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

Copulating woodland creatures

Been working my way through the new novel ‘Juvie’. I’ve about finished the second draft but still need to add in a couple of ideas I had whilst writing it and was too far on to go back. After that I’ll have a short break before printing it off and having a read through before the third rewrite.

I’ve heard that ‘The Missing’ is at the printers but still have no confirmed date for its release. I’m hoping before Christmas, but you never know with the publishers.

'the small print' has sold 900 copies and you can now buy it online. If you haven't already got a copy please get one as all the money goes to charity. You can order it from www.thesmallprint.com

Things to look at this week include:

Issuu is place where artists and authors publish all sorts of works from magazines to comics, to piece of art to short stories many completely free. This is something I’m interested in as I find the modern way of publishing might well be on its last legs. I don’t think we’ll stop buying printed material but the old fashioned publisher trying to sell his books to a few chain stores and then paying for advertising just can’t carry on. Publishing is coming back to the masses. Anyway have a look around and tell me if you see anything interesting.

An article about how a lot of literary authors write a novel. Some strange ideas out there but I guess you find what works best for you.

And another about how comic books are not just for geeks. As if you didn’t know already. this article refers to COMICA: The London International Comics Festival which sounds brilliant and I wish I was going to.

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The new Terry Pratchett is a Discworld novel that starts as if it’s been written by someone else. All the usual tropes are present, but it feels as if its been filtered through muslin or else it’s an echo of Pratchett. The reason for this is that he dictated large chunks of the novel and an assistant wrote them up. However once ‘Unseen Academicals’ gets going the whole thing settles down and the work becomes pure Pratchett.

Like all his later works this deals with big themes and its only tokenistically about football delving as it does into a discussion of sexism and racism. The novel introduces several new characters and sets its self up for a return to below stairs at Unseen University.

‘Tales from Outer Suburbia’ is a lovely book by Shaun Tan. Like his other works these fall into books for both adults and children alike with the most wonderful strange art work. This is a book of short stories with tales about strange stick creatures, a visit to the end of the world and a visiting marine mammal things are always strange yet never sinister in this great book.

A new work by Bryan Talbot is always worth a read and ‘Grandville’ is no exception. I mean it’s steampunk with badgers - you can’t ask for better than that. Part Sherlock Holmes, part Rupert the Bear and a dash of Tarantino, Talbot introduces us to Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard. Brilliant art work, great dialogues and copulating woodland creatures. Brilliant.

Harvey Pekar can be a bit depressing. He obsesses about everything and worries too much. He’s kind of a working man’s Woody Allen however rather than films his anxiety Harvey turns them into comic art and has produced ‘American Splendor’ for about as long as I’ve been alive. The art work is by several different artist including Crumb, but the voice is always Pekar’s as complain and kvetches about life.

Finally, we have the new children’s book by John Connolly of Charlie Parker fame. ‘The Gates’ is about science and myth and religion all running into one. CERN have accidently allowed a demon to open up a portal in a small English town so that she can bring about the end of the world. Unfortunately she has aroused the suspicion of young Samuel Johnson and his dog, Boswell. Explaining the science as he goes along this is a comedy in the vain of Pratchet with many asides and explanations of scientific principles. When it’s good it’s hilarious, the best character being the put upon demon Nurd, but not all the jokes work.

Read this week:

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar

The Gates by John Connolly