Author Archives: dgjones81

Long Read: You Better Watch Yourself

In the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill 2 the titular character Bill, played by David Carradine, delivers a withering critique of Superman, saying that Clark Kent – a clumsy, skittish, slightly nerdy and shy figure – is Superman’s critique on the human race; that that personality is what’s needed to fit in. It’s a flawedContinue reading “Long Read: You Better Watch Yourself”

Brave New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the holidays gave everybody the chance to rest, reflect and recharge, ready for 2022. Over the Christmas period I was invited by the splendidly mad AnRoinnUltra to contribute to a bit of festive science-fiction whimsy he’s called Twelve Robots of Christmas. The premise is simple: over the twelve daysContinue reading “Brave New Year”

Long Read: There’ll Always Be An England in Mythago Wood

Dame Vera Lynn’s version of the unabashedly patriotic 1939 song There’ll Always Be An England would no doubt have helped bolster the spirits of the British Tommys during the unending days of slogging their way through the western front during World War II. The song is like White Christmas in that respect; just as theContinue reading “Long Read: There’ll Always Be An England in Mythago Wood”

For Writers, Lady Luck Likes A Target. A Big One.

One of the themes that emerged from the Chronscast interview with Stephen Palmer which will be released in January was the extent to which luck influences the career path of a writer. Stephen is the author of sixteen novels, so he should have some idea of how things work. Looking at his publication history, he’sContinue reading “For Writers, Lady Luck Likes A Target. A Big One.”

Guest blog: On Narcissism, by Stephen Palmer

To celebrate and promote the launch of his new novel Monique Orphan Stephen Palmer is currently doing a blog tour, and has kindly dropped by here on his travels around the blogosphere. Stephen recently recorded an episode of Chronscast, and amongst other things we got onto the topic of narcissism. An ancient personality trait –Continue reading “Guest blog: On Narcissism, by Stephen Palmer”

November Roundup

November was very busy! The SFF Chronicles podcast, Chronscast, continues to get ready for our January launch, and we recorded another episode at the back end of November. This second episode was with the lovely Jo Zebedee, author of the Abendau Trilogy and Inish Carraig. We discussed Klara And The Sun, which I wrote aboutContinue reading “November Roundup”

Long Read: Service with a Smile in Klara And The Sun

One of the great things about being a fiction writer – or any sort of artist, I suppose – is that we have the ability (one might almost say the obligation) to present the world not in terms of scientific logic but in terms of intention, orientation, motivation, and choice. But we still have toContinue reading “Long Read: Service with a Smile in Klara And The Sun”

The Gigantomachy Of Antonios Costas, Chapters 10 & 11

This week, I’m publishing a double-header of the final two chapters as I bring this novella to a close. Last time, Antonios was confronted with the true nature of the terror sleeping in the deep, awoken by the folly and nihilism of others. Now, in the endgame, Antonios tries to make good his escape fromContinue reading “The Gigantomachy Of Antonios Costas, Chapters 10 & 11”

Write Beat Death: Words To Save Your Soul

Writers are strange creatures; we tend to get rather anxious about almost every aspect of the creative process. The first draft, writer’s block, the editing process, our characters, narratives, plot mechanics, writing query letters, writing synopses, submitting queries, and generally anything else that goes along with the whole business. That’s even before you actually getContinue reading “Write Beat Death: Words To Save Your Soul”