Journal
Space Operas and Other Stories
My space opera, ION CURTAIN, is nearly here! Out on 19th July 2022. Check it out if space operas, intergalactic espionage, and rogue AIs are your thing. The lead up to a book launch is always scary as hell to me, especially once promo starts rolling along and I start second-guessing everything I’ve ever done, …
A New Year and Other Stories
Happy New Year! Hope everyone reading this had a great holiday season, and best wishes for the year ahead. May it be less hectic than the last two years have been. I feel like 2021 passed in no time at all. Was it really one year ago that there was an insurrection and a weird …
Higher Order and Other Stories
Melbourne is back from its latest lockdown at 90+% vaccination, which means activities have returned – within COVID-safe guidelines. A recent one is Scott Pickett’s Higher Order, an immersive, futuristic dining experience looking at what dining might be like in the (near? far?) future: sustainable, ritualistic, and perhaps, given the portion size, minimal and expensive. …
Even More Sageuk and Other Stories
My 13+ year old cat Russ is a fan of films. He hardly ever will watch an entire movie through – notable exceptions are the Cats film and Hamilton – and I can’t always tell what he likes. He seems to enjoy films with a certain colour grading, like the soft grey and sand of …
Period Dramas and Other Stories
I don’t have any interest in modern war films. I’ve never watched Saving Private Ryan, or Dunkirk, or most of the World War I / II / Vietnam war etc films. The only ones I’ve enjoyed watching that I can recall offhand are fantasy-esque ones like Captain America and Wonder Woman. Growing up, I’ve never …
Iki Island and Other Stories
Damn, I’ve missed this game. Still one of the most cinematic, visually beautiful games I’ve ever played – Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island expansion came out in August. Finished it over the weekend. It was, sadly (or not?) pretty much a five hour exploration of (even more) of Sakai Jin’s deep-seated daddy issues. Dad Sakai …
The Swordsman and Other Stories
As I write this, Melbourne has emerged from a 2 week snap lockdown: we’re thankfully back to 2 daily cases a day or so. Shows that decisive responses work, despite the snafu during the lockdown from the anti-vaxxer protests and the continued terrible national vaccination rollout. Hopefully that’ll ramp up soon. Melbourne was back to …
Mr Queen and Other Stories
Lockdown has eased up in Melbourne, and I’m likely going to get vaccinated next week if all goes well. May everyone who’s able to get vaccinated be able to get around to it soon, and as to everyone else, I hope things work out in your favour soon. In Australia, Pfizer is still only available …
The Ion Curtain and Other Stories
Thrilled to reveal that my upcoming SFF space opera, The Ion Curtain, has been acquired by Rebellion Publishing, slated for release in 2022! Huge thanks to my agent, Jennie Goloboy, who got the deal through so quickly. Seriously thought it’d take far longer, given I only signed on with an agent in January. Enemies to …
Word of Honor and Other Stories
I am asking you to watch Word of Honor | 山河令 . Even if (especially if!) you’ve never watched wuxia before. Even if you don’t like the danmei (Chinese BL) genre. For all its troubled production, tiny budget, and occasional plot hole from adapting a book with characters so Unrepentantly Murder that they’d never pass …