rattigan, David Price

Terror Scribes Gathering - Leicester - 19th May 2001

2010-02-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

This gathering, organised by Sue Phillips and Anna Franklin, was held at Tabasco Jaz in Leicester. The venue was a superb choice - gargoyles on the walls, spooky back-lit mirrors, toilets decked out as labyrinths. The company was equally as good.

I arrived to find John B. Ford, Derek Fox, Rob Rowntree and Lisa Negus at the bar. Cardinal Cox and friend arrived soon after, followed by Sue and her husband Morgan, son Jon and his girlfriend. We all adjourned to our allotted area and were soon joined by Anna and her husband and Simon Bestwick.

The first thing to do was read through the Drabble book - Sue did an excellent job with it and I'm pleased with my single entry. Others (like Rob, Lisa and Suellen Luwish), really went to town and helped to make the book a superb record of the event. A raffle - in aid of the RSPCA - was conducted and I'd posted an idea on Sue's board that attending writers and artists sign a piece of their work as a prize. This was taken up and I won "Sister" by Simon and Rob took home "Speckles". There was work by Sue, Anna, Derek, David Gemmell, John B., Freda Warrington, Joe Rattigan, Gillian Holmes and others.

Terror Scribe awards were then handed out - John B. won for helping to pull the small press together (a job he does very well) and Suellen (who has chosen me as her writing mentor and who produces some very good stuff) won for the best drabble.

The gathering quickly descended to conversation and most topics were discussed - foot & mouth, censorship, grim websites and video's of death and Derek's latest publishing ventures.

I left, along with the Northern Foursome, at 6.30 - happy, cigar'd to death and glad I'd come along. An excellent gathering with some great people, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Lisa Negus, Derek Fox, John B Ford, unknown, Cardinal Cox, Morgan Philips, Sue Philips, Rob Rowntree, me

FantasyCon 2000 - Birmingham - 9th September 2000

2010-02-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

FantasyCon is organised by the BFS and was, everyone told me, the place to go. Due to holiday's, I could only attend for one day and so I went on the Saturday (David Howe told me at the MOT day that it was probably the best full day). I drove across to Birmingham, more nervous than I had been for any other Con and went into Waterstones first, to delay the inevitable. In there, I bumped in Rob Rowntree and Lisa Negus, who were also going for one day and we decided to team up.

The Britannia Hotel seemed quite smart, though the rooms were all on corridors like tiny warrens and we quickly found our way to the booking-in room. There, having paid our dues, we immediately met up with the Enigmatic duo, Mick Sims and Len Maynard. They have been very helpful in my development (both in editorial terms and also in simply accepting stories) and being published by them gave my confidence a great boost. It was great to finally meet and talk with them. We toured the dealer room (and I spent another fortune - what with buying loads of books and smoking cigars, Con-going can get really expensive!), walked to the Andromeda bookshop (another fortune), sat in on Stephen Jones interviewing David Case, talked to loads of people, drank a lot (water for me, driving home) and met up with a load of faces, old and new.

Amongst many others (and I’ll miss loads here), I chatted with Paul Lockey, John B. Ford and Lynne, Paul and Mrs Bradshaw, DF Lewis, David Price (who remembered the grotesque comment from Sheffield), Steve Savile (I bought his book when, unbeknownst to me, I was standing next to him), Chris Teague, Darren Floyd, Brian Willis, Tim Lebbon, Derek Fox (Rob, Lisa and I stored our stuff in his room), Steve Lockley, Paul Finch, Steve Byrne and friends (The Inner Circle newsletter), Mark McLaughlin, Tony Mileman, Peter Crowther, Andy Fairclough, Doug Bradley and Noel K. Hannan. I saw Stephen Jones there but decided not to interrupt his conversation - I later found out he'd been talking to Michael Marshall Smith (and could have kicked myself for not going over !).

I left at 9.30pm, not wanting to leave it too late to wander across Birmingham to the car park, but the Con carried on for several more hours. Next year, I plan to do all three days, it'll be more than worth it.

Terror Scribes Gathering - Sheffield - 22nd July 2000

2010-02-19T17:51:00.001-08:00

I had been following the adventures of the Terror Scribes with some interest and couldn't resist this gathering. I caught the train to Sheffield (delayed for ages because someone had decided they couldn't take it anymore and jumped in front of a train at Leicester) and made my way across a really interesting/dangerous traffic island to the Howard pub.

The first person I met was David Price and, after he'd introduced himself, I said "Oh yes, you're the grotesque and arabesque bloke" (he edited a magazine called 'Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'). Acoustics meant that all David heard was "Oh yes, you're grotesque", which he thankfully found funny. Simon Bestwick then came over to introduce himself (he wrote the story "Going Under, Flying High" which appeared in Sackcloth & Ashes and I sent him a 'fan' letter, declaring it as good as "Later" by MMS).

Paul Lockey, me, Simon Bestwick

The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur - the beer in that pub was really strong - but I met, amongst many others; Paul Lockey, Derek Fox (a real gentleman), John B. Ford (the organiser and someone who wants to do great things with the British small press/horror scene), Paul Bradshaw and his wife, Rob Rowntree, Lisa Negus, Des Knight, Paul Kane, Simon Clark, the ladies from Strix and the chap who runs Sarob Press. There were others, but time has robbed me of their names now - sorry!

All in all, it was a great afternoon, extremely friendly and easily worth a train journey double the length it should have been.

me, Simon Bestwick, David Price, Simon Clark

Masters Of Terror Day - London - 8th July 2000

2010-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

After Wigan, my appetite was whetted and when Andy Fairclough decided to hold an MOT day in London, I put my name down straight away.

I travelled down by train, tubed it to Oxford Street and found Forbidden Planet. After wandering around for a while - and wishing I'd taken more money with me - I bumped into Paul Finch. A crowd of writers then turned up, amongst them Simon Clark, Tim Lebbon, Steve Lockley, Gary Greenwood, Tony Mileman and Chris Teague (there were many others, forgive my memory).

We wandered towards The Princess Louise and decided to stop off for a bite to eat and virtually took over the lounge of the pub we picked. By the time we reached The Princess Louise, things were starting to come together. Simon Clark bought me a drink, clutching a Tesco plastic bag. I asked what was in it - he told me it was his latest manuscript (which was, I later discovered, the 'Triffids' sequel).

My experience at Wigan had not prepared me for this and the afternoon went by in a flurry of meeting people, talking, debating, drinking and laughing. I met, in addition to those mentioned above and those, sadly, whose names I don't know, Andy F, Paul Lockey (Unhinged editor and great bloke), Simon Morden, David Howe (BFS man), Derek Fox, Rob Rowntree, Lisa Negus, Mike O'Driscoll (with whom I shared a very entertaining conversation about the cinema of David Cronenberg) and Stephen Jones. Oh yes, the man who'd re-invigorated my interest in short horror fiction was there and he was more than happy to sit at our table (me, Paul, Simon, Rob, Lisa and Tony), listening to us and telling us his literary adventures.

All too soon, it was time to catch my train back. I said a lot of goodbyes, shook a lot of hands and then headed for St Pancras beaming, my rucksack full of purchases.

WiganCon - 6th May 2000

2010-02-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

Since discovering the small press, I'd often read about conventions and gatherings, where like-minded souls got together to talk, have a laugh and drink. I told Alison that the next convention I saw advertised, I would go along to.

It was WiganCon, organised by Andrew & Lisa Busby.

I don't know if you, the reader, have ever had the pleasure of either corresponding with/meeting the Busby's but they are a thoroughly nice couple and great people. Because Wigan is some distance from Kettering, they offered to put us up for the Saturday night and we agreed. On Sunday, we planned to go on to Penrith, where the Piggin centre is (Alison is mad on pigs) and cut back through the Lake District, where we spent our honeymoon.

We arrived in Wigan safely enough and had lunch at the Busby's. Andrew was really nervous, convinced that the day wouldn't be a success. Alison and Lisa were fairly calm - I was also nervous, having never been on anything like this before and never having met another horror writer (apart from, at that point, Andrew).

We drove over to the Orwell Pub and settled in. I had no idea of anyone there - or those who came later - and was introduced to Paul Finch (a fine man and very friendly), Paul Joyce, Graeme Hurry (editor of Kimota), Andy Fairclough (at that time, head honcho of the Masters Of Horror boards) and T23 (the artist) and his mate. In the pub, much ale was quaffed (Celtic Warrior seemed to be a firm favourite) and there were a lot of conversations. Inspired by Andy F's enormous cigar - and the fact that Andy B had given me a cigar back at his house - I began smoking (Alison and I gave up, at the same time, in 1998). I told her that I would just smoke at conventions and, thankfully, I've kept to that since.

After a while, we walked into Wigan town centre to a Wetherspoons pub and had dinner. Following that, we trooped back to the Busby house and sat, in the dark, watching "The Blair Witch Project" - a film that divided opinion in the living room.

I had a great time, met some really good people and I, for one, can't wait for WiganCon 2. The turnout for this one wasn't enormous (which disappointed Andy B), so if you're reading this, go to WiganCon 2. Okay?