Stranger Danger
It's been a while since I read comics properly, certainly not in the same way that I used to. It's been 20-25 years of toying around with certain worlds and characters, always coming back at different times. (I thought those numbers were a bit overly generous, then I did a quick Google search. Apparently, the X-Men animated series debuted in 1992: at 24 years, we may as well round up to 25, right?
That cartoon series was like a gateway drug for me, introducing me to worlds and characters that were so bold and new and brave that they drew me in fully until I was watching them every chance I got. I watched every time I could: I bought episodes on VHS (okay, I got my parents to buy them); a used my pocket-money to buy comics and trading cards and T-shirts.
The trading cards were my favourite, little biographies of characters, heroes and villains alike; summaries of plotlines and epic fights that I wanted to experience for myself.
It was the 90s.
The Starman
In the face of impending death, a man writes about...well, his impending death. He looks the grim reaper straight in the eye. And he smiles.
This is not a work of fiction: this is a true story that is hitting the news today.
Jam Of The Year
I've spent a lot of time alone with my Spotify and Apple Music accounts recently, and both are making various suggestions about what songs they think I like. They could be right, and they could be wrong.
My musical taste is weird and eclectic and I'm pretty proud of it. Because it encompasses most genres and just as much as I know what I like, I also know what I don't like, and why.
When Thundercats Turned Us Gay
I've been sitting at home watching TV far too much recently. A lot of that has been watching Countdown and 15 to 1 and other such game-shows that are somehow capable of going on for longer than they should, but are somehow part of life. Oh, and Charmed re-runs.
But in amongst all this revisiting my youth, where the hell are the Thundercats?
And then I realised that half the internet probably don't even know that the Thundercats are or were and I get all sad.
Feminist, Moi?
I don't think about feminism a lot. Call it male privilege if you like. That's not to say that I haven't considered myself a feminist, I've just never really considered my opinion important.
Here's the thing: I'm a white guy living in a country in western Europe. I'm a gay guy with no sisters who went to a boys' school. There are questions about being a woman, about being a feminist that have never touched me, and I've never felt the need to address. Because here, on our little island on the fringes of the Atlantic, feminism is a weird scary thing that weeves in and out of legislation that I just don't want to go near.
The Hades Contract: The Soundtrack
I write to music: it's my whole ~thing~. Always have done, probably always will.
A few months ago, I wrote a post that was a long time coming. My first novel, Godhead had a soundtrack (in my head) and although I had shared it with a few people, it was really time to get my finger out and discuss it properly.
The Music Of The Gods
Music is a massive part of my creative process; always has been, always will.
When I'm writing fiction, there are certain songs that put me in the mood for a certain piece or certain characters. Playlists make that process a hell of a lot easier; Spotify and similar streaming media make it easier to collect some of those songs together.
Genre: The Tragedy
Genre: I loved it once. The word, the very concept, that delightful French-style curl on the ‘-r’ that makes it less of a word and more of a noise. But I’ve come to a recent realisation, one that makes me sad and angry and a little bit giddy, all at the same time.
Genre’s a bitch.
Questions For Writers: Post-Game With Claire C Riley
In a time before BRAVE GODS was a thing, I posted some interview with fellow writers. Having deleted my old site, I wanted to keep come of the content.
This interview with Claire C Riley is from back in 2013 and shortly after the publication of her first novel, Limerence. Claire has since published the sequel, the successful Odium series of books, and has recently started working closely with Madeline Sheehan.
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