Yes, it’s a cliché to begin a blog about New York with that subject, but I prefer to think of it as tradition, so sue me.

So, yeah, I’m off to New York tomorrow to go to BookExpo America, which runs from Friday May 29th to Sunday May 31st. It’s a first for me, and I’m really looking forward to the trip. I’m heading out there with George Mann, head of the Black Library, so it promises to be an interesting trip. I’m not entirely sure what to expect of the BookExpo, as I’ve never done a show like this before. It won’t be like a Games Day, with hordes of fans needing to be beaten back with pitchforks and flaming brands, apparently it’s more along the lines of book sellers, librarians and shop owners, so I expect it to be a bit quieter and rather few folk dressed up as Orks or cakes in the form of Squigs. Though who knows… I’ll bring back some photos of anything that particularly catches my eye. And if you’re planning to come to the event, be sure to drop by and say hello. We’ll be at Booth 4047, and I’m quite friendly really, and always up for a blether. And if you have a book you want a scribble on, I’ll be doing a signing on Sunday 31st at Table 6 between 10am and 11am.

New York is a city I’ve always wanted to visit, as I’ve seen it in so many tv shows, movies and news items. It’s also a city in which I set a Call of Cthulhu adventure I ran way back in the dim and distant past, so I’m keen to see if any of the locations match up to my visions of them from back then. Come to think of it, as they were part of a Cthulhu campaign, I kind of hope they don’t. There’s lots I want to see, but as we only have one day to do the tourist thing, I’m not sure how many we’ll get to see. Amongst the tourist stuff, I’ll be dropping into Borders at Union Station to sign some stock for them, and hopefully I can get a taste for the city that never sleeps; enough to have an idea for the next time…I want to see the Empire State Building, Madison Square Gardens, Times Square, Central Park. I also want to see the Flatiron building, as it was one of my favourite buildings during  my time as an architecture student, and is the set of 30 Rock (Tina Fey is my new comedy god).

There’s also Ground Zero too, but I’m not sure I really want to see that, as it feels a bit ghoulish to make a point of going to see a place where so many people lost their lives. On the other hand, it does no good to flinch from these kinds of things through squeamishness, so perhaps I should go, as it’s important to remember terrible events so they don’t happen again. I suppose that’s why we have war memorials, not just to remember the dead, but to remember how and why they died.

So, that’s New York, what else has been happening? The Manchester signing went well, and I spoke to lots of people, signed their books, and generally hung out for the afternoon with lots of very friendly people who made me feel very welcome. So, thanks to all the staff at the GW store in the Arndale Centre and all the people who brought armfuls of their books along.

My new flag
After seeing Richard Williams flag at BL Live, and not wanting me to feel left out, Vince Rospond had his hooded scriveners prepare this symbol for me, which I think has just the right edge for me. It’s like the sniper’s badge, but where they slay with bullets, I do my work with words. You have to say that in an appropriately gravely, voice-over-man way for it to work…

Fan art
Jayson Hotchkiss has done a lovely piece of art that I’d like to share with you, a picture of Uriel laying the holy smackdown on a filthy piece of xenos scum.



If you like that, check out Jayson's page at:

http://pnutink.deviantart.com

On the reading stand: I’m currently reading Future Bristol, a book of sci-fi short stories centred around the theme of, you guessed it, Bristol. Over the last year and a half, I’ve gotten to know Bristol reasonably well, so thought that would give me a leg up on it (which it has). I’m only a few stories into it, but it’s okay so far, a mixed bag with some stories stronger than others – as you’d expect. I took a break from Twelve, a vampire novel set during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. I liked the concept and the scale promised on the back of the book, and though it’s still early days yet, the story has yet to sink its fangs into me. I’ll let you know how it goes….

On the hi-fi: Too much to mention… My Brother in Metal from Austin, Texas; Aaron Spuler, hooked me up with more metal than is healthy and I’m currently wading through a host of new bands and rediscovering old ones. My current favourites are Static-X, Fear Factory and Soulfly. Right now, some ZZ Top is echoing through the house, so I’ve got my rock n’ blues head on right now, ya’ll.

Anyway, on that note, I’m off to get back to work.

Talk soon,

Graham

Ps- Don’t forget the competition on the last post if you fancy a signed copy of Mechanicum (so long as you want it signed to Bob…) and some other free goodies.