LifeBlogging

Thirty-One Year Check-Up – Comics, Hobson & Choi III, Life

March 25, 2015 by Nick Bryan

Today is my thirty-first birthday, and after making a giant messy fuss of my thirtieth, I feel like this might end up being a quiet one. Still, it’s been a while since I blogged about what I’m up to in a broader sense, so I figured this was as good a time as any for a check-in.

So, where is the third Hobson & Choi book at? What else am I working on? How am I feeling, y’know, deep down? Some of those questions answered in the following words.

Comics Of Future Now

The biggest new news, as posted on social media yesterday, is that I received a print copy of my first published comics work: a story in The Gathering: Noir from the good folk at GrayHaven Comics. You can see my hand modelling the comics in the nearby picture, and I can confirm it is a lovely, well put-together object with attractive cover art. For more details on this comic and a single solitary panel of art preview from my actual story, see this post from last month.

In previously unspoken news, I also have another short comic story approved and assigned to an artist with an entirely different indie set-up. More details on that when it happens, although we’re probably talking 2016.

Would be nice to advance the comics thing further, but currently all my spare creative-project funds are going into H&C books. If the comics internet has taught me one thing, it’s that asking artists to work for free is not a good look. Speaking of Hobson & Choi…

H&C3 – No wolves, no recruitment agencies

The third Hobson & Choi book, Trapped In The Bargain Basement, is currently being read out loud by me, sitting alone in my house. As discussed in this old post, that’s a dull process but always ends up being worthwhile. I’ve cut 3000 words of needless burble this time, and not even finished yet.

It should be off to an editor in the next two or three weeks, and hopefully out to you, the reading audience, in the latter half of this year. I’m hoping late summer/early autumn, but should probably be a little vague, for reasons I’ll get onto in a minute.

If you want to make me feel good on my birthday, feel free hit the Hobson & Choi homepage and buy one of the books (the first one is very cheap on digital). If you’ve already purchased and read, you can leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads/your own site or tell your friends/social media followers/blog readers/whoever about H&C. All pretty crucial to the whole authoring game.If you’ve already done all that: thanks, I love you, you’re fine.

Thirty-One Life

Alright, I’ll talk a bit about the birthday as well. My feelings about life and the passing of time haven’t changed much since last year’s 30th-marking blog post, to be honest. All is alright. In addition to the self-publishing, I have my urban fantasy novel finally out with agents and we’ll see how that goes.

(I considered blogging about that as it happens, but I’ve yet to come up with amazing new perspectives as I haven’t done much beyond send a few emails. So I figured I’d just not bang on about it, lest I sound like I’m complaining about “literary gatekeepers” or whatever the angry people say.)

It looks like I might be moving back south of the river some time this year. I like Walthamstow a lot, but there’s something weirdly homely about the Peckham/New Cross/Brixton region. And yes, the inevitable disruption involved in moving house is why I’m hedging my predictions for H&C3 release dates.

That’s probably enough from me to keep you going into April. Now, I’m off to hack out another quick chapter on my tentative sci-fi project that probably won’t see the light of day until 2016. Work doesn’t stop for a mere 31st birthday.

Nick Vs Nine Worlds – Convention Conclusions

August 13, 2014 by Nick Bryan

This weekend just gone, I was at the Nine Worlds convention in Heathrow. Regular and well-behaved blog readers will have read my pre-game post last week, in which I revealed that this is my first convention, despite having wallowed in nerdy interests from the age of about ten.

So, how did it go? Well, I didn’t achieve my goal of taking interesting photographs, for sure. To my right is the view from our hotel window, which was one of only two pictures captured during the con. For the second photo, as well as opinion of the actual event, continue reading…

Nice Words

As you may have gleaned if you follow sufficient geeks on Twitter, Nine Worlds was pretty excellent. Just the right number of people, a brilliant range of events and, most spectacularly, threading the needle skillfully between positivity and PR.

Because, too often, many conventions look like you’re basically being gathered in a room to be advertised at, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve taken so long to go to one. But Nine Worlds designed all its panels around discussion of a topic, either serious or silly, and everyone turned up ready to say something worthwhile about those points. I’m not saying no-one ever honked the BUY MY STUFF klaxon, but for the most part, it was as a sideline to an engaging discussion.

Maybe that’s the result of the con being organised primarily by the fandoms rather than the studios/publishers, and it worked well. Even the publisher-sponsored Saturday night party on the book track didn’t over-do the sales pitch, and kudos to them for getting their tone right. And giving me some free books. (I’m only human, alright? Read my balanced analysis and shut up.)

Noteworthy Workshops

And now, here’s the part where I name some of my favourite panels, hoping not to miss any really good ones and feel like a dickbag. I’ve got the programme open in front of me, so hopes are high.

Si Spurrier and Kieron Gillen’s Creators on Comics lectures on Saturday evening were smart, interesting and well-delivered. Spurrier probably landed better for me personally with his thoughts on Comics and Story, simply because Gillen was deconstructing Watchmen, a work which I’ve not yet really connected with. Still, both well executed.
Our second (and last) photo is one of Si Spurrier’s slides, in which he assigns various story genres a species of sea creature. Click to zoom. (Then try his writing, it’s great. Especially Six Gun Gorilla and Crossed: Wish You Were Here.)
I started both days off with the debate panels on the book track – on Saturday, it was Dragons vs Werewolves vs Vampires vs Warlocks and on Sunday, Fantasy vs Sci-Fi. I don’t necessarily agree with the conclusions reached (dragons and sci-fi won, to my despair), but they were a very entertaining way to ease into the geekery, the speakers were all respectfully and repeatedly hilarious.
On Sunday afternoon, I took in Comics For Kids, followed by Female Protagonists in YA, and both were lovely, excited discussions which made me want to totally go and achieve stuff. Not sure what those things are yet. Still, both were frank, enthusiastic and good. Bravo to any panelists who happen to be reading this.
The book track’s Wow. So Panel. panel was cancelled. Such sad. I was hoping it would be a serious dissection of the Doge V Lolcats issue.
For the last panel of my convention, and indeed the whole damn thing, more or less, I went to Cara’s Fireside with Cara Ellison and Kieron Gillen. After a reasonably heavy day of genre discussion, it was exactly the right tone of talking-shit friends-down-the-pub philosophy you want. Not braindead, but definitely fun, kinda inspiring in its own way. If it ever comes out as a podcast or similar, I will try and link it up here, or at least on Twitter. Likewise for any of the events mentioned, in fact.

I think that’s everything I wanted to say about the actual panels. This has run a bit longer than I intended, but honestly, it was a great weekend and I kinda wanted to write it down.

No Wrongdoing

Aside from that, yes, there was some drinking on the Saturday night, and it was jolly lovely. I can’t pretend I saw any sci-fi authors drinking the urine of fans or inter-fandom honour killings – some great cosplay though. Especially the bloke who came dressed as Sharknado – amazing. Should’ve taken a photo, really.

I can’t pretend I networked fervently, but I had enough friends and nice Twitter folk there to keep me plenty company. For a first-ever effort at conventioning, that’ll do fine. I sold two e-copies of my book at some point on Sunday, I’m going to assume because I was doing awesome work with my Nine Worlds presence. (Even though they were both from the US Amazon site. Shut up.)

So, yes, Nine Worlds is a lovely con, offering substantial discussions, fun events and a great atmosphere. Unless your main convention need is a range of A-list megastar TV guests, I think it’s worth a look. I’m almost certainly back next year.

And that’ll be all for now. If I spoke to you at Nine Worlds, whether for ten minutes or all bloody weekend, hello again. It was an excellent time. If anyone wants one of these flattened cereal bars from the bottom of my bag, please send an addressed envelope with the necessary postage attached.

Conventional Weaponry – Nine Worlds Prep Time

August 5, 2014 by Nick Bryan

This weekend, for the first time in my about-twenty-five years of geeky interests, I am off to a convention. I could make excuses for this, but no-one wants to read those. The main upshot is: I am going to Nine Worlds, a convention that takes place at Heathrow Airport but is not about air travel.

Although, to be honest, there are so many sub-genres of geekery represented at Nine Worlds, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover there are multiple panel discussions about 747s, but my eyes just skipped over them.

Point being: first con! Big deal, potentially. How am I feeling/preparing/occupying myself?

All The Feels

I get the feeling there are a fair few convention newcomers making their debut at Nine Worlds – or at least, a lot of discussion on Twitter seems to suggest that. The organisers even released a podcast aimed at those very people, with the always-likable Emma Newman. So at least I won’t be alone in my slight bewilderment – or to put it another way, dammit, yet again I only discover something after it goes mainstream.

Jokes (briefly) aside, yes, I’m fairly intimidated, but the Nine World schedule is so absolutely rammed that if nothing else, there will nearly always be an event of some interest to go and see, immersing myself in the warm, non-pressuring arms of organised fun.

Bags Of Fun

A lot of people seem to be losing their shit about preparing for Nine Worlds (and other cons), but I’m pretty sure all I have to do is shove some t-shirts, underwear and shampoo in a bag. This is, obviously, mostly because I won’t be attempting any cosplay, nor am I giving a talk/reading/appearance – those seem to be the main things keeping others up at night.

Oh, I should probably take some extra food though. Maybe buy a portable charger for my phone. Do I need paper and pens? A whole netbook? Is it standard convention practice to bring our own toilet roll, just in case?

I’ll be fine. I can always live off the free coffee and tiny little kettle in my hotel room.

Wait, Jesus, I don’t even know if I get those. SHIT.

His First Live DVD!!!

Many other writers are publishing their appearance schedule for Nine Worlds and other conventions. I do not have one, not even really worked out which panels I’ll be attending yet.

However, for anyone who wants to know so that they can say hi to/avoid/donate generously to me, I am there Saturday and Sunday basically all day. If you’re worried about recognising me, my face still looks roughly like the adjacent picture. Although I do not always stand around rubbing the back of my neck like I’m on a stand-up DVD cover.

If you want one, I may even be able to give you an all-new The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf business card – although if you’re on this website, giving you my card is a bit superfluous. Still, they look pretty cool.

Also, good point, that is something else I should pack.I imagine

I’ll do some kind of blog write-up of the event in a week or so – may try and take some photos so we don’t end up with another London Book Fair smashed-bathroom debacle.

In the meantime, let’s hope we all have good conventions, if we’re going to them. If you haven’t bought my recently-published book yet, you can do that here and it’s quite good. Other than that, this week’s phrase is Try Not To Worry.

All You Can Eat Media – Nick vs Netflix, Man vs Marvel Unlimited

June 2, 2014 by Nick Bryan

In the last few weeks since my birthday, I’ve catapulted myself hard into the world of unlimited on-demand media. Yes, I already had things like BBC iPlayer, 4OD and American equivalents, but this was the next level: Netflix for TV and the Marvel Unlimited service for comics.

After years of only watching carefully selected shows and targeted media, going back to having a wide range of stuff I might like available and choosing from it has been a strange experience. It’s like when I was young and I used to read TV guides and consider watching new stuff.

Only with comics too, which is where the comparison breaks down.Anyway, after two months in the new world of everything-you-could-ever-want rampant consumption, here are the observations I’ve made.

Staring At The Menu

First big discovery: how long I can just gaze at the list. If all the time I’ve spent scrolling through the contents of Marvel Unlimited and Netflix was used on content consumption, I would be the GURU by now. More than once, I’ve opened up the apps because I have half an hour to kill and want to fill it with a show/comic, only to spend that entire thirty minutes just browsing the catalogue.

Marvel Unlimited is particularly good for window shopping, by the way – hours of fun tittering at silly covers and titles from the past of superhero comics. Like good old Giant Size Man-Thing, or the 1992 X-Factor cover pictured to the left – a devastating warning from history about the dangers of cybersex.

This brand of procrastination eases up after the first few weeks, but my tiny brain is always kinda paralysed by the volume of stories I could be consuming. What if I’m not watching the right ones? What if I’m missing a classic? Do I worry about stuff too much?

(The correct answer to that last question is YES.)

The “Might As Well” Generation

Honestly, I never got into channel-surfing. If I have a few minutes of free time, I generally find a book/DVD/comic from the list of Important Stuff I’ve Planned To Experience, rather than switching on the TV and seeing what’s showing.

But the discovery of already-available all-you-can-eat media deals has gifted me the opportunity to finally see a lot of shows I’d glanced at before and decided, well, I’ve already got enough to watch. It’s all there, one click away, so I can put it on in the background while I’m doing low-brain activities (like typing out and proofreading blog posts, or fiddling with Scrivener compile settings, or just surfing the internet without the slightest pretense of achievement).

Or I can sit back and read comics I’d not bought because I only quite fancied reading them, rather than desperately wanting to, and comic books are rather expensive. Or at least, they were before the advent of the Comixology sale. Digital comics saved my interest in the hobby, to be honest.

Controversially, I’ve discovered it’s fun to watch a few silly comedies or entertaining-but-not essential procedural TV shows, read well-executed-but-not-genre-redefining superhero comics. In a strange way, it helps me relax.

So, that’s my big reveal about my feelings for today. Do post about your similar feelings in the comments if you want to help me feel okay about myself.

Oh, and if you too have Marvel Unlimited and want some good reading material, I wrote a homage to Christopher Priest’s Black Panther series a few weeks back, and I stand by every word. Check it out.

This blog post was finalised whilst half-watching an early episode of Castle.

30

March 25, 2014 by Nick Bryan

Today is my thirtieth birthday, as you probably already know if you follow me on social media, we’re friends in real life or spoke to me for any length of time in the last month. To mark this occasion, here’s a short blog post, including a picture of my amazing cake. If you find this overly self-indulgent, don’t worry, my new Walking Dead review is up today as well.

So, well done me. Three decades and still alive. After a Philosophy degree (yes, I have a Philosophy degree – ask about the meaning of life now!), so many novels I’ve lost count, some therapy, some houseshares, some drinks, a whole lot of fuckin’ TV reviews, fifty-nine Hobson & Choi chapters, thirty H&C Podcasts, nineteenWriteBlogs and the realisation I enjoy numbering my projects far too much, here I am.

I’m pretty sure this is the most together I’ve been in my life since I hit self-awareness at around 16, which is terrifying and reassuring at the same time. The writing is finally coming together, after I stopped attempting literary fiction about the human condition and just embraced my love of blowing shit up and telling jokes about shit.

Happily, avoided too much moping about being old by realising that my younger self wasn’t as good as the current one, so I’ll accept the shortening of my life in order to not be such a pain. Which sounds like a dilemma from a science-fiction novel, now I think about it.

“This injection will make you less of a dick, but also shave ten years off your life… will you accept it?”

Yeah. Alright then. Probably won’t write that novel though, it sounds terrible.