Jen McIntosh's Blog

There is an old adage that sport and politics should not mix - that things like the Olympic movement should remain politically neutral. As if sport is something that can and should exist in a vacuum, separate from the rest of our day-to-day lives.

Which is a joke.

Sport and politics have been intertwined for decades. Inescapably so. Both rely entirely on people and to try to remove one from the other is to remove the humanity from both. It is impossible to separate them now and nor should we want to.

Because if sport operates in isolation, we lose those the potential for stories that can inspire change. Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics (even if I would debate the merits of a Nazi-hosted Olympics). Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968. Cathy Freeman in 2000. The Refugee Olympic team in 2016. North and South Korea walking out shoulder to shoulder at the Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang 2018. I could go on…

The founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin, understood that sport was democratic and capable of crossing class divides. He knew that in Ancient Greece, the Olympic Games were conducted under a sacred truce, and he believed in the potential for the Games to promote peace, unity, and understanding. The whole movement was founded on that principle, relying on sport’s unique ability to bring people together. The IOC has even adapted the Olympic motto to reflect this.

Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together

During his speech at the Opening Ceremony of Tokyo 2020, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke - at length - about the principles of the Olympic movement. He emphasised the importance of solidarity, recognising that ‘without solidarity there is no peace.’ He shared a vision of the Olympics that promoted unity, diversity and respect. All key words in the Olympic movement.

The problem is that they are just that: words.

When it comes to meaningful action, the IOC does nothing.

The Olympic Charter outlines the seven fundamental principles of Olympism. When a country breaks even one of these, it should be justification for expulsion from the Games. It’s been done before - South Africa was banned for twenty years over apartheid and at least six separate countries were barred for their parts in World War I and II. Granted, it’s not a quick fix, but economic and cultural isolation (of which sport is a part) can be effective in influencing change.

1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

2. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

3. The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the world's athletes at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.

4. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

5. Recognising that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports organisations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights and obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and controlling the rules of sport, determining the structure and governance of their organisations, enjoying the right of elections free from any outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring that principles of good governance be applied.

6. The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

7. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.

And yet…

Two years ago, Iran executed wrestler Navid Afkari for his involvement in anti-government protests. He was denied a fair trial and tortured into giving false confession. While hardly the first human rights violation committed by the Iranian government, such an act clearly went against everything the Olympic movement stands for and there were calls from across the globe that Iran be banned from the upcoming Olympics. The IOC ignored them.

Reports of ‘internment camps’ being used to ‘re-educate’ Uyghurs in China first surfaced in 2017. Human rights violations are said to range from mistreatment and forced labour, to rape and torture, all the way through to genocide. Yet China was awarded the Winter Olympics. Human rights activists called for a boycott. Many wanted to see China stripped of the Games entirely. The Games went ahead anyway.

Then there is the Black Lives Matter movement, which the IOC actively undermined by banning athletes from taking the knee on the podium - warning that anyone flouting the edict was to be stripped of their medal. In the face of serious backlash, they made a show of stepping down, but in reality nothing changed. The places they ‘allowed’ athletes to protest were not meaningful and easy to cut from broadcasts, essentially defanging any demonstration that did take place.

And now, although they have issued a statement condemning Russia for breaking the Olympic Truce, they have done nothing to sanction the Russian Olympic Committee. To be fair, they wouldn’t even properly sanction the ROC for state-sponsored doping - which, although considerably less terrible than starting a war, is actually something within their remit.

But they are not alone in their inaction. Abramovich still owns Chelsea FC, even if the ‘stewardship’ of the club has been passed to others. The International Judo Federation today suspended Vladimir Putin as honorary president… suspended… as if there are circumstances under which they may be willing to accept his return to the position. My own sport’s international federation is run by a Russian oligarch, with all the respect for the democratic process you’d expect (see here). His sole comment on the actions of his pal Putin is to recognise it might be difficult to host the European Championships in Moscow this September…

In the face of war, all of this may seem trivial. And let’s be honest, it is. Sporting sanctions are not going to make Putin back down. Economic sanctions certainly haven’t, not that those implemented by western governments have been all that meaningful.

But I don’t care if it’s pointless. I don’t care if it’s not going to make a difference.

I care that it’s still the right thing to do.

Because yes, principle is not going to win a war. But that doesn’t mean it’s something to be abandoned because it’s inconvenient.

Ultimately, we’re not really talking about politics here. We’re talking about right and wrong.

If I stood on the podium and protested against Brexit, that would be political. If I competed wearing an SNP badge, that would be political. If I used my post-competition interviews to urge people to vote for Count Binface, that would be political… I’ll let you decide which one of those is the joke.

Political views are an opinion. There is no right or wrong, just your point of view.

Human rights are not an opinion. International law is not an opinion. This is black and white. You might say it is unfair to Russian athletes, who are not responsible for their government’s actions - indeed, some have even been vocal in their opposition to those actions. But I would suggest it is a lot less fair to the athletes whose country is currently being invaded by a foreign power for the international sporting community to spout thoughts and prayers… all the while refusing to act.

I said I was only going to write when I had something to say and I’ve been building up to this one for a while. It’s been rumbling on in the back of my mind since before I retired, and just grows more vocal with every new story on this theme - the Osaka story yesterday (or, more accurately, the response to it) was a bit of a tipping point.

Because I am sick fed up of seeing athletes treated like sh*t by the people who make money off our backs. And while I’m sure nobody cares what some has-been rifle shooter (who wasn’t even that good to begin with) has to say, I need to say this for me. If I don’t, the anger and frustration will just continue to build up inside me and fester. And honestly? I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

Fair warning though… this might be the first of many posts on this topic…

If you haven’t seen the news about Naomi Osaka, Cliff’s Notes: she refused to participate in press conferences during the French Open in order to protect her mental health, was fined by the organisers for doing so, threatened with expulsion and has subsequently pulled out so as not to distract from event itself…

If you were to apply this situation to a normal workplace, the competition organisers and/or international federations would have a legal responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to Osaka’s working environment in order to protect her mental health. At the heart of it, there is an aspect of her job (playing tennis) that impacts negatively on her mental health (doing press conferences) and an employer would have to make allowances for that. And yes, the model of professional sport is not one of employer/employee - conveniently relieving both organisers and federations of those legal responsibilities to the athletes they profit from - but there is still a moral responsibility that is being neglected here. Organisers and federations have a duty of care to their athletes. Publicly criticising and fining an athlete for wanting to protect her mental health, then threatening her with expulsion from the competition and generally treating her so poorly she subsequently elects to withdraw, is so far removed from supporting her wellbeing that I have to question if the organisers actually understand the meaning of the word.

I also think there’s another aspect - and stakeholder - in this story that should not be overlooked, and that is the press itself. Now, I actually think that journalism is a pretty laudable career. Anything that is vital to the functioning of democracy is something that should be celebrated, and a free press is just that. The majority of journalists I have met and worked with are good, kind people who are genuinely excited to celebrate your successes with you and equally compassionate enough to commiserate your losses - and I believe that experience is probably fairly representative of the industry as a whole.

But, as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility and, like any industry, there are aspects of the media which are significantly less pleasant. One only needs to read some of the headlines about Osaka to see how ugly it can turn. I actually hesitate to call him a journalist, but seeing Piers Morgan describe Osaka as a ‘petulant madam’, while not surprising - he does have form when it comes to abusing women of colour about their mental health - made me want to start throwing things. God knows how it made Osaka feel, assuming she even read it. And when there is potential for things to get that vicious, that vile, just because she politely declined to speak to them, is it any wonder athletes don’t want to subject themselves to those situations?

My personal opinion? Immediate post-competition press is a cruel practice. I’ve only experienced it through the mixed zones at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games - essentially a one way system in place for exiting the field of play which involves running the gauntlet of press from all over the world - and it has, for the most part, been an uneventful experience. But after I bombed in the Women’s Prone at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018, I walked through the mixed zone while having a panic attack. I have never been so grateful to compete in such a low-profile sport as I was in that moment. There was no press, no cameras, no one watching as I staggered through, gasping for air. I shudder to think how that whole situation would have played out if I’d been in another sport, or a more high-profile athlete. Can you imagine the coverage if it had been Jess Ennis-Hill? Becky Adlington? Chris Hoy? More to the point, can you imagine how you’d feel to have a moment of vulnerability like that plastered all over the front pages of the red-tops the next day?

And you don’t get a choice in the matter. Sure, you don’t actually have to speak to anyone, but you still have to walk through the mixed zone - it even gets priority over doping control. There’s no time, no space, nowhere you can go to compose yourself before facing the world’s media. The press-conference model at least offers some protection in that regard, but athletes are still liable to be bombarded with questions demanding to know why they played badly. As if they’re not already torturing themselves over every tiny mistake. As if they won’t keep going over it again and again for days, weeks, months - maybe even years - to come. And for what? To satisfy some morbid curiosity or try to provoke some headline-grabbing reaction?

I get that press and media is a business, and ultimately reporting on sport is about making money, but this practice of putting athletes on the spot immediately after competing, at times kicking them when they’re down, is - quite frankly - inhumane. And yes, as I’ve said, I know these instances are in the minority. But they are damaging enough that I’m amazed it’s taken this long for someone to say no.

Ultimately it comes down to this: athletes are the key players in performance sport. Without them, you have nothing. There’s no competition to organise, nothing to govern, nothing to report on. And while organisers, federations and the press are all stakeholders whose voices need to be heard, none of their needs rank higher in priority than athlete welfare. It’s not a pick-and-choose kind of thing. How often do we see organisations pay lip-service to it then cast it aside as soon as it’s inconvenient? The IOC are certainly doing that with regard to their COVID protocols and athlete waivers… but that’s a different post. Athlete welfare has to be at the heart of every decision that’s made, and part of that welfare is making sure athlete voices are heard. Always. Every time they speak, organisations have to listen. I’m not saying athletes have to get their way every time, and often compromises need to be reached, but they still have to be heard. Otherwise they are made to feel undervalued, overlooked and powerless - all of which can lead directly to mental health problems, and exacerbate existing ones.

I’ve kept quiet about this for a long time, but I am speaking from experience here. A decision was made by my governing body that negatively impacted on me, and when I voiced my concerns I was ignored. My worries, my fears, my feelings were not heard. I felt helpless and powerless, and ultimately being put in that position broke me. I’m still suffering the after affects of that decision - or rather, how that decision was handled and how I was made to feel - to this day, and it happened over four years ago now.

The performance sport environment is a pressure cooker and some of the things athletes put themselves through amount to self-harm. Some of those athletes are well compensated for their efforts, which can make it hard to feel any sympathy for them. But not even the over-inflated salaries of some footballers can make up for the abuse they receive, and nobody should be made to suffer for their sport.

The thing that makes me really mad is not just that Naomi Osaka wasn’t heard. She was punished and belittled and demeaned, and it makes me sick. The world is a horrible place right now and you have to question how elite sport fits into making it right. But one of the enduring appeals of sport is its potential to unite and inspire people - and I think we could all do with a little of that right now. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen if organisers, federations and the less savoury elements of the media insist on treating athletes like they’ve treated Naomi Osaka…

I have a love/hate relationship with the Edinburgh Book Festival. If I’m being honest with myself I’m probably borderline agoraphobic when it comes to how I feel about crowds, and there’s nothing more certain to put my blood pressure through the roof than the mobs that normally descend upon Edinburgh during Festival season. Because of that, it took a couple of years and lots of nagging from my mother-in-law for me to work up the courage to face my fears, but I’m glad I did. And now, almost two years since the last one, I have to say I really miss it. I enjoy the online events - I attended one the other day hosted by the author I’m about to mention - but I miss the atmosphere. I miss browsing the bookshop. I miss being surrounded by fellow book lovers. There’s just something really lovely about it.

That event last week got me thinking about one of the last EIBF events I attended actually, and how it had actually shaped me and my writing. It was 2019, and I remember when the programme arrived, I had a really quick look through for any popular authors who were likely to sell out quickly. The first name that jumped out at me was Holly Black, who was speaking with another author I’d never heard of. I loved the film adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles (although I haven’t read any of the books) and had finished The Cruel Prince earlier that year. If I’ve one criticism of EIBF, I often struggle to find events that really appeal to me as a reader. I find plenty that appeal to me as a writer, but I wished the had more for mainstream SFF fans. Having found one, I was really looking forward to it.

August was really busy, so I didn’t get a chance to read the sequel, the Wicked King, beforehand and I didn’t have time to look up the other author who was speaking and read any of her work in advance either. Boy, did I feel like an idiot.

Enter: Samantha Shannon.

She was promoting her new book The Priory of the Orange Tree, a feminist retelling of St George and the Dragon. And it was the most inspiring hour of my life. The research, the detail, the beauty of her prose… and she was so passionate!

She talked about how inspired she’d been seeing Arwen rescuing Frodo in the Lord of the Rings film as a child, only to be so bitterly disappointed after reading the book and seeing how Tolkien had portrayed Arwen that she turned her back on fantasy for a good long while. She talked about the lack of strong, female leads in fantasy - articulating feelings and frustrations that I’d never really been able to describe, but had always shared. She talked about how one of her characters, Queen Sabran Berethnet, was a demonstration that female characters did not need to be masculine to be strong. I didn’t really understand what she meant until I took the book home and read it.

And seeing her there with Holly Black, who is just as amazing, and how the two of them interacted! It was just brilliant to see two successful women being so supportive and encouraging of each other, sharing in each others journey in such a genuinely positive way. I was pretty jealous, if I’m honest. Interactions like those were something I cherished while I was competing, and I’ve really missed them following retirement.

I couldn’t brave the crowds to stay for the signing after. If I had, I would have got down on my knees and wept in thanks. I’d been stuck in a rut with my writing for the best part of a year, really struggling to work my way out of it, and she’d given me inspiration. Not for my book, but for myself. A role model I could look up to, someone I could aspire to be like. Then I found this article, and I saw my writing in a whole new light.

“‘Historical accuracy’ seems like a strange phrase to bandy about when talking about fantasy. After all, this is the genre where anything can happen — where imagination is the limit, and where the rules of reality can be shattered... Yet high and epic fantasy, in particular, have long had an intimate relationship with history. These genres owe their very existence to the myths and legends of the past...

Working on my novel The Priory of the Orange Tree, I found that writing a ‘historical’ fantasy allowed me to actively engage with history. Fantasy became a tool through which I could scrutinize, explore and challenge the past without the expectation that I would be faithful to every facet of it. It gave me leave to make informed decisions about what to transfer, what to re-imagine and what to abandon altogether...

But there is another side to the coin. An obsession with ‘historical accuracy’ in fantasy is still used, in certain circles, to uphold the long reign of misogyny, racism and homophobia in the most ancient of genres.”

I’d been guilty of falling into that trap more than once - my societies were generally patriarchal, misogynists were everywhere and, in an initial draft of Blood of Ravens, a female character experienced sexual assault. I’d already cut the latter for a variety of reasons, namely a refusal to contribute to or perpetuate the use of violence against women for entertainment, but that article got me thinking. I was writing a world filled with magic and dragons and all sorts of impossibilities that had come from my imagination… so why couldn’t I imagine a world where women were equal to men?

Spoiler: I can now, and it’s beautiful. Still, I’ve retained at least some of our patriarchal society in my writing. Not because I think it’s right, but because writing a woman living with and rising above rampant sexism and misogyny is something I can relate to. Women succeeding in a world ruled by men speaks to me on a deep and meaningful level. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

But at least I’m challenging myself on these things now, and if I do decide do go a certain way it’s a conscious choice made for a good reason rather than because I feel tied to tired old tropes that are nearly a century old.

It feels a little awkward writing this, because I’m shy and introverted and just weird about stuff like this, but I’m also trying this thing where I share some love and put more positivity out in the world rather than constantly complaining… Samantha Shannon changed the way I look at fantasy. She changed how I look at writing, and ultimately she changed how I look at myself. And that’s what I love about books - about words and the people who put them together. It almost feels like some kind of magic, and that’s pretty awesome.

Do you have a particular author you look up to? Someone whose writing has influenced you? Let me know in the comments below!

Yup, that’s right - to celebrate the launch of my debut novel, Blood of Ravens, I’ll be having a virtual party and you’re all invited. Hosted by my sister and Tokyo-bound World Champion rifle shooter, Seonaid* McIntosh, you can register here - but you’d better move fast as there’s only 100 places!

We’ll be talking all things book related (but probably a lot of other nonsense too, because that’s what we do) plus there’ll be a chance for you guys to ask your questions and one lucky person will even walk away with a signed hardback! It might not be a party in the traditional sense but it should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there!

And don’t forget - Blood of Ravens is available to pre-order, now in paperback and hardback as well as eBook! Everyone who pre-orders is eligible to enter the pre-sale giveaway and get their hands on the first five chapters before anyone else. Plus, there are not one, not two, but three signed hardbacks up for grabs! So what are you waiting for? There’s only a month left to go!

* It’s pronounced SHOW-na… not SHIN-aid, not SEE-oh-naid, not SHAN-wa… SHOW-na. Just imagine it’s spelled Shona. And yes, it is Scottish Gaelic but no, we don’t pronounce it the Gaelic way.

You could easily be forgiven for not having noticed my absence from social media over the last few days (part of a social media blackout across sport to protest against online abuse), given how inactive I’ve been of late. Aside from a somewhat rambling Twitter thread and an Instagram selfie or two, I’ve been pretty much ghosting the social channels for weeks now, and I haven’t managed a new blog post since mid-March… which is pretty frustrating, to be quite honest. It’s not so much that I’m disappointed in myself or feel like I’ve let anyone down, more that I’m just annoyed because I never seem to learn from my mistakes and continue to bite off more than I can chew.

Starting a blog while doing all the final work for this book was always going to be difficult, and I knew that. But I figured I could manage it by careful planning and building up a stack of content that I could have in reserve, so I wasn’t under pressure to churn out a new post every week. It started out okay, but invariably the increasing workload caught up with me and I started to run out of content - and I didn’t have the time, or frankly the energy, to generate any more.

I was burnt out.

And it’s taken until now to get back on top of things. I completed all the file formats for the print copies of Blood of Ravens about two weeks ago now. The paperback was finalised about a month ago, but the formatting for the map in the hardback took forever. I am not tech savvy in the slightest and navigating the various programmes and platforms involved in self-publishing this book has been the single hardest part of this process. Write a 230k word novel? No sweat. Design, paint and produce cover art? Easy. Change the colour profile of a PDF for printing? Total meltdown. And don’t even get me started on bleed and trim sizes…

The other problem I have is that, once I’m behind on a task, I find the very thought of trying to catch up overwhelming. It’s taken two weeks away from all book and blog work for me to work up the emotional and mental strength to face this again. I’ve been pretty open about my struggles with pressure and stress over the years, and I’ve never shied away from the topic of mental health, but I’m also acutely aware that I’ve always avoided calling it what it is. The fact is that I suffer from periods of anxiety and depression. And not depression in the sad, weepy sense - I mean depression in the empty, numb, low-energy sense.

Now, part of me just doesn’t like the labels - or, more specifically, the way many people react to the labels - but there’s also a part of me that fears the possible consequences and repercussions of a rifle shooter, even a retired one, publicly admitting to mental health issues. Equally well, stigmas like that don’t just disappear on their own. The only way to resolve that is to normalise talking openly about mental health problems, and I guess part of that is calling it what it is.

Fortunately, neither my anxiety nor my depression are particularly severe. These days they impact more on the quality and ease of life rather than whether I can actually function day to day. They definitely impact on how I do things, but generally less whether I do things. The latter only really rears its head when I overload myself.

Hence the frustration.

Because I know myself, I know my anxiety and depression, and I know how to live with them - and, funnily enough, it never includes piling unnecessary stress and pressure on myself. My biggest fear in starting this blog was that I was going to become overwhelmed with generating new content every week and rather than accepting that wasn’t always going to be possible, I put myself under a huge amount of pressure to avoid that eventuality - which, of course, only hastened its arrival.

Some people may look at this and think it easy, but for me writing weekly blogs while finalising Blood of Ravens for publishing (on top of my actual job and being in a new home) was never viable and what really irritates me is that I ever convinced myself otherwise. To be clear, I’m all for big dreams and don’t believe for a second that mental illness should ever stop anyone achieving their goals - but I also understand the importance of realistic goal setting and, for some reason I still don’t quite understand, I completely disregarded that knowledge when setting out on this venture.

So I’m back to the drawing board, pulling my athlete brain out of retirement and dusting it off to try to analyse what went wrong and how to do it better next time. At the heart of it, I think the problem is that I lost sight of the goal. I didn’t start this blog to make money or grow a huge following, though there was obviously a potential business element to it. I didn’t even start it to promote my book, though again I always intended to utilise it for that.

Ultimately, this started as a platform to share my story. To pass on what I’d learned during my time in sport. To contribute to the discussions of the moment. To try, in my own small way, to make a difference. I don’t have a huge platform - I’m a middlingly successful athlete from an obscure sport - so I know I’m not going to change the world with my words. But as I’ve said before, if my story can have a positive impact on even one person, then it was all worth it.

The truth is, my blog posts are generally better when I’ve got something to say and writing posts just to fill content doesn’t really work. It’s tedious, it’s stressful, and - according to the analytics - nobody really wants to read it. The most successful posts have been those written from the heart, usually prompted by what is going on around me. They’re more authentic and meaningful, and honestly, that’s what I want to write.

So, even though it goes against all blogging best-practice advice, I’m chucking any regular posting schedule in the bin. I’ll write what I want, when I feel like it and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

One of the most enduring appeals of sport is its abilities to cross barriers and bring people together. There is absolutely no place for discrimination of any kind in sport, indeed in any aspect of modern society, yet the online abuse received by athletes, sometimes on a daily basis, is still ongoing. Sport is a wonderful unifier and we all have a responsibility to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, can enjoy it without fear.

Social media provides a wonderful platform for athletes, clubs and sporting organisations to engage and communicate with their fans, but these platforms are being abused by a vile but vocal minority, often hiding behind anonymous accounts, and it’s the responsibility of the social media companies to actively deal with the problem.

My social media accounts will be silent from 3pm today until midnight on Monday 3rd May, in solidarity with everyone who faces hate and discrimination online, and I join calls from across the sporting community for the social media companies to do more to combat online abuse.

If I never have to deal with file formatting or dimensions again in my life it will be too soon, but…

I’m waiting on proof copies to arrive before I can finalise all the physical versions, so it might be a couple of weeks yet until all formats are available. Please also be aware that when books are made available for pre-order, different vendors have different timescales for processing new titles. It might not be available at your retailer of choice or in your preferred format right now, but keep your eyes peeled and hopefully it will be up soon!

Pre-orders are one of the best ways to can support authors, so to say thank you I will be hosting a pre-sale giveaway.

Three lucky winners will each be walking away with a signed hardback copy of Blood of Ravens!

To enter, all you have to do is fill in the entry form - yes, it really is that simple!

And as a thank you to all those who take part in the giveaway, every single entrant will receive a chunky teaser. That means if you pre-order Blood of Ravens and enter the giveaway, you can get your hands on the first five chapters before anyone else!

To find out more and enter the pre-sale giveaway, click here.

I’m sorry to say I don’t have much more news just now. Self-publishing has been a hugely steep learning curve, and a consequence of that means that everything takes me a bit longer to work through. It’ll surprise no one to hear that I also have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew so I’m afraid there hasn’t been much time for anything else! I hope to get a proper blog post out next week - let me know what sort of topics you’d like to read more of in the comments below!

I am so happy to finally share the cover for my upcoming, debut fantasy novel, Blood of Ravens!

The artwork is all my own and I’m researching options for making prints available for anyone interested. I’ve lost count of the hours spent on this, but I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Massive thanks to all those I spammed with various versions as I tried to finesse the design, and most of all to my husband, Andrew, for all his help and patience throughout this process.

And yes, that is a release date you see before you!

That’s right, Blood of Ravens will be out in the wild on June 15th this year.

Information on where you can purchase will follow, and pre-orders should be available later this month.

But wait - the fun doesn’t end there!

Because there’s a chance for you to get your hands on the first chapter FOR FREE!

All you need to do is subscribe to my mailing list using the form at the bottom of this page. And if you’re already subscribed well… go check your inbox!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a bit more about the main characters in my upcoming epic fantasy novel, Blood of Ravens. But one key character was missing from that little teaser - the villain.

Now, I can’t share a lot about him - because, spoilers - but if you’ve read the back cover synopsis, you’ll already know he’s called the Shade King, and that it’s been a century since he brought about the Fall of the Graced and tipped the balance of power in his favour. And, since I can’t tell you much more than that without giving away some major plot points, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on what makes a good villain, as well as looking at some of my all-time favourite villains from books, TV and film.

Central to any good story is conflict. The protagonist has to have something to fight against, something preventing them from achieving their goals, some stumbling block they have to overcome. There’s no story without it. That conflict can be internal or external, with the antagonist either physical or abstract, and most have a combination of all of it, but it is essential to good storytelling.

That said, most genre fiction tends towards having a physical antagonist - a villain for the hero to defeat - and none more so than fantasy. Good vs Evil, Light vs Dark, is the default conflict and Dark Lords are one of the most common tropes in the genre - Sauron, Voldemort, Darth Vader etc - to the point it’s become cliche. When I first started writing, I fell into this trap. The villains were often just a name, a faceless menace without reason or purpose beyond foiling the heroes’ dreams. They were one-dimensional, boring and ineffective.

Because if conflict is the central to good storytelling, then a well-rounded and well-written antagonist is the key to unlocking that.

As I’ve developed as a writer, I’ve learned the importance of giving my antagonists the same (if not more) love and attention I give my protagonists - and as a result I have more fun writing them.

The fantasy genre has evolved and there are some brilliant interpretations or alternatives to the Dark Lord/Good vs Evil tropes out there. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy asks ‘What if the Dark Lord won?’ while Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire trilogy follows a fallen prince bent on revenge, now leading a band of vicious outlaws as they kill and loot their way across the world. A Song of Ice and Fire focusses on infighting within the various Houses of Westeros, where the ‘villain’ is dependent on whichever point of view character you are reading at that point.

When deciding what I wanted for my antagonist, I did what most of us do when we’re looking for inspiration… I looked at what other people have done. I found examples I considered strong and analysed what it was about them I liked. I’ve listed* a few of my favourites below, with a bit about why they’ve made this list.

I came out of Avengers: Infinity War having an existential crisis - I’d spent most of the film sympathising with the villain. This portrayal of Thanos is basically an eco-warrior on steroids, and as we battle to combat climate change and save our planet, most of us can at least relate to his motives if not his methods." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613759497274-XP4YTCAWU3VZU2IPXB87/IMG_7625%252B2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

His Dark Materials were some of my favourite books growing up, and I loathed Mrs Coulter and her daemon. Flip side, I love her backstory and character arc, and Ruth Wilson’s portrayal in the BBC adaptation is stunning. Vicious and controlling, yet somehow I end up feeling sympathetic towards her because she’s often as cruel to herself as she is to others." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747951939-K0UCV0GT6H6JPZA53U7U/IMG_7631+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

My sister was horrified when I told her I was including Spike on this list, arguing Spike wasn’t really a villain. But I’m a sucker for redemption arcs and his is one of the best - especially since the writers balance all the atrocities he’s committed by withholding a fairytale happy ending from him." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747973240-N2AEREBBOPME3R78TKJP/IMG_7633+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Like redemption arcs, I’m also a sucker for the tragic backstory and - though generally I prefer them paired with the handsome, brooding bad guy - they don’t come much more tragic than poor Smeagol. He is evil through and through, but it’s also not entirely his fault. He’s been corrupted by a power beyond his control, and because of that you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748034842-U4XY2MLTIL66ZUHUWN5N/IMG_7636+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Scheming, spiteful and power-hungry… but damn, she’s a compelling character. As her brother Tyrion notes, her love for her children is her one redeeming quality and you can’t help but sympathise with her ongoing battle to survive as a woman in a world ruled by men. But she’s also dangerous, vindictive and cruel. In short, a complex and fully realised character, as all good villains should be." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613759783805-MY02JAS140G6K5E6UXT2/IMG_7640+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

The only cliche Dark Lord to make the list, and only because I find watching him manipulate his way to power throughout the prequel trilogy to be quite fascinating… if also a little too close to the current political climate for comfort." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747950304-QWEN1C5S5J3PQV8ZRMAH/IMG_7629+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

I loved the X-Men Animated Series as a kid, and the Dark Phoenix Saga was my favourite storyline. Heroes battling one of their own, now turned to villain? I’d watch that all day long." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747938361-OCDJK86MUK66208B9IZI/IMG_7627+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Much like Thanos, Black Panther’s Killmonger was a bad guy that left me conflicted. I could understand his motivations and on some level, I didn’t disagree with them. This film will go down in history for a lot of reasons, and Michael B. Jordan’s performance will be one of them." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747928948-WKCYLGT3U0QJC54R2PLT/IMG_7626+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Yes, Vader is a Dark Lord, but I don’t think he’s cliche - or at least he wasn’t when he came out. Aside from the iconic costume and voice, his backstory and redemption arc cement him as one of the greatest villains of all time for me. Even with the whining when he was Anakin." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747950511-W2FBIV4MI3EDJU4JT1A6/IMG_7630+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

I find it equally strange and genius that when reading the Lord of the Rings, we never actually meet Sauron - we only see his influence. His evil is spread by the action of his underlings, all lead by the Black Captain. The Peter Jackson interpretation of this is iconic, but the leader of the Nazgul was a villain to haunt nightmares long before that adaptation ever took shape." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748066456-CWP4ZCIV1U1WNDHL85L8/IMG_7637+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

This one is courtesy of my husband, Buffy lover that he is, and the Angelus story line is his favourite. It’s similar to the Dark Phoenix for me in that hero-turned-villain, but what makes this one so great is how Angelus uses his history with Buffy against her. After all, nobody has more power to hurt us than those we love, and that makes for some great storytelling." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613747980551-T1QRA4HFHSQL2J8MIEUD/IMG_7634+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Ah, the traitor. The fallen hero, corrupted by the lure of power and the manipulations of evil. Again, Christopher Lee’s performance in the Jackson adaptations is fantastic and perfectly captures Saruman’s descent into villainy. Turns out corruption arcs are just as appealing to me as redemption arcs… I just wish they’d included the Scouring of the Shire." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748037586-A04BHIG8FWG4Q5W3UTTC/IMG_7638+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Another icon, but a pleasant change of pace from the bad guy in black. Cruel, arrogant and cunning, the White Witch was my first fantasy villain. My Dad read the Narnia books to me as bedtime stories when I was a kid and although I didn’t realise it at the time, Jadis taught me the value of a villain who follows through. As a reader, there’s a big difference between seeing the evil act and simply hearing about it. Jadis is an object lesson in show, don’t tell." data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748077756-RJ7JRNEZKSX83KQA320N/IMG_7642+2.jpg" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Alan Rickman’s finest role. He’s just so over the top and outrageous, and I love it. Sarcastic and witty, petty and power-hungry. A villain you love to hate. Does it get any better?" data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748010000-2D2G4V6F88XNJL0O7VUF/IMG_7635+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

I have never and will never hate a character more than I hate Dolores Umbridge, and that’s why she’s on this list and not Voldemort. She is the worst villain in the history of villainy, and she makes me see red. We all know an Umbridge - a vile, petty, small-minded person given too much power. I can’t stand her… she’s everyday evil, and she didn’t suffer enough…" data-lightbox-theme="dark" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f7495da40d56d6e290424dc/1613748105273-QHKOZ1N28667BIEQEB00/IMG_7641+2.PNG" role="button" class=" image-slide-anchor js-gallery-lightbox-opener content-fill " > View fullsize

Sitting down and looking at what they all have in common, distilling it down until I have the key aspects of my ideal villain, there are a few core elements that come out. Firstly, they have to present a legitimate threat to the protagonist - whether that’s physical, mental or otherwise. These are more personal preference, but I like a high stakes villain (Voldemort would have seemed pretty weak if he hadn’t killed Harry’s parents). They need to be intelligent - stupidity isn’t scary - and I like my villains charismatic, sometimes with a little charm and always with a lot of wit.

But more than anything, I like a fully fleshed out, complex and compelling villain. They need a redeeming quality and, most importantly, they need a motive for what they do. Because nobody ever believes they are the bad guy. Our brains just aren’t made that way. There is always some story we tell ourselves to justify our actions. Even if we have to manipulate our own minds to do it - processing information, even our own memories, through a lens of bias to fit our beliefs - we will always find a way to make ourselves out to be the hero. A good villain needs to have a reason behind what they do. The reason could be fear, it could be hate or delusion, but there has to be a reason. They’re just not believable otherwise.

For me, this is the single most important thing to creating a memorable and effective villain. In my opinion, the MCU adaptation of Thanos is the gold standard of that principle. He doesn’t just have a reason - he has a reason that makes sense. We, the audience, understand it. Many of us can relate to it. Some might even support it. His ultimate goal - restoring balance - isn’t just logical, it’s laudable, and I doubt many of us would feel differently if we’d endured what happened to his planet. He has a sympathetic backstory, a redeeming quality in his love for Gamora, and a worthy goal - but all of it balanced with a bloodthirsty streak a mile wide. He is the villain, after all.

What do you like to see in a villain? Who are some of your favourites? Let me know in the comments below. And next week… well, next week is something really special, so make sure you sign up to my mailing list to be the first to find out when that is published or you can also follow me on social media.

*Copyright Disclaimer: under Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended by the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 and the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014), allowance is made for “fair dealing” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.

Worldbuilding is the cornerstone of sci-fi and fantasy. Geography. History. Technology. Societies and cultures. Creatures and magic. It’s what sets the genre apart, and what drew me to fantasy in the first place. The wonder and amazement of reading about something new and fantastical. Creating my own has been a delight. And the possibilities when it comes to character, the opportunity it offers to tell stories that would not work in any other setting or enhance stories that might otherwise fall flat… it’s fair to say it’s my favourite aspect of writing fantasy, if also the hardest. So I wanted to give you a little taste of that worldbuilding.

“Renila edged closer to the precipice and looked out across the land stretched out below her. It was a rare, fine day and the bright morning sun had burned away the blanket of fog that had lain so heavy on the land before the dawn. It was cold, as it so often was this far north. The air was clear and crisp, and the smell of the pine forest was on the wind, drawing her gaze from the castle to the world beyond.”

I’m afraid you’ll have to wait to read it to learn more about things like history, culture and magic systems. But I figured a wee sneak peak into the physical setting wouldn’t be too big a spoiler, so today I’m going to be giving a first look at the map for my debut novel, Blood of Ravens. I realise this is personal preference, but I’m often disappointed by fantasy novels that don’t have a good map, and for me a good map is something beautiful and informative. I’m not sure mine is quite up to the standards of Granddaddy Tolkien - prints of which once adorned my living room wall - but I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

As well as revealing the map, I’m also going to share some of the inspiration behind it. Because, like most writers, I’m inspired by the world around me and I am fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful countries in that world (yes, I know I’m biased). The Scottish landscape is as varied as it is breathtaking, but there is also an atmosphere - a character - to it that has influenced the world in which Blood of Ravens takes place. So before you take a look at the map, please feel free to flick through some specific sources of inspiration.

My first sight of Glencoe was with the mist rolling down between the Three Sisters… eerie, but spellbinding

There is something other-worldly about how forests reclaim the land… like they are both ancient and sentient

I have never felt more at peace than I did here, with the water lapping over my boots and the gentle rush of the tide coming in and out like the sound of the sea breathing

I love the smell of pine forests and now this little patch of Scots Pine is just 10mins down the road from us!

I love sea lochs - waves and salt water without the overwhelming vastness of open ocean, and the mountains rising straight up out of the sea

Autumn is my favourite time of year because it’s golden hour all day long, where everything you see is gilded in that soft, warm light

This is what my mother-in-law describes as MAMBA land - miles and miles of bugger all! But I love it, in all it’s wild, untamed majesty

Even when the weather isn’t great, Scotland is still bonnie… which is just as well, since the weather is invariably awful

And now to the map. I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit on this, and it’s been through as many rounds of edits as the manuscript - massive shout and thanks to Petra Zublasing for her input and help finessing in the final stages - but even the early sketches were invaluable in helping me piece together the puzzle of plot and then keep track of it throughout multiple drafts and edits. There are multiple copies of this kicking around my computer, each defaced with various multi-coloured scrawls, none of which shall ever see the light of day… but I digress.

So, without further ado, here it is - the world of Blood of Ravens!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little insight into the world of Blood of Ravens, and that you’re looking forward to learning more in due course. Let me know what you think of the map in the comments below! Next week I’m talking about that other main character I (deliberately) failed to mention in last week’s blog… the Villain! Make sure to sign up to my mailing list if you want to be the first to know when that and any other new content is posted!