Cloud Printing

I'm off to another wedding tomorrow (what is it about 2010 that made everyone get hitched? Do they know something I don't about the end of the world? That 2012, right?) so here are a few quick links to keep you brain active.


Jan Chipchase on Cloud Printing
"whilst its not socially acceptable today, in time someone will subsidise the cost of individual prints by inserting subtle advertising by manipulating your photos."


The Leith Festival is on this weekend and my agents are sponsoring the Literature Festival. If you get the chance, pop down. 


Now, get off the interweb and back to work. 

Robots and Weird Laws

Robotics developers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich's
Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control have built autonomous robots
that drive, dock with their peers on the ground, then fly into the air
in coordinated swarms.... http://tinyurl.com/2w42fcy

DivineCaroline.com has a list of 50 weird US laws, including the
following:
Alabama: It's illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in
church.
Alaska: Whispering in someone's ear while he's moose hunting is
prohibited.
Arkansas: It's illegal to mispronounce the name of the state of
Arkansas.
California: You may not eat an orange in your bathtub.
Florida: If you tie an elephant to a parking meter, you must pay the
same parking fee as you would for a vehicle.

'Cell'

'Juvie' 2 is currently titled 'Cell', which when you read the book will make much more sense as it has a double meaning. I'm currently about 11k words in and going strong. The book has a more dirty urban feel to it and it opens up a concept about the 'Governors' that is only hinted about in the first book.

You’ll also notice lots of new short blog post here as I’m having a go at posting them in via mail so ensure all my links and ideas are in one place. Some of them might be of interest to you.

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Wasting Time

Great little comic from Luke Ferenc which sums up mine and many others feelings about the internet

Nollywood

Nollywood is said to be the third largest film industry in the world, releasing onto the home video market approximately 1 000 movies each year. Such abundance is possible since films are realized in conditions that would make most of the western independent directors cringe. Movies are produced and marketed in the space of a week: low cost equipment, very basic scripts, actors cast the day of the shooting, “real life” locations. Despite the improvised production process, they continue to fascinate audiences. In Africa, Nollywood movies are a rare instance of self-representation in the mass media. From Pieter Hugo

Ideas are Immortal by Alan Moore

Ideas are immortal, or at least as long lived as the culture that comes up with them, whereas the objects, the monuments and even empires those ideas inspire are transient by comparison.

Though I don't agree with all Alan say's, this is an article worth digging out.

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Finally got around to reading Warren Ellis’s and got introduced to the character Spider Jerusalem (interesting as I have a character called Spider in ‘Juvie’), one of my favourite new characters in comics. He’s a gonzo journalist of a the future, a drop out city survivalist who has to return to write those books he promised his editors. It’s anarchic laugh-out-loud with plenty to say about society and where it’s going.

Read this week

Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson

Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson

Minority Report Style System

Human computer interface.

Today's Links

Chinese mods. Turning corporate built hardware into free thought
hacked builds. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-06/1/chinese-pirates-are-tech's-new-innovators

Want something like this in Edinburgh.
TAM, or The Amazing Meeting is now an annual fundraising conference
that raises money for the James Randi Educational Foundation, which
promotes;
critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with
reliable information about pseudoscientific, paranormal and
supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.

http://tinyurl.com/39cjefg

Ink on Paper

This is a really interesting insight into the future of print/books etcetera from the blog of the graphic designer Frank Chimero:

• Question: What is the future of print design? How will the tangible, ink-on-paper pieces that designers love coexist with design on digital platforms in the years to come?

Things are changing. We want to know where it’s going. But, hell if I know, or any one else has more than a hunch. Craig Mod calls it the PRE/POST era and I think he’s right. As I’ve said before, we break stuff before we know what replaces it, and we invent things before we know what they are for. Maybe we’re now living in the future tense.
Next thing to clear up: Books are not music, so I’d stop looking to apply the patterns from that experience to ink on paper at a high level. (Though, it could work at a smaller level.) Music lacks a physical form, gained a physical form for a short while, and some people made loads of cash selling that artifact. Some people made bookoos of bucks selling stacks of vinyl and cassette tapes and CDs. But now music is moving back to the vaporous state from whence it came. Neat. Wait. Magazines are like that. Just sub out reams of paper. Damn it.
But not so much books. Literature requires an artifact, whether it’s ink on paper or e-ink on e-paper. We have to see the words with our eyes, which means they need to exist in meat-space. Maybe I’m overly romanticizing this. Books could be considered to be vaporous (storytelling has its roots in the oral tradition), but the idea of “story” is bigger than the idea of “ink on paper,” so you’d spread yourself too thin to think about where story is going to live in the future. (I’d say television is just as good a receptacle now for some stories. In fact, in some instances it’s better.) And, I’d say, really good literature requires an artifact. But that’s just me. I think quality creative work deserves a physical form that achieves some sort of permanence. It’s the reward for producing something good. I know reading Infinite Jest wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t have to pay the penance of carrying around that monolithic paper slab on the bus, and risk being judged terribly bookish by your neighbors sharing the ride. (Still haven’t read it. Going to give it a go again this summer. We can do this Frank, we can do this. This time!)
So let’s talk about ink on paper. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but here is what I want to see: I want to see things earn the privilege to be objects. If we have the option of things being “real” and “not real,” I want the real stuff to be really good. I want the times when ink hits paper to always be beautiful, useful, and desirable. It seems like such a shame to cut down a tree to print this Land’s End catalog, with the thin model coyly smiling at me on the back in her awkward swimsuit. I bet it bunches up in the wrong spots. It seems silly to give permanence to a thing that was meant to be ephemeral to begin with. This goes for junk mail, beach-books, handouts for students, whatever. If your shelf-life is shorter than forever and ever amen, I think we need to think about whether or not it needs to be printed. (Although, it is so damn nice to print something to proof-read it. But that’s a different story.)
If I’m thinking as a normal consumer, I don’t really care terribly much about what the future of ink on paper is going to be. I care about what the future of content is going to be. I want fuller, more thoughtful, more substantial, more enriching, more nourishing content. I want good stuff. I want stuff that doesn’t feel like a chew toy. I’d suppose that the only people who care about the future of ink on paper are the people who make their money (or not) selling the paper that has the ink on it. (Or if your magazine is named PRINT.) Those of us who consume the content, I’d suppose, don’t give much of a rat’s ass. We want convenience and access, and then after that quality.

It’s easy to think of a future where the predominance of ink on paper is minimized. And, as a designer who practices the kung fu of deciding how that ink gets slathered on that paper, it’s scary. But, here is my tip to you: stop thinking of yourself as a print designer. You’re not designing for print. You’re designing for content.

Also on CarrollBlog

Holiday Weekend

Ahhh Bank Holiday Weekend. Rain, cold winds, and nothing on the TV. Just like I remember them as a kid. Luckily I have plenty to keep me busy as I'm working my way through 'Juvie 2'. Currently getting about 6-7,000 words done a week. Not a lot, but I tend to edit on the run so a lot goes down and is then dumped when I read it through again. I'm considering titles and will probably change it many times before I'm happy.
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What's a book to become in the 21st century post internet and network media revolution?... How does one introduce the connected and computational user experience of digital media into the paper book, to actualise it, widen its scope, and engage the reader in new ways?
Bertrand Duplat & Etienne Mineur


What's in your bag? 


A perfect little animation about love called Crater Face:

Crater Face from Skyler Page on Vimeo.


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I've never read any Richard Kadrey before. Sandman Slim is the story of bad dude who pulls himself out of hell after being tricked into his own death by his so called magician friends. He's back for revenge, and having trained to kill the demons of the pit, he's angry and ready for action. It's a quick, thrill a minute read, with a dark alternative LA hipster feel to the writing and characterisation. That said his main character ain't too bright and it does feel like he's just putting off what needs to be done.


The Charlie Parker thriller is a highlight of my reading year and The Whisperers is just as good as anything that has come before. It's the assured voice of Connolly's writing, his ability to take what could be a well written thriller and turn it into something more. Parker investigates the apparent suicides of a recently return from Iraq soldier and soon finds similar deaths, and then someone tries to scare him off. Not a good idea with Parker. He calls in help from New York and sets about uncovering the truth. At the same time a deformed figures looms from the darkness. Clever, dark and continuous of the Parker myth.


Read this week:
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
The Whisperers by John Connolly

Look what just arrived...

Beer and saki

Links for Today

Interesting idea. Computers and creatures sharing the same virus: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-05/26/scientist-infects-himself-with-a-computer-virus

Mmmmm... dried zombie meat: http://pinktentacle.com/2010/05/zombie-meat/

Kim Alsbrooks White Trash series: http://juxtapoz.com/Meighan+OToole/22138-kim-alsbrooks

A partial map of the TARDIS. Which might come in handy in the future: http://community.livejournal.com/dwfiction/2794749.html?view=2658301#t2658301

From the desk of...

Testing mail to Blogger

Quick history of publishing: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audioslideshow/2010/may/24/publishing-history-20th-century

Douglas Adams. Much missed. Please carry your towel responsibly: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/25/douglas-adams-towel-day

Missing, No More

I’m suffering from a cold which might be partially the fault of strong Belgian beer and the lack of sleep I’ve had over the last few weekends. Anyway, as I spend my Sunday snotting and hawking up the odd lung, you’ll be glad to know that, “Juvie” is now with my agent and I’m waiting to hear back.

As is the way of many small publishers, Libros has gone into liquidation which means copies of ‘The Missing’ are now no longer available. If you have one you hold something quite rare. That said I think I know where I can get hold of six remaining copies. So if you don’t already have one, drop me a line and I’ll see what can be arranged.

I’ve spent most of this week sketching and writing my brother’s best man speech in time for the wedding next weekend. I might need to sacrifice some more virgins to ensure travel (I’m running low in Edinburgh).

Links galore:

Free novels on the internet

Behance Gallery's

Online magazines with Zinio and Yudu

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And Another Thing is the Eoin Colfer written part six of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s not bad, but (and this wasn’t a surprise) it’s no patch on the original. It’s like the concept was passed through an Adams-o-matic machine. It’s essence of Douglas, and I’m not sure whether anyone should have bothered. Colfer is a pretty good author in his own right, but Adams was something else, a once in human history writer.

The Road is one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time but never got around to it, which is a shame as it’s brilliant. Beautifully written, sparse, with an undercurrent of approaching sorrow. Sci-fi in the sense it’s set in an unnamed future after something terrible has happened that wipes out most of the human population, the world turned grey in a possible nuclear winter, it tells the continuous journey of a a father and his young son. A mesmerising work of art.

Pandemonium is the new Hellblazer, set in the difficult and challenging world of Iraq, sucide bombers and insurgents. Delano is one of the best Constantine authors around, with tight scripts that bring the old weathered magician to life. The art work by Jock is almost worth buying it for in the first place.

Read this week:

And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hellblazer: Pandemonium by Jamir Delano & Jock

The Digital Economy Bill

I recently wrote an email to my MP (Alistair Darling) about the Digital Economy Bill (DEB). He wrote back to me requesting more details and so today I sent him this letter. Anyone who wants to send their MP a letter feel free to copy it (this at least is copyright free):

Dear Alistair Darling,

Many thanks for your reply to my email dated Sunday 4th April re: the Digital Economy Bill. I know that the Bill has now come been passed but I want you to understand the serious ramifications and implication that the Bill contains. My main points are below:

1. The bill seems to have been designed to satisfy the requirements of the entertainment industry and victimise the public. The ‘three-strike’ rule is unfair without proof or evidence by trial. The government does not have the right to say who is guilty without recourse to law. £50,000 fines are also too much when it is almost impossible to say who is liable when an internet connection is shared.
2. Making ISPs spy on their customers again in support of the entertainment industry is heinous. They don’t have the right to record what I look at online, just incase. It will also have a detrimental effect upon shops, cafes and restaurants offering open public wifi. The UK Government should be leading us into a Britain where access to the internet is enabled for all, this will seriously stunt any growth in this area.
3. There is nothing in the Bill about stimulating the digital economy. We need everyone connected to the net via cheap, fast broadband. This will stimulate growth and commerce. Also as a new writer trying to build up a public profile I work and create new media stimulated by digital access. Copyright rules can get in the way of this ability to create new things.

I really don’t believe that the Bill has been given due consideration and it was pushed through without rigourous debate. We have a great wealth of tech-savvy creators in this country, individuals who understand the future that the net will give us far better than politicians. I don’t believe you’ve listen to these people enough and have instead merely taken into account the wants of big business.

Sincerely yours,

Adam J. Shardlow

***

I'll let you know if he replies.

Busy, busy, busy - Wrong, wrong, wrong

Busy, busy, busy so here's some stuff to look at along with a few quick book reviews.

• A short Dr Who comic from Rob Davis illustrating the appeal of the Time Lord.
• Article about the advances in 3D printing. Soon you'll just fire one of these babies up and produce anything.
• Article about how not to get a dead person through an airport and on to a plane. Sounds like the start of a novel.
• Dialogue and how to keep it natural.
• An art gallery on your computer.
• Free music from Ithaca Trio.
• Free comics Sin Titulo, Power Out, The Guns of Shadow Valley, Bayou.

Right off to write to my MP (Alistair Darling for those interested) about the Digital Economy Bill and how it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

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Comic protests that takes you around the world. Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption is a comic collective who take on some serious projects and present them in a sympathetic way. Some better than others.

A short from Warren Ellis, Aetheric Mechanics feels like one of those ideas he had and dashed of quickly before it vanished from his vast brain. It's short and blunt but as usual clever and well presented.

I love Tomine austere art work in Sleepwalk. Fine lines with deep blacks that remind me Charles Burns. Good story telling as well.

Solipsistic Pop collection no 1. Some good, some not so, but good enough so that I'll buy collection no. 2.

Flinch is another collection this time from Australia. Only a couple were brilliant but some good stuff from Tan as usual.

A dark noir thriller set in the mind. The Manual of Detection is a brilliant idea, cleverly executed by a new author worth looking out for. Think Kafka with Bogart in it. Well presented book as well which is nice to see.

****

Read this week:

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption by various

Aetheric Mechanics by Warren Ellis

Sleepwalk and other Stories by Adrian Tomine

Solipsistic Pop by Various

Flinch by various

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry

Easter Eggs

I've spent the Easter weekend knocking about the 'Juvie' manuscript. I'm making several significant changes, several structural revisions and adding in new scenes. This is going to take some time so I haven't seen much of world this weekend. However here's a list of stuff I recommend:

Dr Who - new series with Matt Smith looks good, really good (which is a relief). Moffat seems to have a good handle on the darker character led stories and Smith looks suitably alien in the role.

Great writing music to download from Ithaca Trio. Ambient and calming when all the world is in uproar. Download their new album Tesla Versus the Night.

If you haven't already make sure you sign up to the Open Rights Group and help stop the Digital Economy Bill. It's not ready yo be released yet and in it's current format it will mean innocent people (such as yourself) being cut off the internet without any trial or recourse. This can't happen. The bill is being voted on tomorrow so you don't have much time. If you can, email your MP.

And if you want a chocolate brownie sent straight to your front door order them from my friend Emily at Sugarmonkey. She kindly sent over some scanned photos of us on holiday. I've barely changed to be honest.

****

Finally got around to reading some Philip K. Dick. Everyone knows Bladerunner (and if you don't - be ashamed of yourself) but Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep differs in several ways from the film. Familiar traits still exist but Dick's world is perhaps not so futuristic as dingy and decaying whilst humans just want to get ahead in life on a dying world. Deckard is more of company man than a shrewd detective and the replicants more confused as to why they exist. That said the book is good and feels only slightly dated having been written back in 1968.

Mesmo Delivery is quick read about an ageing Elvis impersonator and a tough delivery guy and what is in their truck. It's violent and funny and has art work to die for. Whilst the story is slight it's the scribbly lines and sepia tints that keep you enthralled. All written and drawn by Rafael Grampa who is going to be big.

Read this week:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Mesmo Delivery by Rafael Grampa

Going Commando

I’m away from my desk for the next four days and only keeping in touch via the odd twitter (@MiddleManLost) update and Facebook detail.

I’m away down south on my brother’s stag do, which involves several hours running around woodland in khaki green and shooting each other with paint balls in displays of manliness. There will be much in the way of grunting and the scratching of hairy chests and balls as we revert to primal instincts. If you’ve ever met me you will know that me taking part in such an activity is either hilarious or down right scary.

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I’ve been in research mode looking into ‘stuff’ for the follow up to “Juvie,” as well as several other things I have going on in my head at the moment which includes the comic book, a TV show idea and a work of non-fiction. Hopefully at least one of them will get off the ground. I’ve been using Evernote to store stuff ‘on the cloud.’ It’s okay but I’m having trouble linking stuff the way I want it. If anyone has any experience of using it drop me a note on the web link.

Right, I’m off to sharpen my hip knife, check the tension on my choke wire and prime my grenades for action. I leave you with a book review.

****

Stephen Smith is a reporter for News Night and his detailed analysis of the world he sees around him often slips into the writing of ‘Underground London.’ This non-fiction work looks at some of the oddities that exist underneath the capital and, whilst in no way is it exhaustive, it does visit some of the better known attractions. At times he does seem to spend an inordinate amount of time above ground and only really descends into the sewers, tube network and the odd basement. He also has a habit of going off at a bit of a tangent but it’s an interesting, thoughtful work with the odd moment of humour.

Read this week:

Underground London by Stephen Smith

I promise I've been busy

I know, I know...it's been a long time, but I've been busy. Honestly I have.

At about 4.00pm yesterday I finished the current updates to 'Juvie'. They've taken me a little over a month but the story had to grow. Now I've introduced a new character 'Spider', whilst several others have changed their reason for being. Ben (the main character) has become more of himself and he now has a damning reason to go back to Greenville.

The town has shrunk and become battered and bruised, whilst the world they inhabit has grown exponentially and opened up the story for book 2 and book 3.

Overall I think it's much better. More rounded and carefully crafted. Madame Vin will read it for me over the next few days and then I'll send it to my agent. Whilst the book is with him I'll start drafting ideas for book two and three and play around with a few other ideas I have.

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Somethings to look at whilst you're here:

A great short video in which Stephen Fry discusses Christian faith and religion. It's an emotive subject and for which I am firmly in the atheist camp. I've been watching 'The Bible' on channel 4 on Sunday and found the documentaries for the most part well made and intelligent. I watched them like history programmes as they help open an area of the world that I'm not too familiar with, but I don't believe that Jesus is the son of God. That is a myth, a story; a beautiful and moral one, but a story none the less. I have no problems with people who want to believe in Jesus or a prophet, God or any other religious entity. It just doesn't work for me. I know the world to be amazing and complex enough via nature and explainable forces.

A selection for great short films including LogoRama (which I've been told has won an Oscar. Was that just yesterday?), Lost Things starring the lovely Alison Sudol and the song 'Sleepwalking' by A Fine Frenzy and a 1000 Awesome Things that I mostly agree with, but I imagine they missed out the Bridge scene in Manhattan which I watched yesterday and is, well awesome.

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Finished off a few book series this last few weeks including Hutson's Joe Pitt and Carey's Felix Castor books. Both are similar in that they deal with supernatural beings that exist in the real world and both books are written as thrillers.

My Dead Body is as usual, noirish, violent and full of fast lines. The vampire communities are in disarray after Pitt's last adventure and he has been spending his days and nights hidden away from his lover in the sewers of NY. Brought out with the chance to redeem himself, Pitt as usual finds himself the pawn in a game of politics that might end up with him and half of Manhattan dead. Fast and mean the story goes in the direction you expect, but has lots of fun getting there.

The Naming of the Beasts is a little slower to build as Castor reacts to the events that ended the last of the series. There's a demon after him only this demon is riding inside his best friend and wants to kill both of them. Having to give up on his morals and join the enemy Castor needs to end the possession that kick started his career. Bit of a predictable ending but great fun along the way.

Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth is an independent comic book production by new writers and artists. I picked it up becuase the front cover reminded me of Hellblazer. The story involves Morely, a man stuck between real London and Cancertown, an alternative world that he can enter due to the huge tumour he has in his head. It's not bad. The writing starts off good with plenty of intriguing ideas but it eventually runs out of steam and that last part of the story feels rushed. The cover work is great but the art inside needs work. That said those involved are names to look out for in the future.

****

Read this week:

My Dead Body by Charlie Huston

The Naming of the Beasts by Mike Carey

Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth by Dethan, Downey, Cook & Wilkinson.

Still writing "Juvie" and Rarely Coming Up for Air

Still working away at "Juvie". It's taking in some interesting ideas and real making me examine the way I write. I'm trying to inhabit the characters more, feel my way through the novel using their eyes, react to events with their prejudices and experiences. It's hard work but my writing is better because of it. I'm also getting a more measured feel for the world they inhabit, one not that different from our own. They love and cry, hate and think the same as us so therefore their environment would be similar. I'm trying to keep as far away from one dimensional characters faced with obvious decisions to make as possible.

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman is a book suggested to me by my agent. It's an alternative history book, the imagery of black and white role reversal being played out in a world similar to our own. It's YA or at least for older children and the main characters represent the age group of the audience. At it's heart is a Romeo and Juliet story between Callum (a nought and white) and Sephy (a cross and black). It's an apartheid culture that will keep the two apart and from the outset its obvious their difficult relationship is going to become a disaster as they age and face the world they live in.

I found the main characters a little bit too vanilla and their immediate landscape I kept imagining as the Southern US, when I think it was the UK (but this is probably me just putting my own experiences onto the book). The writing is excellent, but the kids aren't allowed to be themselves. I just didn't think they would have spoken in that way. An interesting idea but one that feels just a little bit too contrived.

John O'Farrell is a comedian I'm familiar with from his numerous appearances on Radio 4. He also writes history books, one of which is a tour through 2000 years of British history. His angle is that most of the disastrous decisions made have been by upper class idiots with little in the way of thoughts for the people they represent. This is GCSE level history but its very funny in places.

****

Read this week

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain or 2000 years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge by John O'Farrell

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

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.

****

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.

****

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.

****

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

Christmas in a Good Catchment Area

Well I was going to do a long rambling post about how book sales were going and 'Juvie' was coming along, talk about this little film and it's relation to 'DarkFather', how I found this very funny, and give an in depth run down of my Christmas hopes and fears - but unfortunately I've been laid to waste with a cold, so I haven't done anything and I'm off to Munich tomorrow.

So instead I've written your own Christmas story. Enjoy.

Christmas in a Good Catchment Area

By Adam J. Shardlow

The boy opened the door and stared at the large black leather boots that stood upon the welcome mat.

‘Who is it?’ Came the call from over his shoulder.

Looking up past the heavy brocade trousers, the colour a deep burgundy russet, and the large barrel chest wrapped in a fur trimmed cloak, to the voluminous white beard that spilled downwards and frothed and curled elaborately around red tinted cheeks and deep set blue eyes, the boy smiled with delight.

‘I’ll see to it,’ came a second male voice as the boy’s father stepped up to the door.

The boy looked around the rotund figure to the antiquated sledge that was parked across their drive, eight reindeer pawing at the snow covered ground, steam and twinkling slipstream sparking off their flanks.

‘Ah - I see. We give to a set of charities by direct debit every month,’ said the boy’s father eyeing the imposing mythical seven foot figure standing by the replica boot scraper. ‘Rwanda and a couple of animal charities.’

‘It’s Santa,’ said the boy smiling and pointing upwards.

‘No - it’s just someone dressed as him. What have we told you about pointing?’

‘Who is it?’

They were joined at the door by an elegantly dressed woman in a figure complimenting suit, elaborate hair coiffured into position.

‘Santa,’ said the boy slightly more insistently.

‘It’s someone collecting for Christmas - sorry, you didn’t say which charity?’

‘But we’ve already given,’ she added.

‘I’ve told him that.’

‘It’s very late to be knocking on doors - we are a Neighbourhood Watch area, you know.’

‘THIS PLACE - IT WAS NOT HERE THE LAST TIME,’ said the figure dramatically.

‘Oh,’ said the wife as the voice rumbled through the house like a sound from some ancient poem.’

‘I see - he’s foreign,’ muttered the husband. ‘We’re a new build. Finished this year, good commuting distance to the city,’ he added in a slow and methodical manner, ‘and the schools are excellent. It’s really a very good catchment area.’

‘THE CHILDREN AND THE ORPHANAGE.’

‘Is that what it used to be - we didn’t know? They’ll have all gone now. Would you like some tea?’ Asked the wife, the politeness out of her mouth before she could stop it.

‘Bit late to be out,’ mentioned the father noticing that one of the reindeer was chewing on the hedge, another defecating on the drive. ‘I suppose, you have to pass all sorts of tests now to do this sort of job. You know, get the ‘little children’ test. It’s political correctness gone mad, I say’

‘GONE?”

‘Yes, completely mad.’

‘Santa!’

The boy put out a hand to touch the giant but found it pulled back by his mother who smiled discreetly.

‘What have we told you! Santa’s not real, he’s just a left over from a Judo-Christian myth. Sorry about that, it’s hard to keep them focused. That’s a very good suit by the way. Did you have it specially made?’

‘ALL GONE?”

‘You’re not ‘The Round Table’ are you, as we’re not members but our neighbours are and we always thought it looked good decent fun - perhaps you could put in a word?’

‘I WILL FIND THEM ALL THIS VERY NIGHT.’

‘Really? They’re making you work all night? Seems harsh - I suppose you don’t have much in the way of union representation?’

‘Santa?’

‘TONIGHT IS AS LONG AS IT NEEDS BE.’

‘Well, if they’re paying above the minimum then I suppose it’s all right.’

The figure bowed elaborately before putting a hand deep within a hidden pocket and pulling out a gift wrapped in bright green paper and tied with a perfect red crepe bow.

‘FOR YOU, SAMUEL’ he said, and placed it in the boys outstretched hand.

‘Oh you don’t have to, really,’ said the wife.

‘How much do we owe you?’ Added the husband resentfully.

The large mythical being turned and trudged back to his sleigh, small bells at his calves jingling the sound of Christmas deep into the night.

The door was closed to keep out the cold as the boy opened his present.

‘How did he know his name?’ Asked the father, reaching for the phone and dialling the police. ‘That’s really not right at all.’

The boy gasped with awe at his first present of the night, an exquisitely carved soldier in a red suit with a high black hat, a rifle over his shoulder. He smiled and stroked it carefully and held it up for his mother to inspect.

‘Oh, I do hope that’s Fair Trade.’

I'm Not a Natural Runner

It’s turned very cold and wet here. This has the disadvantage of keeping me away from any kind of exercise that involves going outside. I’m not a natural runner, finding it a laborious and not enjoyable past time, however that said I feel my writing improves if I get regular exercise. When it’s dark at four in the afternoon I’m even less inclined to go out. I went yesterday morning but it was a woeful attempt. The advantage is that I get lots of stuff done, and so plenty of press releases for ‘The Missing’ have gone out and ‘Juvie’ is getting its rewrites done.

The Missing is now available from Blackwell’s.

Over at Forbidden Planet they have an interesting link to interviews with Joe Sacco and Eddie Campbell.

Plus Kate Griffin has some very sane and sensible things to say about the Protection of Children Act 1999.