"I don't believe in loneliness," he told her. he had a lot of opinions about loneliness for someone who thought that it didn't exist. after two drinks he suggested they head back to his, offering to charm her with the excellence of his whiskeys. she said she had an early meeting the next day, but it would be great to meet again. on the walk home, lucy changed the name for his phone contact so she wouldn't accidentally take his calls.

Background

A fragment this week, another piece about lucy faithful. I’ve been writing sketches around her, seeing what emerges.

November has been a hard month, with several self-imposed deadlines. I’ve given a talk in London, finished the text of the 2024 Mycelium Parish News, published True Clown Stories (Thanks, Dan!), and sent out a secret project. I have two more deadlines this year (a talk and a seminar), but things are starting to wind down.

I’m excited about the new year, and having more time to play more with my writing. Previously, I’ve started projects with big ideas and then tried to write them. This doesn’t always succeed, as these large structures don’t always work at the sentence level. Before committing to any new projects, I’m going to do a lot of sketching and see what takes root.

(Copies of True Clown Stories are available on etsy)

Recommendations

Despite November’s hectic pace, I’ve made more time to read. This has included re-reading James Tynion IV’s The Nice House by the Lake. This horror comic follows a group of friends who are invited to spend a week at a luxurious lakeside lodge. Shortly after arriving they discover that the world outside has been destroyed and that they’ve been saved from the destruction by their friend Walter.

It’s a high-concept story, a little like Lost, as the group investigate their surroundings. They are isolated but safe, and have every luxury they can ask for; but their friend Walter is linked to what has happened to the world.

Tynion builds a believable set of characters and his story emerges slowly. It’s a comic book about apocalypse, but one that explores the relationships between the survivors. The lack of concern about day-to-day needs means that the book sweeps past the survivalist cliches of much of the genre. It’s a strange and enigmatic work, which has overflowed the first 12-issue series into a second, The Nice House By the Sea. I’m not sure where Tynion is headed, but I’m enjoying the journey.