Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell – Book Review

Title: Ack-Ack Macaque

Author: Gareth L Powell

Publisher: Solaris

Published: Out Now

RRP: Print £5.62 – Kindle £4.86

In 1944, when waves of German Ninja’s parachute into Kent, Britain’s only hope lies with a Spitfire pilot code named ‘Ack-Ack Macaque’. The trouble is Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar chomping, booze swilling, foul mouthed monkey. And he’s starting to doubt everything, even his very existence.

 2059 is a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s to form the core of the glorious Commonwealth of Europe and nuclear powered Zeppelins ply the skies. Ex-Journalist Victoria Valois finds herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man who butchered her husband, and stole her electronic soul. In Paris, after taking part in an illegal breaking at a research laboratory, the heir to the throne goes on the run, with a self aware cynical talking monkey who wants answers.

 And all the while the Doomsday clock ticks towards Armageddon.

Ack-Ack Macaque started life as a short story in the pages of Interzone, the same year it was published the readers of the magazine voted it the year’s best story. The short story is included in this book, allowing the reader to see the evolution of the character and what was kept in and what was taken out.

This book is a story within a story, partly set in an alternative WWII, with Ack-Ack Macaque fighting off hoards of black clad German Ninja warriors. And partly set in 2059, a future with an alternative past to what we know now. The link between the two is the title character. How, you might ask, does the character fit into two time frames 115 years apart? Well that would be giving a little too much away, but let’s put it this way, he does fit in both time frames, and it doesn’t involve any complicated time travel plot.

The move from past to present is deftly done, almost seamless, and allows the character to carry on unchanged. He is assisted in his adventures by a supporting cast that are not what you would expect to be adventurous, danger seekers. Of the bunch the heir to the throne is the most interesting, and because of events shares a common ground with Macaque.

The action is handled well, no-one, except the monkey, is a skilled fighter, and the author manages to put this across well. People are clumsy, they get injured; they make mistakes. This gives the action a more realistic feel for me. Too often in books, TV and films you see an average Joe take on the big bad and become an expert fighter overnight. Here this does not happen.

I nice touch is the inclusion of news items, blog posts, scattered between the chapters, about events happening in the story and in the wider world. It helps build a bigger picture without coming across as info-dumping. It’s also is a nifty way of world building.

If I have one criticism it’s there are a lot of long talky segments in the middle section, talky segments that made the middle drag. I’m not sure if these were put in to bulk the book out to novel length, but for me they seemed superfluous, as several times the conversations were just going over ground that had been covered. As a reader I think of myself as fairly perceptive, I can get the gist of what’s going on without having to be reminded.

All in all this is a rip roaring adventure yarn, with a smattering of steampunk, a smidge of alternative sci-fi and a lead character that seriously kicks-ass.

The Alchemist Of Souls by Anne Lyle – Book Review

Title: The Alchemist of Souls

Author: Anne Lyle

Publisher: Angry Robot

Published: Out Now

RRP: Print £8.99 – Kindle £4.38

When Tudor explorers returned from the New World, they brought back with them a name out of half forgotten Viking legend – Skayling’s – and following in those explorers wake came red sailed ships, native American goods, and a Skrayling ambassador to Queen Elizebeth I court.

 Mal Catlyn, a down on his luck sword for hire, is seconded to the Skrayling’s guard as the Ambassador’s personal bodyguard – at his behest – but assassinations are the least of Mal’s worries. What he learns about the Skrayling’s, their unholy powers, could cost England her new ally; and Mal his soul.

If you like your historical fiction with a twist then this is for you. Anne Lyle has obviously taken a lot of time to learn about the period she is writing in, the muddied streets of Elizabethan London jump from the page, full of colourful characters, sinister plots and rip roaring adventure. On top of this she has layered an alternative history where Queen Elizabeth I married and has children, as if that wasn’t enough to create another timeline she has added the Skrayling’s – creatures from legend – to add to the political melting pot that was Europe in the late 1500s.

The plots and schemes that were famously around during that time are still there, numerous characters seem to be working to their own agenda, whilst proclaiming to be working for the Crown. The mystery at the core of the story though has nothing to do with the plots and machinations of high ranking peers. It’s a story of lost love, murder and possession.

Mal Catlyn serves well as the main character, he hides secrets of his own, carries a burden that could see him accused a traitor and hanged. He is ably assisted by Ned and Corby – a young gay man and a girl pretending to be a boy, both of whom work in the theatre – both of whom are well equipped to deal with the dangers of living in London at that time, and both of whom on more than one occasion save the day and possibly Mal’s life.

The story rattles along at a healthy pace, there is little time to catch your breath as Mal and his friends go from working for the Crown, to fugitives, to heroes. The action is handled well and the suspense kept bubbling nicely to keep you engaged. If I have any qualms it’s that everyone, no matter their standing in society, seems to have easy access in and out of several important castles – including the Tower of London. I’m unsure what the level of security was in the late 1500s, but I imagine it to have been tighter than this.

Bait Dog by Chuck Wendig – Review

Title: Bait Dog

Author: Chuck Wendig

Publisher: Terribleminds 1^st Edition

Published: Out Now

RRP: Kindle £3.19

This title includes the novella Shotgun Gravy

The last time Atlanta Burns tangled with the town bullies it seemed like she and her friends won the day. But then one of those friends ended up dead – dead by his own hand if you believed it. Atlanta and her friend Shane are not so sure.

Atlanta, afraid of once again stirring up the hornet’s nest by looking into Chris’ death, instead focuses on looking into the death of a local teen’s beloved dog. But doing this is no easy task, and soon Atlanta and her friends are embroiled in the world of dog fights. But also she finds that events surrounding the death of the dog shed light of Chris’ alleged suicide.

As events unfold Atlanta once again finds herself face-to-face with bullies, and staring down a corruption that’s seeped into town like a septic infection. It’s all too much for one girl to handle, and she knows she and her trusty .410 Squirrel gun must go up against some of the most callous and cruel people she’d ever likely to meet.

One girl, her single-barrel Winchester shotgun and a whole town full of terrible that deserves her brand of teenage justice.

Chuck Wendig certainly knows how to write strong young women with bad attitude and the sort of mouth that would make a docker blush. Atlanta Burns is very much in the Miriam Black mould, strong willed, independent. She’s the sort of take-no-shit girl that I imaged Ellen Ripley was growing up. But unlike any other Chuck Wendig book I’ve so far read this one is set in the “real world”, no one has psychic powers, no one is a vampire, its about real people trying to deal with real world issues.

This is a very hard book to read. It covers three subjects that are disturbing and upsetting, bullying, racism and animal cruelty. All are prevalent no matter where you live, and all something that needs to be addressed. Chuck has managed to do this in a way that is informative and entertaining (though I’m not sure that is the right word, there is nothing entertaining about either of the subjects, but in order to sell a story you have to entertain somewhere).

As with the Miriam Black character Atlanta is from a dysfunctional family, she has a fractured relationship with her mother, and in some way blames her for being the way she is. Atlanta is the victim of abuse at the hands of one of her mother’s boyfriends, an event that happened prior to the start of the novella Shotgun Gravy, but an event that very much haunts her – and drives her – still. Because of that event Atlanta has a certain reputation with her peers. She is some parts admired and some parts feared. People do not know how to interact with her, afraid they may offend, worse that she may react.

Is Atlanta Burns a violent person? No, I don’t think she is. She’s a girl that has gone through some seriously bad shit and is dealing with it in her own unique way. Does she win? The jury is out, although there is an end of sorts to the story in this book, it’s not the end to the story as a whole. The bullies, racists and downright nasty fuckers are still out there, and so is Atlanta.

 

So, January

So that was January, first month of 2013, eleven months until I hit the big 50. So what did it mean for me?

BOOKS

I finished Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton. This was the first of his books I’d read outside of the Commonwealth Saga. It was enjoyable, though I did find some sections overblown and there seemed (to me) to be a lot of filler.

I also read Redshirts by John Scalzi. I was expecting something more along the lines of Galaxy Quest, if that was what he was heading for then it fell well short of the mark for me. There were some funny moments, but I did not have any of the laugh-out-loud moments some of the reviewers seemed to have enjoyed.

I was back on familiar territory with Bait Dog by Chuck Wendig (a double bill of the novella Shotgun Gravy & the novel Bait Dog). Familiar as in I know what Chuck is about, have  a pretty good idea of how he works. Though I will be honest and say I was surprised by the intensity of this one. Also it was Chuck without any psychic or vampiric powers. A hard hitting story of bullies, racists and sadists. Not for the faint of heart.

Just finished (last night) Apocalypse: Year Zero, a collection of four novellas that center of four women who go through life changing, and shattering events – 911, the Boxing Day tsunami, hurricane Katrina and California’s “big one”. The end result of these experiences is they each find they have power over fire, water, wind and earth. And as they slowly come together over the course of the four novella’s it’s revelaed that the Four Horsemen were not men at all.

 

TV & MOVIES

Well actually only TV, I did intend to go and see The Hobbit for a second time but never got round to it. TV wise I’m now a proud subscriber to Sky TV, and boy am I a happy bunny. Watched Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (available on Alibi) staring the brilliant Forrest Whitaker. Some pretty hard, brutal stuff in there. Also been watching Ripper Street (BBC1) set in Victorian London in the months after the Ripper killings. Dark, gritty and no holds barred, it also stars Gerome Flynn who seems intent on carving out a niche for himself as a hard as nails character actor (he’s also the brilliant Bronn in Game Of Thrones)

This week started watching The Following (Sky Atlantic) staring Kevin Bacon. Ex-FBI agent brought out of retirement to bring down an escaped serial killer. It has echoes of Red Dragon but an interesting twist is the serial killer has amassed a following, he’s been creating serial killers, he has (possibly) an army of them. Its not for the faint of heart (especially episode 1′s Ice Pick lady scene) but looks to have the makings of a gripping drama.

I also received my DVD of Dredd, watched it and still think its a brilliant stab at bringing the iconic character to the screen. Its just a shame it bombed at the cinema and so highly unlikely and sequels will be forthcoming.

 

WRITING

Some sad news last week when I received an email telling me that Pill Hill Press has closed. Pill Hill gave me my first break, published my first short story. On top of that I have another story accepted by them that was due to be in their next anthology. But there was a sliver lining, Miles Boothe – another author and ardent monster hunter – has created Emby Press and intends to honour all submissions made to Pill Hill. So hopefully in a few months the anthology will be released.

I’ve had a short script placed with Twisted Showcase – a web based anthology series (named in the Guardian’s Top 25 web shows in 2012) – for several months now but they have been struggling to fit it into the filming schedule. There was talk of making it as their first animated short, but finding an animator with time on their hands is not easy. Now they are looking into producing it as a comic strip, and if it is successful on the site will be the first of many.

My WIPs are ticking along nicely. I’ve been prepping a post apocalypse novel for a couple of months now which is close to being ready for the start of the first draft. I’ve also finished a treatment for a pilot episode that I will be writing next month. The aim is to have it written, beta read and second drafted by the end of February so I can catch the current BBC Writers Room submissions window. Once that is done I start work on the novel first draft.

I still have four short stories out there in the world waiting on acceptance/declining emails.

 

All in all January was a packed month, February is shaping up to be more of the same.

 

Mockingbird – Book Review

Title: Mockingbird

Author: Chuck Wendig

Publisher: Angry Robot

Published: Out Now

RRP: £7.99 (Hardback) – £5.49 (Kindle)

Miriam is trying. Really, she is.

 The whole “settling down thing” that Louis has going on just isn’t working. Living on Long Beach the whole year long. Home is a double wide trailer. She has a full time job. And her and Louis, Louis who spends most of the time on the road, well they’re relationship is subject to the same old piss and vinegar Miriam brings to everything she does.

 Life isn’t going well, she’s struggling with it and trying to keep her psychic ability in check. But that feels wrong, like she’s keeping a tornado trapped in a bottle.

 Then comes one bad day that turns everything on its head.

Miriam tried to do the right thing and it’s turned round and bit her in the butt. Events from the first book – Blackbirds – still haunt her, not only the eye Louis lost, but the scars she earned saving him, and the promise she tried to keep. But one inadvertent touch and the house of cards comes tumbling down, futures are revealed, death is abroad and Miriam is drawn into the world of a serial killing family with a penchant for young girls.

It’s good that this second book draws back the curtains on Miriam’s world more. There is more of the powers that surround her and seem intent of guiding or stopping her. It’s nice that we learn there is another – and possibly others – like her with varying degrees of sight. But moreover it’s good that Chuck Wendig chose not to take the easy route and settle Miriam into a Buffyesque role of champion of light and all round equalizer.

She has flashes of that character, she chooses to do the right thing and see her visions through to the end. But she chooses to do it her way, the Miriam Black way, and that way takes her through pain and heartache and lavish helpings of sticking-it-to-the-man.

It’s been said that male authors cannot write decent female characters. Wrong. Chuck Wendig has not only created a believable, three dimensional character in Miriam he’s also put her in a world populated with similar characters that jump off the page and make a grab for your throat.

If there is a downside to this second outing, it’s Louis. He fitted into the frame of the first book, but for me with its resolution his story was told. Here it’s like he’s been kept around just so Miriam has an in to the main setting of the story. Sure he has other stuff to do, saving Miriam for instance, but keeping him around just for that didn’t fit into the whole Miriam Black world view for me.

In The Tall Grass by Stephen King & Joe Hill – Review

Title - In The Tall Grass

Authour – Stephen King & Joe Hill

Publisher - Gollancz

Price – £0.99 (Kindle) – £10. 10 (audio)

 

 

 

 

 

King and Hill, Father and Son, a dynamic duo with equal strengths, twisted imaginations and the ability to turn in a diabolical tale from something as simple as a field of grass.

Going in I was expecting some side-story along the lines of Children Of The Corn, but I was wrong, this is as far removed from that classic King tale as Count Duckula is from Bram Stokers Dracula. OK maybe slight exaggeration, but you get my drift?

Anyone familiar with both author’s work will know they are brilliant at visualising everyday settings with a sinister, supernatural twist. In this trimmed down short story you get all that, without the high page count. A brother and sister taking a road trip across America hear a cry for help from within a field of tall grass. Deciding to go help they soon find themselves disorientated, lost and slowly becoming spooked by their surroundings.

The scares are fast in coming, the horror slow in building, and the pay-off though predictable is satisfying. Also, as an added bonus you get two neat excerpts after the main event, a preview of Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep – a prequel to The Shining – and an excerpt to Joe Hill’s next novel NOS4R2, which might be about vampires (based on the title alone).

 

 

The Dog Faced God’s Trilogy by Sarah Pinborough – Review

I picked up the first installment in this trilogy back in May. I had intended to write a review after reading each book, but felt it would be better if I’d done it after reading the whole story. I’m glad I did because looking at the story as a whole feels better than taking it a book at a time. I’m not saying you don’t get three cracking stories, you do, each book may be linked by the overall arc, but they are all fairly self-contained.

A Matter Of Blood starts out as your classic cop chasing serial killer tale, except you are left with no illusions early on that what you are reading is far from your run-of-the-mill procedural.  Sarah wastes no time pinning the supernatural element’s colours to the mast, which is something I’m all for, too much faux “fantasy” is available today that leaves the reader – or viewer – wondering if they are buying into what the thought they were. I prefer to know from the off if I’m getting weird shit because of some supernatural element, or explainable shit because someones clever and wants to make people believe its strange.

The book has a fairly fast start, like the protagonist DI Cass Jones, the reader is dumped into the middle of an ongoing investigation. A serial killer is on the loose in London, killing young women seemingly at random, the only link between the murders are hundreds of fly eggs laid out on the bodies. Pretty soon you find there is more going on than just random killings, there is The Bank, a mysterious organisation that seems to run the world now. There is another double murder, that may or may not be linked in with the “Man Of Flies” case; and then there is the brutal murder of DI Jones’ own brother and family.

As the book progresses the reader is fed information about Jones’ past life, an undercover operation that went bad, and his broken relationship with his family and colleagues. You also learn about the shadowy figure called Castor Bright, a man that appears not to have aged and is high up in the command structure of The Bank. The action is brutal, Sarah pulls no punches in describing some of the jucier crime scenes visited (including a rather unpleasant surprise in an oven), and she uses the language of the street to full effect. Not one for the faint hearted, but the picture it paints of a broken society limping along towards a bleaker future is gripping. Alongside the main story is one of Police corruption and rampant drug abuse, a theme that will echo throughout the following two books.

 

The Shadow Of The Soul picks up soon after the end of the first. The “Man Of Flies” case is closed, no-one but DI Jones knows what really happened and he’s not prepared to talk about it. All he knows is the life he thought he’d had growing up was a lie, and that the man he knows as Castor Bright appears to hold all the cards and is pulling everyones strings. Much like the first book the main thrust of this tale is another serial killer, and like the first book the string of random deaths seemingly push Jones along evermore in the direction of The Bank, and Castor Bright.

In this second outing Sarah drops more hints as to what Mr. Bright’s motives are, the tentacles of his organisation seem to reach to the highest levels of government, but all is not rosy within The Bank or the even more shadowy Network that appears to be the power behind it. Again with this book Sarah stamps the supernatural credentials early on. There’s no grey areas here, you know something is not right with the world, something is not right with Mr. Bright and his associates, but what exactly their plan for humanity is is unclear.

The book builds more towards the endgame, DI Jones is not so much the damaged goods he was in the first book. Now he seems to have more of a purpose, he knows his enemy and has him firmly set in his sights. Unfortunately for Jones though Castor Bright is a master of the long game, he has had his moves plotted out a long time, some it would seem even before Cass Jones was born. The ending is brilliant, it reveals more about what Mr. Bright and his associates are and then dumps Jones outside his comfort zone by making him a wanted man.

The Chosen Seed picks up several months after the end of the second book. Cass Jones is on the run, wanted for murder, he is more driven now than ever before; more determined to find Castor Bright and bring his empire of lies crashing down. But Mr. Bright has bigger concerns than a renegade detective, the First has woken, the Interventionalists are broadcasting the rapture, and an emissary walks the Earth.

All the cards are in play in this final story. Mr. Bright finds himself fighting a war on two fronts as ex-DI Jones takes the offensive and then members of his own team plot to bring him down. But its all a case of fiddling whilst Rome burns, powers beyond anyone’s comprehension are in play, the Network knows that which they fled from is coming for them, they know it’ll be a fight to the death, and that death will be the destruction of everything they’ve built; namely the Earth.

But Mr. Bright is a master of the long game, he knows peoples strengths and their weaknesses. As disaster looms he turns his association with Cass Jones on its head; the idea is to use his special birthright to save a world. The final half dozen or so chapters are breathtaking, the reader is dragged along from crisis to solution to crisis, the fate of the planet teetering on the brink the whole time.

I’ve read a fair few alternative history books, most pick a point in history to act as a divergent date. But never have I come across a story so bold that it picks the creation itself as its divergent point. The reader may make assumptions early on as to what Castor Bright and his associates are, but Sarah masterfully twists your preconceptions and makes them into a little bit more than what you’d imagined.

 

I’m Reviewing The Situation

As Fagin sang “I’m reviewing, the situation…” then so have I been. A few days ago I asked the question How Do Writers Do It, regarding managing workloads alongside family and the day job. Since then I have been looking at what I have on the go so to speak, and seeing my way to rationalize it into a more workable state. It has meant I’ve had to be brutal, somethings have had to give, but I think I at a place now where, hopefully, forward motion can be made.

I follow George RR Martin’s Not A Blog, and he occasionally posts about the monkeys on his back. I suppose that was my problem, I’d got in a situation where I had too many projects open. Now this may be fine for the great and powerful GRRM, writing is his work, his life, and he can devote as much – or as little – time to it as he see’s fit. For me, I don’t have that luxury, I have to fit my writing around work and life. So some of the monkeys I’ve been carrying around have been put into a zoo, until I have time to free them again.

To this end I’ve made myself a priority list, projects that will get my full attention until finished. The hope is this way I will actually finish something before the year is out. The list is as follows.

1. I’m five chapters into a novella, this has been taking up more and more of my time as it is, and was part of the reason other projects were not getting a look in. I’ve prioritized this because it is the one that excites me the most, I think about it all the time, ideas, characters, plot twists. I already have the rest of the novella plotted out, so I’m a step ahead of myself in already knowing where I’m going with this one. I’ll be making a separate post about it in the coming days, the novella has a title, and is part of a series, but more of that later.

2. Tales From Beyond The Event Horizon is semi-put on hold. I’ve had feedback from beta readers, and have started the 2nd draft edit. But the novella takes priority and so this has to wait.

3. Screenplay – I’ve been working on this for 18 months or more now. The intention was to get it finished for the Autumn slot for the BBC Writers Room, but looks like it maybe next year now.

4. Fantasy novella – Like the script above this has been gestating for at least 18 months, its the least developed project I have, so I feel safe in letting it sit for a while longer.

Everything else, a second script that only has initial outline & characters, the re-write/edit of my Pratchett Prize entry from a couple of years ago, the couple of Future Shock scripts I have ideas for, have all been put on hold for the duration.

Unlike before I’m not going to be trying to do bits to each as I go along. I am going to concentrate on one project and get it finished.

That’s the plan anyway, but as the saying goes, best laid plans and all that.

The Long Earth – Book Review

Title: The Long Earth

Author: Stephen Baxter & Terry Pratchett

Publisher: Doubleday

Published: Out Now

RRP: £18.99 (Hardback) – £7.64 (Kindle)

The Western Front 1916, Private Percy Blakeney wakes up, he’s led on fresh grass, birds sing overhead. Confused he looks around, where has the mud gone, where has the sound of guns gone, where has no-mans-land gone? Madison, Wisconsin 2015, cop Monica Jansson explores a burned house and finds a curious device containing wiring, a 3-way switch and a potato. It is the prototype of a device that will change man’s view of the world forever.

Coupling a master of hard SF with the worldwide master of satirical fantasy isn’t the sort of thing many people would consider. But together Baxter and Pratchett make an interesting mix and the result is a fantastic tale of multiple Earth’s – The Long Earth as it is called – and the people who travel through them.

The core of the story is simple, you have our Earth – here referred to as the Datum Earth – and alongside it “the width of a thought away” you have possibly millions of alternatives. One day people discover they can step between these worlds, opening up a whole universe of possibilities, but also causing untold damage to relationships and economies worldwide. The story is based mainly in the US, where a new pioneer rush sees people heading off into the unknown, like their forebears in the Old West.

Don’t go into this expecting to travel to other Earth’s where your mirror self sports a nifty goatee. It’s not that sort of alternate Earth, it’s based of scientific fact/theory and portrays a myriad of might-have-been Earths. Might-have-been Earths where for some as yet unexplained reason, man only evolved on the Datum Earth. In their travels the characters come across exotic animals, exotic climates, and in some instances dead worlds.

There is no time wasted in trying to explain how or why people suddenly have the ability to step, various theories are put forward, but the story isn’t about the science, it’s more about the people. It’s a story of adventure, a story of widening your understanding of the world around you. The characters are full grown and three dimensional, they each have a tale to tell and a history tied up with the Long Earth. This could have so easily been about one set of characters – and yes a vast swathe of the book is all about Joshua and Lobsang – but it is written in such a way that everyone introduced gets their say.

This is the first in a series, and I can see it being a long and unending series, because with the possibility of millions of other Earths to explore, how could you ever run out of stories.

 

Adventures In Writing

Seems like ages since I did any sort of update on the various projects I have boiling, simmering and just gathering ingredients for. So please excuse the lack of information on my part.

So, did I tell you I’d had another short story accepted? No? Well I have, its called Death Rides A Pale Horse and is in the forthcoming anthology called Dead Rush being put out by Wicked East Press. Its a collection of stories with the theme of the Old West. I’ve had the galley proofs so am guessing publication should be pretty soon.

There are still two months to go until the deadline for the Fantasy Writing Contest being run by Fantasy Faction. I got my submission called You Can’t Avoid A Little Blood submitted soon after subs opened, I also opted for the Entry Plus service where I’ll get a detailed critique from one of the judges. Not sure if I get this if accepted or not? Doubtful I’ll hear anything from this until after the closing date, there was a post on their forum saying Entry Plus subs wouldn’t be going out till then so that people couldn’t revise their entry and get it back in.

I’m waiting on an email from Pill Hill Press for my submission to the last in the Monster Hunter trilogy anthology they are putting together. According to their forum they have read all stories submitted so far and acceptance/rejection emails are going out as we speak. One person has posted saying they’ve had their’s so its a waiting game now.

I submitted a short script – about 7 minutes – for the second season of Twisted Showcase. The first season is up on line with a great selection of weird, creepy and scary stories. Not sure when I’ll get any news on that but from Twitter I know they’ve filmed the first episode already and are still considering other submitted stories.

I’ve only just (yesterday) submitted a short story to 2000AD for a Judge Dredd competition. Only 2,000 words, short and sharp with blood and guts. Deadline is May 23rd so nit sure when will hear anything.

I’ve finished the polish on the stories I’ve collected together that I aim to self publish on Kindle. I’ve settled on three stories that cover horror and steampunk. I’m sending them out to a couple of readers next week and am at present working on a cover design.

That’s it, all up to date now. I’m now project free for the first time in ages, but I have begun research and note making for a planned novel set in the same universe as one of the stories in my anthology. Its early stages at present so doubt I’ll even have the first draft ready until later in the year.