Turning words into stories.

Publishing. Writing. Blurbs. Covers. Fiction.

Discover my novel EXO – a story of murder, multi-dimensions and the end of the world

'A must-read that recalls the work of
Kim Stanley Robinson' Library Journal,
SFF Debut of the Month

From Colin's blog . . .
Imagining the future
Imagining the future
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Exogenous: 5 weird works that changed Exo
Exogenous: 5 weird works that changed Exo
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Ex libris: 5 books that shaped Exo
Ex libris: 5 books that shaped Exo
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Exo Extract 3: Year One
Exo Extract 3: Year One
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Exo Extract 2: Day One
Exo Extract 2: Day One
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Exo Extract 1: Day Zero
Exo Extract 1: Day Zero
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Exploring Exo – the headland of Dungeness
Exploring Exo – the headland of Dungeness

Discover Dungeness, the real-life inspiration for my novel Exo.

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Extra! Extra! Announcing Exo – a novel of murder and the end of the world
Extra! Extra! Announcing Exo – a novel of murder and the end of the world

After writing the words on the outsides of several thousand books, I’ve decided to take a shot at the insides of one.

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Plotless, dreamlike, meandering, Joanne McNeil’s and @fsgbooks Wrong Way is the mid-21st-century work novel par excellence. The blurb on the back, like the book it describes, is a longish no-nonsense straightforward explanation of what you&rs
Blurbs in the wild: A war story is a love story. And the quietly subversive blurb sneaks up on you. In @amalelmohtar and @max.gladstone @quercusbooks published This is How You Lose the Time War, the blurb ought to be bleak, filled with the language
Blurbs in the wild: @harpervoyager_uk and @kuangrf Katabasis's blurb is all problems and stakes. First paragraph gives us the set up: to be the best magician. Everything else is the obstacles in our hero's way: a dead facilitator, a visit to Hell,
Thanks to @library_journal for making Exo one of their Stellar Selections or Best Books of 2025. Lovely early Christmas present for the book. Thanks again to my agents John @zenoagency and Joshua @awfulagent as well as my editor @toni_m_plummer at
It's been a long journey, but thanks to @jberlyne @awfulagent @toni_m_plummer & Shannon Donnelly and all at @diversionbooks (not to mention @booksforwardpr @michelvrana_design ) for bringing Exo out into the world in style. May you find the read
Thanks to @booktrib for the opportunity to talk about five brilliant (award-winning or -shortlisted) books dealing with change in the world & how we live with that change, each of which ultimately how I wrote my own novel, Exo. https://booktrib.
Copywriter in the wild: The lovely people at @writersdigest asked me to talk about how I went from copywriter to novelist (note: I'm still a copywriter). https://www.writersdigest.com/shifting-from-publishing-copywriter-to-published-novelist As the
Blurbs in the wild: Follow where the title leads. For @cornerstone_press & Ernest Cline's Ready Player One the super-short blurb is all tell and no show, leaning heavily on gaming tropes. WORLD AT STAKE. GOOD AND EVIL. QUEST. FATE OF HUMANITY.
Blurbs in the wild: Classic book, classic copy shape. @gollancz edition of Frank Herbert's Dune features copy with an inverted triangle shape. We start big and wide with awards and cinematic affirmation, followed by landmark works of science fiction
Blurbs in the wild: This old warhorse! After all these years @gollancz and @literarysewer The Blade Itself is still sporting its original cover and blurb. But this blurb knows something legions of Grim Dark fantasy imitators often forget: it's all a
Blurbs in the wild: The secret here is in the middle. Most blurb writers (myself included, I suspect) would pitch @harpervoyager_uk and @therealrobinhobb Assassin's Apprentice with just paragraphs 1 and 3 of this blurb. Pitch the set up, the characte
Blurbs in the wild: Avoiding spoilers. Sometimes pitching the book’s plot would spoil the read. But how do you find an intriguing way of pitching the little you can say? In Andy Weir’s and @delreyuk Project Hail Mary, we’re give