Tired, jet-lagged but happy, I am ready to report back from FantasyCon in Nottingham, England, where I was one of the guests of honour last weekend.

FantasyCon is run by the British Fantasy Society, an august organization with a very long heritage that can boast some of the most esteemed British writers among its membership.  Don’t let that fool you into thinking this is a stuffy, academic lot—it’s not.  These are a group of devoted readers who really love the genre and who are among the friendliest people I’ve ever met.

It’s a mid-sized con compared to US conventions—around 300 or so people.  It’s also a book con—no big emphasis on TV or movies, no media stars, and the dealers’ room is almost completely books.  (I told you these were serious readers.)  They’re also a nocturnal bunch, willing to sit up to the wee hours talking about anything and everything to do with sci fi and fantasy.

We were in the heart of ..Nottingham.., of Robin Hood fame, and it’s a little surreal to realize that all those tales (and all those movies) had ties to a real, historical place and I was standing in it.  I got in a day early, and managed to tour ....Nottingham.. ..Castle..... (Did you know that when Richard the Lionhearted stormed the castle to oust Prince John that the castle guards wouldn’t believe Richard was really the king because Richard couldn’t speak English?  He only spoke French and Latin.  It apparently took a siege to convince them.)  And I also toured the extensive escape route caves beneath the castle. 

Then I headed to the Caves of Nottingham (different set of caves) beneath of all things, a shopping center, which led down into caves that have been lived in or used as a tannery (early Middle Ages), hideout (all ages), living space (all ages), tavern (18^th and 19^th century) and WWII air raid shelter.  I also managed to go through the Crime and Punishment museum, a real 19^th century courtroom and jail straight out of Dickens.  And then there was time for a good hot pot of English tea before heading back for dinner with con organizers Peter and Jan Coleborn and several friends.

As a guest of honour, I was on two panels and I was also interviewed by (fellow Solaris author) Juliet McKenna, who had been a guest on my Ghost in the Machine podcast.  Juliet is the author of Irons in the Fire and she and I had several good phone chats before we finally met in person.

The two panels were also fun.  One was the David Gemmell legacy panel, focused on the future of heroic fantasy and the other was on “dodgy archeology” and the role that archeological digs, ancient ruins, old artifacts and other elements play in fantasy.  We had quite a good time and the panels were very well attended.  I also did a reading to an enthusiastic group from The Summoner and Dark Lady’s Chosen.  Then I’ve promised Ian Whates that I will turn in a short story on magic and vampires this Fall for a BFS anthology, so all of the anthology authors had a signing party and hand-signed about 500 copies of the anthology flyleaf.

I met so many people who were all wonderful!  In no particular order:  Master of Ceremonies, the incomparable Ian Watson (watch for Ian on my videoblog), fellow guests of honour Jasper Fforde and Brian Clemens, and special guest of honour Sebastian Peake, fellow Solaris/Rebellion authors Andy Remic and Juliet McKenna, Mark Charan Newton (my former Solaris editor and author of Nights in Villjamur), Christian Dunn (of Games Workshop, formerly of Solaris), Jon Oliver and Jason Kingsley of Rebellion (which will be bringing out Dark Lady’s Chosen Dec. 29), Stephane Marson of Bragelonne (my French publisher who will be bringing out The Summoner, The Blood King and Dark Haven in French this Fall), and Samantha Smith of Orbit (my new publisher—more on that later).  And then there was S.A. Rule, Daniele Serra, Terry Martin of Murky Depths, writer/editor and WorldCon co-organizer Cheryl Morgan, magician extraordinaire John Lanahan, Roberto Quaglia, Sam Stone, Sissy Pantelis, Simon R Green, Andy Bigwood, Kari Sperring, and fellow panel members Patrick Marcel, Mike Chinn, Stephen Deas, and Ian Grahamand Sarah Pinborough.

Some of the other highlights included the FantasyCon banquet, which also included the BFS awards.  You can find out all about the award nominees and winners on the Fantasycon web site, www.fantasycon.org.uk.  It was a lively evening and I had a very nice conversation with Jasper Fforde and Sebastian Peake.  The annual FantasyCon quiz (accompanied by lots of fresh, hot chips—we Americans call them French Fries) was another fun moment.  And then on Sunday evening, I went out to a wonderful Indian restaurant with Ian Watson, Sissy Pantelis, Roberto Quaglia, and Danielle Serra, and when we returned, we found that the “dead dog party” to commiserate the end of the con (that began at 3 pm) was still going strong, and so I stayed on to talk until near midnight.

Getting to and from ..Nottingham.. was the hard part, requiring a series of planes, trains, taxis and subways (all I needed was John Candy and a polka band).  But despite being shoehorned into a tiny airplane seat (I would have had more elbow room if I’d packed myself up and shipped myself as cargo, or perhaps as the vampires do, in a nice, roomy casket), I seem to have returned unscathed.

Anyhow—you don’t have to take my word for it.  You can watch my FantasyCon videos right here!

FantasyCon Day 1   I took this before the con started, visiting ....Nottingham.. ..Castle.... and other Robin Hood sites.

FantasyCon Day 2  Some more historic areas in ..Nottingham.., plus the con kick-off featuring MC Ian Watson.

FantasyCon Day 3 Fun and frivolity at FantasyCon with cameos by Ian Watson, Andy Remic and S.A. Rule

The FantasyCon banquet Highlights of the FantasyCon banquet plus the BFS Award presentation.

One big announcement came out while I was on the plane headed to ..Nottingham...  Coming in 2011, my next two books set in the Chronicles of the Necromancer world will be published by Orbit Books.  The Sworn and The Dread are the first two books in the Fallen Kings Cycle, and while readers of the first four books will find that these books carry the adventures of their favorite characters forward into new perils, new readers will discover that these books are a convenient gateway into the series that doesn’t require having read the first four books to enjoy the story.  Of course, Dark Lady’s Chosen will be launched by Rebellion, the new owners of Solaris Books, and The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven and Dark Lady’s ..Chosen.. will continue to be published by Rebellion.

We’re also deep into the creation of the audio books for the series through Audible.com, and expect the audio versions to be available around Christmas, as well as the e-book version of Dark Lady’s ..Chosen...  Remember—you can pre-order Dark Lady’s Chosen online right now!