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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...