'A masterclass... not only a marvelously compelling exploration of a fantastical world, but a meditation upon the nature of fiction itself ... one of the best things Brooke has ever written.'—Adam Roberts on The Unlikely World of Faraway Frankie
In the grand tradition of author photographs, I
look nothing like I did when this picture was taken in 1984.
Way back then, I was 17 and about to leave home for university. I played lead guitar in a rock band high on enthusiasm and low on quality. I wrote songs which we never performed live (partly lack of courage, partly recognition that they weren't really the kind of thing we played). I did a lot of drawing and photography and spent whatever spare time I had trekking along the local sea-wall, birdwatching and day-dreaming.
Seventeen was an important age for me (and for most of us, I suppose). About to leave home, a rough-edged version of the person I've become, with far more passion and anger and far less understanding of the world I was entering.
About the time this picture was taken, I started to become a writer.
As I grew up I went through phases of reading avidly, and then not at all. John Christopher's Tripods books made a huge impression, as did the Heinlein juveniles and before that, Watership Down, The Hobbit, and all kinds of trash...
But at 17 I spent a very wet holiday in Yorkshire. The village shop had a twirl-around rack of cheap paperbacks and I worked my way through all the crime and horror novels I could find. Returning home, I explored the library with a vengeance. And I started to make notes: What if the author had done it like this? But what if that had never happened? What if... what if... what if...
I went to the University of East Anglia to study ecology and pretty soon decided that was too narrow a field. I switched to environmental sciences, a subject that allowed me to tackle everything from hard science (biology, geology, meteorology) through to social sciences (economics, environmental politics, anthropology). A perfect degree for a budding author.
Not long after the picture was taken, not long after I went to university, I met the art history student who would, in three years time, become my wife of twenty years, Alison.
Yes, everything changed around the time this picture was taken.
~
I had the strange idea in my head that, as most authors didn't get published until at least their mid-twenties, it wasn't worth trying before then. I saw all those potential years as an unpublished author as a waste, and not as the training ground that it is.
But I couldn't hold off that long. In my second year at university I bought a typewriter and then I just had to write. My first story, 'The Fifth Freedom', sold to the small press magazine Dream (which also published early work by Stephen Baxter and Peter F Hamilton); my third story sold there, too.
On the strength of these two small press sales I took a year out after university to write a novel. The responsibility of taking such a big step (we were living on next to no money - I just had to make it work!) seemed to have a big effect on my writing. As soon as I finished the first story I wrote in that time I knew it was way better than anything I'd written before: 'Adrenotropic Man' was my first professional sale, placing quickly in Interzone, although it was 18 months before it finally appeared.
I went on to write my first novel, Keepers of the Peace, and when my year was up I decided to give myself another six months.
As the end of that six months approached, I sold another story, and gave myself some more time. More short stories sold, the novel sold, and...
~
...I managed to stretch my 'year out' to something like eight years in all, but eventually pressures of mortgage and family responsibilities meant I had to look for a more reliable source of income.
After working as a courseware designer, editing teaching manuals and developing multimedia teaching materials, I became the University of Essex's first full-time web person. I went on to lead the University's web and learning technology teams in their various guises for a little more than fifteen years, rising to Deputy Director of the marketing division. During my time at Essex I completed a PhD, and I also lectured in creative writing and science fiction at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Finally, in 2014, I left to return to the freelance life. These days my work consists of a mix of writing, reviewing, editing and publishing, along with working with developing writers by providing mentoring and critiquing services.
I remarried in 2012, and now live in a remote Suffolk cottage with my wife Debbie (who, among many other things, makes extraordinary cakes); we're surrounded by good friends and family, an abundance of wildlife, and life is good.
![]() Riding the Serpent's Back An old era is drawing to a close, a new era about to begin, and the great mage Donn has passed on his Talents to a new generation. When a rogue church leader threatens to set loose wild powers, Donn's children must oppose him but, also, they must contend with Donn himself: the old mage has not finished with his children yet. A fantasy epic of revolution, jealousy and earth-shattering magic. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Parallax View by Keith Brooke and Eric Brown Stories that examine the interface between human and alien - a parallax view from two of Britain's top science fiction writers, both shortlisted for the 2013 Philip K Dick Award. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Enigma Season: The Enigma Quartet, book one by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. All it took was a simple question... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Genetopia The wilds: a world where genes mutate and migrate between species through plague and fever, but that's where Flint must go... "A minor masterpiece that should usher Brooke at last into the recognized front ranks of SF writers" (Locus) Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK |
![]() alt.human / Harmony Shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Award. (Note: the US title is Harmony; elsewhere it's alt.human.) The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they're destroying our cities. In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, a ragged band of survivors may be the only hope for humankind. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Tomorrow by Nick Gifford Tomorrow: a future only you can see; a future only you can save... Tomorrow: an emotion- and time-tangled thriller set in the War Against Chronological Terror. Tomorrow: when three teenagers may have the power to save or destroy a world that is yet to be. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Dislocations: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book one by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. Struggling with the impact of climate change here on Earth, humankind makes a big push for the stars... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() The Accord When Noah and Priscilla escape into the Accord, Priscilla's murderous husband plots to destroy the whole Accord and them with it. Where does the pursuit of revenge stop for immortals in an eternal world? Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple |
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![]() Enigma Exposed: The Enigma Quartet, book two by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. Outside, everything is different... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Enigma Season: The Enigma Quartet, book one by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. All it took was a simple question... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Wormhole by Keith Brooke and Eric Brown A cold-case murder enquiry takes a new turn with revelations about an ill-fated expedition to the stars. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Iterations: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book four by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke In the concluding novella of the Kon-Tiki Quartet the action moves from the colony world of Newhaven back to Earth. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Insights: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book three by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke The third novella in the Kon-Tiki Quartet is a thrilling action-adventure featuring aliens, telepathy, identity downloads - and a ruthless faction determined to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Dislocations: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book one by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. Struggling with the impact of climate change here on Earth, humankind makes a big push for the stars... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Parasites: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book two by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke Written with Eric Brown. Alien encounters and human conflict, as a second wave of colonists arrive on Newhaven. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK |
![]() Mementoes Collected stories, in Newcon's Imaginings series. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Riding the Serpent's Back An old era is drawing to a close, a new era about to begin, and the great mage Donn has passed on his Talents to a new generation. When a rogue church leader threatens to set loose wild powers, Donn's children must oppose him but, also, they must contend with Donn himself: the old mage has not finished with his children yet. A fantasy epic of revolution, jealousy and earth-shattering magic. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() The Bone House Gang by Nick Gifford As a TV crew prepares to film the story of the lost prince's tomb, 12-year-old Jools Bone and his new friends Ned, Helen and Billy face a life and death rush to prevent history repeating itself. A dark and wickedly funny story by "the king of children's horror" (Sunday Express). Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Tomorrow by Nick Gifford Tomorrow: a future only you can see; a future only you can save... Tomorrow: an emotion- and time-tangled thriller set in the War Against Chronological Terror. Tomorrow: when three teenagers may have the power to save or destroy a world that is yet to be. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Expatria: the box set A lost colony, rediscovered by descendants of its original investors... When the expedition from the Holy Corporation of GenGen arrives on Expatria, for some it looks like salvation from a backward-looking, superstition-ridden society, but for others, it looks suspiciously like an invasion. "In the recognized front ranks of SF writers" Locus Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple ![]() alt.human / Harmony Shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Award. (Note: the US title is Harmony; elsewhere it's alt.human.) The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they're destroying our cities. In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, a ragged band of survivors may be the only hope for humankind. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() infinity plus: quintet by Garry Kilworth, Lisa Tuttle, Neil Williamson, Stephen Palmer and Eric Brown (compiled by Keith Brooke) (editor) Five stories from top writers of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy and the downright strange, stories from the heart, stories to make you think and wonder. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple |
![]() Strange Divisions and Alien Territories (editor) Explores the sub-genres of science fiction from the perspectives of a dozen top SF authors, combining a critical viewpoint with exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing authors working in SF today. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() infinities by infinity plus and friends: Eric Brown, John Grant, Anna Tambour, Keith Brooke, Garry Kilworth, Iain Rowan, Kaitlin Queen, Linda Nagata, Scott Nicholson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Steven Savile (editor) infinities is an anthology; it's a sampler; it's a catalogue for works published by infinity plus and our friends in the writing world. And it's free. Authors are: Eric Brown, John Grant, Anna Tambour, Keith Brooke, Garry Kilworth, Iain Rowan, Kaitlin Queen, Linda Nagata, Scott Nicholson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Steven Savile. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Kobo ![]() Embrace: tales from the dark side Revisit the haunts of your youth, retell the story of your life, embrace your inner demons. Listen to the voices, go on... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Apple ![]() Faking It: accounts of the General Genetics Corporation A brash entrepreneur buys a small company as a platform for his big ideas. He has a vision for the future of humankind, and the company will stop at nothing to get its own way. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Apple ![]() Liberty Spin: tales of scientifiction Multiple personalities fighting for control of a single body; a single personality constantly splitting and reinventing itself and its past; a Mars that never was; an interstellar war that has always been. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple ![]() Memesis: modifiction and other strange changes A world where islands of rock float on a molten sea, a man whose son flies high while he can only watch, a seaside town held together by the belief of its inhabitants. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Segue: into the strange Sidestep into modern Himalayan legend, join an ocean crossing that traverses more than just the sea; discover an 18th century mermaid incursion, and try to dodge the paparazzi in your head. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK |
![]() The Unlikely World of Faraway Frankie Frankie is a boy who retreats from the harsh struggles of day-to-day life into daydreaming. But then... as Frankie's humiliations mount up, more and more elements from his faraway fantasy world start to appear in the real one. Can he use his imaginary world to escape? Can he learn how to construct the world around him from his dreams, and so get some kind of control over his life? Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() The Accord When Noah and Priscilla escape into the Accord, Priscilla's murderous husband plots to destroy the whole Accord and them with it. Where does the pursuit of revenge stop for immortals in an eternal world? Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple ![]() Infinity Plus: the anthology by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers (editor) A mass market omnibus of the two PS Publishing IP anthologies, published to coincide with the site's tenth anniversary. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Erased by Nick Gifford You're not paranoid if they really are after you. Someone is messing with Liam's world. All the rules have changed and his life has unravelled completely. What he does know is that someone is watching him. There are no bystanders in this terrifying game. "An exciting, fast paced book that will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page." Word Up Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Genetopia The wilds: a world where genes mutate and migrate between species through plague and fever, but that's where Flint must go... "A minor masterpiece that should usher Brooke at last into the recognized front ranks of SF writers" (Locus) Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Like Father by Nick Gifford Danny is terrified of being like his father, who ended up in prison after a night of savage violence. But then he finds his father's diary and uncovers his dark thoughts - and even darker secrets. Who was whispering to his father, goading him, leading him on? And what if they are coming back for Danny? "The king of children's horror..."Sunday Express Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Flesh and Blood by Nick Gifford Matt's home life is falling to pieces as his mother seeks refuge from divorce by returning to the seaside town where she grew up. Separated from his friends, bored and discontented, Matt gradually becomes aware that his mother's family are the keepers of a terrifying secret. "Another great teen thriller." Spot On Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK |
![]() Infinity Plus two by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers (editor) More stories from some of the leading names in speculative fiction: Adam Roberts, Ian McDonald, Lisa Goldstein, Stephen Baxter, Michael Moorcock, Brian Stableford, Vonda McIntyre, Charles Stross, Paul Park, Paul McAuley, Eric Brown, Terry Bisson and Lucius Shepard; plus an introduction by John Clute. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Piggies by Nick Gifford Transported to a world inhabited by vampires, Ben befriends a girl called Rachel. She takes him to her farm to prove she's not like the other vampires, but that's when he discovers a terrible secret. And why is the book called Piggies? That's the worst horror of all. "Ingenious... this chilling story reads with all the power and demented logic of a thoroughly bad dream." The Independent Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Head Shots An early collection of my short fiction; now out of print. All of the stories from this book are now available in my other collections. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Infinity Plus one by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers (editor) Stories from some of the leading names in speculative fiction: Jeff VanderMeer, Tony Daniel, Ian R MacLeod, Paul Di Filippo, Mary Gentle, James Patrick Kelly, Kim Stanley Robinson, Garry Kilworth, Kit Reed, Michael Swanwick, Patrick O'Leary, Michael Bishop, Kim Newman; plus an introduction by Peter F Hamilton. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Parallax View by Keith Brooke and Eric Brown Stories that examine the interface between human and alien - a parallax view from two of Britain's top science fiction writers, both shortlisted for the 2013 Philip K Dick Award. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Lord of Stone Bligh, drawn irresistibly to the civil war in Trace, appears to be possessed by one of the six Lords Elemental. Bligh thinks he's going mad, but if he is then it's a madness shared by others... Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Expatria The descendants of Expatria's first colonists from Earth have rejected technology. When Mathias Hanrahan joins a team trying to relearn the ancient technologies, against a background of impending war, he discovers that strange messages are coming from space. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK |
![]() Expatria Incorporated Arrival of the recontact mission from the Holy Corporation of GenGen on the formerly-lost colony world Expatria further complicates an already murderously complex web of religious and political intrigue. For some, it looks like salvation from a backward-looking, superstition-ridden society; for others, it looks suspiciously like an invasion. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK ![]() Keepers of the Peace Jed Brindle is an alien. At least, that's what they call him on Earth. He's really a colony-bred soldier - augmented with cyborg implants - with the Extraterran Peacekeeping Force, fighting for control of what used to be the United States. Find out more about this book. Ebook: Amazon US - Amazon UK - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Apple Print: Amazon US - Amazon UK |