May Roundup Part 1
Welcome to my May Roundup! Yes, you read the title right. I could have made this the normal length, but why rush through all the details of this busy month? Hope you all had a good one. Thank you so much to the new subscribers that joined me this month.
So, yes, this busy month. I was on a trip around three cities in the South of France for the major middle chunk of May, so that’ll be my focus on Part 2 (with a highlight reel of photos for you all), coming tomorrow. Part 1 then, is everything else, and there’s plenty of else to cover from my best ever(?) Star Wars Day, to meeting my favourite band, to my best ever(?) comic con day.
As you all know, I’m a bit of a Star Wars fan. Over the past few years I’ve really ‘observed’ Star Wars day, but this was my best yet. (Last year was close, as I heard back from the editor of Insider on May 3rd!)
This May 4th started out with viewing the six new animated shorts, pieces of perfect art really. Tales of the Empire told the story of two very different women, the similarities and differences in their journeys with the dark side. Then, the month’s delivery of Star Wars comics arrived!
That afternoon, on the way to a special 25th anniversary screening of The Phantom Menace, the Artist Hub released their spotlight of me as a creative and this newsletter. I wrote a bit more about that on May 5th in that week’s A Long Time Ago…
So it was a very special day, watching such a classic film that resonated (in more ways than one) much more seeing it on the big screen for the first time with a friend. My local cinema had even decked out the entrance to that screen. It was made even more special by friends old and new congratulating and celebrating my own Star Wars writing. Streaming new Star Wars and seeing a preview at the end of The Phantom Menace for the brand new show The Acolyte coming out very soon… it was a very Star Wars day. With the knowledge that I’m writing for Insider, that I’ll be a small part of the fantastic galaxy (there will be more on this!), and the love of the franchise and those who know me, May 4th was a good day. I’m very thankful.
The next day, May 5th, I went to a local charity football game. It was a great match in itself, made better by the fact one of the celebrity players was Mathew Baynton from Horrible Histories, Ghosts and most recently Wonka fame. It was lovely to finally meet him after two close calls last year, and it was also lovely to see so much of the local community and many from afar come to raise money for the Williams Syndrome Foundation, an organisation to help those with the congenital disorder and their families.
All the information about the syndrome, charity as well as a place to donate can be found here.
A couple of days later, twenty one pilots announced a small surprise show in London (which sadly I missed out on a ticket for) and a signing in Oxford Street’s HMV the same day (which I did get a ticket for - yay!). The couple of days between concert announcement and confirmation that I’d got my signing tickets were an emotional rollercoaster, but worth the ride in the end to meet my favourite band. Their music, and the storytelling that goes beyond the lyrics and sound that they’ve been sharing for ten years in music videos, obscure websites, livestreams, interactive events and more, means so much to me. Much more than I could’ve known than when I was thirteen and heard their hit ‘Stressed Out’ whilst on a German exchange trip.
Their latest album Clancy is the supposed end of their grand story about fighting demons, finding hope in others, centred around a fictional city run by evil bishops on a continent called Trench. I won’t go into more details than that. They showed me, though, that you can put emotions and personal struggles into a sprawling narrative world. That’s certainly helped me with my writing and personal development.
Anyway, I knew I wouldn’t be able to articulate everything I could want to say to them (due to time and also my own constraints - I’ve learnt from celebrity interactions in the past). So, I wrote them a letter with some photos from across the years, chronicling my journey with the band in the style of cryptic letters they’ve released since 2018 to tie into albums and music videos, telling a grand story from the point of view of the protagonist Clancy. I also included a USB with some of my fanfiction, better versions of the photos and more about me, in the style of USBs they sent fans during the pandemic after days of a massive online puzzle.
I wanted them to sign a book I’d handmade at school but security wouldn’t allow it, nor any photos. Luckily HMV had a photographer who shared the photos on Facebook, and I could find these. I got to shake Josh’s hand, tell them both thank you for everything and congratulations on thirteen years together. Tyler especially perked up at seeing the letter and USB which was very nice. In fact the sheer joy outweighs any awkwardness in my mind now, after the shock wore off after a few days. It seemed surreal to live through that moment - in fact I didn’t take as much in as I’d like. It still is surreal.
Then the next day I was flying with two different pilots to France! It probably worked out for the best that I didn’t have a late small venue rock concert the night before…
As I’ve said I’m going to talk more about my time away in a Part 2, but there was one very exciting thing that happened while I was away.
I got a sneak preview of the first page of my article for Insider 226, as well as my face and little bio on the contributors page for me to okay. They used the photo and snippets of sentences from this very newsletter’s subscribe page, which worked perfectly. I know it will be surreal to see me and the words ‘British science-fiction and fantasy author’ in print in a world-wide magazine.
Also while I was away, I finished watching the entirety of Matt Garvey’s YouTube content aimed at helping people start making comics. He’s an British indie comics creator with so much insight for people like me thinking of going down that road. (Link to his site here.)
I feel very well equipped now, and I told Matt such, as my first stop at MCM comic con on the Saturday after I got back home from a delayed flight and drive back the previous evening. The tiring day was very much worth it, though.
I’d written myself a schedule much too jam-packed with panels, but the four I did attend, two aimed at comics creators and two all with authors, were the perfect blend for me, from getting into graphic novels, to marketing yourself online, to a panel all about researching for novels and definitely the funniest one which was a battle of the tropes. It was all very much up my street.
The best parts of the day though were actually talking to people. (May be the first time I’ve ever written that.) I had so many wonderful conversations with authors after their panels, about the things they’d said that resonated with me, or even my own work.
I had an incredibly supportive conversation with Sebastien de Castell, who asked how my year had gone pursuing publishing since meeting him last May. He even offered to see if he could help me out on my journey…
After the research panel, I also had a great conversation about the origins of myths with Adrian Tchaikovsky while he speedily signed at least fifty books placed before him. Lauren Beukes was also incredibly kind, asking all about my WIP novel and then the whole world of stories before that, even saying she hoped I’d be on the panel with them next time!
I met an editor from Panini, Forbidden Planet’s head book buyer, and so many wonderful comics creators including Alison Sampson who was very generous with her time - and even took my details!
Matt Garvey very kindly said he’d take a look at my first script, as did Richard Perry who was on the Graphic Novel panel I attended, but also shifted some screenplays to comics like me!
I was pointed towards creator-owned artist Phil Buckenham who also offered to take a look at my script from the point of view of on artist. Marvel exclusive artist Joshua Cassara was also so kind with his time, really taking the time like Alison to impart me with specific and actionable advice. I was incredibly happy to end the day with his offer to look at the script as well.
It’s very exciting but also nerve-wracking to share my writing with these professionals. Still, I can’t wait to hear back. And please go and support all the linked names above, or at least give them a look.
Plus, I chatted to a few others whose cards I took for potential future collaboration, and more whose work I admire. I treated myself to some good deals that you’ll see in the end section of this roundup.
I realised later that I’d worn the same Droids T-shirt that I wore to Star Wars Celebration (the beginning of my advice-seeking and professional writing journey). It must be my lucky tee, as it seemed to have the same effect.
A couple of days ago I finished off this month by taking my parents to the British Museum. With my membership I took them through the Legion exhibition I wrote about awhile ago, plus the new Michelangelo one. I found it quite poignant, focussing on the sketches and writings from the last decades of his life, more about the person than the art.
The small (free) gem exhibition also highlighted artefacts recently recovered from theft, some real ancient treasures.
Plus I saw some Babylonian and Zoroastrian artefacts I’d either missed or were not on display on previous visits, like this ancient world map on a clay tablet.
I also picked up the HMV-exclusive sleeve of Clancy that I had to pre-order to get my signing ticket, and popped in Forbidden Planet to browse and also add a subscription to exclusive covers of a certain magazine. (Oh, and the King also was driven past with his escort - I suppose he was getting his subscription from Forbidden Planet, or maybe he’d gone to browse manga or pick up a signed Jim Zub Conan the Barbarian.)
If you have a few clicks to share and a Facebook account, I’d really appreciate if you could vote for Roxy Boghosian as cover story for Muscle and Fitness HERS. You can vote once a day here, as well as read about Roxy. What I can say is that her heart and humour as part of Hybrid Wellness’s fitness livestreams over the past four years changed my life. Lockdowns gave me more free time and spending an hour a day with the folks at that gym was one of the best decisions I’ve made to keep happy and healthy. Roxy’s support and encouragement has gone beyond those streams too, so I’d really like to give back and get her to 1st place!
To end this section, I’m going to shout out an amazing anthology being put together by the author couple Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell to launch their publishing company. So far they’ve announced a real Avengers-like group of assembled SFF authors that have contributed short stories, including many that I’ve met and support like Cavan Scott, Stark Holborn, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Paul Cornell and many more!
They’re currently crowdfunding the project, at 35% of their goal. There’s different rewards for different amounts you can give. I’ve donated, and it would be fantastic to get this very exciting anthology funded. Check out this page for all the information and a link to donate.
Writing Update
As for actually writing this month, there’s less news. My screenplay didn’t advance in the competition on Coverfly, but it still holds its ranking. There’s been no word on any archaeology news I can write about either. But I’m feeling pretty optimistic with my Insider article on the way, and the many possibilities fired up by my recent burst of inspiration and support from the many folks I met at comic con.
Marc Guggenheim once again granted my request on his newsletter, sharing some concept art for one of the Arrowverse’s best characters, Beebo.
Whilst I was in France, I also participated in a twitter pitch content, #PitDark. It was a great surprise to have fellow writers that were participating share my pitch around a lot, and to actually get a submission request from a small press. A small victory, but encouraging!
And as you’ll have seen in your inboxes, I’ve been continuing to enjoy talking to you all about my passions of Star Wars and ancient art. Once again I’ll share the links below to this month’s releases. #5 will be out in a couple of days!
This month's books
This segment showcases the new additions to my research and fiction collections.
First off are the comics I mentioned earlier. All five covers seem to have a great face/helmet. While the Thrawn adaptation is ending with that issue, that’s the first issue of the Darth Maul series, one of Marvel’s artsy Black, White and Red series (the interiors use only those colours - perfect for Maul). I can’t wait to properly dive into these!
My MCM comic con haul. On the top left is a cover Alison Sampson did for the series w0rldtr33, now signed by her. After seeing a preview online, I treated myself to the hardcover Dracula, like w0rldtr33 written by James Tynion IV, but illustrated by Martin Simmonds who I got to meet - he signed it inside with little vampire eyes too. I implore you to look up his art.
I also couldn’t stop by Matt Garvey’s stall without picking up a signed copy of one of his series. I went for The Cage as it’s actually one that he broke down on his channel, especially using the issue (a work in progress at the time) to showcase how he letters and designs logos for his comics.
Panini were also offering a 3 for 2 deal on new Star Wars trade paperbacks that I couldn’t refuse, and I picked up a copy of Sebastien de Castell’s book that he talked about on a panel last year for him to sign.
That Antiquity book is a memento from the amazing archaeological museum in Arles. I was so enamoured with the collection that I felt like I had to have a book all about the artefacts.
The rest here come from that recent trip up to London. After having such a pleasant interaction, I picked up one of Lauren Beukes’s books, and then couldn’t resist the offers at Forbidden Planet, picking up the third in Stark Holborn’s Factus Sequence, as well as two of Adam Christopher’s earlier works. After enjoying his Star Wars novel work so much, I couldn’t say no. So, a lot of books this month to add to my massive to be read pile…
And that's the end of this first part of this roundup. Thank you so much to everyone that reads these. Look out for Part 2 coming tomorrow, followed by A Long Time Ago… on Sunday.
Please share this with your friends and family and ask them to subscribe - that would mean the world to me as I do love sharing my various exploits with you all, and would treasure having more people with me on my writing (and life) journey! June will be the most exciting month yet for this newsletter…
Cheers,
Harvey