Heide Goody and Iain Grant writing newsletter October 2019
Published: Tue, 10/08/19
Here's all the latest news from Heide and Iain.
There's lots to report this time round...
New Releases
We’ve been busy and released several new things!
Jaffle Inc
Alice works for Jaffle Tech incorporated, the world’s biggest technology company and the creator of the Jaffle Port, the brain implant that gives users direct access to global communications, social networks and every knowledge source on the planet.
Alice is on Jaffle Standard, the free service offered to all people. All she has to do in return is let Jaffle use a bit of her brain’s processing power. Maybe it’s being used to control satellites. Maybe it’s being used to further space exploration. Maybe it’s helping control self-driving cars on the freeway. Her brain is helping Jaffle help the world. And Jaffle are only using the bits of her brain she doesn’t need…
But when a kind deed goes wrong, Alice gains unauthorised access to her entire brain and discovers what she has been missing out on her entire life: music, art, laughter, love…
Now that she has discovered what her mind is truly capable of, how long will the company bosses let her keep it?
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WWNT61T
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WWNT61T
Candy Canes and Buckets of Blood
We have a full-length Christmas horror comedy for you. It’s set in the same universe as Disenchanted, and there’s a novella to link the two, if you decide that you like it.
Christmas is a time for families to come together.
Guin Roberts can’t think of anything worse than visiting a Christmas market with her new family. Guin is perfectly happy with own company and doesn’t want that disrupted by her wisecracking stepbrother and his earnest mum.
Their Christmas celebrations are invaded by a sleigh full of murderous elves. And it doesn’t matter if they’ve been naughty or nice — these elves are out for blood.
Can the family band together to survive the night? Or will Santa’s little helpers make mincemeat of them all?
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07X9DTWG6
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X9DTWG6
Dolled Up
We enjoyed writing Snowflake so much that we wrote a prequel novella:
Lori Belkin wants to find herself.
She’s looked in all the usual places, so she’s off on holiday to Crete, hoping that a change of scenery will help.
Perhaps time among the ancient ruins will help her uncover her inner goddess. She’s got the beach body, she’s dressed to impress but when she uncovers the ‘real’ Lori will she turn out to be less clumsy, foolish and catastrophe-prone than the one she left at home?
She’s looking for answers, and with help from a handsome local, a stag party with no stag and the silent judgement of Dame Judi Dench in doll form, it should be a holiday to remember.
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YFV19RK
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YFV19RK
Clovenhoof’s Diary
The very last installment of the diary was August, which rounds off this year-long project of topical diaries. If you want to start at the beginning, it’s here:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07J9XC41T
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J9XC41T
Other Releases – Oddjobs books
The Oddjobs series of books is expanding and appearing in other media.
Oddjobs 1 & 2 – out in kindle, paperback and audiobook (Audible, Amazon, etc)
Oddjobs 3 & 4 – Coming out in kindle and paperback late 2019.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Month of October
Not a physical event, but Heide and Iain are taking part in a Halloween horror book promotion.
Take a look at http://www.hawkandcleaver.com/halloween and check out plenty of horror talent.
18th October 2019
Heide will be at Fantasycon in Glasgow
9th November 2019
Heide and Iain will be running a workshop on Developing Strong Characters at Derby Quad
16th November 2019
Heide and Iain will be re-running their popular self-publishing workshop, this time in Nottingham for Writing East Midlands.
16th-19th April 2020
Heide and Iain are very much looking forward to being involved with Stokercon, as it comes to the UK for the first time
WHAT HEIDE AND IAIN HAVE BEEN ENJOYING
We thought you might like to hear a little bit about what we’ve been reading and thinking about.
We’ve set up a Facebook group called the Comedy Kitchen, so that we can share our experiences of anything that makes us laugh. Do join if it sounds like something you might enjoy.
Heide:
I recently read Clowns vs Spiders by Jeff Strand. This is as crazy as it sounds, and yet the spider menace is played completely straight. There is a spider invasion and it’s not nice. The book is lightened by the band of clowns who find themselves pitched against the spiders. There’s lots of Jeff Strand’s trademark banter, punctuated with gruesome spidery scares.
I also read American Hippo by Sarah Gailey. This is based on a (true) idea that the US government had to introduce hippos to the swamplands of the Mississippi. The story is an alternative history about a band of cowboy hippo-wranglers who have adventures. It’s a lot of fun, with some memorable characters, and loads of hippo action. I hadn’t realised that it’s two novellas rather than a single novel, but the story arc works just fine.
Iain:
I’ve been reading the Godblind fantasy trilogy by wonderful grimdark author, Anna Stephens. I do love fantasy series but sometimes it seems to take ages for the next books in the series to come along and, by that time, I’ve forgotten what happened in the previous book.
A really good example of that is the Game of Thrones novels (or Song of Ice and Fire if you prefer). We’ve been waiting for the next book from GRR Martin since 2011. Mr Martin has every right to take his own sweet time in writing his books but I don’t think I can cope with such a wait.
So, with Anna Stephen’s Godblind books, I bought each book as it came out (in fact, I bought each of them at the launch parties, one each year) but I’ve only begun to read them now I have the whole series in my hands.
And I’m enjoying them immensely.
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Many thanks for reading
Heide and Iain
heide.goody@gmail.com
iainmarcgrant@hotmail.com
www.pigeonparkpress.com