tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40907792009-11-05T10:30:19.148Zwe've done the impossible and that makes us mightyJennynoreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-24597793370086032702009-11-05T10:28:00.001Z2009-11-05T10:30:19.155Z

Alas, my lovelies, did not quite manage to hit the 40k target last night. Gave it up at 38,001 on account of no conceiveable brain cells left. On the plus side, I did manage to write 8,000 words in 5 hours. Which was nice. :-) (I make no comment on the actual *quality* of said words...)So what's new from Nanowrimo-land? The regional word wars have started up and Team England: Elsewhere are

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-9689307695677128512009-11-04T08:03:00.003Z2009-11-04T08:25:05.938Z

Knackered. But happy. This shall be my mantra for the next three weeks. That and Must. Write. Faster.So before today's wordage get started, here's the state of play in Nano-Land.Current words: 30,423Body count: up in the 40s somewhere. (There was a break out at a blood farm, carnage ensued!)So, now our kick ass chick has discovered she's being haunted by a vague ghosty presence, had a

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-60162741828641791232009-11-02T12:59:00.001Z2009-11-02T13:01:06.580Z

We interrupt your Nano broadcast with some awesome news from those funky people at the David Gemmell Awards...-- PRESS RELEASE --New Award Categories"When we established The David Gemmell Legend Award For Fantasy it was with the intention of subsequently introducing further award categories to cover other aspects of the fantasy genre. We are now pleased to announce two new, additional awards, to

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-17937203715726720282009-11-01T22:27:00.003Z2009-11-01T22:37:07.137Z

So can I just say, word count for the end of Nano Day 1 is... (drumroll...) 11,110 ::faints:: This makes it an all new Nano first day record. Woohoo!Body count so far: 3. And they totally deserved it too.So far, kick ass chick has been attacked by ghosts, had her beloved bike nicked, been attacked by a crazed werewolf, then attacked by some idiot muggers just as she was going through her

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-60524443673858369382009-10-27T13:37:00.003Z2009-10-27T14:22:14.385Z

As it's five days until Nanowrimo 2009 officially starts, it's about a time I did a post about it! Excited? Not 'alf. I've only been planning for it all year...This year I want to take things to new extremes of insanity - we came so close to the number one slot in the regional word wars last year... so very frustratingly close, only to be knocked off the top in the last couple of days. Bugger

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-70179531315038897272009-10-01T06:17:00.004Z2009-10-01T08:57:59.232Z

And welcome to Support Our 'Zines Day! And what is it, you may be wondering? Very simple. SOZ Day is the day when you shout your love for your favourite 'zines across the internet and if you're in a flush mood, donate a little to keep them putting out the stuff you love... See here for the whys and wotnots...So here's mine: Clarkesworld Magazine Fantasy Magazine Strange HorizonsHub

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-83612247754486515082009-09-30T10:16:00.008Z2009-09-30T17:10:51.584Z

Ooh, 10 days later... :-)‘twas the night before Fcon, and after spending some quality time parked on the M-whatever-it-was due to an accident on the opposite carriageway, we managed to get a few minutes admiring the unchanging décor of the Britannia before moseying down to be sociable.Ah the joys of Nottingham on a Thursday night! So there we were, the fabulous Gail Z Martin, the equally

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-7255877401764431642009-09-23T11:58:00.007Z2009-09-23T16:42:58.057Z

(This is a long one, you have been warned…)Another thing that happened over Fantasycon weekend was the explosion in the blogosphere over the all male content of the BFS’ newly launched In Conversation book. The book: In Conversation: A Writer's Perspective, Volume 1: Horror, edited by James Cooper is intended to be the first in a series of interview collections, with the two following volumes

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-4092164437338400482009-09-21T11:11:00.001Z2009-09-21T11:15:00.087Z

Will post about Fantasycon once I get my brain back in gear.... but if you're on Facebook, I added a load of photos there - mostly of the awards banquet, but a few set up ones too...Anyhoo, whilst I was nicely distracted by Fcon, the OU results came in. So I'm well chuffed to say I passed the Archaeology: Science of Investigation module. It was only a shorty 10 pointer thingy, but still nice to

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-80559314265905884912009-09-07T13:54:00.005Z2009-09-08T08:44:59.890Z

Sell your pets, pawn your children, because this year the Fantasycon Dealers Room is stuffed with goodies from:TTA Press -On this years' British Fantasy Award shortlist not only are TTA Press are up for Best Small Press but their authors and contributors like Paul Meloy, who is up for Best Collection - "Islington Crocodiles" - and Best Short Fiction - "All Mouth" and "The Vague" - along with Joel

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-69683635391423717782009-09-05T06:09:00.003Z2009-09-05T06:30:36.187Z

Yep, it's that time again, when everyone (yes, everyone! Even you, gallant reader!) wakes up and realises just how close Fantasycon is... (ye gods I love September!) :->Am I panicking? Am I 'eck as like. This year my pre-con duties are fairly simple. Namely, 1) organise the Dealers Room and 2) Banquet decoration. (eep! Decoration sooo not my forte... There will be no squidgy eyeballs this

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-20025642368002439492009-07-10T09:13:00.002Z2009-07-10T09:17:45.366Z

So I've been avoiding Facebook on account of, y'know, already being on twitter, myspace, LJ, blogger and many and multiple forums... Except apparently everyone in the known universe is now on facebook... including my mum! How did I not know this!So as of this morning, am on Facebook... and it is pure evil! They have chat windows! Chat windows!! Caught up with m'good friend Jan within 5

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-49127390077045868472009-07-09T20:24:00.004Z2009-07-09T20:32:39.484Z

And since it's been a while since I've mentioned Fcon... this just in! Our esteemed Fcon Chair, Mr C., would just like to say..."Details of the FantasyCon 2009 programme are still being discussed. The convention starts on Friday 18 September at around 5.00 pm with registration (although this may start earlier if all the delegates' bags, etc, are done and dusted in good time). We aim to have a

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-83457592385052355722009-07-09T19:23:00.004Z2009-07-09T19:26:55.426Z

If you're in the mood to throw some sheckels to a good cause, m'cousin Stace and cousin-in-law Maria will be doing a Race for Life thingy in aid of Cancer Research UK on the 26th July.And just to make it easy, you can sponsor them online! Their sponsorship page on the CRuk site is here so go spread a little love their way!

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-47981564707625489042009-06-23T11:58:00.004Z2009-06-23T12:04:13.309Z

Oh yes, there is evidence of sartorial terrors...Left to right: me, Jan Edwards, that mother person. (Photo (c) Pete Coleborn)Yes, that's me in a dress. And yes, I'm still in shock. :->But let's not forget:And this would be ace photographer Peter Coleborn! Photo taken by Jen.

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-36549744922663097582009-06-23T11:24:00.001Z2009-06-23T11:28:31.215Z

DGLA gossip is picking up across t'internet.Check out Torque Control, where you'll find a selection of links to other posts as well as some interesting comments. Particularly fascinating is Mark Charan Newton's blog and the mass of comments it's attracted...Joe Abercrombie posts about his near miss and shows you how dangerous he looks when packing weapons... this is why we're all voting for him

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-14958679388275058762009-06-22T13:18:00.001Z2009-06-22T13:20:44.290Z

If you fancy seeing a few photos of the truly fabulous event, official photographer Peter Coleborn has loaded about 40 onto his flickr site... watch out for all those people wielding weapons! And Liz De Jager, who was one of the tremendous stewards, has words and pictures on her blog.And not only that... the fantastic Juliet McKenna has written a superb report on her LJ blog too!

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-41083510355480900582009-06-20T15:03:00.005Z2009-06-20T15:53:07.569Z

Phew, what a night! Where to begin? There was Anne Nicholls with a moving tribute to David Gemmell, there was the awesome double act of Stan Nicholls and Debbie Miller doing many and various, and then there was the fabulous James Barclay. What a guy! Auctioneer supreme, he won himself whole legions of fans with his rendition of A Call to Arms. Give the guy an Oscar, for he is a god!As for

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-6664280075662545652009-06-08T08:07:00.002Z2009-06-08T08:20:16.520Z

So, the BFS have just released the final shortlist for the BF Awards... this year, for the first time, members of the BFS and Fantasycon get to vote on the final stage shortlist to get to the winners, with the awards to be given out at Fantasycon on the night of Saturday 19th September...There's a hell of a lot of categories this year, so you're best off checking the link above to see who's up

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-31809708158923448362009-06-06T12:16:00.005Z2009-06-06T13:00:42.867Z

Ah, so May was the zombie month for this year was it? Last year August was the no brainer where nothing useful got done.Ne'er mind chickadees, here's June, so it's time for fun... :->First up, a recommended read... just got done reading Elizabeth Moon's trilogy compilation thingy The Serrano Legacy - that was great fun. Especially liked the Aunt-Power! in the third one, Winning Colours. And

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-90582362456427035432009-04-13T06:20:00.003Z2009-04-13T06:28:28.686Z

So last night at Eastercon the shortlist for the David Gemmell Legend Award was announced and it has very quickly jumped webwise... so the lucky five are:Joe Abercrombie – Last Argument of KingsJuliet Marillier – Heir to SevenwatersBrandon Sanderson - The Hero of AgesAndrzej Sapowski - Blood of ElvesBrent Weeks - The Way of ShadowsVoting for the shortlist isn't quite open yet, but the DGLA will

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-28285917752611633962009-04-08T20:42:00.003Z2009-04-08T21:15:41.651Z

Had another book binge, brain full of awesomeness, so here's some short and sweet reviews... (definitely want to do fuller reviews, but for those, later...)First, and definitely foremost, would be Dragon in Chains by the ever lovely Daniel Fox. The cover is gorgeous, and despite stopping every so often to try and remember how young the protags were supposed to be, this is a story that totally

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-19103789096075107822009-03-24T11:02:00.003Z2009-03-24T11:34:18.720Z

Ah, lovely. Now that the holiday cover thing is done and gone, back to fun things.And top of the list of fun things would be Turn Coat by Jim Butcher. The latest Harry Dresden... hurrah! (What, you need more? :-> )So in this one, our boy Harry, helper of the helpless, receives a rather curious visitor on his doorstop. Namely old nemesis Morgan - who's badly injured, wanted for murder, on

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-52937403821430227162009-03-10T09:53:00.000Z2009-03-10T10:03:04.963Z

Now that the Web gremlins have settled down, there's a funky new website for Fantasycon here, plus Fcon is on Myspace and Facebook too! Go see!

Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4090779.post-45885393207116289492009-02-20T18:51:00.000Z2009-02-20T18:58:32.701Z

And the third and final guest for Fcon this September is.... Gail Z. Martin!Young Mr Coleborn quoth "We are delighted to announce that Gail Z Martin is confirmed as our third Guest of Honour. Gail is the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series: The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven and Dark Lady’s Chosen (coming in 2010). She discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and

Jennynoreply@blogger.com