[A Pleasurable Headache] man of clickbait, man of longreads
Updates
A rejection this week for a piece of flash fiction. Originally the piece was a Drabble that I had punched up to take advantage of a pretty high level publication putting out calls for subs. The rejection doesn’t sting too much because:
a) As I said, it was pretty high level in terms of the publication.
b) This was a piece I didn’t expect to be submitting. It was just a bit of luck I saw the call and had something that fit. Often times, you don’t. I can’t be mad about something that fell in my lap, you know?
Anyway, work begins on my next thing. This week has been staring off into space whilst bits and narrative accumulate in my head Katamari Damacy style.
Trust the process.
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Before the links, a quick heads up that past, present (and future?) collaborators Lee Robson, Bryan Coyle and Bolt-01 had Velicity Jones: The Godcutter Affair arriving on both ComiXology and GumRoad recently.
Previously the strip was part of David Lloyd’s Aces Weekly with the first volume also available on ComiXology and GumRoad.
This is the second Velicity Jones adventure, an old-school, pulp, spy-fi with shades of Bond and Blaise, all laid out in a wonderful landscape formatted page. The format gives Bryan’s art a real chance to shine, giving the set pieces space and clarity. Good stuff with more to come!
Links
No, They Weren’t Dead the Whole Time: An oral history of Lost’s daring, divisive finale, our last truly communal broadcast TV experience.
https://www.vulture.com/article/lost-series-finale-oral-history-the-end.html
I had to include this. Lost, as many of you know, is one of my ur-texts and a large reason why I write. I have argued and bonded over this show with complete strangers, relatives and people I consider friends.
It will not shock you to know that I consider the finale a fitting end to the show. I never got the hate. The strangeness drew many in (the polar bears, the smoke monsters, Dharma) but it was the characters that ensured many stayed.
It was great to read this piece at Vulture and have all of the memories come flooding back. Now that the show is on Disney Plus, a rewatch may be on the cards.
Sidenote: Terriers is also on Disney Plus. Binge it. Thank me later.
{Interview} Taking Back Control: Steve Stred talks to the brilliant Adam Nevill.
Ignore the Brexity type headline, this is a cracking interview with horror author Adam Nevill. The most interesting aspects of the interview here are Nevill’s thoughts on self-publishing via his Ritual Ltd company.
What is an NFT? – Everything You Need to Know about Crypto Media and Tokens
https://www.timstodz.com/what-is-an-nft/
Now, when someone asks you at a social gathering (we’re still not allowed to have them here on plague island) about NFTs you can answer them.
HOW SHANE BLACK’S LOVE LETTER TO 1970S CRIME FICTION PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON ROBERT TERRALL
Shane Black and crime paperbacks is a hard yes from me.
Mike Duncan on History, Revolutions, and the Future
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/02/mike-duncan-on-history-revolutions-and-the-future
Current Affairs interviewed the awesome Mike Duncan recently on their podcast. This is the transcript. Check out Mike’s podcasts. They are both fantastic.
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A bit of a short one this week. My reading queue is heaving right now in terms of long-form articles. So I’m off to binge-read. See you in two!