News and Stuff

[Neal Asher]

Couple of bits here:

Over the last year or so I’ve only written two short stories … or rather novelettes. One of these is called Alien Archaeology which is to be published in Asimov’s sometime hence. I look forward to that one especially, because Brian Beiniowski of that magazine was asking me for a description of a gabbleduck. Apparently they were looking at using the image of one for the front cover, though whether that will happen I don’t know yet.

The other story was called Owner Space. This is set in a future covered by none of my full-length novels, but will be familiar to those who have read The Engineer or The Engineer ReConditioned, for it is the same setting for stories there called Proctors, The Owner and (only in the latter collection) Tiger Tiger. Owner Space has now been accepted by Gardner Dozois for his anthology titled Galactic Empires. Excellent stuff.

And finally, there’s now an interview with me up on fantasybookcritic.

 

[Neal Asher]

Here's some of the blurb from the Asimov's Science Fiction site for the June issue of the magazine:


Popular and prolific British writer Neal Asher gives us a ringside seat for a fast-paced, suspenseful, and violent game of intrigue, double-cross, and double-double-cross, as a hunt for a stolen alien artifact of immense value forces a former agent out of retirement and into a tense chase across interstellar space into hostile landscapes where wiser humans would never dare to venture, with life or death hanging in the balance at every turn, for some hard lessons in “Alien Archeology.” This one is a full-blown, flat-out, unabashed Space Opera, and a thriller of the first water, so don’t miss it!


http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0704/nextissue.shtml

 

[Rane Longfox]

Very nice. Also, any info you can give us on Hilldiggers?

 

[Neal Asher]

Rane, Hilldiggers is out in hardback early in July. What other information? It's got a stonking drone in it and exploding spaceships?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I happen to think there are not enough novelettes and novellas out there. Short stories ... poof, and they're gone .. but a novelette has some meat in it.

 

[Neal Asher]

I've found that's the sort of length I tend to write to now, probably because of all the books. The two mentioned above I set out upon with the intention of producing short stories, but they grew in the telling. I guess I wanted more meat myself.

 

[Neal Asher]

There we go, at 5.30 tonight I put ‘ENDS’ below what I’d been labouring over all day, then, despite the fact that I haven’t been particularly abstemious this week, I wandered up the shop and bought a couple of bottles of wine to celebrate. The first draft of Line War is finished and it weighs in at just over 140,000 words. After I’ve finished editing, swapping bits around, extending other bits, cutting bits and generally hacking it into shape the book will almost certainly be larger. It’ll be about the size of either Brass Man or The Skinner. It’s a cause to celebrate because, even though further work lies ahead, the thing itself is done.

I hope you’ll like it.

 

[Rane Longfox]

YAY!

Well done, it must be very relief to finally finish a first draft.

 

[Ian Whates]

Congrats, Neal! I look forward to reading it some time soon.

Do you know yet whether you're going to make the Heffers bash in Cambridge this year? (I received the email about it earlier this week, so presume that you did too)

 

[Neal Asher]

I've received no email as yet, but probably won't be there anyway. Too much going on this year.

 

[Ian Whates]

I've received no email as yet, but probably won't be there anyway. Too much going on this year.

Drat. You mean I'm going to have to drink all that wine on my own? And here's me with all these books for you to sign, as well!

 

[Neal Asher]

Another country's national national borders have been crossed by my AG tanks, which pushes to total now to a round 10. The publisher Eridana in Lithuania is taking on Gridlinked and The Skinner.

 

[Neal Asher]

NEAL ASHER

HILLDIGGERS
RRP: £17.99
Our Price: £14.99

Saturday 7th July 1 - 2pm
London Megastore,
179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR
Neal has been writing sci-fi and fantasy since he was 16 years old. He has gained great success and acclaim for his books including the Hadrim trilogy, Gridlinked and The Voyage Of Sable Keech.
Hilldiggers continues Neal's tradition of writing fine space dramas, full of ideas and suspense. This has everything: war, alien technology, destruction and battles for power. What more could you ask for?

All Orders must be placed before 12pm on Friday 6th July.

To pre-order your signed copy of 'Hilldiggers', please view Neal Asher's range of signed books.

 

[Neal Asher]

The link for those signed books is here: Forbidden Planet.

 

[Rane Longfox]

The synopsis for this book looks awesome - definitely ordering a copy

 

[Neal Asher]

Thanks, Rane. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[Neal Asher]

Here we go, this is the Czech version of The Line of Polity - they've used the original Macmillan wrap-around cover and used it entire on the front. This the third book of mine Polaris have published, after The Skinner and Gridlinked, the first of which won the Salamander Award in that country (best SF book published there in the relevant year) and the second of which was shortlisted for it. I really must get out there one day and pick up that award from them - I'm all for tax-deductible holidays.

 

[Neal Asher]

Win a set of my books here!

 

[Ragnar]

Win a set of my books here!

Nice. I'm a recent convert so that would save me pots of cash

 

[Neal Asher]

Bang go my royalties...