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Guy Haley is a long time science fiction journalist and writer. He has been deputy editor of SFX magazine, and editor of Death Ray and Games Workshop’s gaming magazine White Dwarf. He is the author of Reality 36, Omega Point, Champion of Mars, Baneblade and several more upcoming novels. You can find hundreds of reviews, interviews, opinion pieces, free pieces of fiction and more on Guy’s blog. Guy was kind enough to answer a few questions about his upcoming novel, Crash, and much more! Kristin Centorcelli: Guy, first off, I’d love it if you’d introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background. Have you always wanted to be a writer? Guy Haley: Hiya, sure! Thanks for having me. I’m Guy Haley (not sure if I need to say my own name or not here!). I’m from Yorkshire in Northern England, although I’ve lived near Bath for many years now. Yes, I have always wanted to be a writer, since I was 17, actually. (Um, I thought it sounded like a bit of a lark, to be honest, sitting at home, no suit, glass of whisky, roaring log fire. All that). I told my teacher this in a careers session and she promptly advised me to choose something else! I don’t want to give the impression that she was one of these teachers that go around crushing dreams, I got on with her very well, I’m sure she just thought that it wasn’t very likely. And it’s not really, is it? A tough gig to crack. Still, here I am. Although time will tell if I can make a living solely out of writing novels, I have been writing professionally for 16 years as a journalist; nothing too onerous, no war zones or political digging. I figured that newspaper journalism was too tough to be successful in, stuffed as it is with highly driven, well-funded, privately educated Oxbridge graduates, and a long career in local papers wasn’t attractive at all. I did some work experience at a couple and was taken aback firstly by how bitter the staff were, and secondly by how low the pay was. I went into consumer magazines instead, where the pay was slightly better, but the fun quotient was a great deal higher. I worked on SFX, then edited Games Workshop’s White Dwarf, then Death Ray – all SF magazines in one way or another. I wrote fiction and off for years, but started to take it seriously from about 2000. I had a comic published in 2003, a story printed in 2007 by the ezine Hub, and my first book, Reality 36, accepted by Angry Robot two years later. I’ve written six books since, and a bunch of shorts. KC: Your rather timely new novel, Crash, features The Market, an all seeing, all knowing entity that rules all, and the promise of freedom in space for a small group of people. Ok, I’m hooked! Tell me more!! GH: It’s not so much about the Market, which is the semi-autonomous global stock exchange of the future in the book. I think that was seized on quite early for publicity, at a time when even I wasn’t sure what the book was about. Rather, the backdrop of Crash concerns the entrenchment of the current class of global super-rich, for whom the Market is the primary tool of enrichment, and their transformation into a de facto plutocracy. But I suppose thematically it’s really “about” hierarchies in human societies, and persistence – of families, of wealth, of cultures, of power, and of, even, the species. The story, however, is about a colony effort that goes horribly wrong for reasons that are slowly revealed in the novel. I love stories about against-the-odds human survival on far flung worlds, about broken generation ships, all that stuff. The slow plod to the stars just seems more likely than the zipping about at warp-speed of Star Trek and so on, while still acknowledging our drive as colonizers and explorers., and that’s what we do as a species – we’re always off over the next hill. I honestly believe we’re having a bit of a breather right now. That drive to head o

Jim O’Connor — USA Today Sports The New York Giants were sixth in the NFL in points scored in the 2012 season, but that statistic is a misleading one. The Giants had some explosive offensive performances against the likes of the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns. The Giants also lit up the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers in offensive explosions. However, the Giants also had some very bad offensive performances, particularly in that stretch of games in late October into November. The Giants struggled in a three-game stretch against the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, struggling to generate any offensive consistency in those games and going 1-2, which started the bad second half that would eliminate them from playoff contention. What do the Giants need to do to maintain consistency offensively? Giants’ QB Eli Manning always seems fine in September and October when the weather is nice. Manning, however, needs to maintain that high level of play in November and December as well. It’s difficult for quarterbacks since the weather isn’t friendly in those months. However, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride can do something about that. With free-agent pickup WR Louis Murphy in the fold, along with WR Hakeem Nicks, WR Victor Cruz and WR Reuben Randle, the Giants should go to a four wide receiver look more often. Not only does it makes things difficult for the defense defending the pass, but it also opens things up for RB David Wilson, who will be the new starting running back this season. Wilson is a speed back, so he can greatly benefit from the space provided with three or four wide receivers on the field. The Giants can even line up TE Brandon Myers or TE Adrien Robinson on the outside with three other receivers to help both the passing and running game. Gilbride also must exhibit patience with a no-huddle offense. The Giants should get right to work on practicing it so they can use it more. The Giants should keep the defense constantly working much like what the New England Patriots do with their no-huddle offense and what the Eagles will most likely do this upcoming season. To truly maximize everyone’s potential and talent, the Giants must spread out a lot more and quicken the pace this season.

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Book Seven of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collection By Ben Aaronovitch Available now from BBC Books Review copy For the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the BBC commissioned a reprint of eleven novels to represent each of the Doctors. I love that they chose to reprint beloved novels instead of publishing new ones, to show off the history of the character. In fact, REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS is a novelization of Episode 152, also written by Ben Aaronovitch. This was his first novel, something I didn't know despite casually enjoying his Peter Grant paranormal mysteries. I'll admit to being unfamiliar with the Seventh Doctor. But I know lots of people are fans of his companion Ace, and I knew Aaronovitch, so I decided to see if this book was a good introduction. I think it was. The Doctor is still the Doctor, with a plan he keeps to himself, but different from the Doctors I know better. And I can see why Ace has a fanbase; after all, she likes to blow things up. That's a good quality in someone being menaced by Daleks. I liked the one-off characters too, particularly Professor Rachel Jensen. She's a scientist who becomes embroiled in the goings on, and is pretty appalled. It was a very realistic depiction of how a person might react to time travellers and aliens fighting each other and leaving a trail of casualties. I think there is a tad too much head hopping, which is probably a result of following the beats of an episode where not all the same characters are onscreen at the same time. REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS is rougher than ONLY HUMAN, the other anniversary collection novel I've read and reviewed. Aaronovitch is clearly playing with style. He's got a countdown, epigraphs, but little of it has enough purpose to really add to the story. At the same time, I can see seeds of the writer Aaronovitch would become. Perhaps most obviously in the passages dealing with race in England. The action of the book takes place in the 1960's, which has its own problems in that regard. But Aaronovitch definitely tackles that question as it relates to modern times in the Rivers of London series. I wouldn't pick up REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS if I wasn't at least familiar enough with Doctor Who to know what a Dalek is, but you can read it if you aren't familiar with Seven specifically. It's a straightforward adventure, with lots of action and short passages to keep the story moving quickly. Plus, the retro cool cover of the special edition looks great on my shelf. Thanks to BBC Books and TLC Book Tours, I have one book to giveaway internationally. You can choose between ONLY HUMAN, REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS, or WHO-OLOGY: The Official Miscellany. Giveaway ends June 30, 2013.a Rafflecopter giveaway

Like South Africa, Sri Lanka recovered from the loss of their first game to log up two impressive wins over the old powers England and Australia and thus make it to the semi-finals. Ideally having

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez appears to be in a world of trouble, as Fox 25 in Boston has new information on the homicide investigation, possibly linking Hernandez to the crime: A law enforcement official tells FOX 25 Hernandez appears to be directly tied to the homicide which is why authorities executed a search warrant at his home Tuesday night. According to the same source, Hernandez, Lloyd, and two other men were at a bar in Boston the night of the homicide, and at some point, the four men left together in a car driven by Hernandez which was confirmed by a text Lloyd sent another friend, the source says. It is unclear where the car went or what happened during the ride, but according to the source only three men returned to Hernandez’s home at the end of the night and Lloyd was not one of them. The source also says forensic evidence places a vehicle driven by Hernandez at one of the crime scenes in this case. Stay tuned, because this one doesn’t appear to be going away for awhile. [Fox25] Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

Jarrett Bell, USA TodayWhat a week for the New England Patriots tight ends. So far. Rob Gronkowski has back surgery and Aaron Hernandez has his home besieged by law enforcement officers investigating a homicide. Maybe Tim Tebow will be forced to switch to tight end as a 911 miracle. Two seasons ago, Gronkowski and Hernandez were so lethal that the paradigm shifted. Tight-end tandems became all the rage. Gronkowski and Hernandez combined for 169 catches and 24 TD catches (17 by Gronk), making it a natural in the copycat NFL that the other 31 teams wanted a pair of their own.

Former Celtic star Tom Boyd has urged Gary Hooper to resist a return to England. Hooper has also been linked with Hull City and — at an even lower level — Championship outfit Reading.. read more

The new policy allows students to obtain condoms, unless parents opt them out, and makes sexual education a required part of school health curricula.

A new report from Boston FOX 25 Boston reporter Ted Daniel heavily implicates Aaron Hernandez in the homicide case of Odin Lloyd. The New England Patriots tight end reportedly had been uncooperative with the investigation into the homicide of Lloyd, whose body was found on Monday around a mile from Hernandez’s home. Hernandez has not [...]