| Author | Message | ||
     Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.93.12 |
Always great to kick off with a good start. First Novel. 'Generations ago, Cleopatra, with the blessing of Isis and Anthony at her side, started an empire. Her descendants still rule, but the goddess Isis has fallen silent, and there are those who fear her favor has been lost and the empire is falling apart. It is not that Isis has forgotten her empire, but she has been killed by her sister, the goddess Nepythys. Now the dead cannot pass over and stumble restless and frightened through a city already oppressed by plague and tyranny. The Chief Embalmer’s daughters, Ella and Loli, get involved in the machinations of the gods themselves as the fate of an empire is decided. VERDICT Set in a declining Egyptian empire dusted with the familiar technological and scientific trappings of a steampunk setting, this debut novel by British Fantasy Award winner Bird (Bull Running for Girls) is a frightening, gorgeous book that breathes something fascinating and new into the genre. It will appeal to avid readers of steampunk as well as horror fans.—April Steenburgh, George F. Johnson Memorial Lib., Endwell NY' http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/book/891448-421/fiction_reviews_septemb er_1_2011.html.csp | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 2.24.27.165 |
Sounds good... | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.193.65 |
That sounds very appealing Allyson. When's it out in the UK? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.130.81 |
I'm still waiting on a release date from the U.S. publisher, Dark Regions Press...probably October now. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 92.8.17.214 |
Hurrah! | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Congrats, Ally. (: | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.196.50.241 |
Congrats! | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.129 |
Sounds great, Ally - very well done! | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Congratulations, Ally! Very well deserved.  | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.195.182.194 |
Congrats! I'm looking forward to this. I remember thinking the tone and imagination of WARP was ripe for novelisation. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 27.252.38.145 |
Thank you all! I enjoyed thinking about the novel for months before I wrote it, Matt. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 121.90.79.138 |
I've just found out that ISIS UNBOUND will be up for pre-order 20th September. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 121.90.79.138 |
I tried to post the cover and blurb from my website but couldn't. Not sure if I can from site......? http://www.birdsnest.me.uk/news.htm | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 121.90.223.185 |
ISIS UNBOUND is up for pre-order today :>). 'Inspired in part by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Percy Bysshe Shelley's, Prometheus Unbound, and the works of Rider Haggard and R. E. Howard, Isis Unbound is set in an alternate history, steampunk version of 1890's Manceastre, Britanniae, ruled by a new governor general related to a descendant of Anthony and Cleopatra, who won the battle of Actium two thousand years ago, and where the ancient Egyptian gods are real. ...Only a god can kill a god. Nepythys has killed her sister, Isis, and therefore the dead cannot pass over to the underworld-their ranks are rapidly swelling and they now roam the streets as zombies. Chief Embalmer Ptolemy Child's two daughters, Ella and Loli, aged eighteen and ten respectively, are being instructed in the secrets of the mummification process, when the dead begin to wake and walk. And eventually lead the sisters to the greatest mystery of all: Isis, herself...' Review from U.S. LIBRARY JOURNAL for ISIS UNBOUND. 'Generations ago, Cleopatra, with the blessing of Isis and Anthony at her side, started an empire. Her descendants still rule, but the goddess Isis has fallen silent, and there are those who fear her favor has been lost and the empire is falling apart. It is not that Isis has forgotten her empire, but she has been killed by her sister, the goddess Nepythys. Now the dead cannot pass over and stumble restless and frightened through a city already oppressed by plague and tyranny. The Chief Embalmer’s daughters, Ella and Loli, get involved in the machinations of the gods themselves as the fate of an empire is decided. VERDICT Set in a declining Egyptian empire dusted with the familiar technological and scientific trappings of a steampunk setting, this debut novel by British Fantasy Award winner Bird (Bull Running for Girls) is a frightening, gorgeous book that breathes something fascinating and new into the genre. It will appeal to avid readers of steampunk as well as horror fans.—April Steenburgh, George F. Johnson Memorial Lib., Endwell NY.' Lisa Tuttle. 'Allyson Bird is a writer who never plays it safe. Her wild imagination and power to evoke both myth and madness make her one of the most interesting writers working out there on the edge of horror/fantasy.' Joe.R.Lansdale. 'Allyson Bird is a rare bird indeed. An original voice in a world of plain vanilla. She rides some dark waves with grace and heart full of light and shadow. If there's any justice, she on her way to real recognition.' and she, ‘already has a prominent award under her belt; the British Fantasy Society award for her first collection, which I can also recommend, titled Bull Running For Girls. Still, you may not know her name. You should know her name. You should know her stories, her writing. Her work is as fresh as a spring wind; especially if that wind is carrying nasty spores from outer space, or bringing them from some place split sideways and shadowy, from a universe where the familiar is not as familiar as it might seem.' Bio.... Allyson Bird now lives in the Wairarapa, New Zealand, with her husband and young daughter. Occasionally she is drawn to strange places and people and they are occasionally drawn to her. Her favourite playground, as a child and adult, had been the village graveyard. Once she wondered what would happen if she took one of the green stones from a grave. She has been looking over her shoulder ever since but has never given it back. Available from DARK REGIONS PRESS 20th September. http://www.darkregions.com/isis-unbound-by-allyson-bird/ Prologue and Chapter One on my bibliography page below. www.birdsnest.me.uk | ||
| Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.241.102.179 |
Well done! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.110.176 |
Thank you Jamie. It always seems a long time from acceptance to publication and indeed it was. :>). | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.110.176 |
New review of ISIS UNBOUND in from S.L. Schmitz. 'All I have to say is WOW! I was lucky enough to purchase this book in April 2011 at the World Horror Convention in Austin, TX. It was the first book that I made sure that I got at the convention, because I had already seen posts about it on Facebook. Well worth the wait! Ella is complex character, and she carries a dark secret within her heart that is not revealed until the end of the book. Bird's vivd description of the undead, particularly their various stages of physical and mental decline, are both horrifying and thrilling. This is not a book about zombies - the undead are helplessly waiting for Isis to allow their souls to transition to the Underworld. When Isis becomes immobilized, the legions of dead continue to grow. There is a tyrannical governor who likes to find new and gruesome ways to kill his constituents, and a general who is hopelessly devoted to the powerful but sorrowing Cleopatra. There are hidden underground tunnels, and a great steam-powered warship, and an evil goddess who wants to take over all of heaven and earth. This is a big story told in precise, perfect prose. I can't wait to hear what other people say about it. Well done, Allyson!' | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.110.176 |
S.L.Schmitz managed to get a copy at WHC Texas before the small print run was stolen or binned ...thank ye gods! | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Great stuff, Ally. All the best xx | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.92.172 |
Thanks, Fran! A big thank you to David and Glyn of Twisted Tales who helped with the launch of ISIS on the 20th. 'Twisted Tales promote the very best of 21st century horror across a range of different media, from live events to critical reviews. Founded by David McWilliam and Glyn Morgan in 2010, the first event was held on the 29th October and attended by over 65 people. Building on this success, Twisted Tales will be running events in Liverpool throughout 2011 and there are plans to expand into different regions of the UK in order to bring more great horror story readings, and several larger scale events, to the British public.' http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com/search/label/Allyson%20Bird | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.205 |
Good stuff, Ally. Congratulations. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.63.27 |
Appreciated! | ||
| Thomasb (Thomasb) Username: Thomasb Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.25.141.120 |
Congratulations, Ally! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 121.90.5.239 |
Happy to say I have an agent now . A fine, honourable man. George Kenneth Berger of the Carolyn Jenks Agency. http://www.carolynjenksagency.com/ | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 121.90.5.239 |
This link works...hopefully. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.carolynjenksagen cy.com/ | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.100.138 |
Would be good to add the cover....  | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.100.138 |
Sorry! Apologies! Too large...on the other hand I can appreciate the detail of Dani's work. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.100.138 |
Although I made a few slips some good comments from Pete Tennant of BLACK STATIC. 'There is much to enjoy about this strikingly original novel...' 'it is remarkable for the author’s imagination and vision. Bird unerringly identifies the essential elements in Romano-Egyptian culture to make her alternative history convincing, a world in which there are steam tanks and elevated walkways, zombies and body snatchers, gladiatorial games and religious ceremonies, where undreamt of wealth rubs shoulders with unimaginable poverty, and with Isis as its presiding spirit. It is a creation in which an obsession with death and the afterlife has devalued human existence to the point where life is only a trial run for what is to come. For the horror aficionado there are gut churning scenes...' 'Then there is the characterisation, which is rich throughout.' | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Great cover! I'd be tempted to publicise the book as a biography of Isis – with a quote from Osiris saying how she helped him get his life back together. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Good one, Joel. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.56.67 |
Ha! Excellent! New review in... http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/horror/our-lady-of-the-shadows-arena-of-the-wolf -the-engines-of-sacrifice-isis-unbound/ | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Good stuff, Ally. Keep em coming. x | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 27.252.36.236 |
Anne and Jeff Vandemeer .....WFR’s Book Recommendations: Gifts for the Weirdie in Your Life. And always good to get a mention.... http://weirdfictionreview.com/2011/12/wfrs-book-gift-recommendations-for-the-wei rdie-in-your-life/ | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 27.252.36.236 |
Today is the day. ISIS UNBOUND is finally in stock and shipping. My first novel. Hurray! http://www.darkregions.com/isis-unbound-by-allyson-bird/ | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.77.197 |
Nice one. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.227.120.86 |
Thank you, Gary. First novel is always a milestone :>). | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 09-2010 Posted From: 86.156.32.78 |
Well done, Ally. (My recent first novel has been my first and last milestone! I trust for you yours is the first of many milestones.) | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.40.91 |
I hope so Des. Thank you for your good wishes. Much appreciated! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.50.179 |
Congratulations, Ally! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 49.225.207.195 |
Thank ye kindly, Huw....and I hope that you have a good Christmas! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 27.252.149.75 |
Very happy to have made it through the jury/member recs, and the longlist, to get to be a nominee on the shortlist for the HWA Stoker award first novel. 'SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions Press) Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs (Night Shade Books) The Lamplighters by Frazer Lee (Samhain Horror) The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche (Night Shade Books) That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley (JournalStone)' | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 27.252.149.75 |
Review in from Gene O'Neill. 'Historical fiction is very difficult to write. In addition to telling a compelling story, the writer must insure that, facts and names are all accurate, and nothing factual manipulated for plot purposes. Juggling myth into this mix of fact and fiction adds to the high degree of difficulty. Only the best writers attempt this often later in their careers. But Allyson Bird does all this and makes it look easy in ISIS UNBOUND. She must be a polished veteran of historical--mythological novels? But no, amazingly this is a first novel. And an excellent novel at that. The prose is rich, rewarding with a density of detail, the plot compelling, the characters completely believable. A highly literate novel that should appeal equally to genre and mainstream reader alike. I would give this novel my highest recommendation (and have to a number of my reading friends).' |