Dave Weaver: Some (very bad) pics and nice memories of a great day out at Loncon Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival 2014

24/10/2014

Some (very bad) pics and nice memories of a great day out at Loncon Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival 2014

Back in the middle of August I (along with the author Mike French of the 'Convergence' trilogy) went to the last day of Loncon 2014 at the Excel Centre in London Docklands, the first time in many years that this major fantasy/Science Fiction Convention has been held in the capital. My publishers Elsewhen Press had a pretty impressive stand in one of the vast halls which were stuffed to bursting with all sorts of sci-fi paraphernalia. There was a Hugo Awards stand opposite with every Hugo (the sci-fi writers' Oscar) statuette since the thirties, all in gleaming chrome, or hand-carved wood and ranging from 30's art-deco to something that wouldn't look out of place on a 60's Chevrolet's tail-fin. All of the various halls were vast hangers seemingly awaiting the return of their Apollo rockets; the main concourse with all its food stalls seemed to go on for miles. My publishers, basically Peter and Alison Buck, had already been at their station for days gamely plugging away at selling the marvellous Elsewhen catalogue to anyone who wandered in reach. Other EP authors were already in attendance; namely Christopher Nuttall (best-selling sci-fi author), Ira Nayman (very funny sci-fantasy), Sanim Ozdural (author of the fascinating LiGa sci-fi life/game distopia) and Caspian the magician who's new book 'The Magician in the Attic (first of a trilogy) was being launched later that morning by Elsewhen. Ira and Sanim had both travelled from their native countries just for this event (Canada and Turkey respectively) and had been staying over at nearby hotels (Ira's looked to me like a ship floating on the edge of Dockland's wharf, admittedly after we'd been in the pub for awhile) so a big effort had been made to support Team Elsewhen, and it was really nice to see Ira and Christopher (and his wife) again, and to meet Sanem for the first time. We cross paths digitally but actual personal contact can't be beaten. We all had a great day, especially Caspian's book-launch complete with dazzling magic tricks, ending with a lovely meal at a nearby restaurant with our tired but hopefully pleased hosts Pete and Al.
These pictures (admittedly poorly shot from my crappy phone and rather belated) are some glimpse of a very special day spent with my Elsewhen Press buddies. Next up for the EP team is Nottingham Fantasycon on November 16th; can't wait.

Here we go, ready for a great day spent in this huge bizarrely-proportioned building which has the feel of an aircraft hanger gradually mutating into a Blade Runner-type shopping maul. Or something like that. It's both impressive and slightly surreal.

The wonderful and indefatigable Alison Buck of Elsewhen Press selling yet another

entertaining E.P. work to some lucky Con-goer (I don't mean she was dancing at the time).

Peter Buck announcing the launch of Caspian's first YA novel in his upcoming trilogy.

And the man himself about to read an excerpt from 'The Magician in the Attic' before wowing us with a number of baffling magic card tricks. Amazement/applause all round.

Just one of a number of cavernous halls/hangers full of sci-fi/fantasy stuff - we're somewhere in the middle of that lot.

Somewhere near here I bought one of the biggest Cornish pasties I've ever seen (and eaten). It was lovely, if not particularly Cornish.

A tents situation developing at Loncon.

Thanks for looking - Dave.

1 comment:

Folles Guy24 October 2014 at 11:53
It was a great pleasure to see you again, Dave, as well as meeting some of the other Elsewhen authors. We're developing a little family with all of the authors supporting each other's work (it helps that you lot have written some marvelous books!) And, of course, Peter and Alison are dears. LonCon3 was a great strange beast, but I have many fond memories of it. :-)

All the Best,
Ira Nayman
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NEW OUT NOW: The Black Hole Bar

Simon, a traveller with time to kill before continuing his journey, enters an inn on the outskirts of London. Inside he meets a motley crew competing to tell tales for their own amusement. So starts Dave Weaver’s new novel, The Black Hole Bar, which has already been compared to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio’s Decameron. But these raconteurs are not pilgrims, nor are they hiding from a plague – Simon is on his way by rocket to Titan, rather than on horseback to Canterbury; the tavern is the Black Hole Bar, although being high up on Level Five of Docklands Spaceport it isn’t too far from Southwark; the tales are not told by a knight, squire, nun, merchant, clerk, parson, franklin or manciple, but by a programmer, advertising copywriter, dancer, financier, customs officer, marine biologist, sports star, and port worker.
Simon works in the public relations department of Me-Grade Incorporated, an international Methane gas conglomerate. He’s an industrial journalist, on his way to yet another off-world assignment, this time a three month trip to Saturn’s moon to write a promotional piece about the harvesting of the Methane lakes on that forbidding world. But Simon is a troubled man. He’s sure his wife is having an affair during his prolonged absences; he’s bored with his job; and unsure where his life is going.
Simon has stumbled into what was supposed to be a closed session for the Black Hole Bar Writers’ Group, who meet once a month to take part in a short story competition; the winner’s trophy is a small chunk of meteorite simply termed ‘The Rock’. As an interesting way to spend his last Earth night and forget his troubles for a few hours, this is perfect. Simon writes stories too and he’s been looking for a set-up like this for some time. Begrudgingly they let him participate. The stories begin, and Simon starts taking the competition far more seriously than he intended.
Each of the bar’s denizens tells two stories, stories that are variously strange, amusing and occasionally downright scary. The writers all have their own histories to impart, lives crossed by tragedy and drama come tumbling out one by one into the cramped little room and as they do so, we, the invisible uninvited presence at Simon’s side, learn more about the background of this future world: its wars, its governments, its strange new customs and social groupings. A world which is at the same time recognisable as our possible future but also chilling in its recent past. Not far from the spaceport the old capital of London lies deserted, abandoned first but not least in the wave of dirty bomb outrages committed by the growing fundamentalist armies who have sworn to topple the Corporate States of the Euro-zone and New America.
As the night progresses personalities clash, secrets are disclosed, and friendships made. And Simon finds himself slowly but surely falling in love. But he still has a date with Titan to keep. It’s getting late, very late, and he should leave... but the competition has yet to conclude. Simon’s heart tells him to stay but his head says go, now, before it’s too late and you lose everything. How will his own tale end...?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Hole-Bar-Dave-Weaver-ebook/dp/B00L6OQMB0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1410369806&sr=1-1&keywords=the+black+hole+bar

'JAPANESE DAISY CHAIN'

Japanese Daisy Chain takes us on a very individualistic journey around contemporary Japan through the eyes of the participants in a series of apparently unrelated incidents. Events that, to an outsider may seem a little strange or hard to explain, but to which we are given an exclusive insight – enabling us to see the consequence of contact with the paranormal, fantastic or downright weird. As each episode unfurls and our journey progresses, we alone can see the invisible thread that connects these events, albeit tenuously. A participant on each occasion, a minor character if you will, becomes the main protagonist in the next, creating a human daisy-chain. Just like a daisy-chain, what goes around comes around. The chain is completed and we finally understand karma…

'Jacey's Kingdom'

Jacey’s Kingdom is an enthralling tale that revolves around a startlingly desperate reality: Jacey Jackson, a talented student destined for Cambridge, collapses with a brain tumour while sitting her final history exam at school. In her mind she struggles through a quasi-historical sixth century dreamscape whilst the surgeons fight to save her life. Jacey is helped by a stranger called George, who finds himself trapped in her nightmare after a terrible car accident. There are quests, battles, and a love story ahead for her with a with a diffident young knight who helps them find their way, before we find out if Jacey will awake from her coma or perish on the operating table. And who, or what, is George?