Book Launch - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Edward Cox’s THE RELIC GUILD Launch a Huge Success!

Posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014

THE RELIC GUILD Editor Marcus Gipps (left) and Edward Cox

On September 18th, Gollancz published Edward Cox‘s superb debut fantasy novel, THE RELIC GUILD. To mark the occasion, the publisher and Goldsboro Books hosted Edward for a great book launch event.

In addition, Gollancz organised an extensive blog tour to mark the publication of the novel…

15th September

– Interview on Geek Planet Online

– Guest Post: ‘Lies of the Father’ on Falcata Times – ‘how he smashed the ice when moving from a busy city to the country and how a lie can sometimes make a huge difference’

16th September

– Interview on Book Plank

– Guest Post: ‘A Deal’s Not a Deal Until the Deal is Done’ on Sci-Fi London – ‘I’ve been asked a few times about how I got signed by a major publisher. My answer always makes me sound flippant: I got an agent, and he got me a book deal. It’s a little more complicated than that, but it’s the truth. What’s also true is that it took me longer to convince my agent to represent my book than it took my agent to get the book signed by Gollancz.’

17th September

– THE RELIC GUILD Audio Clip on The Cult Den

– Guest Post: ‘The Feeling’ on Reader Dad – ‘The great question: why do I write? I’ve been asked this a number of times, and my answers have been varied. I’ve taken the pretentious route, proclaiming that no one chooses to be a writer, writing chooses you. I’ve tried to brush it off by saying that writing is the only thing I know how to do. The truth is, I definitely do know why I write, but it is difficult for me explain simply. It comes from an experience, a visceral reaction that I now call the Feeling.’

18th September

– Guest Post: ‘Writing and Teaching’ on Wondrous Reads – ‘During the 2012-2013 academic year, I lectured in creating writing at the University of Bedfordshire. It was my privilege to spend many hours in the company of keen-minded individuals, each of whom was eager to get better at what they did. Their passion fuelled my passion. They inspired me as I tried to inspire them… I’m very proud of the work I did there. However, I’ve known a lot of people who don’t trust writing courses of any kind, and their misgivings are not without some justification.’

– Interview with Alastair Stuart

19th September

– Guest Post: ‘Known Things’ on Fantasy Book Critic – ‘A certain kind of vindication, a validation, comes with signing a book deal. Someone like Gollancz doesn’t buy your novel unless they believe it is good enough to publish. Knowing this will patch up the shaky confidence of any writer, at least for a time. However, writing a novel good enough for Gollancz is only the beginning, because when you’ve signed up for a trilogy, you sort of have to do it again…’

– THE RELIC GUILD Audio Clip on Geek Native

20th September

– Interview on Fantasy Book Review (and review)

– Guest Post: ‘Writes & Wrongs’ on Civilian Reader – ‘I might have taken the longest route possible to getting an agent. I’m something of a blunderer by nature, and learning the hard way is the theme of my life. So much so that I sometimes wonder how I managed to get an agent at all…’

And, finally – THE RELIC GUILD, out now in Hardcover and Audiobook, is also available in eBook at just £1.99 until 25th September.

London Launch for THE RELIC GUILD Next Week!

Posted on Friday, September 12th, 2014

Edward Cox‘s THE RELIC GUILD has already been described as ‘a real page-turner’ (SF Crowsnest) and ‘a formidable debut from an author with huge potential’ (Fantasy Faction), with the buzz only increasing each week. With its UK publication fast approaching – September 18th, via Gollancz – we wanted to let you know about the book’s official launch, at Goldsboro Books. The event will be on Thursday September 18th, between 6:30-8:30pm. So, if you’re in London that evening, be sure to stop by!

Here’s the synopsis…

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

Jim Shields and PS Publishing Launch BABY STRANGE

Posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

At the recently-held Eastercon in Glasgow, Zeno client Jim Shields‘s new novel, BABY STRANGE, was launched. Published by PS Publishing, it is a pretty awesome, unique novel. As the publisher’s newletter stated, ‘Jim did an absolutely superb reading.’ The event, which also included a short reading (see right), seems to have done just the trick – increasing interest in and raising awareness of Jim’s new book.

The two chapters that Jim read, as well as some clips of Jim’s reading are apparently soon to hit the internet. We’ll be sure to share them here with you as soon as we can. Just in case you can’t recall seeing our artwork reveal for the novel, here’s the synopsis for BABY STRANGE…

A Dark Intelligence Has Been Poisoning Carefully Selected Lives.

The Con Man: ‘Reverend’ Joe McGill claims he’s a healer, but he’s chosen the wrong man to con.

The Psychotic Gangster: Arthur Bewlay has cancer eating away at his face. He’s in no mood to be messed around—either by fake miracle workers or his dead brother Tommy—and he’ll stop at nothing in his desperate desire to live.

The Eccentric Recluse: Maryam Clemenceau is just what both McGill and Bewlay need—a real miracle worker with a bona fide gift. But it comes at a considerable cost.

The Architect: The sinister link between a Maryam’s Gothic apartment block, and Bewlay’s boarded up, abandoned Victorian pub—buildings that are contaminated with fear and the echoes of old and ominous power.

Baby Strange opens with Joe beaten and bound in the back of a car, on his way to an appointment with a cement pit under a Glasgow flyover . . . this is not to be the lowest point of his day.

Jim Shields is a director/producer living and working in his home town of Glasgow. His work has been BAFTA-nominated and he has spent much of his career happily killing people who aren’t real and blowing stuff up. BABY STRANGE is his debut novel.