A gripping road trip through post-apocalyptic America.
Struck by famine and drought, large swathes of North America are now known as the Desert. Set against this mythic and vast backdrop, The Last Storm is a timely story of a family of Rainmakers whose rare and arcane gift has become a curse.
Over at Ginger Nuts of Horror you can read an exclusive extract from the novel, as well as an article detailing the writing of the novel.
Jesse stopped rainmaking the moment his abilities turned deadly, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. He thought he could help a land suffering from climate catastrophe, but he was wrong. When his daughter Ash inherited the tainted gift carried down the family bloodline, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and ever since then he has believed himself responsible for his daughter’s death.
But now his wife Karina––who never gave up looking for their daughter—brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, the estranged couple set out across the desolate landscape to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.
Starting in a couple of days is the blog tour for Run Walk Crawl, drop by and see what is going on.
If you’d like to see Tim reading part of the intro then head over to Celebrate Horror 2021 for that. You can also catch Tim on the Fit Dad Podcast discussing his fitness journey. You can also find an interview with Tim over at Lee Franklin.com
In other news Tim has a story in Tales of the Lost Volume 2 – A Covid-19 charity Anthology, available from Amazon UK and Amazon US in Kindle or Paperback editions. A review of this can be found over at Ginger Nuts of Horror.
Finally PS Publishing have a new Anthology out called No More Heroes. Stories inspired by artists who left us too soon. Tim’s story, Renegade, is about one of his favourite rockers, Phil Lynott. Ordering details for a hardcover, or a limited Signed hardcover can be found here.
Welcome to 2021. Tim’s first non-fiction book is out on Wednesday March 10th, exclusively as a paperback and Kindle book through Amazon. You can follow Tim’s adventures trying to get fit through his 5th decade. Featuring running, falling, biking, crashing, broken ribs, cake and bears.
You can pre-order the ebook now, with the paperback available from March 10th
Or at least we could hope that. But 2020 is almost done now, and as I do every year I wanted to write a blog about what I’ve been up to.
Usually I do separate blogs for my sport and triathlon, and writing. But this year has seen precious little actual racing on the sports front … in fact my only race this year was in January, the epic Fan Dance. It’s part of the SAS selection training, and the event is run by ex-Special Services members. And yes, it’s as ridiculously tough as it sounds, even though I went with the ‘easy’ version and ran in clean fatigues. The other option is to do the race –– up and down Pen-y-Fan, the biggest mountain in South Wales, twice –– with a loaded bergen. Maybe next time.
Other than that, I’ve spent this year of Covid still running, biking and, when I can, swimming. When lockdown began and we were all thinking it’d just be a few weeks, the purpose of all my training was still there. I’d signed up for several races, including a couple of half-ironmans (the Brutal being one). But as the year ran on and it became clear that all racing was off … I continued training. It helped me mentally, and through the summer it was great going for runs and bike rides with my kids too. We found a 5k route around our village, door to door, and had a little competition going on!
Strava tells me my stats this year are:
Active days — 216
Total distance: 3022 miles
Total elevation gain: 130,402 feet
Hilliest: Fan Dance! 3,875 feet
We’re so lucky living where we do, and all through the first lockdown we got out and about walking, running, and biking. And when outdoor swimming recommenced with my triathlon club NEWTs (for a few weeks in the summer), it was so lovely seeing so many great friend clad in lycra and rubber again!
It’s been a shit year, but I’m now looking forward to next year, and hoping that some or all of the races I’ve entered will be happening. Windsor Triathlon, Long Course Weekend, Outlaw Half, Monmouth Aquathlon, and the big beast at the end of the year … the Full Brutal, which was once voted the hardest ironman in the world by Triathlon 220 magazine. So I’ve got a long tough year as target to continue training for through the winter … let’s just hope Covid doesn’t fuck it up.
So onto my year in books and writing! And to begin with, books I had published this year:
EDEN –– being published during lockdown wasn’t the best experience, and I was gutted when signing tours of the UK and Germany were cancelled. But Eden is still out there, and I think it’s one of my best. Check out the link here.
FIREFLY: GENERATIONS –– it was slightly delayed, but it’s great to see my story aflight on the good ship Serenity!
THE SILENCE –– there was a gorgeous limited edition released by the excellent SST Publications, link here.
RESURRECTION –– a beautiful chapbook of a Machen-inspired story I wrote during lockdown. Turns out it was about lockdown, too. Link here.
And I also had quite a few novellas and short stories published, which I’ll list briefly here with relevant links:
Research appeared in After Sundown, edited by Mark Morris
My novella Castle of the Lost appeared in the epic Studio of Screams collection from PS Publishing. This was a real labour of love, featuring novellas from Stephen Volk, Mark Morris and Christopher Golden, and a ‘factual’ wraparound account by Stephen Bissette. A really unique, wonderful project. And it looks gorgeous.
And I think that might have been it! It’s likely I’ve missed something –– I’m 51 now, it’s been a shit year, and if I did miss a story or appearance please forgive me!
As for what I’ve been working on this year …
Just before lockdown began I started writing a new novel longhand, in a series of notebooks that rapidly piled up. I wrote all through lockdown in our garden cabin and various rooms in the house, and the result of that is The Last Storm. It’s not quiet finished –– just a little tweaking yet to do –– but my agent loves the book, and hopefully I’ll share some more news on that soon.
Also throughout 2020 I’ve been developing several TV projects based on some of my books, in different formats and with different collaborators. There’s also an original TV series I’m working on with a great friend! Unfortunately … I can’t share anything about any of these projects yet. Suffice to say, I hope 2021 will bring several exciting announcement. Which I will, of course, shout about all over the place! So watch this space.
I’ve also just finished first draft of a book called Run, Walk, Crawl: Getting Fit in My Forties, which I’m hoping to tidy up and get to my agents pretty soon. This was such good fun to write –– much more an account, warts and all, of my exercise efforts over the last decade, than an instruction manual –– and I’m hoping it’ll see the light of day next year. It’s also something very different for me, non-fiction, and I’ve really enjoyed the writing process. With the year we’ve had, I think fitness and exercise has been more important than ever.
I’m sold a new collection which I’ll be able to tell you more about soon, too.
There’s a lot going on right now, some exciting stuff –– TV, novels, audio dramas, novellas –– and I’m hoping some of it will see fruition in 2021. Sorry I can’t spill more beans, but it’s been one of those years… writing, speculating, planning. And just getting by.
So as usual at this time of year, I’d like to thank anyone who reads my stuff and follows my work. You keep reading, and I’ll keep writing. I always love to hear from you, too, and it’s nice to have made new friends through talking to people about my books. One of whom is the brilliant Tim Love, an old mate of mine who maintains my website and posts updates! As ever, thanks, Tim.
2020 has been tough. You don’t need reminding of that. It’s also been a year when I’ve seen kindness shining through, and it’s more important than it ever has been before. As the great philosopher Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson said, “Not only do I think being nice and kind is easy, but being kind, in my opinion is important.”
I’m blessed with the very best of friends, and thanks to every one of you for being there.
Season’s Greetings, stay safe and sane, and let’s look forward to a better, nicer 2021.
Earlier today SciFiNow published an exclusive extract, and cover reveal for Tim’s upcoming Sci Fi novel Eden. Due out from Titan books on April 7th 2020. You can read the extract over at their site, here.
I’m now publishing backlist titles under the Dreaming in Fire banner! The first nine books – novels and novellas, including award-winners and Pay the Ghost, inspiration for the Hollywood movie of the same name – are available now. Just click here to go through to the Dreaming in Fire page, have a browse, see what you like.
Tim’s 43rd Novel, and 8th in collaboration with Christopher Golden has been released in the UK today. Ebook, Hardcover, audiobook and CD versions are all available now. Click on the cover for ordering details.
Blood of the Four has been out for about a month in the US, but UK readers can get a copy this week. Reviews have been coming in from the US, so you can read those and find ordering details on the book page. Just click the cover.
The Folded Land blog tour is over, it featured extracts, reviews, interviews and more. Links to all the stops are on the book page along with ordering details if you don’t yet have one. So click the cover to see what you missed.
Tim’s 42nd published novel – The Folded Land – is due to hit bookshops tomorrow (though a few sightings have already reached Lebbon Towers so you might be reading it already).
To celebrate the launch Tim is doing a blog tour, which started today over at The Ginger Nuts of Horror site. The rest of the stops are shown below and I’ll put direct links to each stop every few days.
Click the cover for details of where to order, and to read an extract.
There will be a book launch for both Blood of the Four and The Folded Land at the Foxhunter Inn, Nantyderry, on Saturday March 31st at 4pm onwards! It’s a fine pub with good ales and nice food.
WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE
In the dark underbelly of our world, there’s a black market in arcane things living and dead. Angela Gough has been pulled into this world, making her a criminal on the run.
In London she encountered the Kin – satyrs and centaurs, Nephilim and wraiths, they are hunted and slaughtered for their body parts. Fleeing back to the United States, Angela discovers that the Kin are everywhere, and they are tired of being prey.
When her niece Sammi is struck by lightning, she is drawn toward the mysterious Folded Land, and its powerful and deadly ruler. Helped by her lover Vince, caught in the midst of a Kin uprising, Angela must locate Sammi before the girl is lost forever.
I’m now publishing backlist titles under the 
