Andrew Hook's Blog

My sixth novel, "Body and Soul", is published today via Elsewhen Press, an excellent independent publisher who have been great to work with and who I heartily recommend!

"Body and Soul" developed out of a simple idea which I realised would work well at novel length and which I wanted to write with a kind of old-style SF sensibility, whilst also ensuring it dealt with modern themes. I'm very pleased with the book, which sports stunning cover art from Alex Storer who perfectly matched and executed ...

My short story titled "Mont Blanc" was recently published online at House Magazine (Salt Publishing) and as usual I'm blogging a few words discussing how the story came to be written. There may be spoilers within.

"Mont Blanc" is one of twelve recently written stories which takes French New Wave cinema as a starting point and then runs with an alternative version of it. In this case, the film in question is François Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" (1962). I've seen the film many times but it wasn't unt...

My twelfth collection of short stories, "Enfilades", was published earlier this year by Raphus Press, however I've just realised I hadn't blogged about it before now. This mini-collection of six stories is a career retrospective of hand-picked tales from my previously published work. As Raphus Press are based in Brazil it seemed a good idea to showcase some of my stories for a different market. Hopefully anyone reading these tales will seek out my other fiction.

The book contains my first publish...

My article on the film, Arctic Void, entitled "Fear and Loathing in the Arctic", has just been published in There's Nothing Out There, edited by Sophie Essex for Black Shuck Books.

This anthology contains 17 passion pieces about films that explore the sensation of being lost. When I was made aware of the premise of this book I naturally began wondering whether to write for it and if so which movie I might select. Having recently watched Arctic Void I had become intrigued by its audacious premise ...

My short story titled "The Enfilade" has just been included in The Best Horror Of The Year #16, edited by Ellen Datlow. Whilst the book came out in November 2024, due to a mailing issue I've only recently received my copy, which is why I've delayed posting about it til now.

The anthology contains 19 short stories all of which were previously published in 2023. My story originally appeared in the now defunct Black Static magazine (although check out Remains, a new publication by the same editor, A...

I don't normally blog a list of gigs I've attended, but as this amounted to 25 this year (more than I've ever done in a single year, even though I appreciate for many people that would be a small sum) I thought I'd create a space here for some photo sharing. I don't take many photos at gigs as I prefer to be in the moment, but early on I like to get my phone out and take at least one snap (as a reminder more than anything else). And I do mean snaps, there's no professionalism here! Anyway, no do...

Well, it's that time of the year when everyone is doing their 'best and worst' of' lists, so here is mine. I'm going to list the books and movies and records I read/watched/listened to in 2024 and then pick my favourites. This isn't restricted to what was new in 2024, but what I actually watched and read and heard - some of these items might be very old indeed.

Books:

I read the following in 2024:

As has become annual I thought I'd write a quick blog post as to my literary achievements during 2024.

Starting with short fiction, I wrote nine short stories: "Hello, Algeria!", "Hiroshima Was Another Word For Love Then", "Mont Blanc", "La Folie de l’Uchronie", "Cinema Belongs To Me", "Exposé", "Queen Of The Margins", "Weather Reports" and "Rendez-vous à la Cinémathèque Française". This is about average for me. I've also written an article: "Fear And Loathing In The Arctic". All this amounts to ...

My short story titled "Water In The Wrong Light" has just been published in the first issue of  Roads Less Travelled magazine, edited by Trevor Denyer through Midnight Street Press, and as usual I'm blogging a few words discussing how the story came to be written. There may be spoilers within.

I usually start with a title and whilst I can't remember where this title came from that was certainly the case here. I coupled this with something I took from my regular morning cycle ride, where a strip o...

My short story titled "So Close To Home", originally published in Languages of Water, an anthology edited by Eugen Bacon, has been reprinted in Best of British Science Fiction 2023 edited by Donna Scott and published by NewCon Press.

I've reprised my original blog post about the writing of that story below.

The anthology, "Languages of Water", came into being via Eugen's short story, "When The Water Stops", which was first published in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. "Languages of Water...