I write fiction for a living. But that's not the only job I've had, and a third of a century ago I used to be a pharmacist. I'm pretty certain this means I've forgotten more about poisons (and drugs in general) than most of you ever knew: and I feel the need to emit a brain dump about the misuse of poisons in fiction (specifically SF and fantasy fiction).
I have a new book coming out on Tuesday 7th of January: it's A Conventional Boy, a short standalone novel in the Laundry Files. (It takes place at roughly the same time as The Rhesus Chart.)
It's published in the USA (and Canada) by Tor.com and in the UK (and EU) by Orbit. Both publishers are dropping hardback and ebook editions at the same time: as is usual Tor.com is a hardback-only publisher, but Orbit will eventually issue a paperback.
You can buy it at all good bookstores and ebook storefronts, but if you want a signed copy currently the only source is Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh, my home town's SF specialist bookstore. (I do not plan to visit the USA while Trump is president, and I'm attending fewer SF conventions than during the pre-COVID years, but I'll be able to sign books at the British Eastercon this year in Belfast.)
As for what it's about ...?
Meet Derek Reilly. Derek is portly, short-sighted, middle-aged, and has spent his entire adult life in prison for playing Dungeons and Dragons. It's not his fault: it was 1984, the Satanic D&D panic was in full swing, and Mistakes Were Made (by the Laundry).
Derek still pays D&D, after a fashion. He's got postal privileges and runs the camp newsletter: he also runs a play by mail campaign, with a set of mutant homebrew rules nobody in authority has any inkling about.
One day, Derek gets two pieces of very important news. Firstly, Camp Sunshine (the cultist deprogramming centre where he's spent most of his life) is closing for reconstruction in a few weeks. And secondly, a gaming convention is coming to the next town up the road.
Derek is upset—but sees an opportunity. He's had a foolproof escape plan for the past 20 years: he's just never had anywhere to go. Now he decides to go to his first ever convention.
Little does he suspect that he's not the only DM with a very dangerous set of rules converging on DiceCon 16 ...
