The title of this post quickly became my catchphrase on Sunday because that was the reply I gave every time someone asked me how I felt about winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
That's right -- I won!
No, I don't know how it happened either. Presumably a whole bunch of people forgot to vote for the other nominees and are now kicking themselves.
The whole thing was a total shock. Leading up to the awards people kept asking me if I was getting nervous and I kept saying, "There's no point me getting nervous, I know I don't stand a chance of winning."
Even as the envelope containing the winner's name was torn open I was thinking, "Thank God, I haven't won because now I don't have to give a speech and make a twat of myself."
And then I won. And had to ad-lib a speech. In front of a couple of hundred people. Whilst being filmed.
Which pretty much explains why the speech started like this:
"Um...
"Um...
"Um...
"Well, that's the skilful way with words that allowed me to write this novella..."
The speech kind of went downhill from there.
Anyway, I was planning to write about FantasyCon in more detail but I have pretty much bugger all free time this week so I'll take the lazy option and point you towards Chris Teague's FantasyCon report instead.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Book Meme
Following on from Matt Cardin's Book Meme post on his blog I'm going to answer the 10 point questionaire. Bear in mind that these aren't definitive answers, I've merely done my best to reply with the first books that popped into my head.
1. One book that changed my life. Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson.
2. One book I've read more than once. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
3. One book I'd want on a desert island. Dune by Frank Herbert.
4. One book that made me laugh. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
5. One book that made me cry. Hmm, tough one. I don't cry over books. The only time I can remember it happening was with a comic called A Moment of Silence which told (mainly) wordless stories of 9/11.
6. One book I wish had been written. The exploits of Stephen Hunter's action hero Earl Swagger in the US Marine Corps prior to WWII. You never know, Hunter may yet write this.
7. One book I wish had never been written. Okay, I'm changing this to 'One book I wish I'd never read' 'cos there may well be other people out there who loved it. Anyway, Dixie Chicken by Frank Ronan.
8. One book I'm currently reading. I'm browsing various books for story research. I'll pick the Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions 'cos it's right next to my computer.
9. One book I've been meaning to read. The Face of Twilight by Mark Samuels. (Sorry, Mark!)
10. One book I'd like to write. A SF/Fantasy/Horror/Noir/War/Comedy/Romance/Western/Musical/Philosophical/Theological/Sociological/Surreal/Realist masterpiece. But I'll probably just hack something out like I ususally do.
Now let's see if Quentin, Gary, Chris and Elizabeth want to rise to this challenge. Plus anyone else who wants to join in.
1. One book that changed my life. Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson.
2. One book I've read more than once. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
3. One book I'd want on a desert island. Dune by Frank Herbert.
4. One book that made me laugh. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
5. One book that made me cry. Hmm, tough one. I don't cry over books. The only time I can remember it happening was with a comic called A Moment of Silence which told (mainly) wordless stories of 9/11.
6. One book I wish had been written. The exploits of Stephen Hunter's action hero Earl Swagger in the US Marine Corps prior to WWII. You never know, Hunter may yet write this.
7. One book I wish had never been written. Okay, I'm changing this to 'One book I wish I'd never read' 'cos there may well be other people out there who loved it. Anyway, Dixie Chicken by Frank Ronan.
8. One book I'm currently reading. I'm browsing various books for story research. I'll pick the Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions 'cos it's right next to my computer.
9. One book I've been meaning to read. The Face of Twilight by Mark Samuels. (Sorry, Mark!)
10. One book I'd like to write. A SF/Fantasy/Horror/Noir/War/Comedy/Romance/Western/Musical/Philosophical/Theological/Sociological/Surreal/Realist masterpiece. But I'll probably just hack something out like I ususally do.
Now let's see if Quentin, Gary, Chris and Elizabeth want to rise to this challenge. Plus anyone else who wants to join in.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The Law and Jake Wade
There's an old Western that gets shown on the telly every now and again called The Law and Jake Wade. Reformed outlaw gets kidnapped by his old partner and forced to show where he hid the loot from the last job they pulled together. Just to make things difficult the ex-partner not only has a whole gang of thugs backing him up but has also kidnapped Wade's girlfriend and is threatening to do nasty things to her if Wade doesn't co-operate.
Lots of twists and turns as Wade and his ex-partner battle to outwit each other. Dialogue's pretty sharp too from what I remember. Robert Taylor as Wade. Richard Widmark as the ex-partner. And Dr McCoy from Star Trek as one of the thugs.
Only problem is I always miss the beginning. Never seen the film all the way through.
It was on yesterday. Got all excited when the opening credits began to roll. Then about five minutes into it I got called away and by the time I got back the film had finished.
Maybe next time ...
Lots of twists and turns as Wade and his ex-partner battle to outwit each other. Dialogue's pretty sharp too from what I remember. Robert Taylor as Wade. Richard Widmark as the ex-partner. And Dr McCoy from Star Trek as one of the thugs.
Only problem is I always miss the beginning. Never seen the film all the way through.
It was on yesterday. Got all excited when the opening credits began to roll. Then about five minutes into it I got called away and by the time I got back the film had finished.
Maybe next time ...
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