News

Where was I when Barack Obama was elected? Signing books in Dark Delicacies horror bookstore, Burbank, CA. Followed by a birthday party for Britain’s top freelance editor, Stephen Jones. A great evening, during which a lot of my good friends from LA showed up.

I’ve started up a blog on the subject of my new novels, called ‘Welcome to Raine’s Landing’. It will take a while to filter through to Google, but in the meantime the URL is http://raineslanding.blogspot.com.

And the manuscript of Raine’s Landing book #2 – ‘Night of Demons’ – is finally with my editor at Eos/HarperCollins.

My third story set in the fictional town of Birchiam-on-Sea – ‘Pages from a Broken Book’ – is now out in Black Static #7. What happened to the second one, I hear you ask? Well, despite the fact I wrote it before PfaBB, it isn’t out yet. It’s called ‘Birchiam Pier’, and is due to be published in ‘The British Invasion’.

October means Halloween, and Halloween means World Fantasy. Met a load of old friends, made some new ones, got taken to dinner by my editor, and read from ‘Dark Rain’. Calgary is a nice little town with excellent restaurants and – though it should have been freezing and even snowing – the weather was kind to us for pretty much the entire convention.

British Fantasycon in Nottingham this year was one of the best ever. Saw a lot of friends, met a lot of people I only ever see that time of year, sat on a couple of panels, and did a reading from ‘Dark Rain’.

Which is now out, by the way, as is my bumper-sized US collection ‘Shadows and Other Tales’. Full details of both are on my home page.

Incidentally, if anyone out there knows the artist Peter Lloyd, who illustrated the cover of the June 1982 edition of Isaac Asimov’s SF Magazine – my story ‘The Tide Will Come’ – will you please ask him to get in touch with me, since I am trying to contact him about that painting?

If you’re attending World Fantasy in Calgary, please note that I’m reading from ‘Dark Rain’ on Friday afternoon. Look forward to seeing you there. I’ll be signing my work at the Autograph Evening later that day. And, of course, at Dark Delicacies bookstore, Burbank, CA, on November 4th, 4 p.m. onwards.

‘Going Back’ has made the short-list for a British Fantasy Award for Best Collection.

Oh, and it’s going to be made into an audio-book.

The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #19 is now out, and contains my story ‘Man, You Gotta See This!.’ I’ll be signing copies at British Fantasycon, and also on November 4th at the Dark Delicacies bookstore, Burbank, California. I’ll also be signing copies of ‘Dark Rain’ and ‘Shadows and Other Tales’ at the CA venue, and will sign just about anything you want – except a cheque – at World Fantasy 2008 in Calgary.

Additionally, I’ll be reading from ‘Dark Rain’ both at World Fantasy and at British Fantasycon, and will be appearing on a couple of panels at the latter.

My brilliant string of luck with covers for my books continues. I’ve just seen the one for ‘Shadows and Other Tales’, and it is absolutely superb. Looking forward to posting that one on my home page.

My story ‘Night Game’ – set in the imaginary Midlands town of Shaddaton (shadow town, geddit?) – has appeared in Black Static #5. If you don’t yet subscribe to the UK’s leading horror magazine, why not consider it? More can be discovered by going to Links and visiting ‘TTA Press’.

If you want a sneak preview of ‘Dark Rain’, then go to the Eos/Harpercollins website and click on ‘The Eos Reader’.

Oh, and talking of TTA Press, they have just bought ‘Pages From a Broken Book’, my third story set in the fictitious town – I’m rather fond of those places – called Birchiam-on-Sea. It will appear in, yes, Black Static.

This fall will not only see the publication of ‘Dark Rain’. It will see the US publication of a huge collection of my tales, both classical and modern. ‘Shadows and Other Tales’ will be appearing from Dark Regions Press, and will showcase twenty one examples of my fiction, including a full-length novella and my acclaimed novelette ‘A Night in Tunisia’. It has a foreword by yours truly, and I even wrote the back-cover blurb!

Last year’s collection ‘Going Back’ is now available on the web from Fictionwise. The direct link – get ready with your pencil – is www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/TonyRichardsBooks.htm. Is that case specific? I have absolutely no idea.

It looks like my new collection ‘Passport to Purgatory’ is going to be in print next month, after an unavoidable delay. I’ll let you know more as soon as I know more.

My story ‘Man, You Gotta See This!’ – which first appeared in last year’s collection ‘Going Back’ – has been selected by Stephen Jones for inclusion in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Volume #19.

The final issue for the time being – #30 – of Scheherazade is now out and includes, I’m very proud to say, my Madrid-based tale ‘The Spanish Portrait’. Thanks and congrats to Liz and Deirdre Counihan for producing such a consistently excellent magazine down the years, and best wishes to Liz in her retirement.

The completed version of ‘Dark Rain’ is in, exactly on deadline. And HarperCollins are very excited about it.

At last, my dark fantasy tale ‘The Sentinels’ has appeared in the long-awaited Black Static issue #3.

Still hard at work on the completed final draft of ‘Dark Rain’, and there is little else to report.

richardsreality.com has been updated, with new info, extra photographs, and an extended bibliography. Shame to lose the wonderful Paul Lowe covers from my Home Page – for ‘Postcards from Terri’ and ‘Ghost Dance’ – but Sarob Press is, alas, no more. And besides, ‘PfT’ and ‘Under the Ice’ (from ‘Ghost Dance’) are now available in paperback, in ‘No-Man and Other Tales’. There’ll be another brief update when ‘Passport to Purgatory’ comes out. And then I plan a big expansion of the site next Autumn, when ‘Dark Raine’ hits the bookstands.

Disaster strikes part deux (or should that be d’oh?). I was due to attend, on consecutive nights, the Crime Writers’ Assocation Xmas bash, and the British Fantasy Society’s equally festive open evening, with my new collection ‘No-Man and Other Tales’ being launched at the latter. And I had to miss both due to an injured back. My social life has not been what it should be for the past couple of months. Roll on 2008.

My forthcoming novel ‘Dark Raine’ has now become ‘Dark Rain’. It’s always sad when a good, hard-working E loses its job, but such is life. I’m hard at work right now on the final draft. Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone.

Disaster strikes (it always does eventually, doesn’t it?) I was due to attend World Fantasy in Saratoga Springs, NY, this month. Was going to have dinner with my new editor at HarperCollins. Was booked to do a half-hour reading at the con. Had everything prepared. And then I got struck down with this flu bug that’s been going around, and was too sick to make the flight. Ah well, it gives me an excuse to visit New York next spring, I suppose. And by the time I go to next year’s WFC, in Calgary, ‘Dark Raine’ will be on the shelves.

Writer, publisher, editor, critic and man-about-genre John Pelan has just delivered a 1,000 word introduction to my forthcoming collection ‘Passport to Purgatory’. And it’s wonderful. Many thanks, John!

The paperback collection of four of my novellas – ‘No-Man and Other Tales’ – is going to be launched by Pendragon Press at the BFS Xmas Open. I’ll be there (obviously) as will editor Chris Teague and numerous other luminaries from the dark fantasy world. See British Fantasy Society on my Links page for details.

Not much to report, I’m afraid. When I’m working on a novel, as I am at the moment, then everything else sort of goes to the wall. I’m not bothering much with short stories at the moment, in other words, though I still have a good handful due out during the next few months, in Black Static, Weird Tales, Scheherazade, and a couple of good anthologies.

British Fantasycon in Nottingham was, as usual, a highly enjoyable event, although I had to leave on Saturday evening, since I had a flight to Vienna (yes, Austria) the next day. Which meant I missed Gary Couzens picking up the Best Anthology award for The Elastic Book of Music. Proud to have been a part of the project, though. Elastic Press have picked up that particular award for three years running, now.

REALLY BIG BOOK NEWS:
Eos, the sf/fantasy imprint of HarperCollins US, have contracted me for two new full-length novels. They are a mixture of dark fantasy and supernatural thriller, and will both be set in the imaginary town of Raine’s Landing, Massachusetts – a very strange place, full of arcane magic and mysterious characters. The first book, ‘Dark Raine’, is due out in autumn of 2008. The second, tentatively entitled ‘Shadow Town’, will appear in 2009.

I’m afraid ‘Passport to Purgatory’ has been delayed a while, and will not be launched at FantasyCon. It is coming out, though, as soon as is possible.

Chris Teague at Pendragon has shown me the cover for ‘No-Man and other stories’. It is superb, and I can’t wait to put it on this site.

Elastic Press have run a second printing of ‘Going Back’, making it one of their top-selling titles.

My new, extremely scary tale ‘The Crows’ has been taken by the excellent Midnight Streeet.

The next collection of mine, from Gray Friar Press, is going to be called ‘Passport to Purgatory’. There are fifteen of my stories in it, actually, including some of my best ghost ones from the Eighties. It will be launched at this year’s British Fantasycon. Oh, and renowned editor John Pelan has ageed to write the introduction.

The collection of four novellas from Pendragon, due to be launched at the BFS Xmas Open Evening, will be called ‘No-Man and other stories’.

Just back from this year’s World Horror Convention, in Toronto, Canada, which will generally be remembered as being the one at which a lot more Brits than usual turned up (because they feel safer in Commonwealth countries, perhaps?) and grumbled about jet-lag. No, in fact it will be remembered for a good deal more than that! The con was principally organised by Stephen Jones, Mandy Slater, and Amanda Foubister, and they did such a terrific and professional job that it was, by common agreement, the best WHC ever. A great time had by all. Huge thanks and congratulations to them.

THIS YEAR’S BOOK NEWS: My first ever p/b collection of short stories is due out at the end of this month. But now there’s another one due in the autumn. Whereas ‘Going Back’ is mostly a collection of dark-fantasy and slipstream tales, Gray Friar Press have agreed to collect about a baker’s dozen of my more genre-oriented supernatural and horror stories, including ones that made their first appearance in Pan Horror, Fontana Ghosts, and Weird Tales. No title has been decided on as yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as we pick out a catchy one.

AND ON THE SAME SUBJECT: Last year, I announced Pendragon Press were bringing out a paperback compilation of three of my novellas. Well, the book’s still coming out, but they’ve decided to include a fourth. My brand-new ‘A Black Glass Slipper’ – set mostly in London, and centred around sex-trafficking – is going into the book as well. Still no title. Keep you posted.

‘Going Back’ – my first ever paperback collection of short fiction (dark fantasy, slipstream, one mystery story, one mainstream tale) – was launched at the Alt.Fiction festival in Derby on the weekend of the 28th. I went along, read from the book, did a Q&A, and then spent the rest of the evening hanging out with friends and meeting new ones. A brilliant event, thanks to Alex Davis and his intrepid team, and one I’ll certainly be going back (’scuse the pun) to next year. You can find out more about the book by returning to this site’s Home Page and scrolling down (or visit Elastic Press in Links).

My horror tale ‘The Moon Also Rises’ – set in southern Spain – is now out in Dark Discoveries #9. If you don’t know much about this excellent new US magazine, then look towards the bottom of my Links page for more details.

My fantasy story ‘The Bay’ – set partly on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia – has been picked up by Weird Tales.

Wildside Press’ new magazine Cat Tales is to reprint my 2002 comic-fantasy ‘Non-Existent Cats’. It’s about – um – cats, obviously.

To Leicester Central Library for their first ever ‘Fright Night’ event, organised by Damien Walter. The main act of the evening was Grand Master Ramsey Campbell, but Sarah Pinborough also did a turn, and I read out ‘The Moon Also Rises’, recently published in Dark Discoveries. It was a very well-attended and succesful evening, and they’re doing it all again next year.