Sean Williams

(Castle of the Zombies and Planet of the Cyborgs are out now. Curse of the Vampire and Invasion of the Freaks are due in the new year.)


The fun: Who wouldn’t to read a series containing zombies, world-eating castles, psychic typewriters, spaceships, vampires, uplifted cats, wormholes, cyborg pirates, telepathic TVs, alternate universes, wicked widgets, and doppelgangers?

The creative: This series has been a long time in the making. It combines ideas from no less than five other books that I couldn’t get to work in their original forms, and it taps into experiences of alienation and loss I experienced as a child, when uprooted from a home I loved perfectly well and plonked down somewhere else. It was also inspired by a real-life event. Honest!

The illustrations: Nial O’Connor totally gets the energy of the story, capturing everything from the most kinetic action sequence to Ollie’s moments of mournful introspection. I’ve posted a couple below the cut. More of my favourites are on my FaceBook page.

The mercenary: It’s designed for all kinds of kids, but particularly the male, 7-10 variety, who are always looking for quick, fun books (even if they don’t always admit it). Plus, it’s Christmas, and we all need stocking-fillers. :-)

And if that’s not enough, here’s what other people have said about it:

“...a fast-paced and inventive ride. Williams keeps the story moving expertly, and Nial O’Connor’s energetic illustrations add to the fun and lighthearted feel. This is a quick and exciting read for primary school readers.” (Australian Bookseller & Publisher)

"...a thrilling, imaginative read, perfect for ages seven and up. Paired with comic-book-style illustrations from the brilliant Nial O’Connor, this first book in the Fixers series is sure to be a hit with younger readers who like their adventures with a bit of a fantastic bent." (Readings, where you’ll also find blurbs for both books)

Please consider giving them a go. I've loved writing them and would love to write more. The more they sell, the more likely that will be!

( preety peectures )

I for one welcome the Australia Council's new piratical overlords.

This post is solely for the Adelaideans among us. Sorry.

Seeking something sweet and piratical for yourself and a loved one? Local indie duo The Sea Thieves is playing at the Grace Emily tonight.* We'll be there with bells on.

* Actually, not very piratical. That's just a reference to their name. But they play a mean saw, which is not to be sniffed at.

I am not a DJ.

This is what I learned at the WORD festival last week.

Specifically, I learned it from Andrew McClelland, he of the Somewhat Accurate History of Pirates fame, who performed a deliciously salty reading at the beginning of my Meet The Author session last Wednesday.

While chatting in the green room, he observed that both of us claim to be DJs when in fact we are selectors. That is, we pick songs and play them in order. No beat-matching, sampling, juggling vinyl, or anything fancy like that. It's still pretty neat, but I feel guilty now that I've misrepresented myself to the public by boasting of skills I don't actually possess.

There's a k in selector, apparently, but as I can't remember where it's supposed to go, I can only claim partial illumination on the subject.