Who Killed Nessie?

On September 18th, Avery Hill will be releasing a bookstore edition of Who Killed Nessie?, the graphic novel by myself and the great Rachael Smith.

You can pre-order it already from Amazon UK and Amazon US. And you can order it from all good bookstores and comic shops.

“The Loch Ness Monster has been murdered... it’s Lindsay’s first day on the job, but it’s up to her to solve the crime! It’s Lindsay Grockle’s first day as the manager of the Lakeview Hotel. Her boss has handed her the keys and departed for vacation. And then the convention attendees start showing up, each more peculiar than the last. Lindsay’s a confirmed skeptic—so she’s surprised to be woken up in the middle of the night by her convention attendees, telling her that there’s been a murder... of the Loch Ness Monster. The guests at the hotel are all cryptids from around the world, and now one of them is dead. Which means that one of them must be the murderer. And it’s up to Lindsay to solve the case!”

Those of you who backed the graphic novel on Zoop, don’t worry, you’ll be getting a unique edition with a different cover. (And you should be getting it first.)

Jill Mansell at Fairford Festival

On Saturday, June 7th at 2pm, as part of Fairford Festival in Gloucestershire, I’ll be interviewing bestselling romance author Jill Mansell about her career. (I’ll also be running the Festival Quiz on the Sunday night and doing a couple more bits and pieces too.) You can find out more info and buy tickets here.

Ace Jacket

I’ve contributed a short story to this anthology in aid of autism charities, edited by Sophie Aldred and Shawn J. Levy. It’s out on June 17th. You can read all about it and pre-order a copy here.

‘The Longest War’

That’s the title of the issue of Commando I’ve written, which is tentatively due to be released in August. The artist is the great Steve Yeowell, and it’s amazing work. I’m delighted to have contributed to this very exacting classic format. More news nearer the time!

Gnomes of Lychford and The Lychford Collection (Now with pre-order links!)

On 9th September, Tor.com Publishing is releasing the sixth book in my Lychford series of rural fantasy novellas, Gnomes of Lychford. It’s a re-editing of the serial I ran on this newsletter, and I’ve taken the opportunity to sort out a couple of little plot problems. I think it’s my best Lychford book, and, weirdly, it’s a great jumping-on point, because everything about the series is explained at the start. You can read all about it here.

And you can now pre-order!

“An unlikely group of supernatural creatures terrorizes the sleepy village of Lychford. Okay, they're gnomes. That's not a spoiler: you worked it out it from the title. When an ancient prophecy clashes with an unfortunate modern design aesthetic, the people of Lychford must band together to put out fires (both literal and metaphorical) to save their town before the king of the Gnomes (King Greg, and it's dangerous to laugh at a gnome) calls in the terms of an old promise. Trouble is: no one knows what the promise is, nor how to fulfil it. It's going to be a long night.”

And also up for pre-order, and out on the same day is The Lychford Collection, which contains my first three Lychford novellas. (Cover design for both by FORT.)

Thought Bubble

Our application has been accepted, so I’m pleased to say that Lizbeth Myles and I will once more be tabling at the wonderful Thought Bubble comic convention in Harrogate on November 15th and 16th.

Of Intrigue and Espionage

I have a story in this just-announced forthcoming volume from Stars and Sabers publishing, which is due out in October 2026. I’m in good company, as you can see from the full announcement here.

The Mighty Avengers Vs. the 1970s

I’ve got a book coming out from Bloomsbury that’s part of a new range of popular studies of Marvel Comics! The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s is fully illustrated with panels from the comics, and is my journey through how Marvel’s main super team navigated that difficult decade. (Release date, etc., TBA.) You can read the announcement here at AP News. This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time.

Telefantasy Time Jump

The new podcast from me and Lizbeth Myles covers the history of SFF on TV, from 1953 onward, with our regular episodes (on the 14th of every month) covering a show released that year in the UK, and the Patron Bonus episodes (on the 28th) covering a show from the rest of the world. The shows for April (covering 1956) will be The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and Playhouse 90. The main episode is available free wherever you get your podcasts. To get the bonus episode, you need to follow us on Patreon at £3/$3 or above. (And you get access to seven years of Hammer House of Podcast bonus episodes!) You can find all the info here.

My Ko-fi and eBay Stores

Here’s my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised, for shipping worldwide. And here’s my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices.

My Linktree

You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree!

The Work of Friends

Master of Evil is the forthcoming Star Wars novel by Adam Christopher, out in November. It looks absolutely gorgeous. Read all about it and pre-order here!

Starship Alexandria is the new podcast from authors Emma Newman and Adrian Tchaikovsky, in which they talk about one recommended work per episode, and another in an extra monthly episode for Patrons! (I wonder where they got that idea?)

And The Joy Who Lived is a curated month of Los Angeles based (but also livestreamed) comedy and theatre from a bunch of comedians and actors close to my heart (including Riley Silverman). It stands in opposition to a certain author who seems to enjoy crushing other peoples’ joy.

My Week

It was the first week of Thomas’ school holidays this week, which he wanted to spend in relative quiet (apart from a couple of trips out to get treats). He’s been doing lots of jigsaws and solo play, which worries me a little, but he has some resistance to the idea of outings right now. I feel this is recovery week, and next week (when Liz Myles is visiting, joyfully) we’ll get out and about a bit more.

Work-wise, I’ve finished what will hopefully turn out to be the last set of edits on the Marvel book, and have been carrying on revising the fantasy novel, before deadlines start to force me away from it. There’s some big stuff coming up, and I owe it my full attention.

So between childcare and work (though I’ve found I can revise the novel on my iPad while sitting with Tom), I’m guarding my free time jealously. It was an absolute joy, therefore, last Saturday, to get down to the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, the home of Hampshire County Cricket team, for the second day of the County Championship and their opening match against Yorkshire.

It’s a gorgeous venue, and given the attendances at CC matches, I expected, and got, the ability to park on the day, buy a ticket and sit just about anywhere. This is the four day version of cricket, where matches take place Friday-Monday, 11am to 6.30pm, with two innings each and breaks for lunch and tea. The rhythms of this game, where batters can pick their shots and wait out a tiring bowler, are different to those of fast-paced versions like T20. I took my seat, and found myself relaxing into the individual dramas in front of me - as Hampshire’s lower order batters first held out against the Yorkshire bowlers, with Captain Ben Brown deciding to attack when he lost partners down to a not-so-great batter at the other end - and then watched Hampshire’s bowlers devastate an on-paper excellent Yorkshire batting side (including England veterans Johnny Bairstow and Dawid Malan). I watched as right in front of me a horizontal screamer from Bairstow literally went through the cap of Nick Gubbins fielding on the boundary, resulting in him standing there, dazed, very aware that an inch lower might have killed him, and was called off for a concussion check. I saw the fielder substituting for him admit to failing to stop a catch hitting the ground a moment later, and being congratulated by the bowler for his honesty.

I watched the moon climb gradually across the sky, as the sun set behind the pavillion. I had a few micro-sleeps. I was close to nature, with the green of the pitch excellent and the cries of the seagulls distant. I had a local pie for lunch. I saw elderly members wander in in the afternoon, aware that the match had got to an exciting point. I saw a future I would love to live, where I could make that decision to just pop over to the cricket for a few hours. The deep relaxation that nature, pace, character and numbers produce is impossible to describe if you haven’t been there. I left utterly refreshed. Which I only afterwards realised I very much needed.

Hampshire went on to win the game the next day. I was cheering them remotely. They had been wonderful hosts.

To Be Continued

Let’s see what fun Liz’s visit will produce! And I hope to see you all next week!