I’ve talked before about how rubbish I am with horror movies. Let’s face it, I’m an embarrassment to my hardcore-horror friends. I immerse myself so deeply that a quick cut to anything, be it zombie or kitten, makes me jump out of my seat and as a result breaks the immersion. As a result the [...]
There are elements of anime that I absolutely love. The hyper-reality where everyone's abilities are ramped up to superhero proportions, huge frickin' swords and the way that fantasy and SF mix as if it's no big deal. Japanese storytelling is very different to the 3 act structure you commonly find in the west and as [...]
Submitting to agents and publishers is a bit like applying for a job. If you’re trying to go for a good one, you’ll tailor your submission specific to the role you’re applying for. Whilst all agents and publishers share similar submission requirements, each have their own quirks. Some want sample chapters, some just want a [...]
I realise that a lot of people who read this blog are writers or publishing types who have an expansive and detailed knowledge of the publishing industry. But I also have a lot of friends and family who don’t fully understand the process, so I thought a good blog topic would be to explain how [...]
I’ve talked before how I love MMOs. There’s something about the depth of worldbuilding needed for the sheer number of quests that make them incredibly immersive games. My first MMO was Star Wars Galaxies and we had a great guild with our own city until the NGE came along and just wrecked everything we loved [...]
The agent search continues and it’s quite tiring. I keep telling myself that these things take time and that there are no guarantees , but still there’s this nagging feeling that people around are starting to question why you don’t have the book published yet. Were you lying about how good you thought you were? [...]
You may remember me telling you that SciFiNow had published an article over on their blog on my memories of Star Wars? What? You don’t? Are you paying attention? Anyways, my friend Matt informed me that part of it appears in the latest issue of the Magazine (#59 to be exact, the one with a [...]
I think one of the reasons I’ve never really got into horror is because I jump easily. If I’m watching a movie, the cinema disappears and I’m there in the scene. Consequently when anything jumps out at the screen, I jump out of my seat, whether it be zombie, serial killer or fluffy kitten. My [...]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw I'm becoming a real sucker for these extreme sports music-style videos that have been cropping up on Youtube of late. I'm no BMXer but Danny MacAskill shows some serious skills. And even if you don't appreciate the athleticism on display, the Scottish scenery on display makes it worth a watch.
I’ve written about my love for Larry Hama’s GI Joe comic series before (see HERE). As far as I’m concerned, Larry is one of the most influential writers to inspire me. Through his comic series, I learned how character drives plot, motivation and the power of great words. GI Joe is not what springs to [...]
