Gary McMahon continues his "Postcards from The Concrete Grove"

To mark the publishing of the second Concrete Grove book, Silent Voices, author Gary McMahon continues his series about the real life buildings and places that helped to inspire the Concrete Grove novels and keep them firmly grounded in a sense of reality…

Postcard #3: The Angel of the North

Anthony Gormley’s Angel of the North (AKA the Gateshead Angel) sculpture aroused a lot of controversy when the plans were first unveiled. Many people thought it was ugly; they didn't like the “ageing” effect used on the steel figure. I remember working for Gateshead Council when the drawings first came into the office – some people laughed, others shook their heads in mild disgust, and a few of us said we actually liked it.

The steel sculpture is of an angel, standing 20 metres tall, with the wings measuring 54 metres across. The wings are angled 3.5º forward, which Gormley said he used to create "a sense of embrace". It stands on a hill on the southern edge of Low Fell, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, south of the site of the Teams Colliery. 21m deep concrete piles anchor the structure into the ground, and yet still there is the sense that it is about to take flight. Work began on the 1 million-pound project in 1994 and the Angel was finished in 1998.

I love the Angel of the North. It somehow manages to represent the region’s lost industrial past but at the same time point towards hope for the future. It’s a beautiful thing; it lifts my spirit, makes me smile. The sculpture features heavily in the second Concrete Grove novel, Silent Voices. I combined it with one of my favourite pieces of art – William Blake’s America: A Prophecy – to create the surreal nightmare imagery in one of the main sections of the book.

Over the years most of the antipathy that was initially directed towards the Angel has faded. People have mellowed towards its now iconic presence. The sculpture is often used in films and TV ads to represent the northeast of England, and I cannot think of a better image to symbolise the unique attitude and mind-set of the region.

Silent Voices, the second book in The Concrete Grove trilogy, is available now in the UK and North America.

Gary McMahon continues his "Postcards from The Concrete Grove"

To mark the publishing of the second Concrete Grove book, Silent Voices, author Gary McMahon continues his series about the real life buildings and places that helped to inspire the Concrete Grove novels and keep them firmly grounded in a sense of reality…

Postcard #2: Hadrian's Wall

Near the border between Northumberland and Scotland (but actually lying for its whole length within England), you’ll find the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s famous wall. It was built 80 Roman miles long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials used along any particular stretch. The wall originally extended from Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shore of the Solway Firth.

It’s a common misconception that the wall was built to keep the Scots out of Roman-occupied England, but that isn’t specifically true. There’s no actual documented reason for the building of the wall. It was meant to keep “intact the Empire”, which suggests that it was a symbolic boundary as much as a physical one. This is a notion that appeals to me greatly, especially in terms of the novels.

Construction of the wall began in AD 122 and took almost six years to complete.

Photo by Emily McMahon

In The Concrete Grove, the wall becomes a symbolic stone serpent; the long manmade boundary gains a bastardised form of life because of the violent upheaval of power in the area. I used the image to represent the idea of all boundaries being mutable, constantly shifting as various forces repeatedly collide and constantly mutate.

This imagery echoes the many power struggles in the novel; between the individual characters, between doing what’s right and doing what’s easy. It also represents the infinite sense of unseen movement between the two worlds that co-exist within the space occupied by the Concrete Grove housing estate.

Silent Voices, the second book in The Concrete Grove trilogy, is available now in the UK and North America.

Gary McMahon's "Postcards from The Concrete Grove"

In these “Postcards from the Concrete Grove” I’ll say a little bit about the real life buildings and places that helped to inspire the novels and keep them firmly grounded in a sense of reality…

Postcard #1:

The “Get Carter” Car Park

Trinity Square was a shopping centre in Gateshead Tyne & Wear. Along with the concrete multi-storey car park, this formed an iconic Brutalist town centre which is as much revered as it is ridiculed.

At the time of its design in 1962 by Owen Luder, the project was regarded as cutting edge. But even as it was unveiled to the public in 1967, interest in the Brutalist movement had begun to dry up and the car park was already looking like somebody’s idea of a cruel joke. The raw concrete weathered badly, the construction was beset by subsidence problems, and a rooftop café was built that never found a tenant and thus remained empty for the entire lifetime of the building.

In 2010 the car park was finally demolished.

The car park is most famous, of course, for appearing in the film Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971). Even then, the building was looking decidedly shabby.

Although a multi-storey car park doesn’t actually feature in the Concrete Grove, this hard, harsh structure greatly influenced the feel and tone of the books. One insightful reviewer called The Concrete Grove a Brutalist horror story, which makes me believe that at least some of what I intended made it into the book.

Many years ago I used to work for Gateshead Metropolitan Council. One of the tasks I carried out during my time there was a detailed survey of the car park. The top floor was due to be demolished and a colleague and I spent two or three days doing a crack survey – noting and logging all visible structural defects. We met the caretaker, who sat all day in a tiny concrete office on the ground floor of the car park. He made us tea, told us ghost stories, and talked about football. It was a good, strange time, and even then I knew that one day I’d use at least some of the experience in a story.

I recall wandering the upper floors of the car park, feeling cut off from the world, and even in broad daylight there was a strange, creepy atmosphere. A heavy silence seemed to be held within the oppressive concrete walls, and wherever we walked it felt like someone was following us, watching over us. We did not walk there alone.

(Photo by Bob Castle. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

COMING SOON: Welcome back to Concrete Grove. The place you can never truly leave…

Silent Voices

by Gary McMahon

Terror returns 27th March (US & Canada) and 12th April (UK)

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-7-80

$8.99/$10.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-7-97

Available as an ebook

Gary McMahon returns to the Concrete Grove, the ‘sink estate’ where nightmares are all too real…

Twenty years ago three young boys staggered out of an old building. Missing for a weekend, the boys had no idea of where they’d been and swore they’d been gone for only an hour - yet all knew their lives had been marked by an unimaginable horror.

Now grown up, when one of them returns to the Concrete Grove to see his old friends things once buried begin to claw their way back to the surface and the past is about to catch up with them all…

McMahon’s Concrete Grove series is a spine-tingling contemporary horror trilogy merging ancient horrors with modern themes of deprivation and social despair. Join him in Silent Voices as he returns to a very different kind of ‘broken Britain’.

“…will send your senses reeling as McMahon ramps up the scare factor along the way - 8/10”

– Spooky Reads on Concrete Grove

“…told with skill, beauty and sincerity. Read The Concrete Grove because it deals in horror that cuts deeper than beasts, monsters, zombies and werewolves”

– Read Horror

Other books in the series

Imagine a place where all your nightmares become real. Think of dark urban streets where crime, debt and violence are not the only things to fear. Picture a housing project that is a gateway to somewhere else, a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows. Welcome to the Concrete Grove. It knows where you live... Gary McMahon’s chilling horror trilogy shows us a Britain many of us will recognise, while whispering of the terrible and arcane presences clawing against the boundaries of our reality…

About the Author

Gary McMahon’s fiction has appeared in anthologies in both the UK and US, including The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. He is the British-Fantasy-Award-nominated author of Rough Cut, All Your Gods Are Dead, Dirty Prayers, How to Make Monsters, Rain Dogs, Different Skins, Pieces of Midnight, The Harm and Hungry Hearts.

Solaris Wins "This Is Horror" Awards 2011!

Wha-hey!

So, wotcher all. I'm not sure if you're aware of the sterling work that This Is Horror does, promoting and discussing the horror genre? If not, go and check out their site; it's crammed with interviews, reviews, features and all sorts of good stuff.

At any rate, they have recently launched a new award for the horror genre, the annual This Is Horror Award, which enjoyed an enormous response and looks set to become something pretty exciting in the years ahead.

And just to show what great taste they have, they have awarded us - Solaris Books and Abaddon Books, Rebellion's sister fiction imprints - their inaugural Publisher of the Year Award!

We're thrilled, naturally. Jon, our Editor-in-Chief, says, “What a lovely way to start the New Year! I’m so pleased that Abaddon and Solaris have made their mark on the horror genre, because horror has always been my first love, ever since I discovered Ramsey Campbell at the age of 11. It’s been a real pleasure to work with This is Horror over 2011 and to be recognised by Michael and the team in this way means a great deal to us.”

To top it off, they've also given one of our books, Gary McMahon's The Concrete Grove, the Novel of the Year Award. We're massively chuffed for Gary; this is an amazing book, and the start of what's promising (having just finished the copy-edit on Silent Voices myself) to be an extraordinary series.

Gary says, “I’m delighted to have my book named as Novel of the Year. The Concrete Grove is a very personal novel and it’s gratifying to receive any kind of recognition for my work.”

So we're just popping open the champers in our office, here, and will pop up a photo of the certificate. Huge congratulations to Angry Robot, the runner-up Publisher of the Year, to BC Furtney, whose Scarla was the  runner-up Novel of the Year, and to all the other winners and runners-up.

Cracking.

Fantasycon Photos

Two editors, one PR guy and lots of Solaris authors walk into a convention...

Just a quick post to share with you some of the photos that we took of the Big Solaris Book Event, and to say thank you to all the fans and readers who came to the signing and who told us how much they're enjoying our books.

A big thank you also to the British Fantasy Society, for organising such a fabulous convention, and to all the hardworking volunteers who made it happen.

Gary McMahon, Nicholas Royle, Richard Ford, James Lovegrove, Juliet E. McKenna and Conard Williams at the signing.

The view from the hotel.

Juliet chats with a fan.

News Round-Up!

The brilliantly-named Innsmouth Free Press (famed for their accurate reporting of Mythos-related horrors that the regular press will cover up!) have interviewed our very own editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Oliver, for their website.

Fantasy penmistress Juliet E. McKenna has shared some wise words with the readers of feminist pop culture blog Bad Reputation, in a piece entitled The Representation of Women in Fantasy: What’s the Problem?

Juliet's also received a brilliant review for the debut novel in her new fantasy series, Dangerous Waters, from the BFS (British Fantasy Society). They say: 'A classic fantasy narrative that gallops along and leaves us wanting more ... recommended for fans and newcomers alike.'

You can still vote two of our longlisted titles, The Concrete Grove and Regicide, for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize award.

Nicholas Royle's Regicide has received what we believe is it's very first review, at Graeme's Fantasy Books. Only the start of the acclaim for this much-anticipated novel... Regicide is out on 30th August in the US and Canada, and the 1st of September in the UK.

And finally, just a quick note to say that many of our upcoming titles for 2012 have now been added to the Titles section of our website. There's lots to look forward to!

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Two Solaris Titles up for 'Not The Booker Prize' prize!

Forget the Booker - THIS is the prize everyone wants to win!
The shortlist for The Guardian's 'Not The Booker Prize 2011' has been announced and there are two (count 'em) titles from Solaris upon it:

Regicide by Nicholas Royle
Concrete Grove by Gary McMahon

The voting system is ... er ... somewhat odd, though it's great to see two of our best titles up there. Regicide is being published in September, but if you've enjoyed Concrete Grove then please vote for it because we think it should DEFINITELY win. Don't just take our word for it, here are the views of others:

New York Journal of Books: “The Concrete Grove conjures up images that will haunt readers long after the book is put away”

British Fantasy Society: “This book is an outstanding mix of urban horror and dark fantasy, hints of King's Dark Tower series, hints of Holdstock's Mythago Wood, but above all the realisation of McMahon's talents as the outstanding British horror writer of our times.”

Andre Farant: “Much in The Concrete Grove reminded me of Clive Barker’s work. I don’t know if it’s a British thing, but McMahon manages, like his more famous (for now) countryman before him, to blend sensuality with horror”

The Eloquent Page: “The Concrete Grove is a must read for all self-respecting fans of horror... I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a novel in a single sitting.”

Read Horror: “Read The Concrete Grove because McMahon depicts precise details succinctly without compromising on the unrelenting pace or quality of his prose... Read The Concrete Grove because it deals in horror that cuts deeper than beasts, monsters, zombies and werewolves... Read The Concrete Grove.”

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It Knows Where You Live: discussing urban horror this Saturday

If you're in Manchester this Saturday (or even if you're not), get yourself along to Waterstones for some truly amazingly talented people talking about what makes urban horror so very chilling...

It Knows Where You Live: Discussing Urban Horror
WATERSTONE'S MANCHESTER DEANSGATE
Saturday, 13 August 2011, 7:00PM - 8:30PM

Horror legend Ramsey Campbell presents the absolute crème of contemporary urban horror talent for an open discussion of the genre, including readings from the authors. The panel includes Gary "Concrete Grove" McMahon and Conrad "Loss of Separation" Williams.

When Graeme Interviewed Gary...

Graeme Flory (of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review) has recently interviewed Gary McMahon (of The Concrete Grove) in a colossal battle that destroyed much of Northeast England. Both men have now been captured and, heavily sedated, transported to a safe facility in the North Sea where British Science can study and seek to understand them.

Their interview is recorded, for posterity, here:

READ THIS - YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT

Thank you for your time.

David

Manchester Signing This Saturday

MANCHESTER DEANSGATE

A Super SF/Fantasy Weekender
Gary McMahon, Ian Whates, Conrad Williams, Mike Wild and Pat Kelleher
Saturday, 21 May 2011, 2PM - 5PM

Waterstones asks "Can Manchester contain this amount of SF and Fantasy talent?" It's an SFF and horror invasion as authors Conrad Williams, Gary McMahon, Ian Whates, Mike Wild and Pat Kelleher take over Manchester's Deangate Waterstones for an afternoon of signings and discussion.


Arrive early, at 1pm, and you'll get to see another great SF signing, the 'Deansgate Doctor Who Forum'. Waterstones says 'Join Terry Nation expert Alywn Turner, Doctor Who Big Finish audio play and Dead Ringers maestro Nev Fountain and that walking encyclopaedia of all things Gallifrey, David J. Howe, for a discussion-filled odyssey into all things Doctor Who.'

Further details can be found at the Waterstones Manchester Deansgate website, or at this number: 0161 839 1248.

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Also, check out this interview with Conrad Williams and this interview with Gary MacMahon at horror and dark fiction site The Black Abyss.
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Monday linkspost:-

Juliet E. McKenna, author of the Chronicles of the Lescarii trilogy and the upcoming Dangerous Waters, has been interviewed about editing, at the Writer, Revealed website.

Horror artist Will Jacques has posted a triplicate of Solaris-related interviews at his blog, The Ghastly Door, with Juliet E. McKenna, Gary MacMahon (author of the upcoming The Concrete Grove) and Vincent Chong, creator of many eerie book covers (including The Concrete Grove and Shine).

Our congratulations go to Abaddon Books author Scott Andrews who has had his apocalyptic novel, School's Out, optioned for a movie by Multistory Films!

Chaz Brenchley's new urban fantasy noir, Desdaemona, has received a sterling review from Jared Shurin.

The BookThing review blog has posted two reviews in quick succession, of the first and second novels in Gail Z. Martin's Chronicles of the Necromancer series. We hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

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Solaris Books hits 1000 twitter followers!

We hit one thousand twitter followers today, hooray! We regularly update twitter with recent reviews, news stories concerning Solaris, competitions, and we also answer questions from fans, too. You can find us here http://twitter.com/SolarisBooks if you're not already one of our loyal followers.

There are several Solaris Books authors also one twitter, including but not limited to:-

Rowena Cory Daniells, @rcdaniells, author of last year's bestselling King Rolen's Kin triliogy, and more!
Gary McMahon @GaryMc_Author author of the upcoming horror novels The Concrete Grove trilogy.
Jonathan Strahan @JonathanStrahan, editor of the recent Engineering Infinity anthology of hard SF.
Tim Akers @TimAkers author of Heart of Veridon, the upcoming sequel Dead of Veridon and recent winner SciFi Now magazine's Rising Star Award.
Gail Z. Martin @GailZMartin who writes fantasy series The Chronicles of the Necromancer.
Gareth L. Powell @GarethLPowell whose innovative SF novel, The Recollection, Solaris will be releasing this year.

And let's not forget our own Editor in Chief, Mr. Jon Oliver! @JonOliverEditor

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Remic vs McMahon

Wotcher all,

Just a quickie. Andy Remic, the hardest man in SF (and fantasy), author of the Combat K novels (including the upcoming Cloneworld, launching at the SFXWeekender in February), has drawn our attention to a video of an interview he conducted with the equally rambunctious Gary McMahon, whose Concrete Grove series is launching next summer, in a pub at the World Horror Convention.

(The interview, that is. Was conducted in a pub at the WHC, I mean. I mean to say, the launch won't be conducted in a pub at the WHC - Hell, you'll probably be able to pick up a copy, and say Hi to Gary, 'cos he's usually there, but I don't think there are any firm plans - so much as the interview between Gary and Andy was. At a pub at the WHC. Look, just watch it.)

Check it out here.

Cheers,

David

News from the Front

Hello, remember me?

I'm that disheveled looking one you occasionally see in convention photos. You know that scruffy bloke who sometimes accompanies the far more photogenic David and Jenni?

Yes, it's that time of the year when your editor-in-chief visits you via the means of electronic wizadry. This internet thing is dark magic I tell you.

Anyway, I have so much exciting news for you that this is going to be a long blog post. So strap yourself in, assume the position, etc etc.

Anyway, the first news to impart is that of exciting new commissions. You may have heard of these already through the electronic grapevine, but I just thought I too should say something.

I'm utterly delighted to tell you that I have commissioned a new novel from Eric Brown. King's of Eternity will be published in April 2011 and is just an extraordinary SF novel. Trust me when I tell you that this is a hell of a ride, both emotionally and in terms of big ideas and big-screen dazzle. King's of Eternity is a career best from a writer who goes from strength to strength. This is what I love about SF and being the publisher behind this title is a real privilege. The cover artist on this is going to be Dom Harman, who has done Eric's last few books for us.

The second commission to tell you about is Desdaemona by Ben Macallan. This is a brilliant and edgy urban fantasy from an exciting new writer. Rather than featuring vampires, Ben explores the machinations of devils and demons in an urban setting. The one thing I loved about this novel is how different it is to much of the urban fantasy on the market at the moment. An edgy, funny and thrilling work, which I'm sure you'll love. The cover artist on this project is the very talented Vincent Chong. You can expect this to hit shelves in June 2011.

Also, we have a cracking new fantasy series coming your way, starting next year. We're delighted to welcome back to the Solaris fold, fantasy author Juliet McKenna. Juliet is working on a new trilogy for us called The Hadrumal Convergence. This is set in the same world as her critically acclaimed Lescari Revolution trilogy and, if anything, the stakes are even higher in this epic story. Juliet's writing is intelligent and thought provoking, while delivering vast fantasy thrillers and epic world building on scale that would put writers like Steven Erikson to shame. Book one of this trilogy will be hitting the shelves in August next year. We're looking to assign Clint Langley to cover duties on this one.

So, those are some of the tasty things in the pipeline (is that a strange mixed-metaphor that I've just created, do you get tasty things in pipelines? I'm not sure that I'd want to eat anything out of a pipe...), for now I present you with a gallery of goodies heading your way.

David is currently beavering away on the follow-up to Paul Kearney's fantasy novel The Ten Thousand and just to wet your appetite for the rest of the series, here is the stunning cover for the third book in the trilogy:

This will be on shelves in July of 2011, and Corvus will be out this November. These covers are by Chris McGrath.

Continuing on the fantasy theme, we're all really looking forward to Emily Gee's next novel for us, The Sentinel Mage. And boy do we have sexy cover for this! Feast your eyes on the following, by fantasy legend Larry Rostant.

Yup, that's the same Larry Rostant who did the covers for George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. The Sentinel Mage is on shelves in February 2011.

Now something a little darker for you. This one is for The Concrete Grove by Gary McMahon, part one of a three book horror series, described to me by Gary as a bit like Mythago Wood but more horror based and set on a council estate. Gary is a fiercely good writer and you can expect this to be a dark and frightening series that packs a hell of a punch. Our artist maestro on this is Vinny Chong:

This is obviously without text, but we just thought you'd want to see a preview of the cover art before we design the final book. The Concrete Grove rips it's way into your reality in July 2011.

Now for something more steampunky... Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers garnered high-praise on its publication and went straight into the top-ten of many steampunk aficionados. This is why we're delighted to show you the cover for Dead of Veridon, Tim's sensational follow-up, coming to you in June 2011.

This is by renowned artist Greg Staples.

Last, but absolutely by no means least, is this beauty for Eric Brown's collection, Engine Man, due for release in October 2011. This is by Dom Harman, and has literally just come in. Pretty 'aint it?

Obviously, this is before the designers have had a chance to work their magic, but this gives you some idea of the awesomeness that you can expect.

Anyhew, that's it, pretty much, from me. At the moment I'm tinkering away with The End of The Line, which is shaping up very nicely indeed. Expect a superb anthology of horror from some of the very best writers in the field.

Right, as you were. Until next we meet again....

Yours

Jonathan Oliver

First post: Live-blogging from the Brighton World Horror Con! (click links for photos!)

Thursday: Jon and I jumped in the van yesterday morning, got to Brighton with very little hassle and met Ian Whates, author of The Noise Within, while unpacking the van. Not how I wanted my first meeting with Ian face-to-face to go but oh well! "Hi Ian...argh...tooo many boxes...argh."

We checked in, met Paul Kane doing his kick ass convention organising thing in reception, got our goodie bags and headed over the the dealers' room, where Weston Ochse signed a load of books for us, saved us from falling posters and gave us a present from Arizona.

Jon and I then did the Pitch Black rights fair, where we heard lots of exciting new ideas from up and coming authors for new Solaris and Abaddon Books, and also popped in to see Weston on a panel defending the living dead from the undead.

I met Paul Cornell in the bar and fangirled at him for a bit about his Captain Britain and MI13 series for Marvel Comics, and we ran into the Angry Robot chaps, who watched Gary McMahon's panel with us (Lee Harris poking me in the back of the head all the way through and blaming it on Mark Morris - here he is looking guilty) before we all headed out for a curry with Simon Bestwick, author of Abaddon's Tide of Souls, too.

Just had breakfast looking out at the sea and now we're in the dealers' room purveying our wares...

See the second post about WHC over here at the Abaddon blog!

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