008: Good Night, 2023
What. A. Year. First things first though...
Support my work
Work-Life Balance – the multi-award-winning prose/comics hybrid co-created with Benjamin Chee
You can also get the Work-Life Balance bundle, which comes with the book, a mug, washi tape and more
Worlds Apart: A Conversation About Mental Health – a comic co-created with Nurjannah Suhaimi
HANTU – Spotify channel for the award-winning narrative series, Ghost Maps, and the talk show, Dead Air, both of which were co-created with Kyle Ong
Defying convention
I had a great time once again at Singapore Comic Con. This edition—like many of the more recent ones—boasted some incredible guests, including DC's Executive Editor, Ben Abernathy.
I had the privilege of moderating a panel with Ben and some of the most iconic cover artists working today: Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, Alan Quah, Derrick Chew and Kael Ngu. Considering the camaraderie these guys share, I honestly didn't have to do a whole lot to ensure that the crowd and the panelists had fun.
That said, I'd argue the New Talent Showcase panel—moderated by Leslie Lee, featuring myself, Ben (Chee, I mean), Edison Neo, Kang Jing, Elvin Ching and Samara Gan—took the cake for the weekend, though I suppose I'm a little biased.
Edison and KJ are sweet guys, and Ben and I are already friends with Elvin, but it was great to find out that Samara and I share the same goofball sense of humour. I really hope that the dumb jokes we were making on our side of the table created a fun atmosphere for the sizeable crowd 'cause we sure were having a blast.
Then there was the creators' dinner, where I met a very friendly and hilarious dude from Perth that I later realised was Shane McCarthy, a writer whose credits include Detective Comics and All Hail Megatron.
Shane and I got to talking about everything from Elizabeth's Bookshop in Fremantle to the possibility that we might've been at the same Foo Fighters show years ago. As the dinner wound down, him and I, along with Ben Abernathy and artists Maria Laura Sanapo and Marco Santucci, kept the conversations going over lovely post-dinner drinks at the hotel's bar.
Like I said, a great time—and, really, it's all thanks to the con's team. The show's been going for years now and we should never take for granted what an excellent job they do, so hey, if you were at SGCC, why not send them a nice message on their socials?
The year when everything happened
Let's run down the list, shall we?
Nadia and I bought a flat in June and had our church wedding in July.
The day after our wedding, I hopped onto a plane for Norwich, where I had a four-week residency and started work on my novel.
Around a month after I returned, Work-Life Balance won Best Literary Work and Book of the Year.
Then Ben, Nadia and I headed up to my first international literary festival.
(Plus, there are all the things that I've been quietly working on, which haven't been announced yet. Yeah, that's right. Things, plural.)
As wildly busy as it's been, it's also been amazing. Not all of it, of course. I've had some seriously low lows, both personally and professionally. Hell, I'm still dealing with the emotional fallout of some of those lows. But I'd like to think that, with enough time, they'd be nothing more than faded memories—lessons learned and scars healed.
After all, the good has shined so brilliantly. At several points during 2023, people would ask me if I thought things could get any better—and somehow they always did. I genuinely can't believe my luck, though I have to consciously give myself the proper credit for how hard I've worked to get here.
This has felt like the start of the life I've always wanted, yet never even dared to dream was possible. Cheesy, I know, but nonetheless very true.
So, I raise my glass to you, 2023. You've set a pretty high bar for 2024 and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Looking ahead
One thing I definitely need to do in 2024 is take better care of my health. I'm sure anyone who's known me a while will have noticed that I've not been looking my best. I certainly don't feel great either.
Part of that's because of those aforementioned low lows, which have affected my diet, but physical problems like my gout and a case of Achilles tendonitis have greatly reduced how much I've exercised too.
This honestly frightens me because, if this is the start of the life I've always wanted, then I want it to be as long a life as possible.
A huge part of 2024's going to be dedicated to finishing my novel. If my time in Norwich has taught me anything, it's that a morning activity helps to really kickstart my day, so that's going to be my first step: something simple that I can work into my daily routine, which also helps with my writing.
It's not going to be easy. I've never been the biggest fan of exercise. I have to try though, so wish me luck, folks.
You'd think he was the one that's been busy
Behold, this jackass with his incredibly difficult life.
Links and things
This article looking back at the rise and fall of Comixology is a depressing reminder of just how fantastic the app was—and how the shitty tech bro corporate mentality managed to ruin it so completely.
Samara wrote an excellent piece for the Today paper about her journey from Teen Titans-loving kid to publishing her debut graphic novel, How to Date a Dozen Men.
Let's wrap this up
This'll be the last edition for 2023. I'll be back in January, though I haven't decided yet whether I wanna send out my usual two editions that month or give myself a break and just send out the one. I guess you'll find out in a few weeks.
Also, you've still got time to get my stuff for Christmas, you know?
The Difference Engine web store won't be fulfilling orders from 17 December till January, so if you're making your purchase after tomorrow, just click on the retail partners tab to see where else you can get my work.
And that's it for 2023! I hope you and your loved ones have a lovely, safe holiday—and I'll see you in the new year.