SOLARIS SIGNS DEBUT AUTHOR ANDREW SKINNER'S STEEL FRAME!

6 months ago - posted by Remy

• acquisitions

Solaris, the multiple award-winning publisher of cutting edge science fiction and fantasy, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Steel Frame; a powerful and dramatic debut novel from South African writer Andrew Skinner. 

The deal was negotiated by Jamie Cowen of the Ampersand agency and acquired by Commissioning Editor David Thomas Moore. 

Discussing the acquisition, the author had this to say: 

"I'm really stoked to be working on Steel Frame with Solaris. I set out wanting to write something soulful, for all its hard edges, and I think they're a great fit. Expect clashing war-machines, endless skies and ancient secrets—and small moments of warmth hidden in between." 

Commissioning Editor, David T. Moore had this to add: 

"You want a big, bright, loud action SF book about giant robots kicking the snot out of each other? Steel Frame's got that. But there's more to it as well; Rook's recovery from the betrayal and loss that left her there, and the way she and the Juno bring each back from the brink, is one of the most thoughtful and considered things you'll read this year." 

Solaris Books are excited to welcome Andrew Skinner to their growing list of talented writers who are bringing fresh perspectives to genre fiction. 

Solaris has world rights to the title which will publish in both trade paperback and ebook in summer, 2019. Read on for more about the book and make sure to follow us for updates about this title! 

STEEL FRAME
by Andrew Skinner 

FLY HARD.

Rook is a jockey, a soldier whose life's purpose is to fly 'shells,' huge robots that fight for the outer regions of settled space. When her shell is destroyed and her squad is killed, Rook is imprisoned, left stranded, scarred and broken. Hollow and helpless without her steel frame, she's ready to call it quits. 

When her cohort of prisoners are sold into indenture to NorCol, a vast frontier corporation, Rook's given another shell—a near-decrepit Juno, as broken as she is and decades older—and sent to a rusting bucket of a ship on the end of the known space to patrol something called "The Eye," a strange, unnerving permanent storm in space. 

But they're not alone. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Andrew Skinner grew up in South Africa’s coal-mining heartland, amidst orange dust and giant machinery. He now works as an archaeologist and anthropologist, interested in folklore, rain-making arts, and resistance; but the machines aren’t done with him yet. Steel Frame is his first novel. You can follow him on Twitter @apocrobot. 

THE SECRET STORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST ICONIC MONSTER!

1 year ago - posted by Remy

• riseofthebeast

Abaddon Books, Rebellion Publishing's cutting-edge imprint for smart and subversive fiction, is thrilled to announce that it will be publishing Dracula: Rise of the Beast, an exciting new anthology of stories exploring the secret history of the world's most iconic monster. 

Five new and established authors with roots in Central and Eastern Europe reveal a side to Vlad III Dracula, Voivode of Wallachai that many do not know. Including stories from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Bogi Takacs, Caren Gussoff Sumption, Emil Minchev, and Milena Benini. 

Contributing authors had this to say about the anthology: 

"I'm delighted to have the chance to write about one of gothic fiction's most enduring characters."
Adrian Tchaikovsky.

"It's great to finally see a bunch of Dracula stories from people who did not grow up with the idea of Vampire as a horrifying stranger, but rather as a creature that pops up in the neighbourhood."
Milena Benini.

"The character of Count Dracula is a legendary icon not only in the horror genre, but in literature in general and it a pleasure, an honour and a privilege to be a part of his hallowed legacy."
Emil Minchev.

Editor, David Thomas Moore commented: 

"Putting this account together has been an extraordinary journey, working with some remarkable talents. I hope you enjoy it (it is, in all respects, completely true)." 

Dracula: Rise of the Beast is out from Abaddon Books in March and is available to pre-order now. Read on for more about the book and click the links below to order your copy. 

Dracula: Rise of the Beast
Ed. David Thomas Moore

GENESIS OF A MONSTER...

It is well known that the cruel, ambitious monster of Bram Stoker's most famous novel was once Vlad III Dracula, Voivode of Wallachia — the Impaler to his enemies. A warlike leader in a warlike time: brilliant, charismatic, pious, and ferociously devoted to his country. 

But what came of him? What drove him to become a creature of darkness — an un-dead — and what use did he make of this power, through the centuries before his downfall?

Five new and established authors with roots in Central and Eastern Europe reveal a side to the literary world's greatest monster never seen before. 

Dracula: Rise of The Beast is available for pre-order now!
Pre-order: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Google|Kobo|RebellionStore

SOLARIS ACQUIRES 'BUYING TIME', A GLORIOUS NEW NOVEL FROM AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR E.M BROWN!

1 year ago - posted by Remy

• ericbrown

Solaris, the multiple award-winning publisher of cutting edge science fiction and fantasy, is pleased to announce the acquistion of an incredible, thrilling new novel from veteran author E.M. Brown. 

Mutliple award-winning author Eric Brown heads in a bold new direction with this time-travel thriller and we couldn't be more excited to add this to the growing list of excellent science fiction currently gracing the Solaris bookshelf. 

Discussing this latest news, editor-in-chief of Solaris Books, Jon Oliver stated: 

"Naturally, I've always known that Eric Brown is an extraordinary writer, and I'm proud to have published so many of his novels. But while Brown is brilliant at portraying complex science-fiction settings and penning compelling adventure stories, he is also an author capable of portraying the complexity of what it is to be human. Buying Time is a bold new venture for Brown, and one that will show just why he is so highly regarded in his field."

Buying Time will be published by Solaris in May 2018. 

*

Buying Time
by E.M. Brown

"No man is rich enough to buy back his past" — Oscar Wilde.

In January 2017, something very strange happens to screen-writer Ed Richie. He wakes up one morening to find that he has been shunted back in time nine months and is now inhabiting the body of his younger self...

Worse is to come: the following day he jumps three years, to 2013, with all his memories of his intervening years intact. What is happening to him? Is he going mad? And where will his involuntary time-travel end? 

Meanwhile, in 2030, journalist Ella Croft is investigating the life of screen-writer and celebrated novelist Ed Richie, who mysteriously vanished in 2025. She interviews friends, acquintances, and old lovers — and what she discovers will change not only Ed Richie's life, but her own...

Buying Time is a time-travel novel like no other. No man is rich enough to buy back his past — unless that man is Ed Richie...

About the author

Eric Brown began writing when he was fifteen years and sold his first short story to Interzone in 1986. He has won the British Science Fiction Award twice for his short stories, and his novel Helix Wars was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick award. He has published sixty books, and his latest include the crime novel Murder Take Three, and the short stor collection Microcosms, with Tony Ballantyne. He has also written a dozen books for children and over a hundred and forty short stories. He writes a regular science fiction review column for the Guardian newspaper and lives in Cockburnspath, Scotland. His website can be found at www.ericbrown.co.uk. 

ABADDON BOOKS TO PUBLISH DEATH OF A CLONE, A HARD SCI-FI TITLE WITH A TWIST!

1 year ago - posted by Remy

• alexthomson

Abaddon Books, Rebellion Publishing's cutting-edge imprint for smart and subversive fiction, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Death of a Clone by Alex Thomson, a hard science fiction and mystery crossover title that deals in the unexpected, set to be released in 2018. 

Alex Thomson, represented by Red Sofa Literary Afency, is an exciting new voice in science fiction and Abaddon is pleased to bring his particular brand of genius to readers everywhere. 

Abaddon Editor-in-Chief, David Thomas Moore, had this to say: 

"'Miss Marple meets action sci-fi' isn't an obvious fit, but Thomson's taut, claustrophic thriller pulls it off. This is a clever, original story that fans of cozy mystery and hard SF alike will delight in. I'm very excited to be putting it out there."

Thomson commented: 

"After many months of scribbling down ideas and plot twists into a dog-eared notebook on my daily commute to London, I found a story which I was excited about, and the chapters started to flow. I am now thrilled to see these scrawls being transformed into a book, by a publisher which has always championed new authors and exciting genres. Abaddon is a perfect fit for Death of a Clone, and I am honoured to be joining their stable of authors." 

Death of a Clone will publish into the UK, US, and Canada in both trade paperback and eBook in 2018. Read on for more about the book and make sure to follow us for more updates about this title! 

DEATH OF A CLONE:

The Overseers may call it Hell, but for Leila and the other clones, the mining base on asteroid Mizushima-00109 is the only home they've every known. But then, Leila's sister Lily is murdered, and the Overseers seem less interested in solving the crime than in making their mining quota and returning to Earth. 

Leila decides to find the murderer, just like the heroes in her old detective novels would. But Hell is a place of terrible secrets, and a love of cozy mysteries may not be enough to keep Leila from ending up like her sister.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alex Thomson worked in publishing for twelve years, and had recently changed careers to take up teaching. He wrote Death of a Clone on the train during his daily commute to London, scribbling away in biro in a notebook, surrounded by sweaty commuters. He has two small and lively boys, which explains why trying to write at home is not always a realistic option. His short fiction has been published in the Nocturne anthologies. When not writing, he can be found whiling away the hours in board game cafes or playing the bongos. 

Abaddon announcement and kazoo-based fun at Nine Worlds

3 years ago - posted by Rob Power

• convention
• nineworlds

Are you heading to Nine Worlds this weekend? Because we are going to be out in force, bringing the sort of Friday night that dreams* are made of.

First and foremost, we shall be making An Announcement. The best place to hear said Announcement is to attent the talk entitled Be Weird, ????, Get Deals - Improve your life with dystopian Twitter birthday fiction, to be held in room Royal B from 8:30pm.

Immediately following said talk, from 9:15pm, we'll be colonising Royal B and gathering together some of our authors, a bit of booze and as much chat as we can muster for a Rebellion Publishing bash of potentially epic proportions.

Join us, pick our brains about all things Abaddon, and talk the toot until the morning comes. It'll be a blast.

Don't forget to check out the full con schedule over at the official Nine Worlds website, and we shall see you there...

*You know, the ones where you're falling and you can't breath and you're wearing a carrot fancy dress costume and OH GOD MAKE IT STOP.

Announcement: Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets B

3 years ago - posted by Lydia

• twohundredandtwentyonebakerstree

Holmes and Watson are on the trail once again in our next Abaddon Classics title!

Following the commercial and critical success of 2014’s Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets anthology of Holmesian SFF original fiction, we are delighted that Holmes and Watson will once again be stepping out across time and space, in a new collection entitled Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets B.

Abaddon Books editor David Thomas Moore has invited back three of the creators from the first anthology – Jamie Wyman, Gini Koch and Glen Mehn – to revive their characters in thirty-thousand-word novellas, revisiting and exploring the worlds they created in more depth. Starting on June 23rd and pushing forward at two month intervals each novella will publish initially in eBook format with the collected physical edition planned for early 2016.

Speaking on the project Moore has said - actually what Moore said wasn't entirely printable so went for a take two and got this - “Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets was a highlight of my young [ED: "young"] career, bringing together some amazing talents to produce some fantastic stories on a topic close to my heart. I’m ecstatic to be returning to the great detective’s rather untidy office (or caravan), and to see more of these wonderful worlds. The gritty, atmospheric carnival of Jamie’s ‘Hobohemia,’ the up-to-the-minute glitz of Gini’s ‘Single Ladies’ and the sweetly soulful counterculture scene of Glen’s ‘Half There/All There’ drew me relentlessly in, and they were all brilliant authors to work with.”

The collection will include the following works:

The Case of the Tattooed Bride, by Jamie Wyman, 23rd June 2015.

Winter, and the Soggiorno Brothers’ Traveling Wonder Show has  pulled into its berth in Peru, Indiana; Sanford “Crash” Haus, proprietor and genius, and his friend, surgeon and retired soldier Jim “Dandy” Walker, are looking forward to a quiet few months. But then the Show’s old manager, Professor Sylvestri, comes into town, his ward in tow, and happily, too, because the Strong Man and the Tattooed Lady have just announced their betrothal, and the good Professor happens to be a minister. Preparations for the happy day begin, but it seems violence and misfortune attend on them...

A Study in Starlets, by Gini Koch, 25th August 2015.

Sherlock Holmes and her new partner Dr. John Watson are settling in as roommates and consulting detectives in their new home in Los Angeles, when TV producers Joey Jackson and Tony Antonelli come to call. Their partner, Cliff Camden, has disappeared without a trace on the eve of filming for the new show. The LAPD aren’t interested and Watson has his own reasons for not getting involved, but Holmes takes the case. She’s just getting to grips with the case, amidst the grumbling crew, the neurotic actors and the low-level sleaze that permeates the city, when a fresh murder turns everything on its head...

Title to be announced, by Glen Mehn, 27th October 2015.

A third novella by Glen Mehn, based on his story “Half There/All There,” set in the drug-steeped, experimental world of Warhol’s Factory, will see Holmes and Watson exploring a mystery amidst the complex, emerging social, cultural and racial issues – and the fierce (and sometimes violent) changes – of the late ’sixties.

Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets B is the latest anthology collection in Abaddon Books new Abaddon Classics series, which takes inspiration from much loved and popular classic authors and creations to create new, mind-bending genre interpretations. The series will continue next year with Monstrous Little Voices: Five new stories from the fantastic world of Shakespeare, which will publish on April 23rd 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s passing.

Genre does Shakespeare in a new themed anthology from Abaddon Books…

3 years ago - posted by Lydia

• anthology
• abaddonclassics

On this St. George’s Day in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Fifteen (and, probably, William Shakespeare’s birthday), Abaddon Books is delighted to announce Monstrous Little Voices: Five New Tales From Shakespeare’s World of Fantasy, a new anthology of fantasy fiction honouring the greatest storyteller in the English canon, to be published a year from now on 23rd April 2016, the four-hundredth anniversary of his death.

 Forget Arthur Conan Doyle and J. K. Rowling. Stuff the Brontë sisters and Ian Fleming. Ask someone to name the first British writer that comes to mind – the most influential, the most important to our national identity – and Will Shakespeare’ll come up four times out of five. Prolific, educated and populist, the Bard of Avon gave us bloody revenges and bumbling nurses that had the groundlings howling, and breathtaking poetry and sparkling wit that are still dissected and debated four centuries on. His legacy shapes our very language: he’s the reason we have forgone conclusions, household words, night owls and salad days.

Unquestionably, Shakespeare’s world is one of fantasy. Whether it’s overtly fantastic, as in the wizard Prospero in The Tempest or the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or subtler in its overtones, as in Friar Lawrence’s potions in Romeo and Juliet or the malign prophecies of the witches in MacBeth, the otherworldly hangs over Shakespeare’s heroes. Monstrous Little Voices will return to that world, telling new stories in and around the Bard’s works, from five incredible authors.

Asked about the project editor David Thomas Moore said, “Who loves the English tongue that loves not Will?/ Who writeth works of fancy that can say/ They ne’er turned to the Bard for writing’s muse/ Nor called on terms that Stratford’s Bard did say?/ Not I.” Then he stopped trying to write in iambic pentameter and added, “I more or less grew up in the theatre, and have always loved Shakespeare, both his writing and the gently magical world he wrote in – and, for all we know, believed he lived in. This is a tremendously exciting project.”

 Monstrous Little Voices will be Abaddon Books second collection in our Abaddon Classics series, which launched last year with the popular Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets anthology collection, which saw Holmes and Watson reimagined across time and space by a diverse group of bestselling and up-and-coming talents.

It is therefore with extra delight that we can confirm that we will be welcoming back two of the talents from Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets in the form of acclaimed fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky and Hugo fancast nominee Emma Newman! We’ll be revealing the final three authors in the coming months, but Abaddon fans can rest assured that we’ll be continuing our commitment to bringing you surprising new genre talent and established favourites…

Monstrous Little Voices: Five New Tales From Shakespeare’s World of Fantasy will publish in physical edition April 16th 2016, alongside DRM-free eBooks of the collection and individual stories.

Open Submissions Month #3: The Announcement!

3 years ago - posted by David

• acquisitions
• abaddonx

Hello hello!

So here it is! We’ve trolled you quite long enough; you’ve waited patiently through all my waffling, and now you’re going to find out (some) of the winners of the Open Subs Month!

(wait, what?)

Okay, yes, we’re holding a little something back. More on that below.

So this has been an amazing experience, as ever, with some top-notch submissions, some fantastic talent on show – it was particularly gratifying seeing some of the same names as last time, and seeing how they’ve changed and grown – and some really warm responses from feedback. Connecting to the genre writing community is one of the most rewarding parts of being a publisher, and this has been no exception.

It was, as I’ve said before, a fiercely competitive field, and a tight result, but in the end we decided – based on a long list of criteria – on three hugely exciting projects, adding some fantastic new and rising writers to our stable of talent. (As an added bonus, we’ve also spoken to some authors about holding back pitches to revisit later, or to pitch again; it was a rich crop!) We’re adding to one of our oldest and best-loved lines, and to one of our newer, unrulier babies. It’s a hell of a time to be alive.

So without further ado, here are our two successful “existing worlds” pitches:

Tomes of the Dead: The Lazarus Conundrum

Paul Starkey

When the dead returning to life is the norm, the most shocking mystery is when someone doesn’t. Detective Inspector Helen Ogilvy is called to the scene of a murder. A young woman named Trinity Brown has been shot in the chest, and for the first time in years the victim’s stayed dead.

In a future UK teetering on the brink of becoming a Police state, where healthcare has never been so well funded – because lower mortality rates equal fewer zombies – Brown’s death could be the spark that starts a conflagration. And DI Ogilvy has two days to solve it.

Paul Starkey lives and works in the East Midlands and has wanted to be a writer since he was ten years old. He has had short stories published in both the UK and America and has self-published two novels and a short story collection. He’s recently completed his fifth novel.

Gods and Monsters: Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef

Cassandra Khaw

In Kuala Lumpur, where deities and damned souls number in the millions, it doesn’t pay to be a medium. By day, Rupert Wong makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls. By night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. It still isn’t enough to buy him a new car, or his langsuir girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle.

But then opportunity comes knocking with a whip and a carrot in each hand. The Dragon King of the South has a job for Rupert: find out who murdered his daughter and her husband. But with a rival pantheon in the frame, what Rupert learns could mean war. And he would be stuck in the crossfire.

By day, Cassandra Khaw works as the business developer for Singaporean publisher Ysbryd Games. By night, she moonlights as a freelance technology reporter for places like PC Gamer and The Verge, while still writing exorbitant amounts of fiction. Rumor has it that she does not sleep and can only be satiated with offerings of fluffy things.

Both these novellas are out this Fall!

Third Mega-Exciting Top Secret Project!

Which brings us to our third and final project. This is, of course, the new world that we said we’d be looking for! But as we’ve mentioned already, this is all part of our terribly thrilling Abaddon X tenth anniversary celebrations, and we’ll be making the announcement right there at the Abaddon X party. That’s due to happen on the evening on Wednesday 5th August this year, at an undisclosed location in London, and we’ll splash the series, novella and author’s names all over the place the very next morning.

So please give Paul and Cassandra a huge welcome and go and find them on the social medias!

Announcement: Solaris Books to publish Europe in Autumn follow-up in 2015

4 years ago - posted by Lydia

• europeinautumn
• davehutchinson
• europeatmightnight
• fracturedeuropesequence

Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson was the slow burn hit of 2014, a timely SF thriller that got everyone – from US Ambassadors to online bloggers – talking. Set in a balkanised Europe, divided by political divisions, economic crises and pandemic illness, Europe in Autumn proved especially poignant for the year which saw Scottish and Catalan referendums, the UK lose its AAA credit rating and Greece hit by EU sanctioned austerity measures.

A dystopian espionage thriller that evoked the Cold War novels of John Le Carré and the nightmarish world of Franz Kafka, Europe in Autumn is a dazzling SF tale of what happens when a conspiracy theory threatens to unravel reality itself. Publishing to critical applause, featured highly across the board on the annual best-of list round-ups and currently shortlist nominated for the BSFA award for best novel, Europe in Autumn was a genre highlight for 2014, leaving fans of the book clamouring for a follow up.

It is with great delight that we can today announce the 2015 publication of the follow up title Europe at Midnight:

Europe is crumbling. The Xian Flu pandemic and ongoing economic crises have fractured the European Union, the borderless Continent of the Schengen Agreement is a distant memory, and new nations are springing up everywhere, some literally overnight.

For an intelligence officer like Jim, it’s a nightmare. Every week or so a friendly power spawns a new and unknown national entity which may or may not be friendly to England’s interests; it’s hard to keep on top of it all. But things are about to get worse for Jim. A stabbing on a London bus pitches him into a world where his intelligence service is preparing for war with another universe, and a man has come who may hold the key to unlocking the mystery…

Europe at Midnight, the second title in the Fractured Europe Sequence series by Dave Hutchinson from Solaris Book, will publish November 2015 in UK print and worldwide eBook, with a US physical print edition to follow later.

“The author's authoritative prose, intimate knowledge of eastern Europe, and his fusion of Kafka with Len Deighton, combine to create a spellbinding novel of intrigue and paranoia.” – The Guardian

Dave Hutchinson was born in Sheffield in 1960. After reading American Studies at the University of Nottingham, he became a journalist. He’s the author of six collections of short stories and two novels, and his novella “The Push” was shortlisted for the 2010 BSFA award for short fiction. He has also edited two anthologies and co-edited a third. His short story ‘The Incredible Exploding Man’ featured in the first Solaris Rising anthology, and appeared in the 29th Year’s Best Science Fiction collection. He lives in north London with his wife and several cats.

Press enquires for Europe in Autumn and Europe at Midnight should be directed to Lydia Gittins at PublishingPress@rebellion.co.uk

Write for Abaddon Books! Redux

4 years ago - posted by Lydia

• davidmoore
• booksubmissions
• abaddonx

Hey folks!

So, next year, Abaddon Books will have existed as an entity for ten years (the first book came out around a year later, in 2006, but we started being book people in 2005).

Ten years! Ten years. TEN YEARS! A lot can happen in ten years. Like me: I freaked out at the senior prom, joined the Army, went into business for myself and became a professional killer.

Wait, no; that’s the plot of the John Cusack vehicle Grosse Point Blank. I get confused sometimes.

Okay, so: I’ve been with Rebellion Publishing for a hair over five years, and it’s the best game in town. Big enough to swim at the deep end, small enough to do we want. Abaddon Books is a home for risk-taking, innovation and irreverence, and we’re immeasurably proud to have brought some of the best, brightest and most challenging new names onto the market.

And here we are doing it again! Our last subs month was a blast; the talent, passion and dedication shining through every page blew me away. The only drawback, in fact, was having to say ‘no’ to so many people who frankly deserved a shot, because so damned many of you were so good. And I’m pretty sure this is going to be even bigger. So go ahead and do it! Bleed and sweat on your keyboard and make my job twice as hard as last time. It’s all I want.

[turns on Netflix to look for Grosse Point Blank]

Man, that was a great movie.

Oh, wait, you’re still here.

So we’re looking for two things! Firstly, I would love to see a submission for a new 30,000-word novella set in one of our existing worlds, particularly The Afterblight Chronicles, Tomes of the Dead, Weird Space or Gods & Monsters. Pick up some our existing characters – I would love to see a “what happened next” for The Culled’s nameless hero and Kill or Cure’s Jasmine! – or bring a new character into the mix of any of our worlds.

Secondly, and more importantly, I’m looking for a new world! Find something we haven’t done. Hard SF, maybe, or a monster we haven’t done (werewolves? faeries?). Maybe something I haven’t thought of at all and therefore can’t give an example of! Again, I want a 30,000-word novella, which will kick start a new series in 2015.

You’ve got until mid-February. The doors open (metaphorically) at midnight on January 14th, 2015, and close at midnight on February 15th, 2015. Send us a 150-word “elevator pitch,” a 1000-word chapter-by-chapter breakdown, and a 2000-word sample, to submissions@rebellion.co.uk, by the deadline, and expect to hear from me... some point. When I get around to it. It can take a while (okay: you can start chasing me on the 1st March).

Do it.

What are you still doing here? Do it.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ADDENDUM! Abaddon is a Work For Hire imprint. That means that we buy your work off you outright, rather than the licensing-with-royalties deal you're probably more aware of. The money's a bit better up front, but you lose control once we buy it. This may not be for all people. If you want to understand more about the Work For Hire model, feel free to get in touch and ask some questions.

Final Journal of the Plague Year author revealed

4 years ago - posted by Lydia

• afterblight
• journaloftheplagueyear
• adriantchaikovsky

We are DELIGHTED to reveal that the incredibly talented Adrian Tchaikovsky will be the final author contributing to Journal of the Plague Year, the latest omnibus in the Afterblight Chronicles series. He joins fantastic new talent Malcolm Cross and C. B. Harvey.

The Cull swept the world in the early years of the twenty-first century, killing billions and ending civilisation as we know it. Only those fortunate to be blessed with the right blood were spared. In the latest instalment to the shared world of Afterblight Chronicles three fantastic authors lead us further into the apocalypse:

In Cross’ Orbital Decay astronaut Alvin Burrows watches helplessly as the world collapses, and the crew on board the Space Station are murdered one by one.

In Harvey’s Dead Kelly fugitive Kelly McGuire returns to the lawless city of Melbourne seeking revenge on his old gang mates.

In Tchaikovsky’s The Bloody Deluge (previously unpublished) biochemist Katy Lewkowitz and her friend Dr Emil Weber seek refuge from the deadly cult of the New Teutonic Order.

Journal of the Plague Year is an omnibus collection of three unique novellas; it will thrill, enthral and horrify you in equal measures.

Publishing Summer 2014.

Chuck Wendig’s 'Gods and Monsters' series for Abaddon to continue with 'Myth Breaker

5 years ago - posted by Lydia

• mythbreaker
• godsandmonsters
• uncleanspirits
• stephenblackmoore

Abaddon is very proud to announce the next title in the Gods and Monsters series, created by genre superstar author Chuck Wendig.

Gods and Monsters: Myth Breaker by Stephen Blackmoore will be the second novel in the series and will be published in December 2014.

Wendig imagined a brand new world for Abaddon Books last year, in which gods and goddesses are real and fight one another for mankind’s belief and devotion. But when one god drove all others out of Heaven, it was back to the bad old days of cults and sycophants, and the terrible retribution the gods visit on those who spite them. Gods and Monsters: Myth Breaker continues the story of humanity pitted against both the natural and the supernatural in a world of violence and faith.

Blackmore is the author of the urban fantasy novels City of the Lost and Dead Things and the 1930's pulp novel Khan of Mars. His short stories have appeared in the magazines Needle, Plots With Guns, Spinetingler, Thrilling Detective and Shots, as well as the anthologies Deadly Treats, Don’t Read This Book and Uncage Me.

Chuck said: “Stephen Blackmoore is the exceedingly worthy heir to the Gods and Monsters throne, and unto him I bequeath my crown, my sword, my whiskey bottle (it’s empty, sorry), my robot butler, my monkey butler, and what’s left of the ragged cheesecloth that is my soul. COURAGE TO HIM.”

The first people the gods stopped talking to, back in the day, were the Chroniclers: people who were touched by the divine. Prophets and storytellers; Moses, Homer, Hesiod. Chroniclers don't just tell the stories, they make people believe. And when the gods don’t keep up that connection, they go mad.

Growing up an orphan, Louie Fitzsimmons always had conversations with “invisible friends,” could see patterns in the world that no one else could see. He suffered bouts of mania and depression, but with a regimen of drugs and therapy he grew out of it as a teenager. When he was thirteen, he ran away from the orphanage and got in with organized crime as a drug runner, skimming the pharmaceuticals he sold to keep his visions at bay. Now, thirty-five years old and burnt out, Louie’s had enough. With access to the mob's finances, he plans to go out in a big way.

Only he can't. Things are conspiring against him: a broken down car, a missed flight. It's bad enough being hunted by the mob, but the gods – kicked out of the Heavens, stuck on Earth without worshippers – need someone who can tell their stories, get the word out, and they aren’t letting him go. And there are new gods on the scene, gods of finance and technology, who want him too.

Caught between the mob and two sets of rival gods, Louie hatches a plan that will probably get him killed. If his powers can make the gods, there's no reason he can't break them...

The critics on Gods and Monsters: Unclean Spirits:

“The style is gonzo and rapid-fire, with bizarre imagery and flashes of violence and the grotesque.”
– Hellnotes.com

“The tone, the pacing, the characters, all of it, and honestly, this story is just plain fun. Dark, sometimes horribly creepy, but fun.”
– Fantasy Book Critic

“… full of stark realities dragged through gutter-filled dreams ...
Even now I cannot seem to shake this novel free.”
– SF Signal