Fantasy in the Court 2016

Well, it’s all over and done with for another year and I’m already looking forward to the next Goldsboro Books and Nine Worlds events. Let’s just hope it’s strike free! Last year we had the tube strike, which made it logistically a bit difficult for me, though I managed. This year wasn’t so bad, I just had to change trains at East Croydon, which wasn’t the end of the world, but I can imagine for some conventioneers coming from the South Coast it was a nightmare. Well done to all you who girded your loins and made it. It was definitely worth the hassle.

This is my second year at Fantasy in the Court and like 2015 we were so lucky with the weather. It was a warm and balmy evening with no need for thermals or wet weather gear and I think everyone had a wonderful time. Once again I met some lovely people and also caught up with old friends, one being my editor Nicola who has now left JFB to become a teacher. I never used to see her that often, but it was good to have a bit of a chat and find out how she was getting on.

I met a few new people too and had a long chat with Katie about writing and another with Freya about being creative. I also met JFB newest author Angela Slatter all the way from Oz. Her book Vigil is out now and, although I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I’ve heard very good things about it and it’s on my reading list (see below and – oh just above Vigil it is my new book Cursed!).

Which brings me to a book I finished a couple of weeks ago written by another JFB author who I met last year at Fantasy in the Court. If you haven’t read Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell you are missing an absolute treat. I loved it so much that I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I must admit this isn’t always the case with some series or trilogies. There have been one or two books that I’ve really adored, but they ended where I thought the story really should end and I couldn’t bring myself to read the sequels. I’m probably doing myself and the authors a disservice, but sometimes less is more. This isn’t so with Traitor’s Blade, there is certainly more I want to read about Falcio the Greatcoat and his friends. The first three books are out now and the fourth is due out sometime very soon.

The other book I’m reading at the moment is Robert Galbraith’s A Career of Evil. Unless you’ve been living in an alternative universe you probably know by now that Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling, but whether you were a Harry Potter fan or not this series is worth a look. To be truthful I wasn’t going to read the first book, but I got offered it on Amazon and thought “what the hell”. I was so glad I did as Cormoran Strike is a fantastic leading man and the story was great, so great I immediately bought the second book and am now on the third.

Anyway, back to Fantasy in the Court, I met up with Sebastien, Stephanie Saulter, Lisa Tuttle and Tom Pollock three other JFB authors, and of course the rest of Team JFB, Sam, Olivia and the great Jo herself (Olivia was taking the photo, so sorry she’s missing from the usual suspects line up).

From left to right – Jo Fletcher, Tom Pollock, Angela Slatter, Lisa Tuttle, Sam Bradbury and Me!

A good time was had by all and it was very hard to tear myself away at the end of the evening. However, Nine Worlds was calling and Sebastien gallantly escorted me back to the hotel to register. This was probably a good thing as I’d managed to get horribly lost on the way to the hotel to drop of my things and I doubted it would have been much different on the way back. Sebastien being a man of our times had GPS on his phone and a calamity was averted.

Next time – Nine Worlds 2016

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