News Roundup: BSB UK Fest Line-Up Revealed, Interviews with Pauline George & RJ Samuel, Blogs, Reviews, Events, & More!

As gay wedding bells finally (legally!) chime across England and Wales, and lesbian couples break out the taffeta, pearls, triple-tiered cakes, and tuxedos, Tig and I would like to offer our congratulations to anyone who has already tied or is planning to tie the knot.

So how will LesFic respond to the new changes? What term will authors use for these newly married women? Do we stick with partner or move on to wife? ‘Er indoors? The old ball and chain? The missus? The better half? Only time will tell, but it’s lovely to have all the choices at our disposal.

Anyway I digress, where was I? Oh, aye, let’s get on with the news…

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First this week, I can reveal the line-up of authors who will be putting on their best game face for the Bold Strokes Books UK Festival. The weekend-long free-for-all (in pretty much every sense of the term!) is being held in Nottingham on June 7th & 8th and features author panels, readings, Q&A sessions, signings, meet-and-greets, giveaways, loads of food, shenanigans, and the chance to hang out with other like-minded LesFic-loving folk.

This year the authors and editors attending will be:

I. Beacham (Sanctuary & The Rarest Rose), Andrea Bramhall (Ladyfish & Clean Slate), Rebecca Buck (Truths, The Locket & The Flintlock), Crin Claxton (The Supernatural Detective), Lesley Davis (Playing Passions Game & the Wings paranormal series), Amy Dunne (Secret Lies), Jane Fletcher (the Celaeno & Lyremouth series), Michelle Grubb (Getting Lost, due out in 2015), Eric Andrews-Katz (The Jesus Injection), Justine Saracen (Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright & Waiting for the Violins), Stacia Seaman (editor), Victoria Oldham (editor), and Me (Desolation Point & Tumbledown). But don’t let that last put you off!

2013’s event was the biggest and most successful to date, and this year Vic Oldham wants to hear from you: What do you want/expect from the weekend? Do you have any questions that would you like to ask the authors or editors? And is there anything that might encourage you to come along if you’re currently sitting on the fence?

Feel free to comment here or over on the BSB UK blog.

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Two UK authors have been hitting the airwaves recently, with Pauline George interviewed by Tom C at Croydon Radio, and RJ Samuel chatting to Breda Burns and Grainne O’Reilly on wrfm Westport Radio Arts show.

To listen to the podcast with Pauline, head here (scroll to 1 hr 9 mins to find the start of the interview), while RJ has uploaded her interview onto YouTube.

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Amy Dunne has been tagged by Blog Tour Monday, giving her a great opportunity to tell people about her writing processes, her upcoming works, and why she ever picked up a pen in the first place:

I read anything and everything, but lesfic always has and will have a special place in my heart. It’s wonderful to be able to read a story and feel represented in the pages. When I was in a dark place and unsure of myself, lesfic opened my world up. It offered solidarity and hope. It enabled me to accept my sexuality and source the courage to live the way I wanted to. As dramatic as it sounds, it really did impact tremendously on my life. It’s always been my ambition to provide stories that do the same thing. It’s a privilege to be doing just that.

Amy is currently working on The Renegade, book one of the Rapture series, which is speculative fiction. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where only a few survivors remain, the novel is tentatively due for release in Spring 2015.

Read the entire piece here at Amy’s blog.

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With Frog Music newly released, Emma Donoghue has a few suggestions for what people might want to read afterwards. She’s been discussing her six favourite books over at The Week news site. To compare your personal faves with Emma’s hop (Ha! No pun intended) over here.

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A trio of updates now from Nicola Griffth, who has been discussing bisexual characters, killing off characters, and making stuff up, with Annabel (high school junior and new fan).

I wrestled with Gwladus and Cian, and Hild’s attraction to both. I found it surprisingly difficult at first; I’ve never written a bisexual main character before. The power differential and possibility of incest, respectively, made this even more complicated of course. 

The full radio interview with Nicola that Tig mentioned in the last news update is now available at this link, and if that’s not enough for you, any budding authors living in or near to Seattle can sign up for Nicola’s workshop on the Magic of Immersive Fiction. The workshop will be held on June 1st and is an overflow workshop for those who missed out on the April 13th session. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that places will be limited and disappearing fast, so check out the workshop’s sign up page if you’re interested.

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C-Spot Reviews has a new reviewer – The Bookgeek – whose first write-up for the site focuses on Clare Lydon‘s London Calling:

With this delightful debut, British author Clare Lydon keeps the reader entertained with plenty of interesting people, great food, lots of humour, and a heart-warming romance…Last but not least, the title “London Calling” is indicative of the whole tone of the book which oozes with unabashed Britishness and does not cater to international tastes, which adds to its allure.

Click here to read the full review.

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Finally this week, anyone who fancies celebrating World Book Night with Manda Scott is very much in luck! On Wednesday 23rd April 7.30 p.m. there will be a talk with Manda at Oakham Castle (somewhere between Melton Mowbray and Stamford, and reasonably close to Peterborough!) Tickets are a snip at £3. For more details see the Rutland Library Events page.

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And that’s just about it. I thought this was going to be a quiet week until I went out trawling for news. Yes, yes, I know, it’s my fault for looking!