“Kurosawa Lander”

Here's a time-lapse video of my latest Sunday sketch, which I've called Kurosawa Lander. The title's a total cheat, since the subject isn't Kurosawa-ish at all. Nevertheless, just like last week's sketch, it's inspired by the images still sloshing around inside my head since my recent viewing of the master Japanese director's 1980 movie Kagemusha. This is first time I've tried a … Continue reading “Kurosawa Lander”

“Kurosawa Watchtower”

Last night, I found myself alone in the house. An unusual situation which, on the rare occasions it occurs, usually sees me frittering away the hours by completely failing to decide what to do with the unexpected me-time. Should I read? Write? Watch a movie? Lie in a semi-comatose state and relish the peace and quiet? For once, tonight's decision came easy. After … Continue reading “Kurosawa Watchtower”

Another Interview with the Ghostwriter

I've finished another edit. I've submitted another manuscript. That means I'm two-thirds of the way through my latest ghostwriting odyssey, with two novels of a middle-grade fantasy trilogy completed and one to go. Book One is due to be published this summer, with the sequels rolling out in 2016 and 2017 respectively. After finishing Book One, I … Continue reading Another Interview with the Ghostwriter

“Strange Cargo”

My latest Birotech drawing took me an hour, using the cheapest, nastiest ballpoint pen I could find. It appears to show some kind of strange containment apparatus disgorging an even stranger item of cargo. I've no idea what that thing with the tentacles is but, fortunately for all concerned, the team appears to have it under control.

Mike Batt’s “The Hunting of the Snark”

Rummaging through a forgotten drawer the other day, I dug out a dusty collection of ancient audio cassettes that hadn't seen the light of day for years. Among them was a real oddment: a concept album for a musical theatre adaptation of Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark, which tells the story … Continue reading Mike Batt’s “The Hunting of the Snark”

“Fire City: The Interpreter of Signs” – Review

Demons walk among us, feeding off our misery. But we cannot see them. To us, they are ordinary human beings. To them, we are their next square meal. That's the premise of Fire City: The Interpreter of Signs, the feature directorial debut of Tom Woodruff Jr, an Academy Award-winning creature-maker whose track record includes films like Aliens, Predator … Continue reading “Fire City: The Interpreter of Signs” – Review

“Talus and the Frozen King” Sneaks into the ALA

I was delighted to discover today that I’ve got an honourable mention on the American Library Association’s list of the year’s best genre fiction for adult readers. While the “Mystery” category was won by Ashley Weaver’s Murder at the Brightwell, you’ll find my neolithic detective novel Talus and the Frozen King sitting proudly in the … Continue reading “Talus and the Frozen King” Sneaks into the ALA

“Interstellar”

Make no mistake, Interstellar is a big film. Big ideas, big images, big heart, all driven by the big ambitions of writer/director Christopher Nolan. Interstellar relies on what might, in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, have been a too-familiar series of science fiction tropes (doomed Earth, maverick ex-pilot, the perils and wonders of space). … Continue reading “Interstellar”