So excited to finally share this news with you all!

*PRESS RELEASE: 21 August 2013: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
Angry Robot Signs Marianne de Pierres in Two-Book Deal

Angry Robot is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two genre-busting books from Marianne de Pierres.

The World English and Translation rights deal was negotiated by Senior Editor Lee Harris and Curtis Brown’s Tara Wynne. The first of this two-book series, Peacemaker, will be released in May 2014, and the as-yet-untitled sequel will follow in 2015.

A true crossover, Peacemaker is a cracking combination scifi, fantasy, western, and crime.

Marianne de Pierres: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Angry Robot team with the Peacemaker series as I truly admire the kind of books they publish. Not to mention that Trent Jamieson, Kaaron Warren, Lee Battersby and Jo Anderton are some of my favourite Australian speculative fiction authors. It will also be great to work with Lee Harris again, who I first met as editor of Hub Magazine when he published one of my Glitter Rose stories. Angry Robot’s thinking is modern and explorative and a blast of pure oxygen in speculative fiction publishing.”

Peacemaker: In the future, a ranger protects the last remaining piece of parkland in the shadow of a sprawling mega-metropolis.

Lee Harris: “I’ve been a great admirer of Marianne’s work, ever since I started reading her brilliant Sentients of Orion series back in 2007. I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome her to the Angry Robot family and I can’t wait for you all to read Peacemaker.”

Tara Wynne: “Marianne’s Peacemaker series and Angry Robot seem a perfect match. I look forward to nurturing this new relationship and to the books’ success.”

About Marianne: Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and award winning Sentients of Orion science fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game. She’s also the author of a bestselling teen dark fantasy series entitled Night Creatures. She lives in Brisbane, Australia. Marianne writes award-winning crime under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt.

www.mariannedepierres.com

www.tarasharp.com

www.burnbright.com.au

@mdepierres

About Angry Robot: Angry Robot is a genre publisher that brings readers the best in new SF, F and WTF?!
All titles are released as paperbacks and major eBook formats. Distribution is through Random House
(North America) and GBS (UK). Angry Robot Ltd is part of Osprey Group.
Contact:

Translation enquiries, contact Rights Executive Suzannah Brooksbank:

SB*********@**************ng.com

Publicity enquiries, contact Publicity Manager Caroline Lambe: ca************@*************ks.com

Among a plethora of great contemporary TV shows Scott and Bailey is one of the best. A brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT cop show about two female detectives and their female boss.

As I mentioned in a previous post, some criticism has been levelled at the show for portraying the male characters as either useless or devious. Although I can see why some viewers might react that way, it seems to me that all the characters are shown to be flawed and that female leads are no exception. We just sped more time getting to know them. Rachel (Suranne Jones) is prickly and defensive and inclined to be self-destructive with booze. Janet (Lesley Sharp) is compassionate and reasonable but bored with her husband who she takes for granted and ultimately cheats on. Jill (Amelia Bullemore) is a tough, unsympathetic, no-nonsense but brilliant detective. The three women experience their highs and lows together and have their true selves exposed in moments of great weakness. What makes them appealing and compelling is the strength of their friendships and their ability to forgive and support each other. In Scott and Bailey, a spade is most definitely called a spade.

The Daily Telegraph describes the show as “a beautifully engineered programme: it’s both pleasingly sudsy and deliciously grisly but manages to transcend both the soap and detective genres.”

I’ve found it so much more realistic, funny, interesting and engaging than many of the shallow, formulaic cop shows being churned out. We’re still waiting for series 3 here in Australia, and I’ve had to join the Scott and Bailey Twitter fans to keep up with the news – @S&BTV

The theme music is the bomb! Check it out below.

Thought is was time for a few upcomings and incomings. Hope to catch you around the traps at some of the following!

Indooroopilly Library Tuesday 13th August | 6:30 – 7:30pm

Meet Marianne Delacourt: Crime fiction in the Sunshine state. Join local author Marianne de Pierres as she discusses the supernatural crime fiction she writes under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt. Marianne will delve into the pros and cons of setting a supernatural crime fiction novel in the Sunshine state. Bookings essential.

Brisbane Writer’s Festival – I’ll be moderating a panel discussion between Scott Westerfeld and Max Barry on the Saturday of the festival at 11.30 am.

CrimesceneWA – crime convention in Perth on the 12-13 October. You can read the full (awesome) guest list over at their website.

Australian Webstream Awards – inaugural awards ceremony where I’m presenting Best Writing Award.

And some webby love:

An interview with Portuguese mag Nanozine 9. Slide on through to page 18 and hit Google translate!