Nick Bryan

Writing

NEW FREE COMIC: Oh Shit, I’m On Mars!

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So, as well as the new Hobson & Choi book going up for pre-order, the sixth and last short story in my 2017-18 short-comics-making project is finally up!

This is Oh Shit, I’m On Mars! with art by Erica Batton, a four-pager about someone who wakes up hungover on… well, Mars. You can see it by clicking on this link here!

This was actually one of the first scripts I wrote for the whole thing, and although I can see things I’d do better if I wrote it now, I’m still pretty pleased with the humour of it all, especially the use of Brooklyn-Nine-Nine-style ironic flashbacks. Y’know, I should write more straight comedy, I’m alright at it.

Also pretty damn good, of course, is artist Erica, who absolutely nailed this, especially the design of Bobrick the alien and the lovely facial expressions on lead character Lucy. Great stuff. If you want to see more of her work, check out her site here or her webcomic Panty Vigilante.

And if you want to read more free comics by me, there’s a whole grid of them up here. Fill your boots.

(No, the title isn’t a conscious reference to Watchmen, though it was a strange moment when I realised I’d done it.)

“The Half-Baked Sacrifice” – new comic anthology story out now in print and digital!

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My latest venture into comic writing is out now! It’s called The Half-Baked Sacrifice, with art by Lukas Kowalczuk and features in the new anthology Something Wicked 2016 from Futurequake Press!

Basically, it’s a four page story about a slightly unstable toaster and its important mechanical religious beliefs. There’s also a rodent. I think the story’s pretty fun by itself, but the the art by Lukas is absolutely excellent.

Seriously – buy the comic, look at it. Or there are a few small samplers available in this very post! (Yes, they are quite small samples, but it is a four page story. I don’t want to give away the farm.)

And if you wish to buy it in print, you can go to Futurequake Press’s website here for £6.50 (plus postage)!

Or, for digital comic readers, it’s also up on popular digital comics platform Comixology for the knock-down price of £1.49.

My bit starts on page 74, if you wanted to know.

So yes, check it out. It may not shock you to learn that writing comics is a long-held dream for me, and seeing it realised in such a beautifully drawn way has come close to making my entire 2017 even though it’s only just started.

Oh, and if you want to see more art from Lukas Kowalczuk (and fair enough), his website is right here. Cheers to Futurequake as well, for making the whole process fun and painless. If you’re an aspiring creator and the chance comes up to work with them, absolutely do it.

Hobson & Choi v4 – Blood Will Stream – OUT NOW!

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Today is BWS day! No, not “beers, wines and spirits” (my friend Paul used to work in Sainsburys BWS section), it’s Blood Will Stream!

The fourth Hobson & Choi book is out today, featuring our heroes investigating the locked room murder of a YouTuber. Who did the deed, and can Hobson and Angelina find the killer without making the whole situation much worse? For once? Maybe?

I could type a lot more, but since I’m doing YouTube videos at the moment to tie in with this YouTubey book, I’ll embed a video instead. Here are my release day thoughts. Ready yourselves.

There we go. Hope that stirred something in you. Aside from the thought “Man, that guy needs to stop waving his hands around.”

Anyway, down to business: here are all the places you can buy Blood Will Stream in print and digital! Check it out! Hope you like it! Tell your friends! Etc! Release day woooooooo!

Trapped In The Bargain Basement – Hobson & Choi Case Three – OUT NOW

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One of those blog posts that kinda writes itself – Trapped In The Bargain Basement, the third book in my mismatched-detective-duo London crime series Hobson & Choi comes out today! It should be out now!

In this third book, the team look into the dark heart of a massive towering shopping centre. But how is it evil? And why? And whose fault is it, and can it be proven? All these answers plus romantic subplot complications in this third volume!

I’ll be honest, it’s a very plot-heavy series, so I’d recommend starting from the first book (The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf) if you’ve not read any before. Helpfully, said debut book is currently free and you can get that from the dedicated page here.

However, I do think Case Three could be one of the best yet and you don’t have to just take my word for it. The first review went up yesterday on fellow indie author Virginia McClain’s blog, which you can see here accompanied by a nice guest post by me about how to turn your serial into a novel.

Here’s a nice pertinent quote from Virginia’s review: “This third installment of the Hobson & Choi mysteries delivers just as much fun and whimsy as the first two books, but with the delightful addition of more wolfhound. My favorite thing about all three books is the characters and their engagement with each other…. Whoever’s perspective we’re following, there’s a good chance that we are going to be forced to take a good look at our own privilege, even if we aren’t forced to stare at it too long, and can safely return to pinning things on the ‘bad guys’ a few pages later. It’s this odd but compelling mixture of dark humor and introspection that keeps me returning to Bryan’s books.”

(It’s weird being referred to by my surname again, by the way. Reminds me of being back at all-boys grammar school.)

So there we go. Trapped In The Bargain Basement is out now in both print and digital and on this page should be a rank of buttons to help you buy it. Enjoy!

Hobson & Choi Case Two – “Rush Jobs” – out now!

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Today, my friends, the second H&C book goes forth into the world, where it hopes to be received with open arms and warm love. After meeting in the first book, John Hobson and Angelina Choi further explore the world they’ve found themselves in, and find it to be a strange, grim place.

So, here is a picture of the cover – for more details on the actual plot, go to the Hobson & Choi homepage, where you can also find links to buy a copy of Case One – The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf – for a newly super-cheap price.

For the new book, you can add it on Goodreads here if you so wish, and if you feel like leaving a review and/or rating there, on Amazon or on your own blog/social media, that would be pretty sweet of you. Continued growth plays a big part in helping me continue to get these out there.

Speaking of heading on out there, we’re also doing the Hobson & Choi Blog Tour to coincide with the book launch – check out the details here if you want to follow along. If you follow me on Twitter, I’m sure the blog posts will also be retweeted there as they happen.

You can buy Rush Jobs in both print and digital from various venues. I’ll also be dropping off a few copies soon at the Big Green Bookshop, if you’re a fan of buying things in person.

The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf – NOW IN PRINT

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So, after a few weeks of slow roll-out, the final step of publication is here: my first book The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf is now in print! Next time, I may try and do it all at once for maximum impact, but this time, here it is a week later.

Basically: it’s a darkly comic London crime novel, the first in the Hobson & Choi series. More details about the book, along with enthusiastic review quotes and such, on our very own official Hobson & Choi homepage.

But long story short, the print edition is available from Amazon here, or the Big Green Bookshop if you happen to be in London (and I’ve remembered to give them some stock).