Lee Moan's Steam-Powered Typewriter

How do you write? In silence? Or with heavy metal blasting out at full blast? I used to be able to write with my favourite music playing (usually on my headphones, especially if the kids were in bed). But in recent times I've found it increasingly hard to concentrate with music, particularly music with lyrics. Quite often now I will play a movie score soundtrack. Batman Begins is a favourite, as is John Carter . Recently, though, I've discovered some even more useful musical accompaniment on YouTube. The video below is a good place to start. Not quite 'ambient', more... 'atmospheric'. Puts me in just the right mood for composing prose. ['Comprosing'? Err, no.] Check it out. And if you don't like this one, there are plenty more to choose from.

If you enjoy a good supernatural thriller, this could be for you. From tomorrow, Friday August 18th, you'll be able to pick it up for free on Kindle. This offer lasts until Sunday the 20th. Grab a Kindle copy while you can. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies! Tell the strange bloke who lives down the end of your road who's always a bit cranky. Tell the world! Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk

“No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!”  ~ C. Joybell C. The past two years have been a difficult time for me personally. But I'm still here, still fighting the good fight. New updates coming soon . . .

I remember way back in 1999, as the world was gearing up to return to the Star Wars Universe for the very first prequel, the anticipation reached fever pitch. In the midst of all the excitement, one commenter had wise words to share - that no film could possibly live up to the expectation being heaped upon this movie. Star Wars is a phenomenon, and the arrival of a new movie is always an event, regardless of whether you're a fan or not. That call for caution was not only wise but also prescient. After watching The Phantom Menace , it took me a long time to realise just how much was wrong with it. The war in my heart between wanting something I loved to be great and the disappointing realisation that it wasn't lasted several years. Now we are at a similar point. In a month's time, a new Star Wars film will hit cinemas and, once again, the anticipation and excitement is infectious. But I believe we have good reason to be excited. For a while, their was an air of caution ...

Very proud and excited to have a story in this great new anthology! From the publisher's page: "For decades we’ve had vampires, werewolves, Jason, Freddy, and Michael. And now zombies have gone all Hollywood. Out of a need to figure out what is the next classic monster, publisher and lifelong horror enthusiast Gerald Dean Rice has assembled this fresh and downright disturbing collection of short stories featuring some of the most clever and imaginative horror writers of the day including Tim Curran, Jeff Strand, Armand Rosamilia, Rebecca Besser, MontiLee Stormer, Lee Moan, Tonia Brown, Jake Bible, Faye McCray, and Jimmy Pudge. Inside, the diverse cast of contributors introduces new breeds of monsters such as sentient sex dolls, anti-zombie terrorists, suicidal cultists, the woman who can smell sin, and more. These monsters come alive within the pages, and they are blow-your-mind frightening. They are just what the horror world needs. They are Anything but Zombies!" ...

A few thoughts on Doctor Who, and 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi (Den of Geek Article) Whilst Den of Geek has pretty much nailed it all on the head in the above article, I just wanted to add my own thoughts on the casting of Peter Capaldi in the iconic role of the Doctor. First things first, now that the news is sinking in, I am very very pleased. Buzzing, in fact. Peter Capaldi's name was linked with the role over the past few days and even Den of Geek dismissed the idea as a little bit of misdirection, and I was quite convinced it was. But as soon as I saw his hand on the live TV show I shouted out, "It IS Peter Capaldi!", and I found myself suitably thrilled and confused at the same time. Considering the ages of recent Doctors I just didn't expect to see a new Doctor being cast who was over 40, let alone over 50. (Mr Capaldi is 55). But I am soooo glad they did. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Doctors since the show started anew in 2005, and although...

Light years from home. Bonded to an alien for survival. A dark secret is about to be revealed . . . The planet Verdana was supposed to be their new home, their new Eden. But shortly after arriving the human colonists were faced with a dilemma - join with the alaahi or perish. In the end, they chose the process of symbiosis, a physical conjoining with the native alaahi. But now there are whispers amongst the colonists. The alaahi are not the benevolent beings they made themselves out to be. Before long a dark secret is about to be revealed, and young Jena must make a terrible choice . . . If you haven't read Symbiosis yet (now with a brand spanking new cover), download your Kindle copy for free. But hurry, it won't be free for much longer. Amazon US Amazon UK

THE VANISHED RACE, a science-fiction mystery thriller, is free all this week on Kindle. The Free Promotion ends on Friday. Please tell your friends. Please tell your enemies. Please tell anyone who will listen. Amazon UK Amazon US

Joe and Susie Maxwell are heading across the moors to collect their daughter. Unfortunately, Joe forgot to fill up on petrol, despite his wife's advice to the contrary. To make matters worse, a strange cloud lies between them and their destination. Will they make it to their daughter before the petrol runs out? Or will they fall prey to the terrible things inside the cloud . . .? DISTANCE TO EMPTY is an edge-of-your-seat tale of terror, a devastating thrill-ride into the unknown . . .

Now that the speculation is over and a director has finally been appointed for the forthcoming Star Wars sequel ( Episode VII to give it its current correct title), our collective thoughts now turn to what we can expect from this new chapter in the Star Wars cinematic universe. THE FACTS This is what we know: 1) Episode VII is the first film in a planned new trilogy. 2) This proposed trilogy has three different screenwriters in place - Michael Arndt ( Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3 ) for Episode 7, Lawrence Kasdan ( The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark)  for 8, and Simon Kinberg ( X-Men, Sherlock Holmes, Jumper ) for 9. 3) There will be more Star Wars movies outside of the proposed trilogy - Kathleen Kennedy has suggested that Disney want 2-3 SW films per year , similar in structure to the Marvel/Disney strategy of standalone movies building up to tent-pole event movies every three years or so. 4) The trilogy will be based on "an original...

Hello me hearties! First off, apologies for the lack of blog entries, I've been very quiet on here lately . . . but for good reason. As well as editing and (almost) finishing two novels I've also started doing something I haven't done for years - making movies! I'm very excited to be back in that particular creative arena, it's always been hugely satisfying for me. Whilst I work on the various short films on the current roster, here's a very short (and a bit silly) Doctor Who skit we made. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do there'll be many more videos on the way over the next few weeks/months. Till next time, 'Adios amigos!'

The Next Big Thing is a series of networked blogs in which writers showcase and promote their latest works. I was very happy to be nominated by the wonderfully talented Carole Johnstone . Here goes... 1) What is the working title of your next book? For a long time, the working title for this book was The Silver Sea but I changed it last year to The Door in the Sky  (for a number of reasons too numerous to go into here). I love both titles, but have decided to stick with the original one, The Silver Sea . I think as this is primarily a mystery novel it certainly lends the book an air of intrigue. 2) Where did the idea come from for the book? My first published book, The Hotel Galileo, was a whodunit in the tradition of Agatha Christie - except that it was set in space. Around the same time I imagined a Victorian detective thriller where the main character finds himself trapped in an alternate reality. I saw it as a steampunk adventure but with a dark, supernatural b...

Part 1: Batman Begins (2005) Before I was a movie fan I was a comic fan. There's a geek moment in my life I recall even to this day with utter clarity. It's a Wednesday morning, about 7.30 AM. I'm sitting on the steps outside my friendly neighbourhood newsagents. Said newsagent, Mr Chidlow, comes around the corner and on seeing me does a little double-take. "Blimey, you're up early, lad," he says. Yes, I am up early. And the reason I'm there at such an ungodly hour on his doorstep? It's Wednesday morning and that means the new issue of Spider-Man is out. I can't wait a minute longer. I have to know what happens next. Looking back as a man of forty, it's hard to reconcile myself with that 10 year-old kid, an age when you could love something as simple as a comic book with the same passion you might reserve for a religion and no one thought you were strange in doing so. Okay, maybe they thought you were a little strange. In the interveni...

It's been well publicised that Disney's John Carter movie adaptation has not been the big success they had hoped for. It's still done impressive business nonetheless, bringing in so far about $179m worldwide against the reported ( exaggerated? ) budget of $250m. This doesn't take into account the future DVD sales and rental profits which are sure to match, if not exceed, the theatrical takings. I don't see John Carter as a flop by any standards. And, if I'm honest, I think it's fared better than I could ever have hoped. And I'm a huuuuge fan. Let me explain. Flash back twenty-four years. I'm sitting reading a paperback edition of George Lucas's original Star Wars scripts. Every so often the footnotes mention Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter books. These books, the footnotes tell me, were a huge influence on Lucas. Edgar Rice Burroughs? The chap who wrote Tarzan ? Really? At that time I often frequented a local second-hand bookstore...

From Press Association, London: In an announcement that is sure to upset millions of Star Wars fans and baffle many others, George Lucas has put forward his plans to remake the entire Star Wars saga from scratch, retelling the story of the Skywalker family using the same digital animation technology developed on his hit Clone Wars TV show. 'This was always what George was working towards,' a Lucasfilm spokesperson told us. 'He never felt that live-action film, even with the huge amount of CGI employed in the prequel trilogy, was able to do justice to his vision. Now, though, there are no technical limits in presenting his universe.' The other big news is that there will only be five movies in the proposed retelling, starting with events surrounding the start of the Clone Wars as depicted in Attack of the Clones . Why the ommission of The Phantom Menace ? 'Let's face it,' the spokesman said, ' The Phantom Menace is very much unloved by a lot of fans. ...

( The following story first appeared in From the Asylum, July 2006) Guardian Jim Hughes had just opened the front door to put out the trash when he saw the Ferrier kid. He was standing in a spot of moonlight at the bottom of the garden path, staring up at the house. The sight of him almost made Hughes drop the can. “Hey!” he called. “Who is that?” The boy didn’t reply, but Hughes quickly realised who it was. He recognised Ferrier from the descriptions he’d overheard from the local kids. Painfully thin and impossibly tall, his face a mass of acne scars. His clothes were also several sizes too small, which gave him a scarecrow-like appearance. But what confirmed it for Hughes were his eyes. They were huge. Great white cue balls they were, with the tiniest pupils you ever saw. It was those eyes which freaked people out the most. Girls mostly; it always seemed to be clusters of girls running away from him. The high school kids said the Ferrier boy—the weird kid from t...

For today only (Monday 9th Jan) three of my Kindle ebooks will be free on Amazon: Lazarus Island The Vanished Race The Midnight Men and Other Stories (Please spread the word!)

Twelve months ago I was in a bad place. The New Year was looming, I had some personal problems that were kicking my behind, and my writing career was not progressing the way I'd hoped. Then, on Jan 2nd, I received a late night phone call from America. It was Joni Labaqui from the Writers of the Future Contest. The story I had entered almost four months previous (and which, to be honest, I had forgotten about) had reached the final 8 of the quarter. Ms Labaqui assured me that my story was really good and that I was a talented writer. I almost cried. As it happens, the story didn't make the all-important Final 3 but shortly after I went on to sell it to Realms of Fantasy Magazine* . [*That's another story.] Anyhoo, this episode taught me a couple of things. One, I can do this . I've "got the chops", as they say. Two, I started telling myself to stop waiting around for things to happen. Make your own opportunities . At the time, I didn't quite know what tha...

Probability and Chaos 'If you jump,' the cop bellowed, fighting to be heard over the buffeting wind, 'you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.' The jumper, a young man in a white lab coat, glanced over the ledge on which he was standing, taking in the endless tiers of sky-traffic coursing by in every direction below them. The young scientist let out a short, high-pitched laugh. 'You would think so, wouldn’t you?' he shouted to the cop. 'What are you talking about?' said Officer Pullman. 'If you throw yourself into that traffic, the odds of surviving are a million to one!' The young scientist smiled grimly. 'Actually, the odds are 123,570-to one, to be precise.' He observed the puzzled expression on the officer’s face. 'That’s my field of research - probability and chaos. You’re quite right that the odds against me not being hit by a single vehicle during my descent are considerable. But for the last six months ...

“Potential suicide, Golden Gate Bridge. Officer needs assistance.” Sergeant Harris studied the figure in his rear view mirror. Dark clothing, black raincoat, raised hood. It was a miracle Harris had seen him through the thrashing rain. But this wasn’t the first time he’d come across someone loitering conspicuously at that particular spot. In his ten years on the beat there’d been a dozen suicides there; he’d attended two of them himself. The first one had jumped - a middle-aged woman driven to despair after ten years in an abusive relationship. Harris had never really gotten over her death. He could still remember the feel of her dress as it slipped through his fingers. Helpless, he’d watched her fall - silent, graceful - into the roiling waters below. He’d made a promise to himself that day - he would never let it happen again. Thankfully, the one which followed, a young man, had been pulled back from the brink. Afterwards, Harris had asked him why he’d chosen t...