The roots are down there

Hello my lovelies,

How the devil are you? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? 

As I am typing this, the neighbours across the way from me are having the huge Leylandii trees in their back garden trimmed by a small team of tree surgeons who are having the most appalling argument about holding the ladder steady (or not, by the sound of it). Between the roar of the chainsaws and the men yelling at each other, I’m finding the noise hard to deal with. I can’t help but feel that a small number of men doing something dangerous while loudly blaming each other for potential calamity feels a bit too on the nose as metaphors go. But I will accept whatever the universe is choosing to deliver today.

I wish I could say that I’ve handled the past few months with the same calm resignation. But between you and me, I’ve been frustrated and a bit scared of how long it’s been taking to recover from the cancer treatment. Post-radiotherapy fatigue has been dominating life over the past four months, but I have been steadily improving and I’m trying to hold onto that fact. Each week I can do just a little bit more. I have been able to read again! That was one of the hardest things about the brain fog at its worst; not even being able to really lose myself in a book.

But the phoenix rises, right?!

At the end of this week I will be one of the Guests of Honour at Iridescence, the 2026 Eastercon here in the UK, and I have been riddled with anxiety about it for the past few weeks. I know, intellectually, that I will have an absolutely lovely time, as I always do. But my body is convinced I will be led to the gallows shortly after the opening ceremony. It’s… well, it’s quite annoying actually, as this silly anxiety takes up so much bandwidth! Anyway, that’s for me to handle. Here’s my schedule for anyone who will be there.

FRIDAY

Live episode of Starship Alexandria: 16:30–17:30

Adrian Tchaikovsky and I will be recording a live episode of our podcast. We will be discussing the film Galaxy Quest.

Lucky for None played LIVE! 19:30–20:30

Lucky for None is a game about dark, strange and awful things happening in the village of Grimhaven, and whatever you do, everything will get worse. Most of the residents are going to die; those that don’t may wish they had. Come and watch Beyond Cataclysm’s Chris Lowry run a game of his d13-based TTRPG with a panel of enthusiastic victims players.

SATURDAY

Changing Climate, Changing Stories • Panel • Sat 13:30–14:30

Ever since the first warnings sounded about the probability of a climate crisis, speculative fiction has amplified the alarms and explored how the changing climate might affect our Earth. Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower (1993) is set now and eerily catches much of what we are living through. This panel questions how helpful ‘cli-fi’ is as spur to action and explores examples that imagine what the science is indicating will happen.

Everything you want to know about LARP but were too afraid to ask • Panel • Sat 16:30–17:30

Are you interested in Live-Action Roleplaying games (LARPs), but you don’t know where to get started? Have you dipped a toe into the waters but feel like you’re all at sea? This panel will answer all your questions about roleplaying live! The panel will discuss the difference between parlour LARPs and fest LARPs, how to get involved in live roleplay in the UK, and also any questions that you, the audience, might have.

We Will Rise Again • Panel • Sat 18:00–19:00

Inspired by the publication of 'We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope' edited by GOH Karen Lord and others, the panel discuss how writers and editors are trying to create different and radical futures, whose futures are included, and about being and/or working with activists to inspire creation.

SUNDAY

Table Talk with Emma Newman 10:30–11:30

Emma Newman: Guest of Honour interview 12:00–13:00

Beating Procrastination Workshop • 16:30–17:30

How to get that book finished - or even started! For anyone who is desperate to write and yet always finds something else to do when they would rather be writing.

I will also be exhibiting paintings, jewellery, bookmarks and cufflinks (!) in the art show. It’s the result of months of work, as I’ve only been able to make things in short bursts. It will be my last show for the foreseeable future, and the last paintings etc that I will be making for a long time, so get them while you can! And for lovelies who cannot make it to Eastercon, I will put whatever is unsold onto my Ko-Fi shop.

Pretty things are nice, but what about writing?

The whole cancer thing really put a spanner in the works, truth be told. It has massively delayed the sequel to THE VENGEANCE (sorry!) and I don’t know when that will be coming out now. However, I did have a short story published recently in the anthology Creative Futures and it’s a beautiful hardback edition.

Last week I finished the first short story that I have written since the cancer diagnosis back in June last year, and it was a huge relief to send it in. I can’t tell you about it yet, as the anthology that it was commissioned for hasn’t been announced. I am hopeful that I will be able to get back to novel writing again after Eastercon.

Starship Alexandria

The only thing that I’ve been able to reliably keep up over the past year of nonsense has been the podcast Starship Alexandria, in which Adrian Tchaikovsky and I are incredibly nerdy. If you like listening to in-depth discussions about books, films and comics, along with a sprinkling of silliness, do check it out wherever you listen to podcasts. We’ve recently launched Starship Alexandria merch too!

That’s all for now, my lovelies. Let me know in the comments if you’re planning to be at Eastercon, and if you are, remember to come and say hello! I'd like to leave you with a quote from the amazing Rumi that has been getting me through the past few months:

"And don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there, riotous."

Take care, my lovelies, and hold fast.