Guest Post: “The Details in the Devil” by Lou Morgan

There is one really, really stupid thing you can do as a writer. Monumentally, head-thumpingly stupid.

And that’s to put the Devil in your book.

Where do you start? Whatever name you give him, whatever face, Old Nick comes with some pretty hefty baggage. Trickster, manipulator, tyrant, victim, former angel or demon… he’s still the Devil. You can race with him; you can be caught between him and the deep blue sea. You can have sympathy for him (or not) and he’s even been known to wear Prada.

All this, and we’ve barely even scratched the surface… So why would anyone be crazy or arrogant enough to go ahead and write one of the most (in)famous characters in all of literature into their own book?

Most-Anticipated Novels – August 2012

Just a quick run-down of my ten most-anticipated novels of August 2012. Given the lack of stability, frequent travel and relocation of the past few weeks, I’ve not been able to keep on top of my reviewing as well as I would have liked. Therefore, these books may not be reviewed in a particularly timely fashion (some because I don’t have them, others because I don’t have them with me at the moment). Nevertheless! Each of these is near the top of my to-read list, and I fully intend to feature more of them in the near future. Of course, the best laid plans…

Featured: Madeline Ashby, vN; Charles Cumming, A Foreign Country; James Enge, A Guile of Dragons; Jim C. Hines, Libriomancer; Darius Hinks, Orion: The Vaults of Winter; Mark Lawrence, King of Thorns; Tim Lebbon, The Heretic Land; T.C. McCarthy, Chimera; James Rollins, Bloodline; James Swallow, Fear To Tread

I Ask You: “Should you read what you write?”

I’ve been wondering lately about whether or not it’s a good idea to read what you write. I don’t mean to suggest people shouldn’t edit or proof-read their own writing. What I mean is, should you read the same genre that you write in?

I’ll give you an example. I have a novel idea, which I am particularly excited about. It’s related to a specific sub-genre, which I have consciously been avoiding in order to avoid undue influenced by what is already out there. At the same time, I recognise that being familiar with the genre in which you wish to write is important. Reading widely outside of your genre could help bring outside influences into the novel, help you make something new.

There’s also the question of whether or not you should read your own work, an angle that a few authors addressed as well. How obsessively should you pay attention to your work once it’s out in the world?

So, my question to you is,

“Should you read what you write? And why?”

I sent out a general invite by email and Tweet, and received quite a bit of interest. I’ve included the responses, below, from Jennie Ivins, Sarah Cawkwell, Jon Courtenay-Grimwood, Myke Cole, Mhairi Simpson, Anne Lyle, Robert Jackson Bennett, Mark Lawrence, Gail Carriger, Paul S. Kemp, Lou Morgan, Helen Lowe, and Justin Landon.

Please feel free to contribute your own thoughts and responses (on both interpretations of the question), in the comments. There may also be more authors’ contributions coming in over the next couple of days, so I will either update this or post a second round.

Artwork: BLOOD & FEATHERS by Lou Morgan (Solaris)

Just saw the (possibly) final artwork for Lou Morgan’s eagerly-anticipated debut novel, Blood & Feathers:

I really like this cover – it takes what was a very cool preliminary design (which I included in the interview post) and has just made it even more awesome. I can’t wait to read the novel!

Blood & Feathers will be published by Solaris in August 2012, and is definitely on my Most Anticipated list. Here’s the synopsis to whet your appetites:

“'What’s the first thing you think of when I say ‘angel’?” asked Mallory. Alice shrugged. “I don’t know... guns?”

Alice isn’t having the best of days: she got rained on, missed her bus, was late for work. When two angels arrive, claiming her life so far is a lie, it turns epic, grand-scale worse. The war between the angels and the Fallen is escalating; an age-old balance is tipping, and innocent civilians are getting caught in the cross-fire. The angels must act to restore the balance – or risk the Fallen taking control. Forever.

Hunted by the Fallen and guided by Mallory – a disgraced angel with a drinking problem – Alice will learn the truth about her own history... and why the angels want to send her to hell.

What do the Fallen want from her? How does Mallory know so much about her past? What is it the angels are hiding and can she trust either side? Caught between the power plays of the angels and Lucifer himself, it isn’t just hell’s demons that Alice will have to defeat...

Also on CR: Interview with Lou Morgan

Introducing: LOU MORGAN

Lou Morgan is one of this year’s Debut Authors To Watch. Blood and Feathers, Lou’s upcoming debut, is about the war between Heaven and Hell, and a young woman who gets caught in the middle – which sounds kind of awesome. So, in the spirit of drawing attention to some of 2012’s most anticipated debuts, read on for more about Lou, her writing, and her upcoming novel.

Upcoming: “Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane” (Solaris)

Forthcoming anthology draws big name authors

Following in the wake of two other critically-acclaimed Solaris themed anthologies, The End of the Line (set on the London Underground) and House of Fear (haunted house stories), Solaris Books will be publishing Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane in November 2012 in both the US and UK.

Before I get into who’s contributing pieces for the anthology (it’s a great line up, so just bear with me) – how cool is that cover? Really like it.

Anyway, back to the content. There are a couple of genre-fiction big-name authors taking part in the anthology – for example, Civilian Reader favourite (and New York Times bestseller) Dan Abnett, and also Sophia McDougall and Will Hill. There will also be contributions by some newcomers, such as Lou Morgan, who had this to say about working on the anthology:

“I’m thrilled to be part of a line-up which includes so many authors I respect and admire, as well as to be working with Solaris again. There’s such a great mix that I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! My own story revolves around a man who can never quite get away from his past – and for whom magic is far more of a curse than it is a blessing...”

Lou is on my list of Authors To Watch in 2012, and her debut novel – Blood & Feathers – will be published this year in July. I will also be posting and interview with Lou on February 15th, so be sure to check back for that.

Sophia McDougall, author of the Romanitas trilogy (Romanitas, Rome Burning, Savage City), says:

“Surely everyone has at some point tried to do magic. Wishing on birthday cake candles, or willing an exam hall clock to turn back, or quietly trying to levitate a pencil with your brain – if you have not, I suggest you give it a go right now – 0r how are we to know you are not the wizard we have been waiting for? The concept of a source of incredible power that humans might be able to access, is deeply seductive.

“Magic makes the world amenable to human patterns – willing to bargain, tameable. Yet magic is frightening, because it also does the opposite. Even before you give up your soul or your firstborn, the price of magic is accepting we might have fundamentally misunderstood the way the universe works. Magic means you don’t know what’s going on under your nose: it means threats could lurk in the seemingly harmless and you might not be able to make yourself safe. And while, outside fiction, we can probably be pretty sure that magic does not exist, it remains a good lens for looking at our relationship with the unknown and with our limits. Magic works in the overlap between our strongest desires to control the world and our worst fears it will control us. ”

But, the name that has topped every press release and other blog post about the coming book, is Audrey Niffenegger – mega-selling author of The Time-Traveller’s Wife, who is writing her first short story for a commercial trade anthology. Here’s what she had to say about the anthology:

“I'm delighted to be involved in this project… My story is called The Wrong Fairie and is about Charles Altamont Doyle. He was a Victorian artist who was institutionalized for alcoholism. He was also the father of Arthur Conan Doyle, and he believed in fairies.”

As far as I can tell, the full line-up has not been finalised, but here are the names already announced: Alison Littlewood, Dan Abnett, Christopher Fowler, Storm Constantine, Robert Shearman, Paul Meloy, Sophia McDougall, Will Hill, Gemma Files, Sarah Lotz, Lou Morgan, Thana Niveau, and more.