Jasmyn :: Alex Bell - Happy Book Birthday!

Happy Book Birthday to Jasmyn :: Alex Bell

"One day, without warning, Jasmyn's husband died of an aneurysm. Since then, everything has been different. Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour - without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice strange events. Even with Liam gone, things are not as they should be, and eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the mysteries that have sprung up after her husband's death . . . and follow their trail back into the events of his life. But the mysteries are deeper than Jasmyn expects, and are leading her in unexpected directions - into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into a story of a lost past, and a stolen love. She's entering a magical story. Jasmyn's story."

Alex is a brilliant writer, a very cool lady [check out her blog here]* and a wearer of seriously *hot* shoes! But don't take my word for it, here's what others have said ...

"Impressive." (Jonathan Wright SFX )

"Bell's strength lies in fusing fairytale and psychological suspense in a compelling modern narrative, combined with effective characterisation. Bell charts original territory with considerable charm." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )

"Occasionally heart-wrenching, occasionally creepy but altogether deeply personal character study. Bell's charactersisation and prose is infectious, expressed on the page with an oddly compulsive pace. All in all, this is a fine piece of literature." (James Rundle SCI FI NOW )

* Don't forget to say hello to Erin ... seen here with Alex :-)

The Forbidden Planet Signing Report!

Left to right: Tom Lloyd, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Jaine Fenn, Joe Abercrombie, James Swallow, Suzanne McLeod, Alex Bell, Mark Chadbourn, David Devereux

What can I say; this was so cool on so many levels that I’m just going to list them :-)

1. David Devereux’s got a head full of fab, fantastic and original ideas, [read his books and you’ll see!] but the group author signing/mini-con has to top them all, both for its concept and his generosity in persuading threatening with unspeakable tortures* his fellow authors** to take part.

2. Readers brought [and bought] my book for me to sign! Whoo hoo! A big, big thank you from my heart to all of them.

3. I got to chat to old friends [among them Liz of My Favourite Books – check out her blog for more photos] and new about books, SFF and writing. To finally meet online friends in the real world instead of just cyberspace. The two hours of mixing it up with everyone flew by I was enjoying the company so much.

4. Forbidden Planet is awesome, a veritable bookshop heaven for SFF readers; the shelves are full of books!! [Okay, it’s a bookshop, I know, but these are shelves full of books by authors I love and those authors who are on my reading wishlist and are usually ones I have to order to get. I just don’t see their books on shelves all together like that in real life, let alone pick them up and stroke look at them, so FP is a SFF fans’ wonderland, a place to get lost in – literally at times *g* – and of course, there’s not just books, but all sorts!]

5. I got to buy new books and have them signed by some of my favourite authors!! Major squeeee time!

6. There’s was live footage by Nik of Loudmouthman and podcasts by David of GeekSyndicate – so it will be possible to watch/listen to us authors as we roamed free and uncaged by signing tables in the basement depths of FP – watch this space for further details.

7. And a mega thank you to Danie at Forbidden Planet, [Danie's photos here] for organising [this woman would be a world champion at herding cats after the practice she’s had on all us authors LOL!] and those at FP, London for hosting the event, and may there be many more like it. [Check out Danie's photos to find out who the mystery author in attendance was!]

*Check out Graeme's Fantasy Book Review for more info on David Devereux’s new book Eagle Rising – Graeme himself is one of the book’s star victims characters.

** Visit the authors’ websites

Joe Abercrombie

Alex Bell

Mark Chadbourn

David Devereux

Jaine Fenn

Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Tom Lloyd

Suzanne McLeod

Steve Savile

James Swallow

Forbidden Planet Signing

I'm excited and delighted to say that on Thursday 22nd January, starting at 5:00pm, Forbidden Planet will be hosting a mass signing/mix-it-up with the following authors: -

Joe Abercrombie
Alex Bell
Mark Chadbourn
David Devereux
Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Tom Lloyd
Suzanne McLeod
Steve Savile

And this isn't going to be your traditional signing; danacea of Forbidden Planet describes it as book-buffet-party/wacky miniCon where the tables will be shifted to one side and the authors can mix it up with their fans. So if you're in and about Forbidden Planet, London* on the 22nd, come and check it out and say hello/ask questions/keep us from feeling lonely/chat to all of us :-)

Visit danacea 's blog for some more details.

ETA: Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR