World’s Strongest Man 2015

Below are my thoughts on the Heats and then the Final for this year’s World’s Strongest Man competition, so stop reading if you want to avoid spoilers.

The Heats

This year the heats were dominated not by any one person but something far worse. Injuries. I think on some level I’ve become quite blasé about some of the impossible feats that the athletes perform. I see them lifting huge lumps of wood, stone and metal. I hear the numbers and comparisons (5 people, 2 fridges, six cows) and I’ve stopped actually thinking about the reality of that. The fifty or so men who compete are the strongest in the world. That’s out of 7 billion people. Just think about that. You can compare the skills of other athletes and debate their ranking, one footballer against another, but it’s all opinion and up for discussion. There’s no debate here. One is just stronger than another. It’s black and white.

What they do is superhuman. 99.9% of the population cannot do it. Even those guys and girls you sometimes see in the gym who are ripped – they can’t do it. They’re just not strong enough. Also during the heats there were a couple of segments this year where they spoke to one of the doctors. In it he said, their muscles can take it, because they’re very big guys who train to do this all year, but their tendons cannot, and they tear or just rip off the bone. Just writing that makes me feel slightly sick. This is not a sport that most people can do and reach the top.

Injured competitors this year included Graham Hicks, Benny Magnusson, Mateusz Baron and one of my favourites, Laurence Shahlaei. Big Loz looked to be in good health and he was all fired up but then he tore a bicep. Hopefully all of them will be back next year, fit and healthy.

Heat Winners

There were a couple of heats where I wasn’t surprised by the winner. Big Z,  Brian Shaw and Thor all dominated their heats. The timeless Mark Felix proved why he is still one of the best in the world as not only did he win his heat, but he performed a remarkable feat on the deadlift. He remains the best in the world at it and he can beat everyone from Big Z to Brian Shaw. He is just that good. Jerry Pritchett from the USA did exceptionally well as did JF Caron from Canada, earning themselves a spot in the final ten. The real surprises for me were Mikhail Shivlyakov and Matjas Belsak. The smiling Russian is fairly slight compared to some of them but he proved to be an incredibly tough competitor. Equally Belsak is a young man and already he is extremely strong, standing toe to toe with some of the veterans. They’re both worth watching in the future.

Mike Burke and Eddie Hall both did themselves proud to get through, although I was disappointed to hear Burke announce this is his final year competing. I can understand why but I always enjoy watching him compete so I’ll miss him next year.

The Final

Given the very close result last year, this year they made the Atlas Stones count for double points. It makes sense as last time it came down to half points and seconds. As it happens, this year it was not too different, both in terms of the final result and the difference between the top 3 men on the podium. Looking beyond the top 3 for a minute, I think Eddie Hall did himself proud coming in 4th, as he has focused himself 100% on WSM. He’s been able to give up his day job and just train. It’s really paid off as one of his worst events, the Atlas Stones, turned out to be one of the best for him this time. He’s stronger and more athletic, which is so critical as there are always loading or carrying events. So there’s always a balance between static strength and being fast and strong at the same time.

This year’s winner was Brian Shaw. I think it came down to him being hungrier than Big Z. Despite him being the heaviest competitor Shaw is also one of the most athletic. He really does have the whole package and while there are some areas Big Z will probably always dominate where he has world records, like the Log Press, Shaw is no slouch. He did incredibly well on the deadlift and the weights they were all lifting this year were very impressive.

Thor was on fire this year and in the end he was only half a point behind Big Z to get 3rd place again. None of the top 3 are slowing down and I’m really not sure what is going to change over the next few years unless one of them suddenly retires, which seems unlikely. They are all so close, the only upset I can see is if Thor somehow trains like a madman and becomes just so strong he knocks one of the other two into 3rd place.

I couldn’t call the result for 2015 and I’m not sure what is going to happen for the 2016 results. The competition is as fierce and exciting as I’ve ever seen it and after all this time I still love watching it and look forward to it every Christmas and New Year. Now all I have to do is try to avoid the results for 5-8 months of the year again so I can watch it at Christmas this year without any spoilers.

Looking back at 2015

This year has been a busy one, for me and for geeks in general. Next year looks as if it is going to be more of the same.

By the time the new year bells ring out, a new Star Wars film will have been out for a couple of weeks and it will be in the realm of being rewatched multiple times. I’m going to see it soon and cannot wait. After the horrible disappointment of the Phantom Menace and the other prequels, I am trying to stay positive for this. I really enjoy the new Trek films, and hope that JJ Abrams (and all of those people around him of course as it’s not a solo thing) are able to work their magic again.

We’ve got more Marvel, DC, and lots of genre films to come next year, with the likes of a new Star Trek film, a new Harry Potter universe film, a new Rocky universe film for me in Creed and a tonne of other great films I could list but won’t.

In terms of books and the Age of Darkness trilogy, it all kicks off again in April with Bloodmage. I’ve seen the first draft of the cover and it looks good. The work on my side is completely done and right now I’m working on the next draft of book 3 following comments from my editor. So book 3 will also be out next year, about 6 months after Bloodmage. It’s a very weird thing to say and imagine that by this time next year I will have 3 published books of fiction.  The question then becomes, what next?

I’m pondering a couple of things. I have a short novella that I want to write, set in the same world, that expands on a line of dialogue someone mentions in book 3. I also have a short story I want to sketch out and then write, again set in the same world. After that, in theory I will write another trilogy that is chronologically set after the Age of Darkness.

It’s very thin on paper so far, but I have notes and ideas on scraps of paper. I have a Word document stuffed full of ideas and story arcs and character descriptions and lots of ‘what if’ questions and answers. So once book 3 is out of the way again and back with the publisher I’m going to try to nail down some of these floaty ideas, see what the throughline is that ties it all together and start to build the spine of the story. After that I’ll discuss it with my agent and we’ll go from there. So, by the time book 3 comes out, I will probably be working on the first draft of the new book.

On top of that the French version of Battlemage is due to be published in either Spring or Summer. I am also hoping that the long-gestating comic book mini series I’ve been co-writing with Pete Rogers, Flux, will be ready early next year. Then we can make a more formal announcement and talk about it in a bit more detail.  I’ve been sketchy about where it’s coming from and what it is about as we want to get most of it in the can so that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot. A busy year ahead indeed.

Events-wise, it is too early to say but no doubt I will be doing some to promote the launch of the two new books in the UK. I’m doubtful I’ll get to any conventions outside of the UK next year but you never know, something might come up.

So, onwards to 2016 although I’ll be posting over the holidays about the World’s Strongest Man competition.

Reddit AMA

On Thursday next week, 10th December, I’m doing a Reddit AMA on reddit/fantasy.

This is my first one of these and I’m fairly new to Reddit in general. I dabbled on there a while ago, but recently in the last year I’ve been dipping in and out. I tend to post occasionally in some of my favourite subs, like Fantasy or Dresden files,  but most of the time I tend to lurk and read. I’ve found that with the exception of Twitter, I tend to do this more. Watch and listen. Maybe it’s the writer in me, or maybe I’m just not as open as some people.

I share with my friends and family, but they hear about my writing, characters and process all the time anyway. To be honest, they’ve been hearing about it all for years already so they’re not too interested in the deep nitty gritty.

So, if you want to know about how I got published, how I found an agent, anything about the publishing world that I’ve discovered, then I will do my best to share it. However, all of this will be from the perspective of someone who has been published for less than a year. So it is all still relatively new to me as well. Also my route to getting an agent and then getting published is likely to be similar to, but not identical to, other people. So I will share what information I have about that, but also the lessons learned from the many years of work and rejected novels I wrote before Battlemage.

Equally if you want to know about character, plot, world-building and so on, I can talk to you about how I do it, what works for me and what doesn’t, but again it is all from my point of view. You will have to find your own path.

However it is an AMA, so if you just want to know about my favourite cheese or flavour of crisps I can share that as well. So this time I’m not going to be able to sit back and lurk in the shadows. Watch for me in the spotlight this Thursday evening (UK time) into Friday morning.

Second Act

This month has been crazy busy. I’ve just moved house to a new area, am still neck deep in boxes, my job situation has kind of changed, so there’s been a lot of adjustments to make. And a lot of stress from the house move too. Looking in the mirror I definitely saw more white in my hair after an awful moving day, but that’s another story.

In the meantime, I’m now kind of in my second act as a writer. The first trilogy is done, for the most part. Book 1, Battlemage, is out there in the wide world. Book 2 is completely edited and now is with the publisher to turn the manuscript into a real physical book. I’ve not seen a cover yet for Bloodmage but that is in the works too. The first draft of book 3, yet to be titled, is with the publisher for review, so that leaves me to ponder what next.

I’m thinking it will definitely be another trilogy. I’m setting it in the same world, a few years after the events of the first trilogy and right now I’m pondering a few different ideas. Part of me is panicking that I’m not writing, because for the last two years I’ve always been writing. There hasn’t been a week where I wasn’t writing, in order to meet my deadlines. Now I’m doing that purely thinking thing while not writing something else, and I’ve not done that in a few years so it’s weird and in some ways feels like a step back in time as I’m now working without a deadline.

I’m also trying to do the relaxing thing. Whatever that is! But it is kind of important for lots of reasons, not only to recharge my batteries, but also the more I feed my brain good stuff, the better it seems to work as good story feeds it. Whether it’s TV, books, films, comics or even games, engaging with good stories and good characters makes me want to rise to the occasion. I’m also trying to sleep more than before, which should also help rest my brain a bit.

So it feels like I’m on holiday in a way. The day job is also keeping me busy, which is actually good, because my brain ticks along in the background while doing something else and ideas creep through the cracks while at work. So I’m often scribbling down notes. Sitting at a desk hammering my head against the keyboard for 20 hours straight will not work. It never has. So I’m trying to remind myself that everything I’m doing right now is normal and natural and that I’ve been here before. But it still feels weird.

In the meantime, I’m busy with a couple of events. Tomorrow I’m at SLEDGE-LIT, a one day event in Derby. And on December 10th I’m doing my first AMA over on Reddit Fantasy, so pop by and as the title says, ask me anything about writing or real ale or whatever you fancy.

 

Interview with me at SFF World

Following on from the review of Battlemage over at SFF World by Mark Chitty, he also did a long interview with me about my début novel, world building, my influences and all sorts of things. The questions went in some interesting and unexpected directions. Some of them also made me take a step back and analyse some of the decisions I made when writing the first in this series.

We also chatted about how I found an agent, comic books and what I get up to in my spare time, such as podcasting. I co-host a monthly geek related podcast, CBO, and also for fun co-host Bags of Action. The podcast is all about action films and every month Pete and I talk about high octane, ridiculous action films and why we love them so much. Both shows are on iTunes as well if you want to download them from there.

I’ve just moved into a new house, and after a week of being offline I am now sorting through my emails and still unpacking a mountain of boxes. Time to get back to it.

In Transit

I’m currently in the middle of moving house, so I’m neck deep in boxes in every room in the entire house! And we keep finding stuff we’ve forgotten about, but we are gradually getting there. Kind of.

In the meantime to avoid having to read about my packing techniques to avoid making a box too heavy, here are a couple of new Battlemage things.

I used to do a book blog called Walker of Worlds, with my old chum, Mark Chitty. We were a good pairing as he favoured SF and I favoured Fantasy novels so together we covered a lot of ground. WoW went away but Mark has recently brought it back to life again, plus he does some work over at SFF World.

Mark recently reviewed Battlemage and his review is quite detailed but it doesn’t actually contain any major spoilers. There is also a bit more biography information about me on there too. Next week Mark will be posting a long interview we did this week about Battlemage, writing and my approach, my influences and all sorts of stuff. So watch for that as I will retweet it and repost it everywhere, like my Facebook page.

I also did a Five Favourite Wizards guest post for those good people over at Fantasy Faction. I chose five quite different wizards on purpose, and even one from comics. I should point out, in case it’s not clear, these are not the five most powerful wizards. They are also not my five most favourite wizards ever, just five from the hundred or so I could name. There seemed to be some confusion around this over on Reddit Fantasy where I posted the link.

In the meantime, with Battlemage out there in the world, the countdown now begins for Bloodmage, book 2 in the Age of Darkness trilogy, which is due out next year in about six months. More news, cover art and blurb info, when I have it!

 

 

 

Post-Fantasycon and Pre-SLEDGE LIT

Fantasycon is done and is now in the rear view mirror. Bye bye Nottingham and next year it is going to be in Scarborough by the sea. The event was super tiring but fun, and I had a great time hanging out with friends I only get to see maybe once or twice a year. I met a whole bunch of new people, including the great Brad Beaulieu, who was over here in the UK visiting from America. Prior to Fantasycon I’d seen photos of him going up and down the country at various signings with Brandon Sanderson, but we met across a table with only a deck of Magic: The Gathering cards between us. Den Patrick brought several decks with him and throughout the weekend we battled, sometimes head to head and once with Brad in a 3 way match. We tried to have a rematch on Sunday but didn’t manage to fit it in. There are too many people to name so I’ll just say you all know who you are and it was great to see you.

SLEDGE-LIT

So, in about four weeks time, on Saturday 21st November in Derby, I will be attending my next convention, a one day event called SLEDGE-LIT. Tickets are still available and there’s more information on the Facebook group. I’m going to be doing a reading and will be on panels, and there are also some epic guests of honour as well including Alison Moore, Adam Roberts, Robert Shearman and Charles Stross.

I’ve been to similar events at the Derby Quad before including EDGE-LIT which is normally run in July. So this is a great partner event to that giving fans an extra helping of some great voices in fantasy and science fiction.

If I didn’t see you at Fantasycon then perhaps I will see  some of you at SLEDGE-LIT or next year at another event. For now I’m going to try and catch up on my sleep…and all of the new TV that’s just come back for new seasons.

Fantasycon 2015 – Nottingham

Below is a list of things that I’ll be doing  in a couple of weeks at Fantasycon 2015. This year the event is being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel in Nottingham. I’ve never been to the venue before, but it looks very new and shiny, with lots of natural light and glass, so hopefully it will be a lovely space.

So, my plans for the weekend, other than catching up with friends and having one or two beers, will be the following:-

Friday

5pm – There is a reading slot with me for about 20 minutes. I’m probably not going to read for all of that, so I might answer any questions, or failing that, just talk at whoever is there.

Saturday

In the Conference Theatre at 2pm – War: What Is It Good For? Martial Conflict in SFF

Moderator: Natasha Bardon

Panellists: Stephen Aryan, Bradley Beaulieu, Sophia McDougall, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Gav Thorpe.

Sunday

At 12pm, before the banquet, there will be a mass signing, and I’m planning on being there. I’m not sure if they will have copies of Battlemage for sale, hopefully they will, so I guess we’ll I’ll turn  up and find out!

Even if you don’t fancy coming along to see me there are some fantastic guests of honour and all sorts of panels, book launches and readings. Hopefully I will see some of you there wielding a copy of Battlemage with intent!

Some interviews and things

So recently I’ve been asked to do a few interviews on some SFF blogs and website. People all over the world are starting to discover Battlemage, and alongside reviews it’s nice to get a bit more info from the author and try to work out what the heck was going on his brain when he wrote it and what is coming next. Or sometimes they just want to know what I like to drink, which is also cool.

Below are some links to the interviews, plus below that a few more photos of Battlemage out there in the wild.

Mogsy interviewed me over at the Bibliosanctum, which was very kind of her. We talk about characters and magic and my chances of survival during a zombie apocalypse.

João also interviewed me over at Fantasy Literature where they are doing a giveaway if you are in the UK or USA. We talked about the origin of the book plus my influences, a little bit about what is coming next in in Bloodmage, the second book in the Age of Darkness trilogy and also my favourite kind of drink.

Someone in Sydney, Australia sent me a tweet saying they’d just finished reading Battlemage, which was super cool, but a good buddy and cartoonist, Luke Foster, sent me a photo of the book in Manchester, Connecticut, which is the furthest away  from the UK I’ve seen. If you can beat that, let me know!

Another really awesome was a lovely bookseller called Vicki in Waterstones in Swindon, put my book alongside Neal Asher and Andy Weir’s Martian on the recommended table. So thank you very, very much to Vicki for that.

If you’re somewhere further west in America than CT or somewhere in Europe and you’ve seen a copy of Battlemage in your local bookshop, then take a picture and let me know!

Battlemage launch

Last week was the northern launch of Battlemage at Waterstones in Leeds, my local bookshop. It was a weird and wonderful night. Weird because I’ve gone to so many similar events in the past, sat in the audience, and listened to an author talk about their book and their world. So when I arrived and saw all of those chairs in front of those Waterstones banners a part of me was waiting for the writer to arrive.

Battlemage_Leeds_3 22 Sept 2015

 

It turned out to be a lovely event, and it was great to have so many local friends come out to see me, hear me talk about the long journey to getting the book published, and of course getting a copy signed.

This week marked the London launch of my book, which began with a signing event at Forbidden Planet where some of my family attended, making it very special. Danie and the staff there were kind and looked after me very well. I signed some stock, shook some hands, took some photos and had a great time. So if you want a signed copy then take a look here.

Battlemage_Forbidden_Planet_29 Sept 2015 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that I went across to the Grange Holborn Hotel to the Sky Bar for the September Super Relaxed Fantasy Club, hosted by the most excellent Den Patrick and Jen Williams.

I gave a short reading from Battlemage, and then there was a Q and A session which seemed to go really well. I was pretty nervous to start with, but once it got going my nerves disappeared and I had to just try not to speak too quickly. It really helped having my family there, and so many friends and familiar faces in the crowd.

The venue was really lovely as well with amazing views across London, and later in the evening when it was dark I saw the London Eye and other landmarks all lit up. I’m probably in London two or three times a year maximum so it all added up to make it a bit special.

So, Battlemage is out there now in the wild. In America,  all across the UK (as people have been sending me photos of copies in their local bookshop) and  by now all around the world.

In the next few of months I’ll be at a couple of events, starting later this month at Fantasycon in Nottingham, and then in November I’m a guest at the SLEDGE-LIT one day event in Derby. After that it will be Christmas before I realise, then in the new year, the cycle begins again as we build up to the launch of Bloodmage, book 2 in the Age of Darkness trilogy! But for now….I’m going to have a bit of a rest.