I was talking to my agent the other day...

I've had some encouraging news recently after "Juvie" was read by a well respected agent. On the back of that I am now being represented by Edwin Hawkes of The McKernan Agency. This means several things. Firstly my ability to get work in front of publishers has just gone from almost impossible to likely. Secondly it means I have someone off which to bounce ideas and gain a better understanding of the business and the market place. At the same time it now means a work like "Juvie" has to be rewritten, almost from scratch, to incorporate a larger world view. This is necessary for it be a viable project but also very scary as I really have to think about everything within. For the first time I'm thinking about each and every word as I place them on the page, I thinking about the ideas behind the story and how they interact and move the plot forward. I'm judging the characters, rewriting some, introducing new ones and killing off those that just don't fit. Everything has to be stood on its head and kicked about in the back of my brain and prodded and poked until I'm happy with them. This means that if you talk to me at the moment I have a tendency to act a little vacant and off hand. I am listening but at the same time I feel like I'm elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong I understand that just because I now have an agent that doesn't mean a publishing deal for "Juvie", but it's a step in the right direction and I can't help but be just a little bit excited.

So now I'm tied to my desk and probably won't resurface until later in the year.

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Of course I still have time to have a quick look around the interweb and pick out some interesting digital vacations:

An interview with Charlie Huston is available of Vimeo. Part one here and part two here.

Huston's Joe Pitt novels have become one of my recent favourite quick reads (see below) and it looks as if he is a writer with many ideas yet to explore.

There is also a long look at Gaiman available from the New Yorker, though I think there is a few inaccuracies in the facts.

I've also been reading some of the free mags available on Issuu which I've mentioned before but is worth a visit, and I've been reading Coilhouse' website and want to order a copy but they've sold out of their most recent edition so will have to wait until next month.

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Every Last Drop, the penultimate novel in the Joe Pitt saga is as edgy, quick-witted and violent as the others. Pit has been cast out of Manhattan and finds himself in the hinterland of the Bronx, a lawless place that soon has him wanting to return. To do so will require debts being paid off and they aren't going to be cheap. As usual it's out of the frying pan and straight into the roaring inferno. Great sharp storytelling.

V for Vendetta is now famous. I first read it twenty years ago and I'm not sure I really understood it back then. Personally I think it's better than Watchmen. Perhaps this is due to its UK setting but I certainly find it more accessible than much of Moore's other work. It reminds me of John Wyndham's work, only more working class and with less chance of redemption. A classic work, though the art work feels old fashioned.

Read this week:

Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

The Missing - Signing

Had a signing last night at The Illicit Still. Many thanks to those who came and thanks to all the staff at the venue. If you're ever in the need of a good little pub in Edinburgh get yourself to this small and cosy pub.

I've put a video below from the evening.

Hopefully I'll have some more signings soon. I'll keep you posted.

Flip video No: 1

Messing around with my new Flip HD camera and iMovie.

Release Night Coming Soon

Probably too difficult to read the small print, but basically if you are in Edinburgh next week:

Adam J. Shardlow will be signing advance copies of his novel THE MISSING at the Illicit Still, 2 Brougham Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JH. Wednesday, January 13, 5.30pm to 7.00pm. Pre-ordered copies will be available for collection.

New Year and Restless

Christmas came and went with a woosh, speeding past in a blur of panicked visits to airports, sitting on planes, much German food (mainly sausage of one sort or another), a long trip down south across a country blanketed white, with frozen windscreen nozzles and long delays for accidents. Visits to hospital to check on my Father-in-law, see my Grandmother, and the rest of the family. Helping to clear a house out, cooking a ham and a long trip back north.

New year came and went with a woosh, speeding past but spending a pleasant evening out for dinner and finding two big boxes filled with copies of my first novel ‘The Missing’ delivered to a neighbour and no contact at all with my publisher.

‘Juvie’ has also been finished.

So all in all, I don’t feel very rested and I’m probably in need of a break, but I have far too much to do and still not enough hours in the day.

I also forgot to make any kind of New Year resolution.

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I did get to do a bit of reading so here’s a quick run down:

God of Clocks, third in the series in ‘The Deepgate Codex’ is complicated by time shifts. Hell is still a fully realised horrific place and Carnival is still the best character, but in other areas I wanted more.

Asterios Polyp is one of best comics I’ve read in a long time. Carefully crafted, whimsical but full of depth and interest. Clever and amazing.

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch, is slight and probably not worthy of being turned into a single comic book. It should have been left as a short story. Though interesting to see Jonathon Ross and his wife in comic book format.

Batman: War Games Act One, is classic Batman with a full cast of character and plenty of punch.

Pictures that Tick is a series of short works by Dave McKean. Here you can see his evolution as an artist and comic book creator as he tries different ways in which to present stories and experiments with the form. A thrilling book.

No Dominion and Half the Blood of Brooklyn, are books two and three in the Joe Pitt saga, vampyre and Chandler-esque bad boy in New York City. Fast paced with cool dialogue and thrilling to the end.

Read this Week:

God of Clocks by Alan Campbell

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Todd Klein.

Pictures that Tick by Dave McKean

No Dominion and Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston