Category Archives: News

The second Tatsu Yamada book, Mask of the Demon, is now out. And now the race is on to see if I can keep coming up with Something of the Something titles for this series!

• Smashwords.
• Amazon ASIN: B09RKKYNBC
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Also, whoever asked to see the bike, well, that’s the bike.

So, according to the BBC, it’s already 2022 in Australia. Hopefully, they’re now having a better year than the rest of us. They had a pretty bad one last year. Of course, so did the western side of America. And pretty much everyone else. Hm.

Some girls in catsuits. Reminded me of that spy thing with the three teenage girls, whatever that was. Which is appropriate. You’ll find out why when the next DH book comes out.

Forward to 2022! May it be… not worse than 2019, 2020, 2021…

I’m busy writing the fifth Death’s Handmaiden novel, so here’s Nava wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Honest. She’s really happy for you all. Really.

I was planning to post this a bit earlier, but this has turned out to be a more interesting Christmas than expected, so this is late. Well, those in America will probably see it while it’s still Christmas…

Have a good one (whatever you celebrate) and there’s more of Nava and friends coming in February or March after more Tatsu and friends in January/February.

I guess this is a bit late, but… Arcane was really good!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about… Well, you obviously don’t have Netflix because they pushed it pretty hard. If you have seen the adverts and decided that an anime-style, nine-episode series about characters from a video game you don’t play was not for you, I encourage you to give it a go. If you like my stuff, then there’s possibly something for you here, and you do not need to know anything about League of Legends to appreciate it. Which is a bit weird for a video game adaptation, but that’s also pretty much my view of the entire LOL franchise. I have a weird relationship with LOL…

For those who don’t know, League of Legends, or LOL, is a multi-player, team-based, PvP video game, and it’s been around for a while. Every year they host a big esport tournament in Korea ‘LOL Worlds.’ People make money playing this game professionally. I wouldn’t touch it with a fifty-foot pole and a full suit of power armour. I grew up when PvP was about the dirtiest part of gaming, and I still have a general hatred for people who like it. Also, I suck at it, which doesn’t help. And yet, there is an aspect of LOL that I just can’t get over really enjoying: the marketing.

Every year for Worlds, Riot Games commissions a full-production opening show, generally with some form of really kick-ass song in some genre or another. Their cinematics when introducing new characters are pretty damn fantastic. I can watch the videos Riot produce to advertise their game for hours, they just aren’t going to get me to play their game no matter what they do, but they really try. This year, Worlds opened with several songs because, this year, Arcane is out on Netflix. Arcane has songs from Imagine Dragons and Sting! It’s an animated series, so the backdrop videos for the opening ceremony practically came pre-made. (And, actually, I think there have been better opening shows, but whatever.) Big opening. Great marketing. But Arcane is more than that…

Arcane tells the story of how several of the ‘champions’ from the game came to be what they are. It’s a prequel. Importantly, it tells the story of how Jinx got to be what she is (a sort of friendly psychopath with a gatling gun), but there are a bunch of other characters in the mix which I knew less about and now know more. I am happy to know more. I enjoyed finding out how these people grew from kids, basically, into heroes (or villains, or something in the middle), and I can’t wait for the second season to unfold (it’s in production). It still won’t get me to even download the game, however…

I thought my relationship with LOL was weird. I won’t play, but I love it when a new cinematic appears. Weird, right? Apparently not. The YouTuber Gigguk uploaded a video recently about Arcane. He actually plays the game, and hates it, but he thinks everything about the game, aside from the game, is great. He also does a better job than I ever could of selling Arcane, so I’m linking his video here.

So, maybe I’m not as weird as I thought.

No… Pretty sure I am.

It’s snowing here in the outer reaches of the galaxy (aka Manchester, England). Serious snow which is actually settling on some surfaces. I don’t expect to be able to walk on the stuff today; it’s not that cold. And it’s not even December.

Now, I’m not saying this is an indication of climate change. I’m sure things will see an upturn in coming months, and I won’t be forced to wear three layers of clothes inside. We aren’t doomed…

Nope.

Help!

(Wow, the longer I type, the heavier it falls…)

The art dump for Fallen is now available on ArtStation. Click the image above.

This is now available on Amazon. ASIN: B09LWPNMTN.

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Once again: if you’ve read the ebook, buying a paper copy gets you a paper copy. The contents is not different. I’m doing this to see whether I can get some additional customers by putting out paperbacks. Frankly, they come out pretty expensive (if cheaper than from a traditional publishing house). I’d buy the ebook.

Fallen is now available (Amazon was fast today!). This is a lighthearted fantasy romp (intentionally, rather than what comes out of my brain normally). Assuming you don’t all hate it, it’s the start of a series. I haven’t specifically named it as a series, because I haven’t figured out what to call the series, but it’s meant to start a more-comedic-than-usual fantasy series.

Links:

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• Amazon ASIN: B09LTBXGQ7
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In other news… I formatted Sign of the Dragon as a paperback and started the process of publishing it on Amazon. Since this is the first time, I’ve done this myself, I’ve ordered a proof copy to check out before I actually make it live. Assuming all goes well, it’ll be available in a couple of weeks. And, if it all goes well, I’ll start releasing other books as paperbacks. Death’s Handmaiden is likely to be the next one.

Now, you’ve already read these books, and I am not saying that you should buy the paperback. If you want a paperback copy, I’m obviously happy to take your money, but please don’t think you have to. The aim here is to open up another market. Apparently, ebook sales in the UK are down and paper books are back up. Maybe I can grab the attention of a few more of my fellow Brits this way. Going forward, I’ll likely try to issue the paperback and ebook versions at the same time. We’ll see how things go.

In other other news… The NaNoWriMo project isn’t going that great. I’ll probably do the 59k words just to say I did, but it’s not my best work. I think I’m a bit burned out on fantasy having done a lot of it recently. The idea’s not to bad; I may come back to it at some point. At this point, I think I’m going to do the next Tatsu Yamada book (the sequel to Sign of the Dragon) next, and you’ll likely see it at the end of January/start of February. Possibly in paperback as well as ebook form.

Looks like I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year.

That means I’m doing something experimental which may fail miserably to work, and I have to scrabble to get a book out after Christmas. Well, not like I haven’t done that before.

Anyway, I’ll keep you updated. Currently prepping. Writing will start on November 1st, as per the rules.

It is Friday night here in lovely old Blighty and I have decided to write this. Yes, there is nothing much worth my effort to watch on any form of media; a sad state of affairs. Still, this let’s me show off that I do more than watch anime every night; sometimes I read Japanese light novels too!

It’s the new anime season and, partially due to a sudden urge to read which came over me recently, and partially because I knew a bunch of light novels were going to be adapted to TV soon, I sat down and read a bunch of stuff. (Also some other things, but we’re going with the adaptation theme here.) Here is what I gleaned from reading and watching (the first episodes) of various things you may wish to give a try.

Mid-post PS. Violet Evergarden: The Movie is turning up on Netflix this Wednesday. I went to see it in the cinema. It wraps up Violet’s story in a suitably heart-mashing manner. If you’re into having your heart pureed, give it a go.

Back to the review stuff…

Nothing much has appeared so far which is likely to go on my ‘must keep watching or die’ list. I’m having to go look at my last-viewed lists on Crunchyroll and Funimation to remember most of these. Not a good sign. Crunchyroll first…

The Fruits of Evolution… (I’m abbreviating a lot of these titles. They’re too damn long.) Unpopular, smelly, overweight 17-year old gets a new chance and a harem of beautiful, big-breasted waifus in another world. Hints of So, I’m a Spider… in the over-plot. Funny, so far. Will keep watching, but I didn’t remember it until I looked. (Haven’t read the book.)

Takt op.Destiny is just plain weird. Fighting monsters with music and a road-trip across America. Funny, fairly action packed. Probably will keep my attention. Also, a short title; that’s worth a mention. (Haven’t read the book, if there is one.)

Sakugan. This looks like something I’ve seen before, but the first episode was entertaining, and I’ll likely keep it up. (Haven’t read the book.)

Platinum End. A weird mix of horror, angels, battle royal combat, and possibly power armour. This could really end up being awesome or boring me to tears after a few episodes. (Haven’t read the book.) Also, Platinum End is also showing on Funimation.

The World’s Finest Assassin… I kept this until last (for Crunchyroll) because I have read the first novel. I gave it one star on Goodreads. The first line of my review is “I am never getting back the time I spent reading this. That’s the sad thing.” I saw that this was getting an adaptation this season, so I tried the book. I wish I hadn’t. However, I also said, “Strangely, I have a bit of hope for the anime. With a competent scriptwriter (ignoring this novel almost entirely) and a good animation studio, this could be turned into something entertaining.” So far, the anime is better than the book, though that’s a low bar to clear. I’ll keep watching for another couple of episodes, though I don’t expect it to ever rise above “entertaining trash.” I may not keep watching through the season.

Mieruko-chan. On to Funimation and another horror-based anime. This is, so far, horror/slice-of-life, but I don’t think we’ve done more than scratch the surface. Based around a girl who can see ghosts. Her problem is that if they figure out she can, bad things will happen, so she does her best to keep them from finding out, even when they’re stuffing the rotting faces in hers or hiding under her duvet. Oddly humorous, likely to get very creepy, and possibly very good. (Haven’t read the book/manga. I think this has to be from a manga. It’s too visual.)

Tesla Note. I actually had to sit here and think what the plot was to this. Will, not the plot, but what happened. Weird science sort of thing with teleporting trains, the ultimate ninja-spy, and the legacy of Nikola Tesla. Doesn’t (thank the anima gods) take itself very seriously, which is likely to be its saving grace. If I remember it’s on, I’ll keep watching it. (Haven’t read the book, if there is one.)

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut. Um… Well, there’s a vampire being forced to become a test pilot on a rocket after the dog died and they don’t want to send a human up first. Don’t know about this one. Could be great or trite. It’s set in Russia, which makes a change. (Haven’t read the book.)

The Vampire Dies in No Time. Comedy vampire hunting with the world’s weakest vampire teaming up with a publicity conscious vampire hunter. Likely to be an easy watch without having to engage the brain. (No idea if there’s a book. Feels like a comic strip.)

Banished from the Hero’s Party… This is one of those ones which gives away most of the plot in the title. Guy who used to be part of the party trying to save the world from the demon king moves to a backwater town to become an apothecary. There he meets a girl who has always fancied him, and they move in together (no, not the same bed, this is a light novel). She’s tough as nails and, while everyone thinks he’s weak, he’s really very strong. Stuff happens. This is another one I read knowing there was an anime coming. Thus far, the anime has stuck reasonably well to the book, maybe pushing some exposition into the first part which was later int he book, I’m not quite sure. Notably, I haven’t felt the need to read the second volume, and I have a feeling the anime may be too slow to keep my attention, but it’s not actually bad, and the girlfriend is cute. Oh, and combining what I know of the second and third volumes with hints given inthe first, the plot is going to end up being deeper and more complex than might first appear. However, it’s quite possible the anime will need to get a second season before it gets to that stuff.

And… That’s it so far. Not much. The second part of season one of Jobless Reincarnation is out on Funimation. Compared to the other isekai going now, Jobless is an absolute masterwork. It’s a really good anime (if you can get past the protagonist’s personality) anyway, but even the first new episode has set things up for some glorious things to come. But there’s little not much happening at this point in autumn 2021. Which I think sums up 2021 nicely, really.

Next year…

The Chronicles of Leadale. I ploughed through the available English translations of this quite happily, though I’ll be honest and say that the first is the best and the series tales off a bit after. This is getting an anime adaptation due out early next year, and I expect it to be pretty good. You can find trailers (in Japanese) on Youtube if you want to see what it will look like. Fundamentally, OP RPG character finds themselves in the fantasy world they used to game in. Everyone else is weaker than them. Hilarity ensues. But it’s better than that trite summary suggests.

She Professed Herself the Pupil of the Wise Man. Also due an adaptation release. Same plot as above, but the player was male and ends up in a female body because of reasons. Did I say female? Sorry. An adorably cute female body. Probably will be good on screen. Also probably better than my short summary suggests. There’s a trailer out which suggests they’ve done a fair job.

I Shall Survive Using Potions! I think I heard this was getting a TV series… By the same author who wrote Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average… Now, I also read several of the latter series recently and discovered that the adaptation was somewhat different from the novels. In Didn’t I‘s case, that was a good thing since the TV series introduced an utterly stupid plot about a corrupt noble in the first three episodes which was unnecessary and borderline offensive. I can hope things go the other way with Potions! since the books seem okay, but after two I decided to stop bothering. Even with Didn’t I, the books have been getting less good as they move on and I’ve been told that’s a common factor in FUNA’s work. Oh well.

The Alchemist Who Survived… No clue if this is getting adapted, but I read it… so now you don’t have to. It’s just kind of boring.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out… Yes, that is the title, if not the complete one. I have no idea if this is getting an anime, but it would probably be fun if it did. Kind of feminist wish fulfilment, but also not. Was amusing if nothing else.

The Sorcerer’s Receptionist. Meh. Couldn’t be bothered to try volume 2.

Reincarnated as the Last of My Kind. Likewise, failed to inspire me to read volume 2.

Anyway… I’ve finished the first draft of (tentatively called) Fallen, and I’m now moving on to something called Mids. Fallen, if it remains called that, should be out in November. Mids, if it works out, will be out in January. Fallen is a fantasy. Mids is horror/sci-fi-fantasy inspired by a game I just played (along with a heap of other stuff), which I might get around to sort of reviewing because… writing something down about it might convince me that I understand what’s going on. We’ll see.

Have a good weekend. I’m worldbuilding for Mids so I should have a great time. 🙂