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Time-Travelling Magic: Unveiling The One Million Times Anthology!

Authors to Reveal New Book, TV, and Film Adaptation Plans at World Science Fiction Convention Glasgow 2024.

DARTFORD, KENT – 06 August 2024 – Elsewhen Press, an indie publisher specialising in speculative fiction, is delighted to be teaming up with Rogelio Fojo and R. James Doyle for an exciting new project.

A dream project that began with the support of acclaimed British writer Christopher Priest for his Uruguayan filmmaker friend Rogelio Fojo is now brought to life in a captivating book, honouring Priest’s recent passing.

Rogelio once travelled to England to meet his idol, author Christopher Priest, and for the two to present together the premiere of their film collaboration The Stooge (starring Pat Scott and Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager) at Novacon, the UK’s oldest science fiction convention.
This screenplay by Priest – complementing his novel previously adapted into the hit movie The Prestige directed by Christopher Nolan – delved once again into the mysterious world of stage magicians.

During their meeting, the two friends discussed extending the idea of secretive magicians with their shared passion for time travel to new projects – including one Rogelio had already initiated in California with author R. James Doyle, once a scientific consultant for the TV series Babylon 5 and an AI and space technology expert recently retired from JPL/NASA.

In a stroke of synchronicity, indie publisher Elsewhen Press, also at Novacon, was drawn to the idea of publishing episodes of One Million Times as short stories in an anthology book form. Thus, a literary project was born, resonating with the original themes of identity confusion, twins and inheritance, unreliable narrators, the central role of memory, the interplay of psychological and physical realities, and the cosmology and physics of time travel. These topics also fascinated Christopher Priest and are explored across his range of novels.

Writing partners R. James Doyle and Rogelio Fojo selected seven of the forty episodes they originally planned for a TV series with a three-season arc, to adapt to short stories. The final magical touch came from the support of a group of talented author and artist friends, renowned in science fiction circles, including Hugo and Nebula award winners, and experienced collaborators on films by Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, Tom Hanks, and more.

Together, this creative group assembled a dozen astonishing stories about ordinary but desperate present-day people who hear rumours of elusive visitors from the future and determine to pursue them, demanding their help to resolve their problems – with consequences that will “last into endless future times.”

What motivates these alienated persons, and what are the unpredictable dangers of calling on, tracking, seducing, extorting, loving, hating, and even killing our temporal twins?

The answers are as varied as the imagination of those driving the time machines through the pages of One Million Times: David Gerrold, R.C. Matheson, Christopher Priest, Teika Marija Smits, Fernando Sorrentino, R. James Doyle, and Rogelio Fojo.

The book will have its official cover reveal this August in Glasgow during Worldcon, where Guest of Honour Chris “Fangorn” Baker (Gravity, Star Wars) will present the beautiful cover that he created for One Million Times.

The event will feature the presence of the series’ creators, Rogelio Fojo and R. James Doyle, and some of the guest authors who contributed: Teika Marija Smits and Nina Allan, representing the late Christopher Priest (whose screenplay for his last film – The Stooge – is included within the pages of One Million Times).

Don’t miss the chance to talk to the authors and discover the book that will become a hit TV series!

Stage Magic Illusions Blend with Time Travel in the new book ONE MILLION TIMES !

Notes for Editors

About One Million Times, the book

A Science Fiction Anthology Series
created by Rogelio Fojo and R. James Doyle
Chronicles of time travellers among us

What happens when we hunt down elusive visitors from the future?

Discover a present where we invite, seduce, trap, love, hate, and even murder… our time-travelling twins.

Short stories by: R. James Doyle, Rogelio Fojo, David Gerrold, R.C. Matheson, Christopher Priest, Teika Marija Smits, Fernando Sorrentino …and more! Cover art by Fangorn

For more about the book visit https://bit.ly/OneMillionTimes

For more about the film / TV series project visit https://onemilliontimes.com/

About Rogelio Fojo

After a successful career as an award-winning journalist and science writer from Uruguay, Rogelio Fojo transitioned to filmmaking. He studied in Los Angeles, gaining hands-on experience with various film crews. With a Kodak grant, he created his debut film, “Chimera”, which won the Best Film Award at the Pasadena Film Festival. Following Kodak’s recommendation, Rogelio joined the IFP/West Project mentoring program and worked on the Hollywood movie “Buying The Cow”, starring Ryan Reynolds.

Rogelio followed “Chimera” with two more award-winning shorts, “Mary” and “The Movie Pitch”. In 2018, he directed the successful film “The Stooge”, written by acclaimed author Christopher Priest (“The Prestige”) and featuring Pat Scott and Robert Picardo (“Star Trek”).

His latest project is the sci-fi and time travel TV series “One Million Times”, developed with JPL scientist R. James Doyle. Elsewhen Press is publishing the series as a short story anthology, expanded with contributions from award-winning sci-fi writers. The book cover, created by artist Chris Baker (aka Fangorn), will be unveiled this August at Worldcon in Glasgow. Rogelio plans to adapt the book for film and TV with British or American producers, driven by his lifelong passion for science fiction and time travel.

About R. James Doyle

R. James Doyle (aka Richard J. Doyle) held technical and managerial roles in Information and Data Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) over a career arc spanning forty years. He worked primarily at the exciting interface of space exploration and computer science, with a focus on autonomous space systems. He remains an active technical consultant.

Richard holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science specializing in Artificial Intelligence from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was a member of a JPL team that consulted on the Babylon 5 sci-fi TV Series in the 1990s. He had the pleasure of visiting Sir Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka, in the year 2001.

Richard wrote the story Disentanglement in the recently published speculative fiction anthology Inner Space and Outer Thoughts by Caltech and JPL authors. His current writing projects include One Million Times, a science fiction anthology series and Limited TV Series exploring rumours of elusive time travellers in our era, in collaboration with independent filmmaker Rogelio Fojo. And the space adventure Raising The Roof, within the Out Of Time Young Adult series created by David Brin, featuring hopeful tales about the future. Also, the speculative thriller The Fifth Wall, about the adventures of a magician who experiences inexplicable phenomena in his own act.

Outside of professional and creative life, Richard enjoys amateur astronomy, pondering quantum physics, and craft beer.

One Million Times project contact: Rogelio Fojo on 1 (603) 606-0848 email: rogefojo@yahoo.com

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 Academic bureaucracy is stifling research but it’s not too late to put down your tea and rage against the system.

Vegan author, vegan main character, vegan publisher. Surprisingly King Street Run is not a vegan manifesto.

DARTFORD, KENT – 10 May 2024 – Elsewhen Press, an indie publisher specialising in speculative fiction, publishes novels from a wide variety of authors and with a huge range of themes and characters. But with the publication of King Street Run by V.R. Ling, it is the first time that Elsewhen Press, which is run by vegans, has published a book penned by a vegan author, with a vegan main character. That said, the book is not a manifesto for veganism. It does have a serious underlying premise, but it is essentially an adventure story, while also being a satire on society and academia in particular, poking fun at bureaucracy and stuffiness, thereby addressing important themes such as social mobility, imposter syndrome and entitlement. The book is also filled with playful references to popular culture as well as celebrated Cambridge alumni such as Douglas Adams and M.R. James.

The main character, Thomas, is an archaeology student at King’s College, Cambridge, who stumbles on a trio of anachronistic characters whom he initially believes to be steampunk enthusiasts but soon discovers to be the personifications of three of the Cambridge Colleges. Something is attacking them, and by extension the very essence of the Colleges. They need Thomas’ help to identify and stop their attacker. As the story progresses, Thomas meets the personification of all of the Colleges, before he must ultimately perform an unlikely heist to solve the problem.

The author, herself a Cambridge graduate, has taken great delight in including many Cambridge-related puns and disguised references, positively encouraging readers’ groups to be on the look-out for a variety of ‘Easter eggs’ within the text.

V.R. Ling said: “Not everything is what it seems. There are nooks and crannies in the text that seem plain enough, but look again and you might see something else. It might not be the sort of thing most writers hope for, but I’d love for readers to pause now and again, frown, and think ‘hang on a minute’ before re-reading a paragraph or reaching for their phone to check a detail. I have a love for old buildings and all their ‘twirly bits’ – turrets, little doors that lead up narrow staircases, embellished door frames, hidden cupboards and the like. These impish inclusions are my silly way of reflecting that love in writing; details you might not notice at first – and in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter if you don’t – but when/if you do, they provide another layer to the story.”

Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press, said: “When Victoria submitted King Street Run to us, we were immediately enthralled by the setting, the characters and the adventure. Despite the serious underlying message, the deft combination of satire with archaeology and fantasy is very appealing. The main character being vegan was an obvious personal bonus. We later discovered that Victoria is also vegan so, during the editing process, we have not only been swapping comments on the text itself but also recipes and shopping tips!”

Is an adventure set among the Colleges of Cambridge likely to appeal to readers other than Cambridge alumni? Peter Buck, again: “The beauty of King Street Run is that it can be read purely as a fantasy novel about meta-beings, created by the history of a place and the people who are an institution’s collective memories. Or it can be read as an adventure, a race against time to stop the forces of evil defeating the forces of good. Or it can be read as a satire, lampooning staid elements in a society that needs to progress. Of course, it is all those things, so it will certainly appeal to Cambridge alumni; but it has a much wider appeal to lovers of fantasy, adventure, satire, and those concerned about the future of respected institutions – academic bureaucracy is familiar to people worldwide, not just graduates from institutions with buildings that are centuries old.”

King Street Run is now out in eBook and will be available in paperback on 20th May through all good booksellers.

Notes for Editors

About King Street Run

To Thomas, archaeology was time travel…
little did he know how literal that would turn out to be.

King Street Run by V.R. Ling; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

Thomas Wharton, an archaeology graduate, becomes drawn into the problems of a series of anachronistic characters who exist in the fractions of a second behind our own time. These characters turn out to be personifications of the Cambridge Colleges; they have the amalgamated foibles, history, and temperament of their Fellows and students and, together with Thomas, must enter into a race against time to prevent their world being destroyed by an unknown assailant.

King Street Run is a satirical fantasy thriller set among the iconic buildings of contemporary Cambridge.

.

Cover art: Alison Buck

About V.R. Ling

V.R. Ling
V.R. Ling

V.R. Ling (Victoria) has a life-long love for science fiction and fantasy, and by coincidence science and fiction have separately shaped her life; the science part came in the form of a degree in archaeology, a Masters in biological anthropology, and then a PhD in biological anthropology from King’s College, Cambridge. On the fiction front she is influenced by the likes of H.G Wells, Jules Verne, M.R James, Douglas Adams, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and many others. She also has a life-long fascination with the 19th century (literature, scientific advances, architecture); Victoria by name, Victorian by nature. She is an animal lover, vegan, likes sixties music, adores classic Doctor Who, and has an antique book collection that smells as good as it looks.

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US tattoo artist chooses UK publisher for her debut speculative fiction novel

Cross genre science fiction mystery in a gritty urban fantasy novel with romantic overtones: romantasy or romanscifi?

DARTFORD, KENT – 30 April 2024 – If you are on the lookout for a new science fiction mystery story, your first port of call is unlikely to be a tattoo studio. But if you are in Pittsburgh in the United States, that’s exactly where you need to go. Head to Kyklops Tattoo to find the latest book published by Elsewhen Press, LACUNA, a science fiction enigma inside a gritty urban fantasy; the first book in the Chimera series. There you will also find LACUNA’s author, Erin Hosfield who is one of the tattoo artists at Kyklops. Erin also created the cover art for the book. Perhaps it’s not surprising that Lynna, the main character in Erin’s debut novel, is herself a tattoo artist. But that’s where the similarity ends, Lynna has secrets in her past that she wants to keep quiet about.

A science fiction story starring a tattooist? How unusual is that? Peter Buck, Editorial Director of Elsewhen Press, says: “There have been plenty of science fiction and fantasy stories where a character sports a tattoo; sometimes the tattoo might even come to life! But I’m not aware of any other science fiction story where the main protagonist is a tattoo artist.” He adds, tantalisingly, “Without giving away any spoilers, the tattoos are not what makes this story science fiction!”

Erin says: “LACUNA is my first novel, and honestly my first attempt at real writing. I’ve been asked a few times how I came up with the idea, and in truth it started as an afterthought centered around something I’ve carried with me for years. I’ve had this image in my head of a place – a room, specifically – and I know it in great detail. The thing is, I’m not sure if it exists. Did I dream it? Did I visit it once? Is it from another lifetime? I’m unsure, but I think of it often, and I long for it at times. I thought – what if I created a story around it? What would the people living there be like? So I started writing, and it took off in a way I never expected! When it comes to giving my protagonist my occupation – a tattooist – it felt like the right choice because I needed to plant at least one foot in reality when it came to the storyline. I had to be able to write what I know in that respect. Highlighting a few of the lesser seen aspects of the trade from the tattooist’s perspective helps give a little peek into what the job means to me personally, and I’m hoping it will help the reader relate to Lynna on an emotional level outside of the romance aspect.”

Of course Erin’s book is available through all good bookshops too, not just her tattoo studio. But how, you may wonder, does a tattooist in Pittsburgh come to have her debut novel published by a small indie press in South East England? Erin says: “I was encouraged to think on a broader scale when it came to seeking out a publisher, and ideally I was looking for an indie press, so I cast the net wide. When I came across Elsewhen during my search I was incredibly hopeful, since their catalogue seemed like one my story could fit into. The fact that they’re located in the UK made them all the more enticing – it’s the only place I’ve traveled outside of the continental US and I fell in love with it. Having my manuscript accepted was an absolute dream come true, and it gives me an excuse to travel more, because I’d like to meet them in person! My hope is to continue on with them for the subsequent novels in the series. I’m incredibly lucky to get to work with people this wonderful – the universe was definitely pointing me in the right direction when I landed on their website.”

Peter Buck, again, “When Erin submitted LACUNA, we read it and were immediately intrigued by the characters and their story. It was clear that it could be the start of an enthralling series, and Erin admitted that it was in fact Part One of the Chimera series she had planned and she had already written more. Like many of the books we publish, it crosses genres, defying the sort of categorisation beloved of book retailers. LACUNA is urban fantasy with a romantic thread for the main character, what is now called romantasy and is very popular with Millennial and Gen Z readers; but also a science fiction mystery, so maybe we should call it a romanscifi? Either way, it’s a great story well told and although it stands on its own as a novel, we’re looking forward to see what happens next in the series.”

LACUNA, Part One of the Chimera series, is now available in eBook from all good retailers and will be available in paperback from 6th May.

Notes for Editors

About LACUNA

Lacuna by Erin Hosfield; Artwork by Erin Hosfield
Artwork: Erin Hosfield

You can abandon your past… but your secrets won’t abandon you.

As a tattooist, it’s easy keeping people at arm’s length. Distract them with questions, and when they inevitably ask their own, reply vaguely. Lie. When the lies pile up, disappear.

It’s a cycle Lynna’s all too familiar with. Staying guarded is a necessity, but what keeps her safe is also what keeps her lonely. It’s an empty existence, hiding behind lies, and she wishes she was someone else. Someone not burdened with a secret.

A year into her most recent move, the loneliness bleeds into her work, and she admits a few truths. At the insistence of a client, she explores the city’s night scene, where she meets the enigmatic Rhys. As the months progress, so do her feelings for him, despite the risks of getting too close. When a dangerous encounter leads her straight into his arms, she abandons her past in exchange for a new beginning, only her secret refuses to be abandoned. With her life hanging by a thread, she’s forced to confess, but the secret that will change everything isn’t hers.

Set in an alternate present, LACUNA opens with Lynna’s transition to an atmospheric northwestern city. Derailed from what she’s built, she finds herself immersed in the lush world of medicinal horticulture, enveloped in the kind of close-knit relationships she always craved. Her fantasy has become reality, but not without caveat. As she plunges further into this new life, she begins to expose the conflicting threads holding it together, and what she discovers will bring more questions than answers.

Cover art: Erin Hosfield

About the Chimera series

The Chimera series is speculative fiction for the senses, a gritty urban fantasy in an alternate present, with rain-laden streets and neon lit bars. A cozy narrative behind fogged over windows, the scent of verdant herbs and earth and petrichor. A sci fi mystery layered beneath fog-shrouded skyscrapers, in a modern society juxtaposed with tradition and alchemy. An emotional tale of loss, betrayal, and the unbreakable bonds that carry us through, Chimera is a love story with ties that are thicker than blood, holding secrets that are more than skin deep.

About Erin Hosfield

Erin Hosfield
Erin Hosfield

Erin has been an artist since she was able to hold a brush, and collected her BA in Fine Art from California University with the intent of becoming a painter. After falling in love with tattooing she decided to chase that dream instead, and made it a reality in 2006.

Outside her day job, that is very much a dream job, she likes to overextend herself by means of a variety of time consuming endeavors. She’s an amateur herbalist, candlemaker, miniaturist, playlist curator, landscape painter, video game enthusiast, and most recently – novelist. Between those pursuits, she can be found having an anxiety attack from too much caffeine at her home in Pittsburgh, which she shares with her partner and two grouchy canines.

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Indie press and adaptation experts join forces to develop speculative fiction titles for film and TV

Elsewhen Press are excited to be the first genre-specific publisher to partner with adaptation experts Pendragon Works to pursue big screen opportunities for their titles.

DARTFORD, KENT – 20 March 2024 – Indie publisher Elsewhen Press is delighted to announce the start of a working relationship with adaptation experts Pendragon Works with the aim of bringing some of the best new speculative fiction to the notice of film and TV producers. Elsewhen Press is the first genre-specific publisher that Pendragon Works have chosen to work with, and are sure that the relationship will provide producers with the opportunity to develop exciting and innovative new speculative fiction projects.

Elsewhen Press is an independent UK publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction. Founded in 2011, Elsewhen Press has published over 120 titles from 64 authors worldwide. Like other small presses, independence allows Elsewhen Press the freedom and flexibility to take risks on new authors and titles that may be difficult to categorise, innovative story-telling which might otherwise be overlooked. Indeed many of their titles have been debut novels, giving authors the opportunity to attract the attention of agents and larger publishers. Alongside the publication of their authors’ novels, Elsewhen Press has, since inception, offered to act as rights agent for those titles, looking to manage foreign language rights as well as derivative rights such as film, TV, audiobook and video games. But in such a highly evolved and competitive marketplace, it has become ever clearer that experience and good contacts are essential to get the opportunity to pitch a title to prospective production executives. Teaming up with Pendragon Works opens the door to those opportunities for Elsewhen Press and their authors.

Pendragon Works was established in 2021 by former Vulpine Press commissioning editor Troy Hewitt and media rights lawyer Omar Nasar, joined by writer and theatrical consultant Helen Watts and former ITV commissioning editor Asif Zubairy. Between them, they have extensive experience of both publishing and film/TV/theatrical production. With their team of story consultants, they specialise in working with publishers, especially small presses, to develop projects to pitch to suitable producers for titles that they think have a real potential to be adapted for other media. Unlike some other organisations that act merely as a passive matching service between publishers and producers, Pendragon Works are proactive at promoting titles with potential and they are keen to act as co-producers. They work closely with authors to develop pitches for those titles that are most likely to attract interest from producers.

Peter Buck, Editorial Director of Elsewhen Press said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Pendragon Works to promote our fantastic books to producers. As you might expect, our authors are very keen to see the characters and worlds that they have imagined realised on a big screen. We have been very impressed by all the people we have met at Pendragon Works, and are looking forward to working closely with them on upcoming projects. As well as increased opportunities for the new titles that we will be publishing over the next few months, we have an exciting range of existing titles that we hope will also prove enticing for producers.”

Troy Hewitt, Creative Director of Pendragon Works said: “As passionate advocates for the indie publishing sector, we’re delighted to support Elsewhen Press as their dramatisation rights management and development team. Over the next year, we’ll act as a bridge between them and the media industry, searching for exciting opportunities for their talented stable of writers. Our team will not only help demystify the world of film and TV but will also be actively involved in adapting some of their books. By collaborating with authors, we’ll assemble top-quality pitch materials to share with producers and broadcasters, with the ultimate aim of securing a deal.”

Notes for Editors

About Pendragon Works

Pendragon Works is an innovative film & TV development company specialising in book-to-screen adaptation for the independent publishing sector.

Pendragon Works contact: info@pendragonworks.com

About Elsewhen Press

Elsewhen Press is an independent publisher of Speculative Fiction. Based in the UK, in the South East of England, Elsewhen Press publishes titles in English, in digital and print editions, adopting a digital-first policy for most titles. Established in 2011, Elsewhen Press is an imprint of Alnpete Limited.

Elsewhen Press contact: Alison Buck email: alison@elsewhen.co.uk

Information about Elsewhen Press, authors, titles and past press releases can be obtained online from https://elsewhen.press or through our Journolink Press Room https://pressroom.journolink.com/elsewhen-press
Interviews with authors can be arranged through Elsewhen Press, contact Alison Buck, as above.

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Author edits latest novel while backpacking in South America

Having escaped from an attempted drugging/mugging on a bus in Ecuador, Tej Turner completed the editing of the third book in his epic series in hostels and the rainforest.

DARTFORD, KENT – 26 February 2024 – Tej Turner, author, chef, and inveterate traveller, recently returned from a nine-months trip backpacking around South America. On his travelblog he tells of being drugged and mugged on a public bus as well as volunteering in a wildlife sanctuary in Ecuador. While he was travelling, Blood War, the third book in his Avatars of Ruin fantasy series was in the process of being prepared for publication by Elsewhen Press, a UK publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors like Tej. Part of the pre-publication process is an interaction between the author and their editor, to finesse the final text (and root out any typos). At times, Tej was editing the text on his laptop in exotic locations that made the editorial team highly envious, although they did not let their envy stop them helping him to complete the book, which was published as an eBook in January and in print this month. Of course, at other times Tej was trying to edit in an oven-like hostel room with no air conditioning and loudly snoring companions; or even on a bus (not while being mugged!).

Tej says: “Having the occasional mishap is all part of having an adventure, and it was overall a great trip that I will look back on fondly. I am back in the UK now, and I have even started working on my new novel. It has certainly been an inspiring year and that should give me plenty of material for the next book. I hope that my readers enjoy Blood War as it is possibly my most ambitious work to date.”

Peter Buck, Editorial Director of Elsewhen Press, says: “This is not the first time that Tej has been completing the editing of a book while backpacking in exotic locations. When you’re sitting in an office in Kent on a rainy afternoon and Tej sends a picture of his ‘office for the day’ with lush vegetation and a waterfall just beyond the veranda of his hostel, it’s hard not to feel a little envious. But, on the other hand, sitting in an office is generally not as dangerous as travelling alone in some parts of South America!”

One reader described Tej’s Avatars of Ruin series as ‘Wheel of Time meets The Walking Dead’. It is an epic fantasy series about a group of survivors forced to band together when their world takes a dark turn. It has some illustrious fans. Trip Galey, author of A Market of Dreams and Destiny said, “This is epic fantasy with a touch of the mythic to it. There were villains I loved to hate, and a queer protagonist I loved rooting for. Action, magic, a world in peril…what more could you ask for?” Bestselling science fiction and fantasy author Christopher G. Nuttall called Bloodsworn, the first book in the series, “a stunning introduction to a new fantasy world” and renowned grimdark author Anna Smith Spark said “Classic epic fantasy. I enjoyed it enormously.” Allen Stroud, Chair of the British Science Fiction Association, said “a journey into Fantasy, only it’s not quite the journey you expected, and it’s all the better for it”. David Craig, author of the Sooty Feathers gothic fantasy series, said of Blood Legacy, the second book in Tej’s series, “an exciting book which ups the stakes, mixing traditional fantasy with an element of possession horror”. Fantasy author Joanne Hall said “a nuanced, smart high fantasy novel with intelligent, complex characters, good LGBT rep and some killer twists”.

The first three books of Tej’s Avatars of Ruin series, Bloodsworn, Blood Legacy and Blood War are all available in ebook and paperback format from good book retailers.

Notes for Editors

About Tej Turner

Tej Turner is an SFF author and travel-blogger. His debut novel The Janus Cycle was published by Elsewhen Press in 2015 and its sequel Dinnusos Rises was released in 2017. Both are hard to classify within typical genres but were contemporary and semi-biographical with elements of surrealism. He has since branched off into writing epic fantasy and has an ongoing series called the Avatars of Ruin. The first instalment – Bloodsworn – was released in 2021, and its sequel Blood Legacy in 2022. The third – Blood War – was published in early 2024.

He does not have any particular place he would say he is ‘from’, as his family moved between various parts of England during his childhood. He eventually settled in Wales, where he studied Creative Writing and Film at Trinity College in Carmarthen, followed by a master’s degree at The University of Wales Lampeter.

Since then, Tej has mostly resided in Cardiff, where he works as a chef by day and writes by moonlight. His childhood on the move seems to have rubbed off on him because when he is not in Cardiff, it is usually because he has strapped on a backpack and flown off to another part of the world to go on an adventure.

He has so far clocked two years in Asia and two years in South America, and when he travels, he takes a particular interest in historic sites, jungles, wildlife, native cultures, and mountains. He also spent some time volunteering at the Merazonia Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Ecuador.

Firsthand accounts of Tej’s adventures abroad can be found on his travel blog at https://tejturner.com/

About Avatars of Ruin

A reader described the Avatars of Ruin series as ‘Wheel of Time meets The Walking Dead’.

Bloodsworn by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck
Blood Legacy by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck
Blood War by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

It is an epic fantasy series about a group of survivors forced to band together when their world takes a dark turn. The story starts in Bloodsworn where we meet the villagers of Jalard. Once a year they are visited by representatives from the Academy who choose two of them to be taken away to their institute in the capital. To be Chosen is considered a great honour… of which most of Jalard’s children dream. But this year the Academy representatives make an announcement which is so shocking it causes friction between the villagers, and some of them begin to suspect that all is not what it seems. Just where are they taking the Chosen, and why? Some of them intend to find out, but what they discover will change their lives forever and set them on a long and bloody path to seek vengeance…

The story continues in Blood Legacy and Blood War.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/AvatarsOfRuin

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Games industry veteran develops powerful new fiction writing system

From ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ in the 90s, through ‘Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire’ and ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ to the award-winning ‘Eufloria’, Rudolf Kremers’ game design experience enhances his story-telling.

DARTFORD, KENT – 29 August 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors. One of those authors is Rudolf Kremers, a BAFTA nominated game developer. Having spent over 20 years working as a designer and consultant to many of the largest entertainment companies in the world, as well as writing a well-respected text book on Level Design, Rudolf has written screenplays and video game narratives across various genres. His skill and experience naturally come to the fore when he writes fiction, and the publication of his debut science fiction novel, Birds of Paradise, has made him think about how his video games career has affected his writing and vice versa, leading to some inspiring conclusions.

Rudolf started making games over 40 years ago as an enthusiast, although it wasn’t a realistic career path in the Netherlands in the 1980s. But when he realised that things were different in the UK, which had a thriving video games industry, he moved to London to work with Douglas Adams at The Digital Village. Rudolf was recently called a “veteran” game developer, and although that description made him grumble a bit about “not being that old”, he realised that it’s not an unfair description. He’s now been working as a professional game developer in the UK for almost a quarter of a century, in all kinds of roles for several companies (before starting his own), and worked on a great variety of titles. He says that he has “the scars and stories to prove it”.

But he had always wanted to be a writer, having developed an insatiable love of reading from an early age, especially science fiction, fantasy and horror, but also books on mythology, space exploration, euro comics, superhero comics, and various other pulpy endeavours. He says, “I’m one of those poor sods afflicted with that famous ‘restless creative’ gene, which ensured that a desire to read also came with a desire to write. Luckily, as a game designer I often had the opportunity to work on game stories and lore and other such things. But writing for games comes with its own pitfalls and peculiarities and while that has its own charm, I eventually felt the need to do the kind of writing I fell in love with from a very young age. Initially, I took a detour where I wrote a bunch of screenplays but I finally arrived at a point where I just wanted to create something by myself, written for fans of my favourite genres. Something I would love reading myself. That wish turned into a big fat sci-fi novel called Birds of Paradise. I have had some of my short horror stories published, and I have finished a second novel, historical this time, set in 1630s Japan.”

With the publication of Birds of Paradise this summer by Elsewhen Press, Rudolf started to think about the relationship between game design and writing. He realised there had been a positive feedback loop between his video games career and his writing projects, indeed he concluded that “Every single one of those writing projects has made me a better game developer; and, conversely, every game I have developed has made me a better writer.” As a result he has begun to write a series of blog posts examining this conclusion. He has started with a topic that is the subject of frequent debate by writers: the pros and cons of meticulous planning and outlining versus more freeform writing and development – Rudolf looks into how both styles can be accommodated in a project, drawing on both writing and game development experience, to set out some unique writing techniques.

Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press, says “It’s clear that there is a huge cross-over between literature and video games, especially in science fiction and fantasy. Indeed, games often beget books and books beget games, and they can all spin-off into films and TV! So it’s no real surprise that what Rudolf calls ‘restless creatives’ in any one of those media will likely excel in the others. Birds of Paradise is an epic science fiction story, a page-turner that would also be ideally suited as a thrilling blockbuster movie or as the underlying story-arc of an engaging video game. We were honoured that Rudolf approached us to publish it.”

Birds of Paradise is available as an eBook and in paperback from good retailers. Rudolf’s series of articles about the relationship between game design and writing is available on his blog.

Notes for Editors

About Rudolf Kremers

Rudolf KremersRudolf is a BAFTA nominated veteran game developer, author, photographer, producer, father, husband, cat person, filmmaker, dog person, and consultant. (Not necessarily in that order). Originally of Dutch/Spanish descent, he currently lives and works as an interactive entertainment consultant in Canterbury.

He has worked with clients across the entertainment landscape for more than 23 years, including companies like Lionsgate Studios, Framestore and Electronic Arts, providing design and consultancy work for some of the biggest intellectual properties in the world.

Including his debut science fiction epic Birds of Paradise, which has just been published by Elsewhen Press, Rudolf has written two novels, a gaggle of short stories – some of which are collected in The Singing Sands and Other Stories (published by Demain Publishing) – a textbook on game design (published by CRC Press), several screenplays, and an abundance of video game narratives.

This gives him all the license he needs to continue writing sci-fi, horror, weird fiction, historical fiction, and whatever other muse he succumbs to.

http://www.rudolfkremers.com/

About Birds of Paradise

Humanity received a technological upgrade from long-dead aliens.
But there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Birds of Paradise by Rudolf Kremers; cover art by Max Taquet
Cover art: Max Taquet

Humanity had somehow muddled through the horrors of the 20th century and – surprisingly – managed to survive the first half of the 21st, despite numerous nuclear accidents, flings with neo-fascism and the sudden arrival of catastrophic climate change. It was agreed that spreading our chances across two planets offered better odds than staying rooted to little old Earth. Terraforming Mars was the future!

A subsequent research expedition led to humanity’s biggest discovery: an alien spaceship, camouflaged to appear like an ordinary asteroid. Although the aliens had long since gone, probably millions of years ago, their technology was still very much alive, offering access to unlimited power.

Over the next hundred years humanity blossomed, reaching out to the solar system. By 2238, Mars had been successfully terraformed, countless smaller colonies had sprung up in its wake, built on our solar system’s many moons, on major asteroids and in newly built habitats and installations.

Jemm Delaney is a Xeno-Archaeologist and her 16-year old son Clint a talented hacker. Together they make a great team. When she accepts a job to retrieve an alien artifact from a derelict space station, it looks like they will become rich. But with Corps, aliens, AIs and junkies involved, nothing is ever going to proceed smoothly.

If you’re a fan of Julian May, Frank Herbert or James S.A. Corey, you will love Birds of Paradise.

Cover art: Max Taquet

Find out more at https://bit.ly/BirdsOfParadise-Kremers

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Fellow of the Royal Society writes SF novel exploring weird physics

Professor Ian Stewart, renowned mathematician and author, writes an ‘inventive’ ‘high concept’ science fiction adventure to speculate on ideas at the edge of known physics.

DARTFORD, KENT – 21 July 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors. One of those authors is Professor Ian Stewart, a Fellow of the Royal Society, globally recognised award-winning mathematician, and celebrated author of text books and popular science books including The Science of Discworld. But while science books, even pop-science, can make mainstream science entertaining as well as informative, even renowned scientists relish the possibility to explore intriguing but less well-established aspects that push the scientific boundaries. The relative freedom of science fiction provides an ideal medium for such speculation and Ian Stewart’s latest novel, Loophole, seizes that opportunity to explore concepts on the edge of known physics while keeping within the bounds of probability: faster-than-light travel, wormhole-linked black-holes, alternative universes. At the same time, he tells a gripping adventure story of universe-shattering proportions.

Multiple award-winning hard-science-fiction author Stephen Baxter says of Loophole, “When universes collide … A multicosmos at war in a scenario of staggering, but scientifically authentic, invention … As if the Marvel multiverse collided with 2001: A Space Odyssey … I am awed, and I don’t awe easily. The highest of high-concept SF.”

Henry Gee, Senior Editor at Nature, and author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth and The Sigil trilogy, says, “There’s Hard SF. There’s Wide-Screen Baroque. Now with Ian Stewart’s Loophole we have Wrap-Around Rococo. Daringly inventive, Loophole is a mind-fryingly, Möbius-twistingly intense SF adventure of the first order.”

Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press, says “We were chatting to Ian at a science fiction convention and he told us about the novel he had recently finished writing. We were intrigued by the concept and told him how much we were looking forward to reading it. So you can imagine how delighted we were when Ian submitted it to us for consideration. Once we had read it, there was absolutely no doubt that we wanted to publish such an awesome book. We are thrilled that Loophole is now available for readers. Initial comments from Stephen Baxter and Henry Gee were very gratifying and will undoubtedly reflect the response of readers everywhere for this ‘daringly inventive’ ‘high concept science fiction’ adventure.”

Writing the story was an adventure in itself, says Ian Stewart: “I wanted to write the kind of book I like to read: high-concept space opera. The central gimmick had been rattling around in my head for years. There was a plan, of sorts, on the computer, but I had to write the novel to find out what really happened. Once I started on the details, my characters took over and it ended up quite different from what I’d expected. … Which was what I’d expected.”

Elsewhen Press commissioned space artist David A. Hardy to produce a cover for the book, which thrilled the author. Ian said, “I’ve been a David Hardy fan for fifty years. His elegant cover captures a key moment in the story, and subtly conveys a hint of mystery and menace. You don’t watch a moon disappearing every day.”

Loophole is available as an eBook from today and in paperback from 21st August 2023.

Notes for Editors

About Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He has five honorary doctorates and is an honorary wizard of Unseen University. His more than 130 books include Professor Stewart’s Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities and the four-volume series The Science of Discworld with Terry Pratchett and Jack Cohen. His SF novels include the trilogy Wheelers, Heaven, and Oracle (with Jack Cohen), The Living Labyrinth and Rock Star (with Tim Poston), and Jack of All Trades. Short story collections are Message from Earth and Pasts, Presents, Futures. His Flatland sequel Flatterland has extensive fantasy elements. He has published 33 short stories in Analog, Omni, Interzone, and Nature, with 10 stories in Nature’s ‘Futures’ series. He was Guest of Honour at Novacon 29 in 1999 and Science Guest of Honour and Hugo Award Presenter at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki in 2017. He delivered the 1997 Christmas Lectures for BBC television. His awards include the Royal Society’s Faraday Medal, the Gold Medal of the IMA, the Zeeman Medal, the Lewis Thomas Prize, the Euler Book Prize, the Premio Internazionale Cosmos, the Chancellor’s Medal of the University of Warwick, and the Bloody Stupid Johnson Award for Innovative Uses of Mathematics.

About Loophole

Don’t poke your nose down a wormhole – you never know what you might find.

Loophole by Ian Stewart; Artwork by David A. Hardy
Artwork: David A. Hardy

Two universes joined by a wormhole pair that forms a ‘loophole’, with an icemoon orbiting through the loophole, shared between two different planetary systems in the two universes.

A civilisation with uploaded minds in virtual reality served by artificial humans.

A ravening Horde of replicating machines that kill stars.

Real humans from a decrepit system of colony worlds.

A race of hyperintelligent but somewhat vague aliens.

Who will close the loophole… who will exploit it?

Find out more at https://bit.ly/Loophole-Ian-Stewart

Cover design: David A. Hardy

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Many politicians misleadingly use ‘witch hunt’ as a dismissive label when being held accountable for their own lies, corruption and misdeeds.

Whereas, actual witch hunts in the UK are conducted by HM Office of the Witchfinder General, a secretive arm of law-enforcement concerned with enforcing ‘magus laws’, and ‘Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645’.

DARTFORD, KENT – 30 June 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors, including many debut authors. One of our more established authors is Simon Kewin. Perhaps best known for science fiction novels, Simon is, nonetheless, an accomplished author of fantasy stories that often include witches. His Witchfinder series of books is predicated on the premise that the role of Witchfinder General in Britain was instigated by parliament, and indeed has survived to the present day in the form of HM Office of the Witchfinder General. The OWG is now a shadowy arm of law-enforcement concerned with enforcing the ‘magus laws’, and trying to ensure that the general public are not aware of the evil forces that are at large. Their mission statement is ‘Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645’. But the main protagonist, Danesh, an officer of the OWG, questions their approach and attitude towards all magic users not just those who are a danger to the public. Indeed, he objects to the Office’s motto ‘Maleficos non patieris vivere’, which while literally translating as ‘You shall not suffer an evildoer to live’ is widely interpreted to mean ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’, thanks to the misogynistic translation in the King James Bible. The ambiguity of Danesh’s evolving position is a compelling sub-plot in the Witchfinder series of books. The OWG’s treatment of magus law-breakers today is rather more nuanced than in the 15th century, and Simon Kewin’s witty writing style makes the books both thrilling and engaging.

The third novel in the series, Head Full of Dark, is a book close to the author’s heart, revealing, as it does, certain autobiographical details about him – including his own connection to the Office of the Witchfinder General. While names have been changed to protect the innocent, it remains to be seen how the Office will respond to one of their own breaking ranks in this way. He very much hopes that he will be able to produce further (redacted) reports on the battles waged against malign magic use and supernatural incursion – and that he does not, for example, get consigned to Oblivion never to be heard from again…

In reality, of course, the actual role of Witchfinder General was one that Matthew Hopkins invented and assumed for himself in 1645 during the English Civil War, pretending to have been commissioned by Parliament, and using many techniques from King James’ own book Daemonologie to discover witches. Like many entrepreneurs, cult leaders and fascists since, Hopkins made a fortune from the gruesomely lucrative business of ridding communities of an imagined enemy, often used as a cover by power-hungry locals to remove their rivals or exact revenge. Within a couple of years, however, his methods and motivation were called into question by a popular puritan cleric who described them as “abominable, inhumane and unmerciful” and Hopkins was forced to retire in 1647. He wrote a book justifying his own methods and the results of his hunts, A Discovery of Witches, which became a popular legal text especially in the Colonies, and is widely recognised as having had considerable influence on the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts some 45 years later. Ironically, the man responsible for the deaths of at least 300 women was reputed, in contemporary legend, to have died in one of his own ducking stool ‘trials’ after he had himself been accused of witchcraft; but more prosaically, in fact, he actually died not long after his retirement, either of tuberculosis… or a curse.

Today narcissistic politicians, especially in English-speaking nations, use ‘witch hunt’ as a conveniently dismissive label when being held accountable for their own lies, corruption and misdeeds. While hoping to leverage the perception that witch hunts were unfair and often conducted for ulterior motives, they fail to recognise that unlike modern judicial reviews and law enforcement activities, historical witch hunts were conducted without evidence and against (usually poor) victims who had neither the resources, nor often the wit, to defend themselves. The two situations could not be more different. Perhaps those politicians are trying to identify themselves with the poor defenceless ‘wise women’ typically portrayed in popular myth as the victims of witch hunts – which, given the largely misogynistic behaviour displayed by those same politicians, would be a cynical irony if it weren’t so contemptible.

Head Full of Dark, the third book in Simon Kewin’s Witchfinder series, is available as an eBook from today and in paperback from 31st July 2023.

Notes for Editors

About Simon Kewin

Simon Kewin is a pseudonym used by an infinite number of monkeys who operate from a secret location deep in the English countryside. Every now and then they produce a manuscript that reads as a complete novel with a beginning, a middle and an end. Sometimes even in that order.

The Simon Kewin persona devised by the monkeys was born on the misty Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea, at around the time The Beatles were twisting and shouting. He moved to the UK as a teenager, where he still resides. He is the author of over a hundred published short stories and poems, as well as a growing number of novels. In addition to fiction, he also writes computer software. The key thing, he finds, is not to get the two mixed up.

He has a first class honours degree in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing (distinction). He’s married and has two daughters.

About the Witchfinder series

Stories of HM Office of the Witchfinder General: Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645

The Witchfinder series is a different type of police procedural. For a start, it’s about a department of law enforcement that you’ve never heard of. They investigate crimes that you’re never supposed to hear about, criminals that you really don’t want to know about, using methods that it’s best not to ask about.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/WitchfinderSeries

Book 1: The Eye Collectors

Cover design: Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

When Danesh Shahzan gets called to a crime scene, it’s usually because the police suspect not just foul play but unnatural forces at play.

Danesh is an Acolyte in Her Majesty’s Office of the Witchfinder General, a shadowy arm of the British government fighting supernatural threats to the realm. This time, he’s been called in by Detective Inspector Nikola Zubrasky to investigate a murder in Cardiff. The victim had been placed inside a runic circle and their eyes carefully removed from their head. Danesh soon confirms that magical forces are at work.

Book 2: The Seven Succubi

The Seven Succubi cover image by Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

Of all the denizens of the circles of Hell, perhaps none is more feared among those of a high-minded sensibility than the succubi.

The Assizes of Suffolk in the eighteenth century granted the Office of the Witchfinder General the power to employ ‘demonic powers’ so long as their use is ‘reasonable’ and ‘made only to defeat some yet greater supernatural threat’. No attempt was made in the wording of the assizes to measure or grade such threats, however – making the question of whether it is acceptable to fight fire with fire a troublingly subjective one. Now, in the twenty-first century, Danesh Shahzan, Acolyte in Her Majesty’s Office of the Witchfinder General, had been struggling with that very question…

Book 3: Head Full of Dark

Head Full of Dark by Simon Kewin; Cover design by Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

There is clearly someone in the Office of the Witchfinder General who is working for or with English Wizardry, and Danesh and the Crow are determined to track them down. It might even be one of the Lord High Witchfinders. Who can they trust? Can Danesh even trust the Crow? To ensure the traitor is not alerted, Danesh conducts an off-the-books investigation under cover of an inquiry into a cold case. But not all cold cases stay cold; not all dead witches stay dead; and not all traitors stay hidden… and what is the significance of the goat’s skull?

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Concerns raised that the increasing cost of paper and printing makes publishing physical books too expensive for small presses

Small independent publishers, without the means to outsource large print runs to cheap overseas printers, are being priced out of the market and may have to concentrate on ebooks, limiting readers’ choice of format

DARTFORD, KENT – 24 May 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors, many of whom are debut authors. Like most small presses in genre fiction, one of the ways that Elsewhen Press tries to keep in touch with the readers of their books is by attending science fiction and fantasy conventions, especially fan-run conventions. During the pandemic this was difficult, many conventions were postponed or became virtual. Over the last year or so it has been slowly getting back to ‘normal’ and conventions are once again happening. Over the final weekend of May, Elsewhen Press will be at the Satellite 8 science fiction convention in Glasgow, once more enjoying the opportunity to meet and talk with readers. We are delighted to be able to take part in panels, including a session on Saturday afternoon where a number of our Scottish authors – including David M. Allan, David Craig, Craig Meighan, Christopher G. Nuttall, and Douglas Thompson – will be reading from their new or forthcoming books.

One of the panels at the Satellite 8 convention, in which Elsewhen Press will be participating, is a discussion of how the escalating costs of printing, paper, shipping and storage over the last couple of years are impacting the ability of small and indie presses to continue to produce printed editions of their books at prices affordable by readers. While big publishers can still negotiate prices for large print-runs in cheap-labour overseas territories, indies are now largely constrained to use short-run and print-on-demand services which are significantly more expensive per copy, leading to increasing list prices for their books. With wholesale discounts of 55%, a 250 page paperback book, for example, which may cost £4.30 to print-on-demand, with a list price of £10 would only provide the publisher and the author with a royalty of a few pence each; a 520 page book may cost over £7 to print-on-demand, requiring a list price of at least £16 just to cover printing costs. As all the costs increase, the viability of printing such long books begins to be questionable; indeed, some presses are already reducing the upper limit for the manuscript word-count they will accept, and some have started to concentrate more on publishing novellas. Up to now, the debate around ebooks versus print books has largely centred on readers’ personal preference and convenience, but now the rising prices resulting from increased costs may be the deciding factor not just for readers, but also for publishers to decide in which medium they publish a new title.

We will also be selling copies of our recently published books at Satellite 8, and this will be the first opportunity for readers to buy paperback copies of our two newest titles: Renegade by Miles Nelson which is officially published on May 29th; and The Last Star by Terry Grimwood, although it is not officially published until the 5th of June we will have copies available for sale on our table in the dealers’ room.

Satellite 8, the science fiction convention, is taking place at the Crowne Plaza hotel, next to the SEC Armadillo, in Glasgow from Friday 26th May until Sunday 28th May.

Notes for Editors

About Satellite 8

Satellite 8 is a Science Fiction convention, run by volunteers, with a varied programme living up to the Satellite Convention motto: Science Fiction, Science Fact, Science Fun! As well as panels and workshops, there will be a Dealers’ Room and Art Show, as well as a Fan Bar to give attendees a convivial place to sit and relax with friends, old and new. Guest of Honour are multiple award-winning author Christopher Priest and local fan legend Michelle “Cuddles” Drayton-Harrold.

Details of Satellite 8 can be found on the Satellite Conventions website at https://eight.satellitex.org.uk/

About Science Fiction Conventions

A Science Fiction convention is a meeting of people interested in science fiction, usually with an emphasis on literary aspects, although topics such as media SF (TV and movies) and space science often play an important part. The formal part of the convention consists of a programme of events. Smaller conventions may have just one stream of programming but larger ones will have several streams running in parallel.

In addition, there will often be an art show and auction; a dealers’ room where you can buy books, jewellery, and other items with an SF or fantasy theme; and a games room. There will be one or more bars, often featuring real ale, and ample room for fans to sit around and renew old acquaintances or make new friends.

Science fiction conventions are traditionally run on a not-for-profit basis by committees of fan volunteers, who will give up literally hundreds of hours of their own time to make the event as enjoyable as possible. Any profits generated are usually donated to charity, or used as ‘seed’ funding for future conventions. This is in contrast to the large professional conventions such as Comic-Con etc. which are run for profit and generally have an emphasis on actors rather than writers.

Many different kinds of item will be included in a typical convention programme. There will be talks where an individual – who may be a guest or a fan – gives a lecture presentation on a particular theme. There are panels where four or five people discuss an issue, overseen by a Moderator, who will normally invite the audience to contribute to the debate at some point. Workshops are generally ‘hands-on’ and allow fans to try out something new – perhaps something energetic, like Scottish Country Dancing, or ‘crafty’, like knitting or embroidery. Quizzes come in different guises, including ‘Pub Quiz’ style and variants on popular TV and radio formats. There may also be author readings, book launches, tasting sessions, and ‘kaffeklatches’ with the Guests of Honour (usually with limited spaces available — so you have to sign up in advance).

Evening events may include a cabaret, ceilidh or disco. The final evening of the convention sees the Dead Dog Party. This is a tradition where those still standing get together to talk about the weekend’s events over a drink. It’s also fertile ground for ideas for future conventions: many a convention has been born at a previous con’s Dead Dog Party!

[Conventions description courtesy of Satellite Conventions]

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Science fiction author pioneers pay-it-forward Gift-A-Book scheme in Durham

Miles Nelson, author-in-residence at the BookWyrm indie bookshop, advocates for LGBTQ+ and mental health resources and believes everyone should have access to the books that bring them joy.

DARTFORD, KENT – 28 April 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction. One of our best-loved authors, Miles Nelson, spends time when he’s not writing, working in the Durham indie bookshop, BookWyrm, that he co-owns with his husband Chris. As author-in-residence at the bookshop he enjoys meeting new and existing readers of his books. The shop specialises in LGBTQ+ books as well as books by independent authors and small presses, and is very popular with students from Durham University. Miles and Chris are very active in promoting LGBTQ+ and mental health resources and recently announced their innovative pay-it-forward Gift-a-Book scheme, which allows a customer in the shop to purchase a featured book at a reduced price, to be set aside for someone who needs it, with an optional note to “spread little messages of queer joy!” Each month, they will spotlight a new title as their featured book. Their first such featured book was the Trans Guide to Mental Health and Well-Being by Katy Lees, chosen to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility. Readers in need of a book but with limited funds can ask at the counter in the shop to see which books are available. As Miles and Chris said in their announcement of the scheme, “Whether it’s guides to mental health, identity and neurodiversity or highly anticipated new releases, we believe that everyone should have access to the books that bring them joy, and we hope that Gift-a-Book opens that door to more of Durham’s LGBTQ+ community than ever before.”

Miles’ own books address issues relating to gender, identity and mental health in a science fiction or fantasy setting. His debut book, Riftmaster, a science fiction adventure published in 2021 by Elsewhen Press, was concerned with loss and letting go, while still holding onto your humanity and identity, even when life seems hopeless. Renegade, the sequel to Riftmaster, which is published by Elsewhen Press today, explores loneliness, trust and responsibility. Miles says it has “been one of the most teeth-clenchingly frustrating and rewarding books I’ve ever worked on.” Miles is also a gifted artist – as well as designing the covers to his books, each chapter starts with a small illustration relating to the story. He even makes small hand-sculptured figures to accompany the books, which are sold in the shop and at various other events that Miles and Chris attend. It’s no surprise that Miles is often asked to lead writing workshops, especially for younger would-be authors.

Peter Buck, editorial director of Elsewhen Press says, “When we first met Miles we were amazed at how much energy he has, almost literally bouncing into the room. We launched Riftmaster at a science fiction convention and Miles endeared himself to everybody there with his infectiously bubbly personality. He and Chris are impressive advocates of the LGBTQ+ community, and great supporters of various projects to help people, especially those who are neurodiverse or suffering from mental health issues. It has been a pleasure to see how quickly they have made a success of their indie bookshop, and what an impact it has already made in Durham. Miles’ personality and his concern for the welfare of others comes through very strongly in his writing, adding great depth to his characters, yet not detracting from the action and adventure. We are very proud that Miles chose Elsewhen Press to publish his books.”

Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us, said of Renegade: “Beautiful sci-fi landscapes and action-packed adventure collides with a heart-wrenching look at loss and grief; what does it mean to love when you will always have to leave someone behind?”

Miles Nelson says “It’s so exciting to finally release Renegade to the world, but so nerve-racking too! I’ve never written a sequel before, and even more than that, this is the first time I’ve had people eagerly awaiting my next release! Renegade is very different from its predecessor – I’m so excited to see what everyone thinks!”

Chris and Miles’ bookshop, BookWyrm, is in Unit 12 in Durham’s Indoor Market Hall, and can be found online at https://bookwyrm.co.uk/

Renegade, the sequel to Miles’ bestselling Riftmaster, is published in eBook today and in paperback on 29th May.

Notes for Editors

About Renegade

The Riftmaster Ari is on their own, with nothing but their wit, their satchel, and a vow to make it back to Earth.

Renegade by Miles Nelson; Artwork: Miles NelsonTo do that they must stay alive, no matter the cost… but it seems that the inhabitants of this vast universe have other plans.

With Bailey gone, Ari’s life should shift back to normalcy. But after discovering all that remains of their family and taking the life of their love, Ari feels more alone than ever. Their only company is the strange sickness that fights against their every move, and the starships that seem to creep across the skies of every planet they visit. Starships belonging to the Renohaiin Empire.

In their time as Riftmaster, Ari has made allies and enemies alike. Even still, the Empire’s motives are hazy at the best of times, and insidious at the worst. As Ari’s condition deteriorates, the Renohaiin alone might have a cure.

For now, the Riftmaster is alive. But just how far will they go to keep it that way?

Renegade is the much anticipated sequel to Riftmaster, the 2021 bestseller from Miles Nelson.

Cover art: Miles Nelson

Visit bit.ly/Renegade-Nelson

About Miles Nelson

Miles Nelson was born and raised in the distant north, in a quaint little city called Durham. He studied video game design at Teesside University, graduating in 2018. Since then, he has taken a step back from coding to work on his writing career, and has since led several masterclasses with New Writing North. He has been writing all his life, and although Riftmaster was technically his fourth novel, he likes to pretend the first three don’t exist. Whilst he is primarily a sci-fi writer who loves long journeys, strange worlds and all things space and stars, he has also had brief flings with the genres of fantasy and horror. He often writes stories highlighting the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community, and tries to include themes of empathy and inclusivity in all he does. Even then, though, Miles stands firm in the belief that this is not the defining element of his stories. And although he tries to represent his community as best he can, these themes are never the main focus; because he believes that (in most cases) a person shouldn’t be defined by their deviation from standard norms. Outside of scifi and fantasy, he has a deep-rooted fascination with natural history, and collects books told from unique perspectives (be they animal, alien, or mammoths from Mars). The older, the better; his oldest book is just about to turn 100! He currently lives in Durham City with his husband, Chris, who so far seems unworried by Miles’ rapidly growing collections.