Here Comes the Judge
I'm proud and delighted to announce that I have been asked to be one of the panel of five judges for this year's World Fantasy Awards. Of course, I realise that this involves a massive amount of work (my old mate Tim Lebbon did this job a few years ago, and tells me that on one particular day he received 97 books!), but it is also a huge privilege and an exciting challenge.
My fellow judges are Peter Coleborn, Robert Hoge, Dennis L. McKiernan and Steve Pasechnick, and as a panel we have to come up with nominees for Best Novel, Best Collection, Best Anthology, Best Novella, Best Short Story, Best Artist...etc etc. To do this, obviously, we have to read as much fantasy & horror fiction that was published in 2007 as we possibly can: a massive undertaking, which, at times, admittedly seems an incredibly daunting, if not impossible, task - especially considering the fact that I still have to fit my own work (four impending deadlines), my part time job and my family life into that equation.
But hey, at the end of the day I figure I can only do my best. I'll read what I can in the time available and I'll make my judgements based on that. And at least, instead of succumbing to the temptation of flopping down in front of the TV on an evening, I'm now doing what I keep telling myself I should do more of, which is finding a quiet corner of the house and spending a few hours reading. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do read quite a bit anyway - probably around forty or so books a year, which is certainly far more than the national average. But there are so many good books out there, so many books I want to read, that I always feel as though I could and should read more.
Well, now I've got the opportunity. And so far I'm really enjoying the experience and trying not to let the pressure of it get to me.
Speaking of deadlines, I'm less than three weeks away from the deadline for my new Doctor Who novel, Ghosts of India. It's been going well - I think - and at 38,000 words with around 12,000 to go, I'm nicely on schedule. It's fun, but a bit strange, writing scenes which involve conversations between Gandhi and the Doctor's new companion, Donna (as played by Catherine Tate). At the outset I had no idea how this relationship in particular would pan out, but it's not been anywhere near as problematical as I anticipated - in fact the scenes, and the conversations, between them have flowed quite naturally. I only hope that readers think I've done both characters justice when the book is published in September.
I've now seen the cover for the book, and it's fab, and as soon as the BBC officially give the go ahead, I'll post it up here for you all to ogle at and coo over. I've also seen the cover for my forthcoming Hellboy novel, The All-Seeing Eye, which is a beautiful piece of original artwork from Mike Mignola. Again, as soon as I'm allowed to, I'll post the cover on the website.
Right, better go. Doctor Who and a vast pile of reading await me.
Until next time...
My fellow judges are Peter Coleborn, Robert Hoge, Dennis L. McKiernan and Steve Pasechnick, and as a panel we have to come up with nominees for Best Novel, Best Collection, Best Anthology, Best Novella, Best Short Story, Best Artist...etc etc. To do this, obviously, we have to read as much fantasy & horror fiction that was published in 2007 as we possibly can: a massive undertaking, which, at times, admittedly seems an incredibly daunting, if not impossible, task - especially considering the fact that I still have to fit my own work (four impending deadlines), my part time job and my family life into that equation.
But hey, at the end of the day I figure I can only do my best. I'll read what I can in the time available and I'll make my judgements based on that. And at least, instead of succumbing to the temptation of flopping down in front of the TV on an evening, I'm now doing what I keep telling myself I should do more of, which is finding a quiet corner of the house and spending a few hours reading. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do read quite a bit anyway - probably around forty or so books a year, which is certainly far more than the national average. But there are so many good books out there, so many books I want to read, that I always feel as though I could and should read more.
Well, now I've got the opportunity. And so far I'm really enjoying the experience and trying not to let the pressure of it get to me.
Speaking of deadlines, I'm less than three weeks away from the deadline for my new Doctor Who novel, Ghosts of India. It's been going well - I think - and at 38,000 words with around 12,000 to go, I'm nicely on schedule. It's fun, but a bit strange, writing scenes which involve conversations between Gandhi and the Doctor's new companion, Donna (as played by Catherine Tate). At the outset I had no idea how this relationship in particular would pan out, but it's not been anywhere near as problematical as I anticipated - in fact the scenes, and the conversations, between them have flowed quite naturally. I only hope that readers think I've done both characters justice when the book is published in September.
I've now seen the cover for the book, and it's fab, and as soon as the BBC officially give the go ahead, I'll post it up here for you all to ogle at and coo over. I've also seen the cover for my forthcoming Hellboy novel, The All-Seeing Eye, which is a beautiful piece of original artwork from Mike Mignola. Again, as soon as I'm allowed to, I'll post the cover on the website.
Right, better go. Doctor Who and a vast pile of reading await me.
Until next time...
posted by Mark M at 10:19 AM
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