2009 Appearances, so far.....

Here's some confirmed conventions that I will be attending as a guest writer in 2009:

UK

Gamesfest 4: 24/10/2009 Watford Colosseum.

From their website:
"Below is some info on what we plan to do this year.
One of the biggest changes is that we are looking to throw a bit of an after party by having a Rock concert! We also aim to include Comics, collecting / memorabilia and hopefully a few stars of the large and small screens!

Gamesfest:
A one day convention to showcase the best of Role playing, Wargaming, Boardgaming & Science fiction/Fantasy literature.

We want to pull all the strands of Fantasy/Science Fiction together and create a unique experience for the fan/enthusiast in one convention

Ours is a unique vision and we want to focus on customer satisfaction and a totally enjoyable day dedicated to players and fans alike.

The location: Watford Colosseum (Watford town centre)
Facilities include a fully licensed bar, two venue halls, dressing rooms, a large kitchen and ample parking facilities (for parking charges see link below). There is also a large stage with full lighting system. The Colosseum has a seating capacity of 1188 in the main hall and 298 seating space in the gallery.
The management has assured me that once we have all the stands in place the capacity will be 1000 attendees.
The transport links are excellent via Road and rail (the main line station is 10 minutes walk away)
At present we have two distinct elements to Gamesfest:

Gaming : Incorporating War games , role-playing , board gaming and CCGS.

Literature : Sci-Fi , Fantasy and Horror –

This year we want to further include:

Comics and guest writers/artists

Collecting / memorabilia and guests

Music: The venue is a music venue as well and we thought we might have an after party! We are speaking to Ghoultown from the US and a couple of home grown bands"



Ireland:

Phoenix Convention:
P-Con VI will be held on the 27th, 28th and 29th, of March 2009, in the Central Hotel, Dublin.

P-Con is a literary event with an emphasis on Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction. It attracts a large number of members (readers and writers) from across Ireland and Britain, and further afield.

Octocon:
The National Irish Science Fiction Convention, October 2009, Dublin.

Derek

Everything happens in threes.....

Well, it's the New Year: All traces of The holiday season are packed away for another year, the children are back to school, I'm back to work a week now, though I'm not complaining: in such uncertain times I'm glad to have one.

But it's been an expensive start to 2009 - household appliance-wise that is. So here's the list (in multiples of three - almost) of all the things that have gone bust and need to be replaced over the past couple of weeks: the fridge died, the dishwasher got fed up cleaning up after us, the glass oven door threw itself onto the floor and shattered into a million pieces (methinks it was protesting over the size of the turkey). The gate to the back garden got such a battering with weather that it needs to be replaced, the washing machine door fell off (I swear my wife tries to stuff too much into it at once though she is adamant this is not the case. So we are now nervously awaiting to see what the next disaster is going to be.....
So, how has your year been so far?

On a more positive note, the first Vampire Apocalypse book, A World Torn Asunder has been optioned again for 2009 and I'll update on that when I can. I have two books coming out in 2009. The Estuary coming from Permuted Press in the Summer and Fallout, the third book in the Vampire Apocalypse series, coming from Black Death Books in the Autumn. I'll have some more information at my website about both of these titles shortly. Now a third sale for 2009 would round that off nicely.....they say things happen in threes, don't they?

Recently I have been finishing off a short story for a UK mass market anthology. This is a competition and I'm one of five finalists. The story has been submitted...fingers crossed! I've also been working with the Permuted Press editor assigned to The Estuary and the first edit is complete. I'm also working on a new action/thriller novel which is not horror, so it's a challenge for me writing outside of my comfort zone.

Derek

International Thriller Writers' Association review DESCENT INTO CHAOS

"Derek Gunn didn't reinvent the vampire novel. Instead he stripped it back to its roots, in the process tearing away the pretensions other writers have used to humanize the fabled bloodsucking monster. His books are not comforting paranormal romances; they are violent and visceral supernatural thrillers."

I recently joined the International Thriller Writers' Assoication and in their January newsletter (which goes out to 10,000 subscribers, they say) they did a good indepth write up of the second Vampire Apocalypse book, DESCENT INTO CHAOS - a good start to 2009!