Alex Bell - fantasy author

Last week I went to the fantastic Headline Bloggers Party in London. After meeting up with my new BFF, Amanda, from Floor to Ceiling Books, at Waterloo, we made our way to Headline Towers an hour early so that we could have a coffee and a gossip first. On the way we happened to run into a group of other bloggers who had also arrived early, and who came along with us. There was Jenny from Wondrous Reads; Sophie from So Many Books, So Little Time; Carla from The Crooked Shelf; and Carolyn from Book Chick City. I had never met any of them before so it was great to have a proper chat before the event, and put some names to faces.

I’ve seen that a couple of these lovely ladies have hinted at scams on their blogs. Despite the merciless teasing at the time, it seems they’re all too polite to name and shame me outright but I’ll do it happily enough – it was me. I’m the one who got scammed. Whilst we were sat there drinking coffee, a rather sleazy looking guy in a cheap suit came up and said he’d left his oyster card at home, that he had a meeting to get to in the next ten minutes, and that he wanted two pounds for the bus. It was so obviously a scam, but I’m ashamed to say that whilst the others treated this request with the cool scepticism it undoubtedly deserved, I was practically lunging for my wallet. Even though I knew it was probably a scam, I just couldn’t stop myself. It’s quite embarrassing really, when you consider that my Headline book is all about a conman. I ought to know better. So if any readers of my blog happen to meet me in the flesh, please don’t ask me for money, because I will probably give it to you. I’m just a sucker that way. Sometimes I wonder how I manage to survive out there in the real world. The one inside my head is so much easier to cope with.

Moving swiftly on – the event at Headline was brilliant. There was a big table heavily laden with cakes and other food, and the room was stuffed with books for people to help themselves to. There were loads of lovely bloggers there to chat to, and it was great to meet the five other Headline authors – Dan Wells, Carole Matthews, Paul Magrs, Sean Cregan and Jonathan L Howard.

I did some schmoozing, signed some books, had some laughs, grinned like a fool for some photos, yadda yadda. And then the authors were split up for the quiz. I was in a team with Carla from the Crooked Shelf, Sophie from So Many Books, So Little Time, and Becky from the Bookette. We . . . er . . . didn’t do terribly well, but there were only four of us in our little team, compared to a whopping six in the winning team. If we’d had six people, we would have won that shiny trophy for sure!

After all that we went to the pub for some well-deserved beer. Much fun was had, and I was delighted that the midnight train was running for once. Unfortunately I did make a small fool of myself on the train on the way back home. Whilst attempting to put my Burger King bag in the bin (don’t worry, it was a veggie burger – I wasn’t that drunk), the lid snapped shut and pulled my ring off – just as we were pulling into my station. It may be a cheap, plastic, Jack Skellington ring from Disneyland but I love it dearly (partly because it reminds me of the singing ring in The Tenth Kingdom), and they don’t make ‘em like that any more - I know because there was this other time when I thought I’d lost it and tried to get another one online, only to find there were none to be had. Of course, it fell right to the bottom, so I’m afraid I had to resort to shoving my hand in, grabbing pieces of rubbish, and throwing them out like a crazy hobo person. An expensively dressed hobo, to be sure, but a hobo nevertheless. This was shortly before 2am and, trust me, you really don’t want to know what kind of stuff is inside a train bin at that hour. But I wasn’t forsaking Jack and – damn it! – I managed to get that ring, and even stuff most of the rubbish back in the bin before I leapt from the train - even managing to land on my feet despite the high-heeled boots - just mere seconds before it was pulling out of the platform! Oh yes, it’s an exciting life being an author. And fear not, I washed my hands, and the ring, most thoroughly when I got home.

I didn’t take my camera to the Headline event, so I don’t have pictures, but if you head over to Wondrous Reads (http://www.wondrousreads.com/2010/03/event-report-headline-meets-online.html) and Floor to Ceiling Books (http://floor-to-ceiling-books.blogspot.com/2010/03/headline-party-ftcb-on-tour.html), both these fine blogs have some great snaps of the event. Many congrats to Sam Eades, and all the other lovely ladies at Headline for the very first bloggers party being such a success!

Regular readers of my blog will know that about once a year I grudgingly praise another writer’s work. I do not like to do it too often because I am greedy and grasping, and I despise the thought of people out there spending hard-earned money on books that were not penned by me. But every now and then, I enjoy reading a book so much that it enables me to rise above my natural, in-built pettiness.

So, up next is Tome of the Undergates – from the Next Big Thing ™, Mister Sam Sykes:

I think we can all agree that this cover is wicked, and the man on it is sexy as anything, and the water is . . . well . . . sort of mesmerising. It’s also a very big book (600 pages plus), and, as Amanda at Floor to Ceiling Books has already pointed out, if you were so inclined, you could, feasibly, beat a man to death with this thing. I don’t like to put it too close to any of my books because it makes me feel insecure, and I start wondering whether my efforts are just novellas, rather than actual novels . . .

Anyway, there are, basically, three main reasons why I love Tome:

1. The monsters. Heretofore (eek! I just said ‘heretofore’! The ol’ legal training creeps in when you least expect it!) – heretofore, I would have said that the estimable Chris Wooding was the undisputed king of fantasy monsters, but now I would have to say that Chris and Sam are pretty much on a level with each other on this, for there are several really cracking monsters in Tome. I don’t want to give any juicy details away, but the highlight for me were the Omens – these creepy monsters with bodies of birds, and heads of old women who parrot the words of dying men.
2. I have a special soft spot for characters who are at least a little bit mad/unstable/unhinged etc. Anyone who’s read The Ninth Circle will know this to be true (see what I did there? Sneakily got the post back onto my books, ah ha). And Lenk, who is the leader (in the loosest sense) of the mismatched band of adventurers in Tome, is haunted by a voice inside his head that only he can hear. More often than not, this urges him on to greater bloodshed and so on. It’s not clear where this voice comes from, or what its purpose is, but I’m an absolute sucker for this sort of internal conflict.
3. The similes. I know it seems a bit of an odd thing to highlight, but they really jumped out at me all the way through the book. From now on, I might have to refer to Sam as the King of Similes (he is, after all, yet to be christened by me with an appropriate nickname). I’ve never complimented an author on similes before – that’s how freakin’ great they are.

In addition, I think I would probably enjoy any adventure story that involved a rich fantasy world; a band of companions who are constantly at each other’s throats; and a heck of a lot of blood and gore. It’s true: I like my fantasy novels to be just a little bit filthy (hence my gushing love for anything written by Mr Abercrombie).

So for anyone looking for a thoroughly entertaining read, I would whole-heartedly recommend Tome. Sam is also an active Twitterer (is this a word?), but please don’t follow him because he already has more Twitter followers than me, despite having been around for only a fraction of the time, and that just isn’t right. Perhaps if I made my tweets a bit angrier, I would get a sudden influx of followers . . . ?

Finally, and most vitally, I must add that whilst Mr Sykes may write books that practically eclipse mine in size, my dog could eat his dog in one bite, because Moose is a Great Dane, and Sam is the owner of a teensy-tiny, ludicrously adorable pug by the name of Otis who, I believe, is soon to feature on the shiny new Gollancz blog.

Tome is released in the UK on 15th April, available in all good bookstores, etc etc.

Ninth Circle Press Release from Reelart Media:

Monday 8 March 2010- London

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

The Ninth Circle by Rising Star Author Alex Bell, Optioned for Movie Rights

Reelart Media Limited are pleased to announce that Reelart have optioned Movie Rights for The Ninth Circle by Gollancz fantasy author, Alex Bell. Hampshire based Alex Bell is recognised as an up-and-coming young British talent with three novels successfully published to high critical acclaim.

Contracts have been signed to bring the book’s hero Gabriel Antaeus to where he rightly belongs – on the big screen. With a movie adaptation already underway and directors, leading cast and locations being sought in the UK and Hungary, production is expected to commence September 2010.

Reelart Managing Director, Daniel O’Toole stated, ‘We are thrilled to be working hard, to turn Alex’s first novel into what will undoubtedly be a talked about movie adaptation. We believe we have found a talented, young British writer and the character of Gabriel Antaeus is one we can see developing into other projects. Obviously we’re very excited to bring this novel to the big screen.’

‘Alex Bell and her novels already have a growing army of fans and we know we can do justice to her work,’ Reelart Producer, Matthew O’Toole commented as contracts were signed.

‘After my initial meeting with Reelart, I knew they were the right people to bring my work to life. It’s always such a pleasure to talk to people who really get the book, and if anyone can successfully bring a faithful version of The Ninth Circle to the big screen, I am sure it is them,’ said Alex Bell.

The Ninth Circle, is Alex Bell’s first novel and begins as our mysterious hero wakes beaten and bloodied on the floor of a Budapest flat with no recall of his past. His efforts to rediscover his identity are punctuated with cryptic clues, strange visions, terrifying dreams which eventually come together into an epic battle of good and evil and Gabriel asking the question: is it really better the devil you know?

The Ninth Circle takes its place in Reelart’s upcoming production slate with production due to commence September 2010.

—-ENDS—-

Notes to Editors:

For more information on Reelart Media Limited:

www.reelartmedia.com

For more information on Alex Bell:

www.alex-bell.co.uk

For more up to date releases on The Ninth Circle Movie

www.theninthcirclemovie.com

For more information on The Ninth Circle Novel and reviews

http://www.alex-bell.co.uk/books/the-ninth-circle/

I’m very pleased to announce that the film rights for The Ninth Circle have been optioned by Reelart Media. After meeting with Matthew and Daniel O’Toole of Reelart, I was very impressed both with their enthusiasm for the book, and their understanding of it. It’s always such a pleasure to talk to people who really get the book, and if anyone can successfully bring a faithful version of The Ninth Circle to the big screen, I am sure it is them.

I can’t add too much more about it at this stage because it’s all top secret, and if I told you I would have to kill you – or send Sam Sykes to kill you – but watch this space . . .

In other news, Lex Trent versus The Gods has also been optioned for film. Lex and his twin brother Lucius are to be played by none other than John and Edward Grimes, otherwise known as Jedward, who, as I have already stated elsewhere, look shockingly like the Lex Trent I see in my head (apart from the hair, obviously):

Nah, I’m only kidding. About Lex, that is. The Ninth Circle/Reelart stuff is all true.