Library photograph: zens/shutterstock.com
skull: leonello calvetti/shutterstock.com
Bookworm III – The Best Laid Plans, the third volume in Christopher Nuttall’s bestselling Bookworm series will be published in an eBook edition on the 13th February 2015.
Elaine and Johan are preparing to leave Golden City, with Daria and the travellers, in order to search for the Witch-King. The Grand Sorceress instructs Inquisitor Cass to help them. But before Elaine can leave she is arrested by two Inquisitors on the orders of the Emperor. When she resists she is hit with a powerful spell that forces her to concentrate all her efforts on protecting her mind from its intrusion. Taken to the palace she finds that the Grand Sorceress has been removed and the Throne has accepted an heir to the Empire. Realising this has to be the work of the Witch-King, Elaine must defeat the spell that is eating away at her defences if she is to escape and destroy him. Meanwhile, Johan, Daria and Cass are trying to find a way to get to Elaine and break her out of the cell in which she is being held.
The Golden City is still widely devastated from the disastrous battle for power that followed the death of the previous Grand Sorcerer. The recent escalating breakdown of social order can only be made worse by the return of an Emperor and the imposition of martial law. The Privy Councillors and Heads of the Great Houses succumb to the power of the new Emperor, as he amasses a huge army. It is up to Elaine and her friends, with some unexpected help, to prevent an all-out war.
Bookworm III – The Best Laid Plans will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Mirrors in the Deluge, a new collection of tales from master story-teller Rhys Hughes, will be published in an eBook edition on the 6th March 2015.
Mirrors in the Deluge is a collection of 32 unrelated stories that take elements from fantasy, science fiction, horror and other genres and give them a lateral shift. Like much of Rhys’ work these quirky tales between them encompass parody, pastiche and puns. The fun, as ever, starts with the title of each story – gently leading an unsuspecting reader into preconceived ideas and expectations; expectations that are soon spun around, turned on their head (or other extremities), and pushed in an unexpected direction. Thus, even a saunter through the contents page is already a hugely entertaining experience and one more akin to savouring the hors d’oeuvres of a grand banquet than consulting a list of shortcuts into a literary tome. In fact, the gastronomic metaphor serves us well here; the courses on offer range from tantalising tuck to a foody’s feast, but never mere vittles – perhaps the way to enjoy this book is to digest one story, three times a day (four if you’re a halfling who needs second breakfast), rather than trying to gorge on all the available delights and delicacies at one sitting. To complete this gourmet’s guide, a tempting sampling of the stories must include:
The Soft Landing, a unique story told from the perspective of a photon;
Travels with my Antinomy, how do you solve a paradox when you’re part of it?;
Vanity of Vanities, the internet achieves consciousness and takes over, but with very different consequences from those you might imagine;
The Fairy and the Dinosaur, in which a fairy can’t find what she wants for her picnic in the goblin market, is offered cloned prehistoric plums but turns to a time-travelling robot to go back to the age of the dinosaurs and eat an original plum.
Other titles to tempt you include The Martian Monocles, The Prodigal Beard, A Dame Abroad, The Unkissed Artist Formerly Known as Frog, The Goat That Gloated, The Taste of Turtle Tears, The Bones of Jones, and The Haggis Eater.
Mirrors in the Deluge will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Peter R.Ellis will be launching his Evil Above the Stars fantasy series at Leominster Library on Saturday 28th March from 11:00 to 13:00. Volume 1, Seventh Child, and Volume 2, The Power of Seven, will both be available. Come along and hear a reading, ask questions, buy copies of the books and Peter will sign them for you. All welcome!
Random Dingoes, being the third novel to attempt to document the trials and tribulations of the Transdimensional Authority, will be published in an eBook edition on the 3rd April 2015.
Montreal Background image: Gisela McKay
In Random Dingoes, the third Transdimensional Authority novel by Ira Nayman, investigators Noomi Rapier and Crash Chumley – who we first met in Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience) and again in You Can’t Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess With its Head) – look into reports of a drug that allows people to travel between universes without technological assistance. They methodically work their way up the drug ring’s chain of command and are just about to arrest its leader when – time travel happens. With the assistance of Time Agency agent Radames Trafshanian, Noomi and Crash must navigate realities they hadn’t anticipated and which they wouldn’t want to live in. But, can they find a decent corned beef on rye? You’ll have to read Random Dingoes to find out!
Random Dingoes will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
the Dark shall do what Light cannot, the latest novel from Sanem Ozdural and the second in the LiGa series, will be published in an eBook edition on the 10th April 2015.
There is a place called Pera which lies beyond the Light Veil, on the other side of reality. There are light trees there that eat sunlight and bear fruit which, in turn, lights up and energises (literally) the community of Pera. There are light birds that glitter in the night because they have eaten the seed of the lightberry. The House of Light and Dark, which is the domain of the Sun and her brother, Twilight, welcomes all creatures living in Pera. But in the midst of all the glitter, laughter and the songs, it must be remembered that the lightberry is poisonous to the non-Pera born, and the Land is afraid when the Sun retreats, for it is then that Twilight walks the streets…
With some of the characters that we originally met in LiGa™, Sanem Ozdural’s first novel, the Dark shall do what Light cannot transports us from New York to the colourful and wonderful world of Pera. On the way we meet the pirate Patron and her ship the Flying Fish, the only one that can sail through the Light Veil; Orion (Imm.), the Hunter, respected by some and feared by others; and Shadow, the formidable soul of Pera.
the Dark shall do what Light cannot will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Random Dingoes, being the third novel to attempt to document the trials and tribulations of the Transdimensional Authority, will be published in a paperback edition on the 6th July 2015.
Montreal Background image: Gisela McKay
In Random Dingoes, the third Transdimensional Authority novel by Ira Nayman, investigators Noomi Rapier and Crash Chumley – who we first met in Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience) and again in You Can’t Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess With its Head) – look into reports of a drug that allows people to travel between universes without technological assistance. They methodically work their way up the drug ring’s chain of command and are just about to arrest its leader when – time travel happens. With the assistance of Time Agency agent Radames Trafshanian, Noomi and Crash must navigate realities they hadn’t anticipated and which they wouldn’t want to live in. But, can they find a decent corned beef on rye? You’ll have to read Random Dingoes to find out!
Random Dingoes has been available in popular eBook formats since the 3rd April.
Sailor to a Siren, the debut novel from Zoë Sumra and a great introduction to her universe, will be published in an eBook edition on the 17th July 2015. A space opera novel with significant nods to the gangland thriller genre, Sailor to a Siren establishes Zoë as a name to watch in epic space opera.
When Connor and Logan Cardwain, a gangster’s lieutenants, steal a shipment of high-grade narcotics on the orders of their boss, Connor dreams of diverting the profits and setting up in business for himself. His plans encounter a hurdle in the form of Éloise Falavière, Logan’s former girlfriend, who has been hired by an interplanetary police force’s vice squad.
Logan wants a family; Éloise wants to stop the drugs shipment from being sent to her home planet; Connor wants to gain independence without angering his boss. All of their plans are derailed, though, when they discover that the shipment was hiding a much deadlier secret – the prototype of a tiny superweapon powerful enough to destabilise galactic peace.
Crime lords, corrupt officials and interstellar magicians are soon pursuing them, and Connor, Logan and Éloise realise they have to identify and confront the superweapon’s smuggler in order to survive. But when, one by one, their friends begin to betray them, their self-imposed mission transforms from being difficult to near-impossible.
Sailor to a Siren will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
the Dark shall do what Light cannot, the latest novel from Sanem Ozdural and the second in the LiGa series, will be published in a paperback edition on the 27th July 2015.
There is a place called Pera which lies beyond the Light Veil, on the other side of reality. There are light trees there that eat sunlight and bear fruit which, in turn, lights up and energises (literally) the community of Pera. There are light birds that glitter in the night because they have eaten the seed of the lightberry. The House of Light and Dark, which is the domain of the Sun and her brother, Twilight, welcomes all creatures living in Pera. But in the midst of all the glitter, laughter and the songs, it must be remembered that the lightberry is poisonous to the non-Pera born, and the Land is afraid when the Sun retreats, for it is then that Twilight walks the streets…
With some of the characters that we originally met in LiGa™, Sanem Ozdural’s first novel, the Dark shall do what Light cannot transports us from New York to the colourful and wonderful world of Pera. On the way we meet the pirate Patron and her ship the Flying Fish, the only one that can sail through the Light Veil; Orion (Imm.), the Hunter, respected by some and feared by others; and Shadow, the formidable soul of Pera.
the Dark shall do what Light cannot has also been available in popular eBook formats since 10th April.
SmartYellow™, the first speculative fiction novel from J.A. Christy, will be published in an eBook edition on the 7th August 2015. A worryingly plausible and chilling glimpse into an alternate Britain where, for the sake of order and for the benefit of more fortunate members of society, those seen as socially undesirable are marked with SmartYellow™, making it easier for them to be controlled and maintained in a state of fruitless inactivity.
SmartYellow™ is the story of a young girl, Katrina Williams, who finds herself on the wrong side of social services. After becoming pregnant with only a slight notion of the father’s identity, she is disowned by her parents and goes to live on a social housing estate. Before long she is being bullied by a gang involved in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour. Seeking help from the authorities she is persuaded to return to the estate to work as part of Operation Schrödinger, alongside a surveillance specialist. But she soon realises that Operation Schrödinger is not what it seems.
Exploring themes of social inequity and scientific responsibility, J.A. Christy’s first speculative fiction novel leads her heroine Katrina to understand how probability, hope and empathy play a huge part in the flow of life and are absent in the stagnation of mere survival. As readers we also start to question how we would know if the power of the State to support and care for the weak had become corrupted into the oppression of all those who do not fit society’s norms.
SmartYellow™ will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Forbidden Alliance, the second book in Katrina Mountfort’s Blueprint trilogy, will be published in an eBook edition on the 4th September 2015. In the Blueprint future, men and women are almost identical and personal relationships are forbidden.
In Forbidden Alliance, more than sixteen years have passed since the events of Future Perfect, when Caia and Mac, now renamed Cathy and Michael, fled their oppressive lives in the Citidome. But the plight of those who remained behind is never far from their minds.
Cathy and Michael now have three children. But for Cathy, village life is no longer idyllic. While Michael is famed as the leader of the Alliance of Outside Communities, she is left holding the baby. When a chance arises for her to fulfil her potential, will she make the right choices? Michael, however, is too preoccupied to notice Cathy’s personal struggles. Heightened security in the Citidomes has resulted in fewer escapees, a shortage of young farmers and a depleted gene pool in the village. While Michael unveils his most audacious plan yet to liberate rebels from the Citidomes, will his devotion to the cause cost him the love of his wife and daughter? And will his plan endanger his life, as well as those of his allies?
Forbidden Alliance is also the story of Cathy and Michael’s sixteen year-old daughter Joy. Fiercely intelligent but with limited career options, she fights against the future her father has planned for her: marriage to village boy Matt. Forbidden from seeing Harry, the nomadic canal-dwelling boy she has loved since childhood, she finds friendship from an unexpected source: BodyPerfect ex-citizen Ryan, whose perfect Citidome looks are less than perfect in the outside world. And her illusions about life in the Citidomes are about to be shattered.
In addition to the issues explored in Future Perfect, Forbidden Alliance poses additional questions, including those of leadership, family loyalties and whether it is possible to justify the sacrifice of human lives for the greater good.
Forbidden Alliance will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Bookworm IV: Full Circle, the fourth and final instalment in Christopher Nuttall’s bestselling epic fantasy Bookworm series, will be published in an eBook edition on the 2nd October 2015.
A new Emperor has arisen … and the Empire is collapsing into chaos.
Having escaped from the Golden City, Elaine, Johan and their friends – including some strange allies with goals of their own – race desperately towards Ida, hiding place of the ancient Witch-King. Behind them, the armies of the new Emperor – a man permanently poised on the verge of madness – give chase, unleashing monsters and spells from the long-buried past on everyone who stands in their way. Ahead of them, the Witch-King waits, biding his time as he prepares for his ascension.
As they endure terrible dangers – and figures from the past – Elaine and Johan come to realise that Elaine’s knowledge of magic and the bond between them may be the only thing standing between the Witch-King and godhood. But if they cannot prepare a defence in time, the entire world will die when the Witch-King rises from his tomb …
Bookworm IV: Full Circle will be available in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers. It will be published in a print edition in November.
Cover Design: Craig Nash
An Android Awakes will be published on Friday the 13th November 2015 (we’re not superstitious!) in both paperback and a luxury eBook edition. With text by Mike French and art by Karl Brown, this innovative combination of art and prose charts the struggle for survival and the fate of a story teller in a future where culture is shaped by machines and the novel has been reduced to a thousand words.
Android Writer PD121928 is part of the Android Publishing Program. To replicate their idea of a writer’s life, his partner has been forcibly removed and he lives in solitude with an allowance for drugs and prostitutes. He also has just had his novel The Eating of Citizen Kane rejected. He has 14 more attempts to get a novel accepted for the humans by the Android Publishing Programme or he will be deactivated. Can one of his characters and their story save him?
Featuring Absolute Zero (the coolest spaceship ever built – literally), an ocean in the sky, sub-atomic particles, a Märchen zoo, android communion, naked angels and mockingbirds, An Android Awakes hurtles towards the shocking conclusion of Android Writer PD121928’s fate.
An Android Awakes will be available in paperback through bookshops and online, and in popular eBook formats from all good eBook retailers.
Sailor to a Siren, the debut novel from Zoë Sumra and a great introduction to her universe, will be published in paperback on the 14th November 2015. A space opera novel with significant nods to the gangland thriller genre, Sailor to a Siren establishes Zoë as a name to watch in epic space opera.
When Connor and Logan Cardwain, a gangster’s lieutenants, steal a shipment of high-grade narcotics on the orders of their boss, Connor dreams of diverting the profits and setting up in business for himself. His plans encounter a hurdle in the form of Éloise Falavière, Logan’s former girlfriend, who has been hired by an interplanetary police force’s vice squad.
Logan wants a family; Éloise wants to stop the drugs shipment from being sent to her home planet; Connor wants to gain independence without angering his boss. All of their plans are derailed, though, when they discover that the shipment was hiding a much deadlier secret – the prototype of a tiny superweapon powerful enough to destabilise galactic peace.
Crime lords, corrupt officials and interstellar magicians are soon pursuing them, and Connor, Logan and Éloise realise they have to identify and confront the superweapon’s smuggler in order to survive. But when, one by one, their friends begin to betray them, their self-imposed mission transforms from being difficult to near-impossible.
Sailor to a Siren has been available in popular eBook formats since the 17th July.
SmartYellow™, the first speculative fiction novel from J.A. Christy, will be published in paperback on the 14th November 2015. A worryingly plausible and chilling glimpse into an alternate Britain where, for the sake of order and for the benefit of more fortunate members of society, those seen as socially undesirable are marked with SmartYellow™, making it easier for them to be controlled and maintained in a state of fruitless inactivity.
SmartYellow™ is the story of a young girl, Katrina Williams, who finds herself on the wrong side of social services. After becoming pregnant with only a slight notion of the father’s identity, she is disowned by her parents and goes to live on a social housing estate. Before long she is being bullied by a gang involved in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour. Seeking help from the authorities she is persuaded to return to the estate to work as part of Operation Schrödinger, alongside a surveillance specialist. But she soon realises that Operation Schrödinger is not what it seems.
Exploring themes of social inequity and scientific responsibility, J.A. Christy’s first speculative fiction novel leads her heroine Katrina to understand how probability, hope and empathy play a huge part in the flow of life and are absent in the stagnation of mere survival. As readers we also start to question how we would know if the power of the State to support and care for the weak had become corrupted into the oppression of all those who do not fit society’s norms.
SmartYellow™ has been available in popular eBook formats since the 7th August.
Existence is Elsewhen, our fantastic new anthology is available from 18th March 2016 as an eBook. It will be published in print on 25th March 2016, and launched at Mancunicon.
The title, Existence is Elsewhen, paraphrases the last sentence of André Breton’s 1924 Manifesto of Surrealism, perfectly summing up the intent behind this anthology of stories from a wonderful collection of authors. Different worlds… different times. It’s what Elsewhen Press has been about since we launched our first title in 2011.
In Existence is Elsewhen we present twenty science fiction stories for you to enjoy, one from each of the following twenty great authors:
We will be at Mancunicon, this year’s Eastercon in Manchester. It’s in the Hilton Manchester Deansgate hotel, and over the weekend we’re holding two book launches in the Presidential Suite on the 22nd floor – our great new anthology Existence is Elsewhen on Saturday evening and Peter R. Ellis’ Unity of Seven on Sunday afternoon. Come and join us for a drink at the launch parties, and say hello if you see us around and about (we’ll be wearing our Elsewhen Press t-shirts!)
Also look out for our authors, no fewer than twelve will be at Mancunicon: Alison Buck, J.A. Christy, Peter R. Ellis, Rebecca Hall, Edwin Hayward, Andy McKell, Siobhan McVeigh, Christopher Nuttall, Susan Oke, James Starling, Zoë Sumra, Tej Turner, Dave Weaver. Catch some of them at panels too…
Tej Turner:
Friday 19:00, Diversity in UK SF: Why are we lagging?
Saturday 16:00, Anime
Saturday 20:30, Queering Heroic Fantasy
Monday 13:00, Sense8
Peter R. Ellis:
Saturday 13:00, Balancing the Creative Life
Zoë Sumra
Sunday 17:30, Historical Fiction and Fanfiction
Christopher Nuttall’s alternative history / fantasy novel Sons of Liberty, Book IV of the Royal Sorceress series, which has been available to buy as an eBook since the 29th April, will be published in a paperback edition on the 1st August 2016.
Praise for the Royal Sorceress series:
“one of the most interesting and entertaining alternate history books ever written”
“one of the most intriguing heroines in modern fantasy”
Risingshadow
Sons of Liberty will be available to buy or order in paperback through all good retailers and direct from Elsewhen Press.
Dave Weaver’s darkly erotic tale of guilt and obsession, The Unseen, which has been available to buy as an eBook since the 13th May, will be published in a paperback edition on the 15th August 2016.
Both hallucinatory and horrifying, the finale of The Unseen will shock you.
The Unseen will be available to buy or order in paperback through all good retailers and direct from Elsewhen Press.
