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!)

My novella collection WHITE AND OTHER TALES OF RUIN is now available as an ebook from Necon Ebooks.  Ordering details and other stuff here.  There’ll be more ebooks of mine coming out soon, so watch this space for details.

In two weeks I’ll be at Horrorfind, where I’m one of the Literary Guests.  I’m so looking forward to catching up with some old friends who I haven’t seen for years, but it’s nice making new friends too.  Please come up and say Hi.  I’ll be at a table in the Celebrity Room during the day, and at the bar in the evening.  There’ll be books for sale, and you can also bring books along to be signed.  In fact, I’ll sign anything.  Within reason.

My ‘suddenly got a bit fit and am doing a bit of mad stuff’ craze continues, this time with the Mountain Trail Challenge on 17th September.  I’d love it if you sponsored me––doing stuff like this is fun enough, but it’s satisfying to know I’m also raising money for a good cause.  Later this year I’ll be asking again … I’m running the Cardiff Half Marathon in October, a mountain bike race the same month, then the Sodbury Slog in November.  There are also some Coastal Trail races I’m going to enter, and next year I’m already considering entering a trail marathon or two (as well as tackling the Welsh 3000s with the same gang I did the Three Peaks Challenge with).  Love it!

I’m currently working on revisions on my new novel for Orbit (if you read ECHO CITY, please do leave a review on Amazon), a new novel with Chris Golden, and loads of other stuff I’m itching to tell you about.  And there’s Big News coming soon.

Watch this space!

Also, I’m looking forward to announcing a major new book deal soon.  Watch this space for exciting news.

‘Echo City … Brilliantly conceived and exquisitely well written by one of the genre’s most original and inventive writers. Tim Lebbon is one of the few fantasy authors whose new works I eagerly anticipate’ — Steven Erikson

Lebbon’s prose is a pleasure, and so too his seamless hybridisation of horror and dark fantasy – were there to be another novel set in the same world, I’d gladly go back for a second helping’ –The Speculative Scotsman

‘ECHO CITY is a gloriously atmospheric piece that pulls you right into the various Cantons and leaves you on the wall of the city, staring out across the desert and wondering what lies beyond the horizon . . . An engrossing story’ — Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review

You can read blogs on the orbit site here and here, and they’ve also designed a beautiful wallpaper you can download for various devices.

And coming soon, another blog on the Orbit website about swearing, ale, and hand-jobs in fantasy fiction.

I’ll be signing copies of the book this Saturday, 23rd July, at Abergavenny Bookshop, from 12 til 1pm.  Then after that some drinks at the Hen & Chickens.

Next Saturday, 30th, I’ll be signing at Forbidden Plant in London.  That’s just two days after my birthday!  Details here.  Please come along to one of these signings!

If you read Echo City, I’d love to hear what you think, so please do leave comments on Twitter, Facebook, or reviews on Amazon.  Thanks!  And I hope you enjoy the book.  Here’s the first line:

As it left the city, the thing did not once look back.

And that’s cause to celebrate.

You can go here to the Orbit website to read an exclusive extract, and also to check out the great reviews that are already coming in for the novel.  My mate, fantasy writer Steven Erikson, said:

Brilliantly conceived and exquisitely well written by one of the genre’s most original and inventive writers.  Tim Lebbon is one of the few fantasy authors whose new works I eagerly anticipate.

Nice, eh?  And check that gorgeous cover…

I hope you’ll pick up and enjoy ECHO CITY.  If you do, please let me know what you think.  And please spread the word. This is only the beginning.

ECHO CITY will be available very soon in the UK from Orbit.  ECHO CITY is a gorgeous book with one of the best covers I’ve ever had, and I’m really thrilled to be published by Orbit.  Read more about it here.  This feels like a new chapter in my career, and I hope you’ll pick it up and enjoy it.  Steven Erikson says:

“Brilliantly conceived and exquisitely well written.”

And the other book is the limited and deluxe editions of THE VERY BEST OF BEST NEW HORROR, from Earthling Publications.  Earthling always produce beautiful books, and this is no exception.  In the deluxe edition there is one page that includes the signatures of Stephen King, Peter Straub, Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, and others.  How’s that for a lineup?  I’ve written before about how proud I am to see my novella White in this volume, and this puts icing on a very tasty cake.

I’ve had stories accepted recently in House of Fear from Solaris, and the cancer charity anthology, The Unspoken.  I’m working hard on a new novel, a screenplay, and am also awaiting some movie news which I hope to be able to share with you all soon.  Lots of exciting stuff happening — including a brand new Noreela novella — so please watch this space!

And here’s a lovely comment about my previous novel, Echo City.

And a nice review of my story in Swords and Dark Magic here …