The website of writer and poet Daniel Bennett
It's taken three years, but I've finished my novel, East City Real. It's really pleasing to reach this point, not least because there was a time, not so long ago, when I thought I'd never write another novel, let alone a novel of science fiction. I've never taken so long over a first draft before, … Continue reading East City Real
I'm really pleased to publish the second book in my cycle of detective novels featuring the hack actor, Billy Vehement. Set in 2008, the novel follows Billy as he's drawn into the disappearance of one-time performance artist, Stacey Mattick, and the investigation into the stabbing of the grandson to Brixton gospel legend, Beulah Brown. Untangling … Continue reading The Second Coming
I've published a new paperback edition of my second novel Scenes from the Island. It's a book I’m still proud of, even though writing it was a hugely difficult experience for me. An odd mix of genre and literary fiction, the novel found itself lost in the grid. I still find that a bit unfair-- … Continue reading Scenes From the Island
In what has been a hugely busy beginning to 2024, where work and family life have pretty much overwhelmed my ability to write, I'm really grateful to have Gareth Jelley of Interzone publish another one of my stories. This one is called 'Drink The Kombucha!' and you can read it as a further adventure in … Continue reading Interzone 297
I'm very pleased to have launched a new paperback edition of my crime novel My First London Dream, now available here. The novel follows the adventures of hack actor and accidental detective Billy Vehement as he searches South London for the missing filmmaker Felix Link. My First London Dream is the first in a series … Continue reading My First London Dream
My story 'Vines' is currently free to read on Interzone Digital, beautifully illustrated by Alex Maniezo. 'These were the late days after the Work Lottery, what we thought of as a great rebalancing. To align society along a spirit of fairness, the population earned a set wage, and we found ourselves ascribed our lifelong careers … Continue reading Vines
Interzone 294 is now out and I'm hugely pleased to have my story 'The Coming of The Extroverts' included alongside lots of amazing work. Thanks also to Alex Maniezo, who also did the artwork for my story 'Vines', for another great illustration.
'They walked on the thin stony dirt between miles of dead grass too short to bow to the northwest wind. Enormous masses of cloud travelled backward over their heads so that they seemed to be walking very fast, the grey plains sliding with them. 'Clouds make you dizzy,' Martin said, 'like looking up a flagpole.' … Continue reading Stuck Into the Sky
My story 'The Coming of the Extroverts' will be published in the issue 294 of Interzone, coming out later this year. Very pleased to be involved with this excellent magazine as it moves to its new home, and equally pleased to be included with lots of other fabulous writers. I'm especially excited by this story, … Continue reading Interzone 294
'Nothing changed in the labyrinth of stone. On Earth by this time the sun would have shifted quite a bit, but here the long lunar day held sway, [and] the sun seemed to keep hanging in the very same place, extinguishing the nearest stars, so that it was surrounded y a black void shot through … Continue reading Labyrinth of Stone
Absence Club 