The Rock I’ve Been Under

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Ahem. You know when you’re meeting a friendly, and they ask you what has happened since April? So, that’s me. Turns out, things are kind of exciting from my end. I’m making good progress on Night’s Fall – it’s probably at about the 50% mark as of today.  And by 50%, I mean first draft, so don’t get too excited.  I know there’s a number of you — you know who you are — who keep asking me how that sequel is coming along. You might, therefore, be asking, “Richard, so.  Tell me.  Why no blog posts?”  It’s a little like this.  The new job is very exciting and has me working at a level that is rewarding, but it’s sucking free time out through my eyeballs.  Given a choice between blogging, and writing, I would rather write – it will give Read More …

On Passwords

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Man, I don’t get why my online banking has lower requirements than the thing I would use to file medical receipts.  It’s my data, FFS, so I just dropped this in to their customer contact bin. Hi – I tried to set up my southern cross today, and got to the password page where it requires two letters and two numbers. I stopped there and won’t be continuing – you’re asking me to keep a different type of password to what I usually use, and I’d be constantly forgetting it and having to reset. Just thought you’d find the feedback useful; since it’s my data you’re holding it’s not your job to tell me security requirements as it’s my risk, and I doubt I’ll be using the service until it better suits my needs.  As it happens the password I Read More …

An Origin Story

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I love making characters. I thought you might like to hear an aborted origin story for Carter.  In case you don’t know, she’s Mason’s handler in Upgrade.  Like many of the actors in the book, I played with a bunch of ideas for her — whether she should be human or an alien, or a machine, or a collective consciousness.  It’s this last one that I found … interesting (and I can share with you, because: no spoilers!  It’s not what she ended up being). A few years ago my Dad died.  That was a hard thing as many of you who’ve gone through similar will know, but I consider myself luckier than some: not only did we have a good relationship despite living in different countries, we communicated all the time.  I have reams of letters from before the Internet, and Read More …

Girls Who Are Girls

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I was talking with a friend the other day and the topic of my characters came up. We were really talking about women and empowerment, but I’ll take it.  Anyway, what I always find interesting is that people seem to think that girls should be written differently to men.  I mean sure, I get that women tend to not call each other by nicknames like, “Bullethead,” and “Axe,” or call their friends by their surnames (unless they’re Carlisle), but why can’t they be strong, powerful, and save the world? If enough content creators decide that enough is enough and write strong women by default, maybe we’ll eventually be able to stop talking about it because they won’t be strong — they’ll be normal.    

It’s About Time

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Wow, man, starting a new job takes some time out of your life. Still, the training wheels are off: I started with Microsoft in late January, and I’ve been parachuted onto a client site already.  It’s pretty spectacular – lots to do and learn, for what feels like the first time in a long time.  Getting my writing thing back in gear has been tricky.  Mostly, time.  Good news: I’ve started to master that which means you’re going to see Night’s Fall at some point.  End of the year, maybe? Wait, what?  WTF is Night’s Fall? Sure.  I started writing Boundless last year, but it wasn’t working quite right for me.  A bunch of problems with the way I write and what I want to write like meant that shifting from a world with pop culture hooks to a new Read More …

Just a Taste

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“What I’m thinking,” said Carlisle to the barman, “is that you’re a thief.” The barman blinked at her.  “Say what?” “Because I know a thief when I see one,” she said, her words slurring just a little.  She leaned forward over the bar.  “Serious…  Seriously?  Twenty bucks for a shot of Jack is theft.” “You could drink somewhere else,” said the barman.  “Free country.” Carlisle gave a long, lazy smile.  “Free country.”  Only bar in this town.  If you can call it a town.  She’d heard of three-horse towns, and this place was two horses short.  No one else was in the bar tonight, the broken down old jukebox spitting out the same two songs on repeat.  She’d had about as much Johnny Cash as she could take.  The door to the bar opened behind her, and she felt a Read More …

Looking Up

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I started a new job this week.  It’s outstanding. Other than that, the company gave me a new phone.  Not some shitty hand-me-down: a top spec Nokia 930. It’s wizard. I dunno.  I’ve been using iPhones for so long, and pretty happy with them — right up to when I got this thing.  The 930 is a work of art, it’s fast, the apps are brilliant, the keyboard is superb, the camera is like technology only aliens from outer space should possess.  And now when I go back to trying to use my “old” 5S, it feels … faded. Yeah.  I might be a convert.

The Perfect Waffle

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This isn’t my usual fare, I know.  Look at it like a little something extra. One part of my Christmas haul this year was a waffle iron.  Little Breville unit, looks like a flying saucer with a temperature gauge.  It came with a collection of almost useless waffle recipes, so the hunt began for the perfect waffle. I picked up Primal Cravings from the guys over at Health Bent.  This has a pretty good waffle recipe, but it’s not a perfect recipe — I found it a little … chunky.  It didn’t spread like a good batter should — gluten’s good for something, right? Enter the Family-Favourite Oatmeal recipe.  This thing would be close to perfect except for the use of a megaton of carbohydrate, which isn’t really the way I like to start the day.  But man, it smells like the tears of Read More …

Seeing the Future

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A friend just flicked me through the CityLIFE Architectural Challenge winners. It’s a bit Upgrade-ish, you know?  The first one especially.  Please click to enjoy.  

2014’s a Wrap

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The king is dead — long live the king. And by, “king,” I mean 2015.  We got a new year — different number and everything.  This only happens once a year. What’s that mean for yours truly? I’ve started work on Boundless, which is a different pace and texture to my previous two books.  I’m enjoying it so far, but am wrestling with a nagging feeling that I should really be working on Night’s Favour’s sequel Night’s Fall (or even Lost Children, the sequel to Upgrade).  The plan has been to sequence them in that order — Night’s Favour, Upgrade, Boundless, Night’s Fall, and Lost Children — but I really like those first two stories and want to go back.  Decisions, decisions. Me and SpecFic have parted ways, insomuch as I’ve stopped paying my dues.  This isn’t really an emotional thing — those Read More …