Hursley history

I’ve been sorting out an old office in Hursley House. The current house is getting on for 300 years old. IBM bought it 50 years ago, and has added to the site ever since, as you can see here (on jazz.net).

The newest significant extension was A Block, shown here (from Wikimedia) opened two decades ago. During my clearance, I uncovered a large fold-out brochure that explained to IBMers what was happening on-site during the construction.

It was created and published by the in-house for employees by the Communications and External Programmes group based at the IBM site. Literally “in-house” if I remember correctly, because the team were located in Hursley House.

I’ve sent the original to the IBM Hursley Museum, which is also now in the basement of Hursley House. But here are some photos of the brochure.

Free sample

Have you been tempted by my novelisation of Blake’s 7: Warship, but afraid to commit? Fear no more! You can obtain a free sample from Amazon in the UK and in the US. And also in Japan and Germany and France and Canada and Italy and Spain.

The free sample is sent automatically to your iPhone, PC, Mac or iPad device. And if you don’t have a free reading app, you can download one here.

So, go ahead and try the first two chapters (and part of the third) before you decide to buy. And then go and buy it here from Big Finish, because (a) they’ll get more money and be able to use it to make more great Blake’s 7 stuff and (b) it’s cheaper.

Sadly, neither the the e-book nor the free sample are available from Amazon China. But there is another extraordinary title that caught my attention.

It’s The Essential Writer’s Guide: Spotlight on Peter Anghelides, Including His Analysis of His Best Sellers Such as Kursaal, Frontier Worlds, and More [平装]. To be honest, I’d save your money on that one. Even if it’s only ￥190 I’m sure that’s twenty quid you could spend more wisely elsewhere. And 平装 means “paperback,” so it’s not even that much of a bargain in the first place.

Filling the gap

I’m delighted to confirm that my audio Blake’s 7: Warship was so successful that Big Finish has invited me to write three new scripts. Like my original one, they will be full-cast audios starring the original characters, and fill in the secret history of the first half of the programme’s history. The series will be called: “Blake’s 7: Filling the Gap.”

• “They must come to us.” But just how did the Decimas reach their final destination? Find out in The Web Planet, featuring Deep Roy as all the Decimas.
• What was the aftermath of “Breakdown”? You’ll be amazed by the answer in No Limit, with Alistair Lock playing Gan.
• And most excitingly of all, what happened that caused such a change in our favourite Space Commander? Discover the truth as Stephen Grief and Brian Croucher star in The Two Travises.

Furthermore, there is perceived to be another, significant gap in audio publishing – a gender gap. So, in the light of recent publicity about the disparity in girl writers, I have graciously convinced Big Finish to publish my scripts under the pseudonym “Stephanie Ledger.”

It’s the right thing to do, even if it’s a shame to lose my surname – because that would continue to suggest there are more foreigners writing for the company, in a publishing house hitherto best known for English surnames like Morris, Richards, Cole, Lyons, Briggs, Russell, Barnes, Morris, Wright, Robson, Briggs, and Morris.

Nevertheless, it’s an exciting time to demonstrate this new commitment to gender diversity. New adventures for our favourite characters. More work for me. And a wider range of women’s names on the merchandise that adorns the shelves of fandom.

The first audio should be available for pre-order later this year, with a proposed publication date of a year from today.