Mid year update

 A recent round of comments reminds me that you're owed an update on where we are with MACHINE VENDETTA. Unfortunately, for those that are keen to get hold of it, it's now been pushed back to January 2024. While the UK edition could have been out by the end of this summer (the book itself is done except for final proofreading, which normally happens about 6 weeks ahead of actual printed copies appearing) it was thought better to have it come out at the same time in America as the UK, which does make sense in terms of maximising the impact of reviews, publicity and so on. Since US publishers have tended to need longer lead-times for production and scheduling, that's unavoidably meant a push back into 2024. No biggie - it's just an SF book and there should be no shortage of good new material to keep anyone occupied between now and then.  For instance, and just off the top of my head, Naomi Alderman's THE FUTURE is really good and I expect will pick up a lot of attention and good notices in the coming months. I've also just read and enjoyed Tobias Buckell's forthcoming A STRANGER IN THE CITADEL, which I also recommend. I, meanwhile, have been busy on the next book after VENDETTA, entitled HALCYON YEARS, and which is another compact(ish) standalone in the vein of EVERSION. I'm guessing that one will come out in 2025 although since I'm already pretty advanced with it, there might be an outside chance that it will squeak into next year. I've not got much in the way of additional news, but my short story for Tor, "Detonation Boulevard", will be available later this month. I'll post something here when it goes out. A few weeks back I did a nice little interview with Robin of the Bookspin Youtube channel, where I (along with others) highlighted some hidden gems of SF. Hop onto the link to see the books I picked, and the tenuous connection between them - and the other recommendations, of course. Thanks, Robin! Although it's rather late in the day, I'll also mention that I'm taking part in a panel discussion in Cardiff tomorrow evening as part of the National Astronomy Meeting. Here's a link, should you be local and interested in attending: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebration-space-tickets-638623840097 Cheers, and sorry for the long silence between updates.