It’s been an exciting year work-wise for me. First, The Secret Journeys of Jack London: The Wild hit the shelves. Written in collaboration with my good friend Christopher Golden, this is the first volume in a trilogy. Fox2000 optioned this mid-2010, and the book itself is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever had published, with wonderful artwork from Greg Ruth and such fine attention to detail from HarperCollins. The exciting news just in is that Fox has re-optioned the book, and 2012 should see a lot of progress on this front!

My novel Echo City was released by Orbit in the UK (it was out from Bantam in the USA last year). It’s had a great reception and some lovely reviews, and I hope this is the beginning of a long relationship with Orbit. They’re wonderful to work with, and their covers are all works of art. I never understood the true science of book covers until I worked with Orbit.

My 2010 novella The Thief of Broken Toys was nominated for World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Shirley Jackson Awards. It won none of them, but I was thrilled with it

being on such prestigious awards lists.

I was a guest at Horrorfind in Gettysburg, and had a great time catching up with loads of friends and making many new ones. It was my first US convention in several years, and it made me realise how much I miss them. Especially the breakfasts. Cake for breakfast. Oh yeah.

2011 also marked 5 years since I’ve been writing full-time, and I took a moment to reflect on whether or not it had been the right decision. A moment that lasted about 6 milliseconds. Of course it was the right decision!

So after such an exciting year, can 2012 be any better? You bet. In fact, it might well be the most exiting year of my career to date. Here’s what’s happening:

February will see the release of The Secret Journeys of Jack London: The Sea Wolves in hardback, and The Wild will be out in paperback. And Fox2000 will be progressing the movie of The Wild, of course! These books have also sold in Germany, France, Brazil, and Hungary, so we’ll see releases in those countries too (in fact The Wild is already out in Germany).

In August, my new fantasy novel The Heretic Land will be published by Orbit in the UK.

October will see two releases. Firstly, my huge apocalyptic zombie thriller Coldbrook will be released by Hammer/Arrow in the UK. And London Eye (Book One of The Toxic City) will be released by Pyr in the USA. This is the first in a YA trilogy that I’m just so excited about.

There’ll also be various short stories and novellas, as well as some forays into the ebook market.

Other stuff, equally exciting … I’ve been commissioned to write a screenplay, and more of that soon (when contracts are signed). Mark Morris and I hope to complete our collaborative YA novel in 2012. I’m working on a Top Secret collaboration, and Chris Golden and I are throwing around ideas about what to work on together next. I have a script that will be ready to go out early in 2012 called Hell Came Down, and I’m itching to get stuck into a new script called The Silence, which I’m really excited about. Stephen Volk and I hope to collaborate again next year, too. And there’s also a novel I want to write which … well, I can’t tell you anything about it. It’ll be different.

So that’s a recap of 2011 for me, and a little peek forward into 2012. If you’ve read this far that might mean that you quite like some of the words I write. If you do, I thank you, because I couldn’t continue writing so many of them without your support. I hope you’ll stay with me. Things are getting exciting.

Have a great Christmas, a safe and enjoyable New Year, and let’s have some more adventures together soon.

(coming soon, a personal look back on 2011 … the year I got fit!)

This is my first North American convention since World Horror in 2007, and I can’t wait to catch up with lots of my friends again.

Check here for all the details!

So, what will 2011 bring?  For me, some exciting book releases, a slight change of emphasis in my writing, and a few fun trips.

First, book releases.  The Wild is due out in March, Echo City (from Orbit UK) in June, and The Shadow Men from Bantam in June in the USA.  There’ll be other new releases too, but more news on these as they come in.

I’m writing a new novel for Orbit right now, and I’ll also be working on the second novel for Corsair (soon-to-be publishers of Coldbrook), as well as short stories and novellas for a few places.  I’ll also be writing a comic, more of which soon.  And in 2011 I’ll also be concentrating more on screenwriting, after working for Fox2000 this year on the Jack London series, and thoroughly enjoying it.  I intend doing a lot more screenwriting this year, and the next solo project is already full steam ahead.

I’ll also spend 2011 collaborating with some of my best friends on some thrilling projects.  Stephen Volk and I have almost finished our first screenplay together.  Christopher Golden and I will be writing the third in our series The Secret Journeys of Jack London, as well as other great projects we’ve been talking about for some time.  And there’s the YA novel with my mate Mark Morris, and a TV series collaboration with a good friend in LA, and a few other projects which I’m hoping will take off next year.

So, exciting times.  A trip to LA and, I hope, the World Horror Convention, will be a highlight of the year.  As will a determination to complete the Three Peaks Challenge (climbing the three tallest mountains in the UK in the space of 24 hours).  2011 is already shaping up to be a scorcher, and I hope you’ll check back here to see what’s going on.

Happy New Year to you all.  Be nice to each other.  Keep reading.  Stay safe.

Chris Golden and I have delivered our script for THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON: THE WILD to Fox 2000.

The JACK LONDON series has sold in Germany and France, with more foreign rights interest all the time.

I’m currently working on a new novel for Orbit in the UK, as well as a couple of screenplays (one a collaboration), a collaborative YA novel, a couple of TV series proposals, some comics ideas, and another novel idea or two.  Oh, and there are some short stories screaming to be written, and a novella or two.  Never a dull moment, and that’s just how I like it.

The end of this month marks four years since I left my previous job at Monmouthshire County Council to write full time.  It remains the best decision I ever made, and I’ll write a longer post about what those four years brought, and what the next year or two might bring.  Exciting things are afoot.

From two masters of dark fantasy comes a chilling tale of magic and possession, set in—and beneath—fabulous Venice, a city slowly being swallowed by the very waters that have made it one of the wonders of the world.

Geena Hodge is an American archaeologist working to salvage Venice’s past from the encroaching Adriatic Sea. When she and her lover, Nico, discover the lost library of Petrarch under the Piazza San Marco, they rejoice not only at the historical significance of the find but at the opportunity to bring worldwide attention—and much-needed funding—to their endeavors.

But that find soon leads to another, a room buried more deeply still: the fabled Chamber of Ten, where centuries ago the secret rulers of Venice, in their quest for absolute power, met to plot betrayals and murders. After entering the Chamber, Geena and Nico are thrust into the midst of an ancient feud, a deadly battle of wills and black magic that threatens to poison the city’s future with the evils of its past.

Chris and I are delighted with this book, and hope you enjoy it.  Please let us know what you think of it … we love feedback.

You can check out the full press release here.

That polar bear is also indirectly responsible for the Jack London books I’m writing with the most excellent and unfeasibly sexy Christopher Golden.  But more on that another time.

Some highlights from London:

Catching up with my good mate Christopher Golden and his lovely family, and Steve Volk and his charming wife Pat, and Guy Adams, and Lee Thompson, and Sally and Paul, and Sarah Pinborough and her phone, and eating quality Italian food.  Beef carpaccio …. oh yes.

Sitting on the balcony of our apartment until one in the morning with Steve and Pat, drinking wine and talking about witches, cats (though unconnected), and idiots.

The London Eye.  It’s big.  Bloody big. I’m sure I could see my house from the top.

Borough Market this morning, where I bought some hot ginger fudge which was, I have to say, one of the finest tasting things I’ve ever tasted (stop snickering at the back).

And finally … bumping into Peter and Anne who I used to work with (when I had a proper job and didn’t scrape my living making up stuff and selling it).

A brilliant trip, and we’re now determined to take the kids to London later in the year.  And oh yeah, over dinner Chris and I mapped out another two trilogies … so that’s the next 6 years sorted.

Off to London tomorrow for a couple of days with my wife, then upon my return it’s back to work doing revisions on CALLS OF THE WILD (The Secret Journeys of Jack London – Book One) for Harper in the USA … a collaboration with the very excellent Christopher Golden.