Greyskin is a year old
Special publication anniversary issue
WRITING:
As my Facebook memories have been flagging all week, it’s been a year since we travelled down to London to launch Greyskin on an unsuspecting world.
Unsuspecting is the word. The biggest difference between the Greyskin launch and the affair we had for Playtime’s Over is that the latter was to an audience of mainly friends and family. For Greyskin, not only were we in London in front of a roomful of strangers, but we were also third on the bill1, so reading to an audience the majority of whom had no idea who I was and who, judging by their reaction to the word ‘orc’, had not expected to be regaled with any kind of fantasy literature that evening.
I won’t get on my genre high horse here, as I certainly was in mind to let anything spoil my mood that night. It was, so far as I was concerned, a great night, not least of all because I got to see some lovely people who had turned out for me, some of whom I’d not seen in years. There were a few drinks at the launch, signed a few books, had my pens stolen (swine!), followed by cocktails in the rooftop bar of our swank London hotel… Yes indeed, it was quite the fiesta. And a review in the Daily Mail! A mention in my beloved SFX magazine! I’d arrived!
Except, of course, the idea that I had arrived turned out to be, in any real sense, rather meaningless. Back to work on the Monday, normal life resumed and here I am a year later and what have I done with it? It’d be disingenuous to suggest I’d been sitting my laurels since then, but arguably I’ve lost some momentum. The post-publication depression only lasted a couple of months, but I didn’t so much spring back into action as slowly pull myself towards it.
Time rolls on. Go to Deixis Press’ Books page and Greyskin is already on the third row down. I’m currently working on getting something into shape that will get me a second entry on that cherished list. Not a follow-up to Greyskin, though a few people have expressed an interest in such a thing. I make no promises on that score, but I have had an idea or two.
That, a project I’m halfway through or thereabouts which might suit Propolis (my publisher for Playtime) and the next Ray Adams… so much up here (taps head) but not so much down here (points to laptop). But as this last year has shown, I am of an age now where the time genuinely does fly and, if I’m not careful, runs away with me completely. Head down, fingers tapping, let’s get going before I send out my Two Year Anniversary mail.
I remain indebted to Angel Belsey, Dexis Press’s formidable den mother, who took a chance on some fella she met on the internet and his collection of stories based on old cowboy movies and set, for reasons best known to himself, in a fantasy other-world. Angel’s belief in her writers is unassailable, and rightly so, because as I’ve said many a time, it’s a hugely impressive roster of talent she’s acquired in a relatively short time. I still have to pinch myself at times seeing my name among them. Time to repay that faith2.
Hot off the press:
As I write this on Wednesday evening, I’ve just received the link for the event I mentioned that I’m participating in in June. The Norwich Book Slam at the Anteros Arts Foundation on Fye Bridge street can be booked by clicking this link. While I naturally don’t expect anyone to pay ten pounds of their own money to see me, the other four names on the list come with an intimidating selection of CV’s, and include Speedball Baby’s Ali Smith who, if I wasn’t on the bill, I might have thought about going to see as a punter anyway. Oo-er.
I have enjoyed:
Shoulder To Shoulder - Conceived by Midge Mackenzie, Verity Lambert and Georgia Brown, initially as a way to create more dramatic roles for women on TV, this six-part serial was shown once and then mothballed for fifty years. Read into that what you will. Dragged out from behind whatever shelf it had fallen behind, dusted off and rebroadcast this year, and rightfully given its place on the iPlayer, hopefully it will now receive the critical and public acclaim it deserves. Sian Phillips plays Emmeline Pankhurst, with Patricia Quinn and Angela Down as her daughters Christabel and Sylvia and Georgia Brown portraying millworker-turned-suffragette Annie Kenney, in an unflinching and surprisingly brutal at times account of the campaign for Women’s Suffrage. It’s a masterpiece, both in performance terms and in how this important story is laid bare for modern audiences. Given the discussions held recently about whether it’s morally defensible for environmental protesters to break the law, not to mention the ongoing scourge of toxic masculinity in our society, it also couldn’t be more topical.
Angela Down and Sian Phillips as Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst 69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields - The 1999 album from Stephin Merritt delivers exactly what it promises, sixty-nine songs about love in almost every musical genre imaginable. A huge fan when it came out (my first valentine’s day gift for my future wife was an abridged selection on a mix-cd), I’ll admit I’ve not played it much in the last decade, but having rediscovered it over the last couple of weeks, I’ve fallen in love all over again.
The Magnetic Fields 3. The Office LEGO style - When I first expressed excitement about getting this kit, as a huge fan of The Office3, a friend of mine and fellow LEGO enthusiast was surprised. I’d already made my own version of the Friends Central Perk set using the online instructions and his argument was that if any kit was likely to be replicable without purchase, it would be a perfunctory commercial unit. My counter argument at the time was that it was all about the mini-figs. LEGO Dwight, Kevin and Kelly? Come on… Truth is though, the whole thing is a delight. The sticker usage alone, to replicate famous props, means there’s no substitute for the actual kit. And while architecturally it is fairly basic4, the detail is the thing, both in creative and fandom terms. The use of standard pieces to create office furniture, racks of files and things like the photocopier are ingenious, whereas the number of in-jokes and nods to certain episodes/incidents are impressive and in some cases delightfully hidden5. The attraction to people who don’t know/like the show is admittedly minimal, but for fans this kit is all-but a must-have.
I don’t want to get too nerdy, but come on, the rendering of a fax machine and a shredder in just a few small bricks? Genius. 4. Judd Winick - I first fell for Judd Winick’s comic book work in my early days of comics buying when I was mainly hoovering up everything Oni Press put out. His foul-mouthed prepubescent genius Barry Ween was a firm favourite6. Lately, he’s been kicking up a storm with his more family-friendly series Hilo, but I’ve been revisiting some of his superhero books. As well as bringing Jason Todd back to life as the Red Hood, Winick also did sterling work on Green Lantern and his run on Green Arrow is a big favourite of mine. I’m currently reading through his run on Outsiders and rediscovering why its a series I stuck with for so long.
Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) are both available direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off. You can also support my work by buying Ray Adams’ self-published books, or by simply buying me a coffee.
You can also pay for this free newsletter, if paying for free stuff is your jam.
Headlining?
I have just dropped a little something on her lap that I hope might take us closer to our next phase.
US version, obvs.
Not a bad thing. It is a commercial unit after all, and given the kit only covers part of the office, it’s good to have something that encourages creating your own extensions. I’m already planning my own accounts dept.
I won’t tell you what lies underneath Michael Scott’s desk…
If you have any of the original comics, you might even see my name in the letters column of one issue…
Congratulations! It was, and continues to be a wonderful and well deserved accomplishment!