Does doing what you love stop the sad?
Spoilers: no.
NEWS:
PARALLELS IS OUT THIS WEEK!! Yep, we’re only days from my third baby1 being set free into the world. But believer it or not, it’s STILL NOT TOO LATE to pre-order your copy and let my publisher sleep a bit easier at night.
Didn’t make The Guardian, didn’t make SFX, but who needs them when you make the New Scientist’s Best New Sci-fi of May 2025 list?? Kudos to publicist Hannah for that one!
ON WRITING:
I’m writing this at 9.20pm Friday night, with a very early morning call tomorrow2 for our day at the Forum selling Ray Adams books (and a handful of James Kinsleys).
I’m looking forward both to the event, and to the event being over. While I’ve already written off the outlay in my head, so I have no expectations and any money I make tomorrow is a bonus, I do nevertheless on some level appear to have found the preparation a bit stressful. The fact it’s come at virtually the same time as Parallels is due out probably hasn’t helped.
It’s one of those moments of stress that feels rootless. If you were to ask me if I’m stressed about either of those things, my gut reaction would be an honest ‘no’. Yet the truth is I have had a couple of rough weeks and it’s only appropriate to at least consider the possibility that these things are contributing to a downturn in my mental condition. Not a huge one, but a noticeable one.
So I fully intend to spend Sunday doing something super fun and relaxing. Probably knocking up this bad boy which I got for my birthday back in April and haven’t gotten around to making yet.
I sometimes wonder if the stress is worth it, but the truth is if I wasn’t stressing about being an author, I’d be stressing about something else3. The anxiety is a me thing, not a writing thing. While I know a lot of writers experience legitimate anxiety around issues to do with their writing, I’m biologically predisposed to being a bit of a downer. So the important thing to remind myself is that stopping writing won’t stop me being depressed or anxious. It’ll just stop me doing the thing I’ve wanted to do since I was a child. Which would be nuts4.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that doing something you love won’t stop you feeling bummed out. It won’t even stop you feeling bummed out about the thing you love. Don’t expect an outside thing to change you on the inside. Changing yourself on the inside is how you change your reaction to the outside thing.
I’m waffling, but it’s been a long week. Thank you if you came along to the Forum for the book fair, don’t forget my new book’s out next week, and let’s all try not to get too bummed out about life.
I have enjoyed:
Harry Hill - Sixty years old but with the energy of a man half his age, we saw the genius Harry Hill’s live show at the Theatre Royal last week. I honestly don’t recall crying that much in a theatre for a long time. The very definition of silly, hugely hilarious and absolutely committed to giving his audience the best experience. On tour well into September and so very, very worth it.
I like giant inflatable sausages, I like multiple six-foot Stouffers, but which is best? There’s only one way to find out… Catherine Maude Nichols - Also on until September is this exhibition at Norwich Castle. Somewhat overshadowed by the (very excellent) Colin Self exhibition running at the same time, it’s worth taking some time to give this a look as well. A lifelong inhabitant of Norwich, Nichols was a highly-accomplished print-maker, being only the third woman to be elected a Fellow of the Society of Painters-Etchers and, unusually for the time, able to sustain a successful professional career as an artist. Her drypoint etchings are just astonishing.
Etched into metal, soaked in ink and pressed into damp paper. Astonishing. Murder in Reverse? - Twenty-odd years before entering the blue box, William Hartnell was appearing in movies like this fascinating 1945 thriller about a man released from prison after fifteen years for a murder he didn’t commit, determined to clear his name. Alongside stalwarts of the era such as John Slater, Jimmy Hanley and Dinah ‘Don’t Wait Up’ Sheridan, this also features the excellently named Chili Bouchier, a star of the silent era, and a young Petula Clark. The movie’s an intriguing one, as it doesn’t revolve around finding the real killer, but instead proving that the victim isn’t actually dead. Some interesting questions, decent performances and a cracking ending all add up to a minor gem.
“I… always… preferred Troughton…” Thunderbolts* - Not quite the Second Coming of the MCU that some of the reviews suggest5, but the last twenty minutes or so elevate it above its, until that point, business-as-usual action. And kudos to absolutely nailing Sentry, perfectly used.
JLD - Nearly 65 and still the hottest dame in the room. I did, however, get properly pumped for James Gunn’s Superman…
You can purchase Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off.
Pre-order either of my upcoming titles from Deixis Press.
Ray Adams’ self-published books are available online.
This newsletter is currently free but obviously takes time to produce. If you’d like to support an indie author still finding his way, I have a Buy Me a Coffee account. Your call.
I also review books on my website, most of which are available through my affiliate book shop on uk.bookshop.org - it’s a great alternative to certain online leviathans owned by Trump-supporting billionaires, and supports independent bookshops. Affiliates also get a % of books sold through them, so go have a look.
Or eighth, depending how you’re counting.
Today, as you’re reading this. Unless you’re reading it after Saturday, in which case it’s yesterday, or even longer ago than that.
Not being an author, probably.
I’m in the MH community, I can use the n-word. That n-word, that is. Not the other one.
Does anyone else glaze over whenever Bucky rocks up? I mean, no offence to Sebastian Stan, it’s not on him, but the character is so… meh. Now, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker on the other hand…