Upcoming: Galaxies and Fantasies

Publisher, Elsewhen Press,  says..."Galaxies and Fantasies is an eclectic collection of tales from master-storyteller Andy McKell, crossing genres from mythology to cosmology, fairytale to space opera, surrealism to hyper-reality. What they all have in common is a twist, a surprise, a revelation. Leave your pre-conceptions aside when you read these stories, prepare for the unexpected, the extraordinary, the …

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Getting Hissed

Can you hear that? No, you probably can’t. But I can. Tinnitus: ringing or buzzing in the ears. That definition just does not do it justice in my case. A concentration-shattering, perpetual whistling, more like. A shrill, hissing, sibilant, headache-inducing screeching that eases off to a whispering susurration at times. Or maybe you can hear …

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April & May

  BSFA Ytterbium Chocaholics and parents might have noticed it was Easter again last month. To me, that meant eating chocolate at the British Science Fiction Association's Annual Convention! Code-named Ytterbium, it was held this year at London Heathrow's Park Inn. As always, I rolled up ready to meet old friends, make new ones, and …

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Happy News/Strange News

Happy News #1 Had a great time at the UK's annual Sci-Fi and Fantasy Convention (Follycon) in Harrogate. Met some old friends and made some new ones. Learned a lot and had a few new ideas sparked. Delighted to say that my friend David Allan got his first publishing contract. Congrats, David! Happy News #2 …

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The Economics of AI: Example

I recently had a great time at the 68th British National Science Fiction Annual Convention: meeting old friends; making new ones; attending some fascinating panels... The panels prompted my restless mind to explore tangential threads, as they should. Example... During the Artifical Intelligence (AI) panel, someone mentioned that when driverless trucks take over, some 3.5 million USA …

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My, The Force Was Strong

What a wonderful month May was. Family The first big event was my eldest daughter's engagement party in sunny Romania. It was wonderful to see her take the next step in life, and to meet her friends and her fiance's family. She looked, as ever, so lovely. My middle daughter then announced her graduation grade: an …

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So Where Have I Been?

I took a long break between posts this year. I'm sure you noticed. So where have I been? Among other things, my acting hobby took over for a while with a sudden rush of auditions, resulting in a few days filming ("Toy Gun" and "A Storm In Their Stars"). Audition readings to prepare, lines to …

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Mancunicon (Eastercon 2016)

I'm still recovering from a splendid few days at the annual British Science Fiction Convention, held at Easter and generically named Eastercons. 2016 was the turn of Manchester, England to host 1200 sci-fi and fantasy fans, and a fine job the organising team did. For four days the hours between 10 am and falling-over-with-exhaustion-time were filled …

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Dysprosium : SciFi Convention

Dysprosium was the 66th annual UK SciFi Convention, held at Easter 2015. (Yes, I'm still playing "catch-up".) Overview Weird and wacky, thoughtful and intelligent, and a Real Ale bar permanently packed-out with hobbits. Well, not real hobbits, but hairy folk wearing homespun and sandals. (For my non-UK readers, Real Ales are traditional beers produced by smaller breweries with …

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