My First Hobbit

When I first met Bilbo Baggins, he was a woman. I was eight years old, on a mysterious school trip to a spooky old building, with no real idea about what was going to happen to me or my classmates. My only clue had come the previous week. Our teacher had told us to memorise … Continue reading My First Hobbit

“Nemesis Sub-Terra” at Alton Towers

Earlier this year I had the great privilege of working on a brand new ride at top UK theme park Alton Towers. The ride is Nemesis Sub-Terra, a claustrophobic horror experience set in the Forbidden Valley, near the famous Nemesis inverted roller coaster. I was hired as scriptwriter by ride theming experts Farmer Attraction Development … Continue reading “Nemesis Sub-Terra” at Alton Towers

Five Scary Monsters

Without the dark there is no light. Here’s a list – in no particular order – of five monsters that still have the power to keep me awake at night if my mind makes the mistake of inviting them in. Are they my top five? It’s hard to say. Ask me again tomorrow and I … Continue reading Five Scary Monsters

The DNA of Storytelling

I blame writer and storyteller Damien Walter for setting me off on this train of thought. In his blog post Two. four. Seven. More. How many stories are there? he discusses various theories on the reduction of narrative to its basic building blocks. Paulo Coelho reckons there are four primal plots, Aristotle says two and … Continue reading The DNA of Storytelling

What Scares You?

What scares you? It's a question of some concern to the writer of horror fiction, the maker of horror films, the creator of horror art. The really scary thing is that there's no easy answer. Ask the question of a hundred different people and you'll get a hundred different responses. Spiders. The dark. Vampires. Enclosed … Continue reading What Scares You?

Is Creativity a Black Art?

"Where do you get your ideas?" It's the question every writer dreads. The most common answer is, 'I don't know.' I prefer to take it one step further. In truth, I don't want to know. I've often wondered if it's possible to teach creativity. The longer I live, the more convinced I am that it … Continue reading Is Creativity a Black Art?

Goodbye Shuttle

One of my earliest memories is of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. I was four years old. I vividly recall watching grainy black-and-white pictures of Neil Armstrong exiting the Eagle lander through the stair bannisters. At even that young age, I understood something amazing was happening. I've wanted to go into space ever … Continue reading Goodbye Shuttle

Magical Patterns in Stories

I write and read in pictures. For me, all books are illustrated. Yes, it’s the words that do the hard work – God love ‘em. In the end, however, what counts is what those words help me to see. You might think I’m talking about visualisation – reading a scene in a book and having … Continue reading Magical Patterns in Stories

Liking Science Fiction and Fantasy Makes You a Genius

A lot of people are unbearably snooty about genre fiction – especially SF, fantasy and horror. I’m not the first to remark on this – the debate rages daily across the interwebs. It seems there are lots of folk who feel this way, and I think I've finally worked out why. It’s all the fault … Continue reading Liking Science Fiction and Fantasy Makes You a Genius

Why Don’t Authors Switch Genre?

Cinema and literature. Movies and books. It frustrates me how people take for granted certain things in one, but not the other. Take genre. Movie directors – if they so desire – are allowed to tackle a range of genres. In the course of his career, Steven Spielberg has bounced from The Sugarland Express to … Continue reading Why Don’t Authors Switch Genre?