Sorry for the long gaps between posting, but as my newsletter readers already know, writing has been forced to plummet down my list of important things these past four months. Moving and renovating a house has proven one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done (of course, it would’ve been far less so had our first builder not broken the house and run off with our money, leaving us to pick up the pieces).
However, we’re finally in our new place and although there’s still a lot to do to get it how we want it, we’re almost there. Of course, “almost there” has been a struggle for me as I have the patience of a small child and am hankering just to be living in this house rather than working on it.
Of course, as my partner Katherine said last night, with every move into a new place there are teething problems. And I know a lot of people have it much worse than we’ve had. Katherine’s mum’s new place has already had an ant infestation, a “condemned boiler” and a blocked drain that flooded the garden with decades of sewage. Kudos to my one-day-to-be mother-in-law Linda for coping with all of that. I may have laid down and died.
Anyway, back to Million Eyes II…
Million Eyes II: The Unraveller ebook will be published on September 24th
Unconnected to the house stuff this time, the release date for the ebook has been put back to September 24th. So only a few weeks later, though I appreciate that this is the second time it’s been delayed. (You’re probably thinking – well it better be fucking good!) This time it was Elsewhen Press who asked for it to be put back as they got behind on a bunch of stuff and it was threatening the release date.
However, the paperback release date is unaffected, so that’s still coming on November 8th.
Million Eyes II blog tour coming in October
I’m pleased to announce that one of my favourite parts of the release of Million Eyes last year is happening again for book 2. It will take place between the ebook and paperback releases sometime in October (dates TBC) and I know that a number of the bloggers who took part last time and posted wonderful reviews of Million Eyes have signed up again. Can’t wait!
Launches tentatively booked at Waterstones and Novacon 50
I’ve just booked to go to Novacon 50 in Buxton, Derbyshire, with Katherine on the weekend of 13th November. Elsewhen Press will be launching a number of their new books there, including Million Eyes II. I was meant to go to Eastercon last year to launch book 1, but of course, 2020. So this should make up for that. Novacon is a much smaller convention as I understand, but Elsewhen have been going to it for years and it’s very long-standing. Should be fun!
I’ve also pencilled in a launch at Waterstones in Farnham. Originally I asked for Friday 12th, not realising Novacon was that weekend. So I’ve asked for it to be the following Friday instead (19th) and am just waiting to hear.
Best of Science Fiction 2020 now available to buy
These are the hardback and paperback copies of Best of British Science Fiction 2020 from NewCon Press, which I got for free for having my story What Happened To 70? published in it. It went on sale on 27th July 2021 and has stories from the likes of M.R. Carey (the dude behind The Girl With All The Gifts) alongside little old me. You can buy it here.
Editor Donna Scott said this about my story on Twitter:
Story 20 is “What Happened to 70?” by @CRBerry1 – a story set in his Million Eyes universe, in which Leona, a senior scientist of quantum physics must find the only other person who remembers the number between 69 and 71. Fab characters, and I loved the premise.
I’m on Instagram!
My sister Katie has been nagging me to get on Instagram for months now (she’s an Usborne Books representative and is doing really well; her username is _katiesbookshelf_). So you’ll now find me on there as well as on Facebook and Twitter. I’m not sure how well I’m going to be able to juggle three social media profiles but a few authors have recommended Instagram to me now, and I rather like how it’s picture-focused. It might be that Instagram becomes my platform of choice, so please come and join me! My username is cr_berry_author.
An unusual bit of writing
My copywriting and my fiction writing don’t often overlap, but last month I got to write a short story for my main client, Old Street Solutions, who make reporting add-ons for Atlassian. Inspired by Game of Thrones and packed with tech jokes, it’s about an amateur storyteller charged with helping a company improve its bolt-thrower production through better reporting, so that they could kill more dragons. Have a read if you’re interested. Alternatively here’s the video version with me doing the voiceover.
And the tagline for Million Eyes II is…
The cover and blurb for Million Eyes II will be officially unveilled this Friday. I’ve seen the cover and it’s fantastic. Elsewhen have done a super job with it. Personally, I think it’s better than the first one.
But in the meantime, I can reveal the tagline for book 2. If you recall, the tagline for book 1 was: TIME IS THE ULTIMATE WEAPON.
The tagline for Million Eyes II: The Unraveller is… *drum roll*…
TIME IS THE ULTIMATE SAVIOUR.
This actually holds several clues as to what The Unraveller is all about, and what Million Eyes are really up to in this book.
But, you know, SPOILERS.
Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for Friday!
C.R. Berry 