Updates from my Publisher

Regular readers will know I have a great relationship with my publisher: unusual for author and Fantastic Books Publishing is something of a maverick and a man who knows the value of talent and honesty.
publisher to be friends, of course, but Dan Grubb of

Two bits of great news today and to present them, I'll simply copy the words from recent newsletters sent out by the publisher:

Stuart Aken’s final novel in his ‘A SearedSky’ series
Stuart’s trilogy has been very well received by epic fantasy fans and his attention to detail, meticulous planning and hand drawn world maps all combine to make this series something really special. The third in the series ‘Convergence’ will be available as an ebook soon and as a print-on-demand paperback shortly afterwards.

SA: Can't wait for it!

Fusion:

SA: This collection was formerly only available in digital form. now those who prefer to hold a book in their hands can also read it!

A collection of 25 stories of fantasy and science fiction from around the globe, each illustrated by digital artist Alice Taylor.

This collection has been compiled from the winners of the Fantastic Books Publishing International Charity Short Story Competition 2012 and features 2 stories from our professional contributors Danuta Reah and Stuart Aken.

10% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the WCRF (World Cancer Research Fund – Registered Charity Number – 1000739) who do sterling work in the field of global cancer prevention.

SIGNED BY THE ARTIST!

This is a PRE-ORDER purchase. Orders placed on or before the 15th December will be delivered to you in time for the December holidays.

SA: To order your copy, click on this link.

Price: £7.99

AUTHORS:
Apeksha Harsh
Brad Greenwood
Celia Coyne
Danuta Reah
David K Paterson
Dawn Hudd
Denise Hayes
Drew Wagar
Joanna Vandenbring
John Hoggard
John-Paul Cleary
Jonny Rowland
Katy Huth Jones
Leonie Ewing
Natalie Kleinman
Peter Ford
Peter Holz
Polly Robinson
Rose Thurlbeck
Sarah Cuming
Stuart Aken
Thomas Pitts
Walt Pilcher

So, there you go. More good stuff for those who love to read. Enjoy.

#BookADayUK; A Reader Event For October. Day 25

I missed yesterday's piece on the #bookadayUK topic - too busy with other things. But I'll do a brief piece now, before I do today's.
The theme was 'Mmmmm! Most memorable food/drink moment in literature'. I could point out the pre-sex scene in Tom Jones, but I suspect that's very well known.  Beyond that, I couldn't think of anything to begin with. Then I recalled the spoof restaurant critic review that takes the form of a darkly humorous story in my speculative fiction collection, Ten Tales for Tomorrow.
The story, A Gastronomic Treat at the Edge of the Galaxy, details the experiences of an alien restaurant critic on a tour of our solar system and discovering some edible delights on planet Earth. Those who've read the story have enjoyed it. Might be worth a look.

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• #BookADayUK; A Reader Event For October. Day 18

Fusion, by Fantastic Books Publishing, Reviewed.

This collection of 25 science fiction and fantasy tales represents the cream of the entries for a short story contest run by Fantastic Books. The stories included are the contest winners plus a couple from professional writers, invited by the organisers. 10% of sales receipts will go to cancer charities.

Anthologies are sometimes patchy affairs, but not this one. The quality of the writing is pretty consistent and all the stories are well told (I must add here that I contributed one of the tales). But consistency doesn’t mean similarity. There’s great variety here. Some humour, some darkness and something for younger readers. All speculative fiction, the stories entertain, amuse, inspire and make the reader think.

There are characters of every sort lurking in this selection and plots to suit all tastes. This is a collection you can read at one sitting, as I did, or dip into for those short breaks over coffee, when a longer piece must be interrupted. I enjoyed all the stories but I don’t intend to describe them in this short review. All are different and all demonstrate the imaginative power of their creators, the skill of these writers as storytellers. I thoroughly recommend the book to all who love their fiction with a twist of the unexpected.

To buy for Kindle through Amazon UK, click here.

To buy for Kindle through Amazon USA, click here. 

To buy for all ebook formats through Smashwords, click here.

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• Fusion ~ the Anthology from Fantastic Books Publishing

#SampleSunday - 1 of 10 Tales for Tomorrow for your enjoyment

This is a very short story (also known as flash fiction) from the collection of speculative fiction that is my anthology of science fiction and fantasy. Ten Tales for Tomorrow is available via Smashwords, on Amazon UK (click on the title to this post for the link) or Amazon.com  If you enjoy this sample, you might want to try more of the book. It's an eBook and can be read on most eReaders, including your PC or Mac via any .pdf reader.

A Land Despoiled

No one had been so far south for a decade. His trip of desperation was hope for those living in the north.

'Nothing but GM oilseed rape, as far as the eye can see.'

'Your height and location?'

He told them, sneezing and coughing as the pungent odour punished his nose and throat even two hundred metres up.

'Any wildlife?'

'Bees by the billion. Some adapted birds. Millions of crickets.'

'Trees?'

'All dead or dying.'

'Anything green?'

'Even flying at three metres there's nothing but acid yellow to every horizon.'

'Any people?'

'One small camp, maybe thirty individuals. What do they live on?'

'You'd better return now. Storm approaching from the Atlantic. Be your location, three hours.'

He scanned southwest, saw black billows pushing blue sky. Cutting power to everything but the prop gave his solar-powered microlite a chance to outstrip the weather. If it didn't, three-hundred kilometre winds would rip it, and him, to shreds.

Below, unbroken brimstone slipped past at speed. Even river beds and dried up lakes sported the ubiquitous plant. Four hundred kilometres north, occasional rain allowed specially cloned goats to exist on parched pastures, rains permitting. But continuing drought seared the land below. When the flowers died, smoke from lightening fires would replace the current dust and pollen mix.

West, a dark scar marked the ruin that was Birmingham, home to criminals and outcasts since the Great Starvation. He tacked east and glanced behind at building clouds.

A red diode flashed in his visor and he leaked power to hear the message.

'You've seventy minutes at most.'

'I estimate sixty-seven to the bunker.'

He cut power back to the prop and hoped cloud wouldn't obscure the sun. His biofuel emergency tank held enough for just twenty minutes in fair conditions.

Derby was still in flames, smoke soaring high and thick. He veered, keeping sunlight on his power cells.

Wind buffeted him over the Savage Zone, where renegades took pot-shots at him with home-made weapons. Cloud patched sunlight, dropping his power and subjecting him to fitful gusts. Skill, willpower and biofuel took him down the last slopes of the hills and he reached the tidal flatlands flooding York. As the sun vanished behind black cloud, the base, with bunker doors ajar for him, hove into view two kilometres north. He stripped off and jettisoned his protective shell to lessen weight. Unclipped landing wheels and watched them fall to fighting scavengers. The cameras and recorders with their data were vital. With atmospheric interference rendering satellites all but useless, his records would be all they'd have.

Skimming the high electric fence out of the Savage Zone, he felt power surging toward him as he crossed it. Brown fields passed beneath him and, ahead, uniformed figures stood by doors, urging him home. He wrestled with cameras and recorders, stuffing them inside his sweatshirt. Fitful wind lifted him thirty metres, then dropped him like trash. He swivelled the wings to break the fall, unstrapping himself as the aircraft rushed to meet the ground. A forward roll reduced impact and he stumbled the last few metres with only a dislocated shoulder as the cost for urgency. Hands dragged him through closing doors battered by the wrecked craft as the dry storm hit them. A medic relocated his shoulder, helped him into fatigues, and strapped his arm into immobility.

The commander shook his hand and took the data.

'Good work. Can we move back?'

'You know why they named that stuff rape when you look down on that desert. Thousands of hectares glowing bilious yellow. No Sir, we can never go back.'

The Science Fiction Anthology is Complete

Ten Tales for Tomorrow, a collection of ten of my science fiction and speculative fiction shorts, is now uploaded to Smashwords. It takes about a week for them to approve a new text and place it into their Premium Catalogue. It is, however, available to buy right now, should you want to do that. I've priced it at $0.99 (they only do dollar prices, but this converts to about £0.63 for UK readers).
If you want to read the stories but don't have an eReader, you can read it on your PC or Mac by choosing the PDF format. If you don't have a PDF reader on your home computer, you can download the Adobe Reader free from here.

The Kindle version can be bought here for UK and here for USA

And here is a review by: Penny Grubb on Jan. 27, 2011:
This is vintage Aken. He is a master of the short story and can get inside the hearts of minds of an incredible array of characters - not always human. Each story draws you into its world and compels you to stay to the end, even if some of these worlds are not so nice. The writing style is both rich and lean. Not a word to spare but everything said.