Dan Jones

The Hole In The Sky

I’m about fifty-five thousand words into (The) Hole In The Sky (I’m still undecided about the The), which means I’m probably going to finish it (yay!) and will hope to publish it some time after Man O’War, the publication of which has recently been delayed. Hole In The Sky – let’s call it HITS, shall we? – concernsContinue reading “The Hole In The Sky”

Man O’War Delayed until 2018

The title says it all, really. owing to some extenuating circumstances to do with my publishers, I’m slightly sorry (and in other ways, slightly relieved) to say that the publication of Man O’War is going to be postponed to early 2018. The reasons for doing so are sound, but shan’t be divulged, which makes itContinue reading “Man O’War Delayed until 2018”

Book Review: Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut

I’d not read this Hugo winner before, but enjoyed it immensely. It’s anti-war in the most absurd sense, and does its work by juxtaposing the almost surreal horror of the events leading up to the fire bombing of Dresden in WW2 with the banal comings and goings of death. For a book that makes aContinue reading “Book Review: Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut”

The Lack of Pen is Mightier Than The Pen

I’ve not posted for some time, partly because of the dastardly construct that is RL, and partly because my latest novel, The Hole In The Sky (let’s call it HITS for short, yes?), had been plaguing me with a sore plot point that didn’t quite make sense, and had caused progress to grind to aContinue reading “The Lack of Pen is Mightier Than The Pen”

Diversity of Thought

Recently I had a debate with another writer on the topic of cultural appropriation that was too mild to be labelled as ‘heated’, yet interesting enough to warrant further investigation. Coincidentally, around the same time earlier this month Lionel Shriver appear on Mark Steyn’s ill-fated The Mark Steyn Show, primarily to discuss her now infamous “SombreroContinue reading “Diversity of Thought”

The Worshipful Company of Writers

After posting my previous blog on getting out of the house, one or two people mentioned to me that it’s not always that easy and that not everyone is as outgoing as, well, me, I suppose. It’s very easy to espouse a certain behaviour when it comes relatively easily to oneself. This difficulty of presenting oneselfContinue reading “The Worshipful Company of Writers”

Get Out Of The Bloody House

Over the last few weeks things have going very nicely over at Jones Towers, with a few little opportunities and meetings here and there happening that give me quite confidence that I’m slowly but surely moving in the right direction in my writing career. Baby steps, perhaps, but once aggregated they feel more significant. AndContinue reading “Get Out Of The Bloody House”

The Expendability of Electronica

I’m currently re-reading Bryan Wigmore’s wonderful debut The Goddess Project (my review of it is here), and a passage in Chapter 11 struck me with its lyrical, majestic prose. It’s a passage related by the main character Orc in the second person singular. Here’s a taste. “When your famished body had been eaten and shed as tears byContinue reading “The Expendability of Electronica”

YAWB: London Book Fair 2017 Debrief: Opportunity Is…

Yesterday I attended the London Book Fair for the second time (2016 being the first for me), and once again it was an illuminating and valuable experience. What’s more, it was a very different experience to the one I had last year. In April 2016 I hadn’t yet finished Man O’War, and hadn’t yet signedContinue reading “YAWB: London Book Fair 2017 Debrief: Opportunity Is…”

YAWB: You Can’t Judge A Bookshop By Its Cover

There is a current controversy surrounding whether or not Waterstones are being underhand or manipulative in opening new book stores in Southwold, Rye and Harpenden but withholding the Waterstones company name from the facade. The argument goes that apparently this impersonation of an independent bookshop is damaging the high street by killing off the real indie bookshops,Continue reading “YAWB: You Can’t Judge A Bookshop By Its Cover”