Blog
Here’s where you’ll find previews of all my current projects, as well as updates on signings and convention appearances.
I also post links to essays that appear on my monthly newsletter Agent of Weird: Exploring the Write Fantastic
Subscribe for FREE to receive an in-depth feature every month, plus access to the AOW archive - a dragon’s horde of writing tips, industry insights, genre guidance and more!
Mapping the Labyrinth: A No-Mucking-About Beginner’s Guide to Starting Out as a Writer
I’m often questioned by younger writers looking to begin their journey. The field of writing - especially commercial writing - is as glamorous as it is treacherous. There’s a wealth of information out there, but you need to separate the truth from the clickbait…
Evolve or Die: Is this the End for Sword and Sorcery?
Can the genre ever move on from Robert E. Howard's Conan? How can writers possibly innovate within this narrow fantasy subgenre? Is the sword and sorcery barbarian facing his last stand?
M.R. James and the Craft of Fear
Learn the subtleties of writing terror from a master of the scary ghost story
Old Sorcery, New Edge: Q&A with Molly Tanzer
Sword and sorcery heroine Jirel of Joiry, created by Catherine L. Moore. Artwork by Sasha Durdevic
Neither Beg Nor Yield: a Vital New Chapter in the Sword & Sorcery Renaissance
Let this brutal new anthology tell you of the days of high adventure!
Over By Christmas (a short story)
A Weird winter's tale of lost time, lost hearts and one very long night (30-minute read)
Spooky Yuletide Mayhem in the Monster Fun Christmas Special
Kid Kong gets into the yuletide spirit (quite literally) in the Christmas 2023 issue of Monster Fun, out now from Rebellion Publishing
Failing Forward: An Interview with the Failing Writers Podcast
Talking what it takes to write fantasy, sci-fi, horror and comics
Apes vs. Aliens in This Month’s Monster Fun Comic
Kid Kong, Crabbe’s Crusaders and Garzag’s Galactic Guzzle-Pit from me and ace artists Karl Dixon, Ruairí Coleman and P.J. Holden in the November issue of Monster Fun, out now from Rebellion Publishing
Black Beth Returns in ‘Death Carries Roses’
The UK’s foremost sword and sorcery heroine returns in a bumper collection, the Treasury of British Comics Annual 2024
How We Built Black Beth
Resurrecting a British sword and sorcery heroine and what it takes to write a character 'well'
My Future Shock Hell! (Chapter 2 of 4)
How to survive the submissions process (whether that's comics, novels, shorts, or screenplays) by rejection-proofing your soul
Beyond the Veil: Q&A with Man o' Ghosts
Multimedia ghost story creator Thom Burgess explains the techniques behind his latest horror project 'Mister Howl', as well as lessons learned piloting a host of successful indie projects
My Future Shock Hell! (Chapter 1 of 4)
How I broke into comics and why there's no such thing
Why the Greatest Character in 2000 AD Is NOT Judge Dredd
She’s the psychic cop who has patrolled the dystopian streets of Mega-City One for over four decades, and she’s nobody’s sidekick
Full Throttle Fiction: Q&A with Comic Writer Rob Williams
The writer of SUICIDE SQUAD, JUDGE DREDD and DOCTOR WHO talks story-building and script-mechanics, as well as managing PETROL HEAD, his new creator-owned sci-fi project landing in November from Image