The last ten years has seen me endlessly writing, editing, emailing literary agents, publishers and enjoying the everyday frustrations of being a writer. During that time, I’ve explored (and continue to explore) the world of comics and graphic novels (great fun, but they hit the wallet hard!) self-publishing via Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and practicing the art of persistence.

I’ve heard it said that being a writer is a little like being a boxer. You don’t step into the ring unless you’re prepared to get hit. Apart from the rare individual who lucks their way into instant success, most of us tend to endure a litany of rejections, mixed with a healthy dose of self-doubt and the repeated questioning of friends and family as to why we’re still “writing those stories”.

Thing is, it’s not really a choice. Writers have to write. It’s a form of self-therapy and demonic exorcism wrapped up in one. It’s exhausting, sometimes frustrating and usually financially barren, but the rewards are well worth that price. We get to create worlds. We get to be the first readers of new realities which have been brought to life through our minds and fingers. It’s such a privilege, not to mention a nifty way of staying sane.

So, when you finally find a publisher willing to put out your books, that’s just the icing on the cake. The next few years will see me release 5 or so novels, 15+ comic books, a couple of graphic novels and 2 collections of short stories. That’s nearly ten years of work that will finally see the light of day. Fame and fortune are unlikely to follow, but I can’t wait to start interacting with readers, get slammed by reviewers and struggle with all the narrative twists and turns I will have to navigate as these stories develop further.

Now that I’ve finally found and recovered my login details for Goodreads, I’m also looking forward to being more active on this platform.

More soon.
MQ