Forthcoming Book Announcement

All I will say at the moment is…

…that I have a contract signed with an indie press in the US. They are Ninestar Press.

…that the manuscript has been formally accepted.

…that the manuscript has completed two major edit passes.

…that it will be published later this year (2024).

…that I will follow up with more info, but no spoilers, over the next weeks.

Oh, and welcome to my new-look website

It was time to do a revamp - and my imminent (in publishing terms) new book was the perfect opportunity.

The old site dated back to 2014, when my first book was published. The technology was different then, and websites were designed for desktops and laptops. The new site has been designed for mobile first, though it will work on your desktop too, if you have one.

Gone are the reviews of random books - as an author, it's not really for me to review the books of fellow authors. I do plan to endorse books that impress me, whether from established authors or emerging writers.

Definitely there's more focus on my published works. Some of my stories are available online, for free - so I link to those. One of them was published by a site that no longer exists, so I've published it here. And one is still available in an anthology - if time travel tales and H.G.Wells / Sherlock Holmes cross-overs are your thing, you could take a look at it there, and maybe discover other works to enjoy as well.

I will add links to where you can buy my works, though I'm just as happy for people to buy my books second-hand, or pass them on. I know, you all like to have full shelves and a TBR pile as well. I respect that, but books want to be read. Also good is to ask your library to buy a copy - authors really don't mind, because other folks can read it when you're done.

There's a blog section - currently empty - where I may post about writing topics. And maybe give a peek into work-in-progress. I don't know for sure.

The Skies Our Home

The funeral was hard. But the thing that helped me smile through the tears was counting the times Tom had sat on top of hotter pyres and lived.

Love and Beans in Thin Times

"Set in a world where time becomes malleable, the narrative follows the experiences of Keeya and Guin, two lovers navigating a universe nearing its end, where the collapse of time creates unexpected separations and reunions. This touching tale blends elements of physics and romance, exploring the complexities of love in a world where basic continuity is no longer a given."

The Box

I found it in the usual place, where I always find them. Under the rock.

"Hello," I said. "What's your name, little feller?"

No answer. But I expected that.

The Farmers and the Farmed

The Antihumanist ran to two editions, I believe, and was my highest per-word rate at the time. Sadly, the website no longer exists, not even on wayback machine, so I reproduce the story here.

The Long Way

"A child runs away from home to try to walk to his daddy on Mars. Heart-warming SF. Read 'The Long Way:' by William Campbell Powell."

The Adventure of the Traveller's Bootstraps

As you would expect from the title, the story is woven around the events of 'The Time Machine', with a nod to the classic 'By His Bootstraps'.

This story was published in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells, Volume 1.

Expiration Day

"It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction…

Tania Deeley has always been told that she's a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.

Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania's life are not real?

Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth "birthdays," teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.

Told in diary format, Expiration Day is the powerful and poignant story of a young girl coming of age and discovering what it means to be truly human by a talented debut novelist."

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells, Volume 1

The World's Greatest Detective in the Realms of the Master of Science Fiction!

Imagine Holmes trying to solve the case of an invisible man attacking London - matching wits with a traveler from out of time - tracking down a human/feline hybrid - using his deductive skills to help fight Martian and lunar invaders! These are just some of the stories included in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells.

This one-of-a-kind two volume anthology features traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more tales from H.G. Wells including:

• The War of the Worlds
• The Island of Dr. Moreau
• The First Men in the Moon
• The Time Machine
• The Invisible Man
• The New Accelerator
• The Man Who Could Work Miracles
• The Country of the Blind
• And many more!

The anthology includes my story "The Adventure of the Traveller's Bootstraps".

Link to Belanger Books
Link to Amazon

The Best of MetaStellar Year Two

Forty-eight enthralling stories from the most talented new science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers.

MetaStellar is an online publication focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and horror launched in September 2020, founded by a dozen speculative fiction writers, editors, and artists from around the world.

Since then, it's published hundreds of short stories by hundreds of writers, both original fiction, reprints, and excerpts. The proceeds from this anthology will help pay for even more original fiction in years to come.

The anthology includes my story "The Box".

William Campbell Powell

William lives in a small Buckinghamshire village in England. By night he writes speculative, historical, crime and other fiction. His debut novel, EXPIRATION DAY, was published by Tor Teen in 2014 and won the 2015 Hal Clement Award for better than half-decent science in a YA novel—the citation actually says "Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature".

His short fiction has appeared in DreamForge, Metastellar, Abyss & Apex and other outlets.

By day he writes software for a living and in the twilight he sings tenor, plays guitar and writes songs.