The Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon Out Tomorrow!

Monday, April 27, 2009, 8:27 PM


Tomorrow, Tuesday 28th of April, marks the launch of The Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, the debut novel from my friend Cindy Pon. Many of my visitors here will already know Cindy, but for those who don't, she is an incredibly talented writer and artist. I saw one of her paintings close up while I was in New York, and it was one of the most exquisite pieces of art I've ever clapped eyes on. Cindy's ability with words is no less exceptional, and The Silver Phoenix is sure to be a huge hit with younger and older readers alike. Here's her rather excellent book trailer:



Buy the book online from an independent bookstore, Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble or call into your local book shop.

I believe Cindy is having a special celebration at her blog tomorrow, so be sure to drop by and wish her well. Also, another blogging friend Ellen Oh is running a contest all week at her blog in which you can win a signed copy of The Silver Phoenix.

On a personal note, I wish Cindy all the best with her debut novel, and congratulations on what I know is a dream come true. Cindy and I bagged our respective agents and publishing deals around the same time last year, and we both know the ups and downs of the process. So, good luck Cindy, you deserve all your success.

Oh, and she's a bit of a looker. :)

New Book Trailer for The Ghosts of Belfast

Monday, April 20, 2009, 5:53 PM

I've just uploaded a new book trailer for The Ghosts of Belfast to YouTube - hope you like it!

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Blood's a Rover by James Ellroy: Perks of the Job

Saturday, April 18, 2009, 6:33 PM

There are many, many perks to having Nat Sobel as your agent. Here's one of them:



My doorbell rang at 8:30 this morning, and it being a Saturday, I was a little discombobulated. I woke up pretty sharpish when I found this baby on my doorstep. Apart from the early hour, the timing is perfect. I'm just finishing up John Ajvide Lindqvist's LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (which, by the way, is the best vampire novel since Bram Stoker's DRACULA). So, I will be cracking open Ellroy's long awaited conclusion to the Underworld USA trilogy some time this weekend, and I can't wait. I have been told that BLOOD'S A ROVER is a masterpiece.

I shall blog about it when I'm done (fancy a review, Mr Brennan?), though that might be a week or two. I am a tortuously slow reader; Ellroy's isn't the easiest writing to chew and digest, and this is a pretty hefty chunk of book at more than 640 pages. I have leafed through, and from the odd sentence that I've read, it seems closer in style to AMERICAN TABLOID than THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, but that's only a first impression. Oh, and the first section of the book is titled "CLUSTER FUCK".

This is going to be good.

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The Twelve Now On Sale - sort of

Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 1:20 PM

I was surprised to find a proof copy of The Twelve for sale on eBay today. These are so thin on the ground my agent wasn't even able to get a hold of copies to send to the translators for the foreign editions. I can't even get hold of one to send to a blogging friend for review. The one copy I have, I had to steal that back off my mum just so I could do a reading.

I think I'll bid on it myself. I'm not kidding.

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Interview in The Bookseller Magazine

Thursday, April 09, 2009, 9:01 PM

My interview has just appeared in The Bookseller magazine, the UK's publishing trade bible. I'm told it's a big deal to get an interview in The Bookseller, so I am very pleased with my publicist at Harvill Secker, Claire Jackson. I am also very impressed with how Alice O'Keefe conducted the interview, and generally made what could have been a rather scary experience a most pleasant and relaxed one.

The article can be read online here.

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Thanks, Spammers

Friday, April 03, 2009, 1:42 PM

After a spate of comment spamming here over the last few days I've had to turn word verification back on. I know it's a pain, but as needs must. Hopefully this will cure the problem, but if not, I'll have to turn off anonymous comments too. Hopefully it won't come to that.