Hey. Kit Power, here - author, blogger, podcaster, reviewer, and all-around genre fanatic. You're receiving this email because you signed up to my newsletter. Thank you for that.
The plan is simple; a monthly one-stop shop where you can find out what I’ve been up to in the past month, what my plans are for the month ahead, and, most importantly, pictures of my frankly adorable pets. Really glad to have you here. Let’s get to it.
Ziggy, raring to go
What happened in January:
Most importantly, My Life In Horror Volume II fulfilment is done, with the signed print copies winging their way across the country (and in a few cases, across the ocean) to backers. I talked last time about how emotional I’ve found wrapping up the My Life In Horror project, and I certainly felt a resurgence of that as I signed the books and packaged them up. I simply wouldn’t have been able to publish something this personal without people being willing to crowdfund it. I hope all of you who backed the project enjoy and cherish your limited-edition print books, and once more, thanks for ensuring My Life In Horror Volume II will get a mass-market print and ebook release.
I also submitted a short story to a market for the first time in over a year. We’ll see how it goes, but it felt good to get back on that particular horse; I’ve got a couple of good shorts that are just gathering dust on my hard drive right now, with another three or four at various stages of germination. I do find the non-fiction work much easier, but fiction is more satisfying, so I’m really keen to get back to more of that in 2023, especially with My Life In Horror finally put to bed.
I also finished the last big pass on the novel draft, incorporating critical reader feedback and grafting in some new text into the body of the novel. One last read-through by myself and my co-author, and then it’s off into the hands of an agent. That book has been 5 years in the making, and it’s absolutely wild to have that and MLiH effectively conclude in the same month. That said, it’s overwhelmingly positive, both on its own terms, and in terms of feeling new possibilities and projects opening up. Talking of…
Written:
Finished the next essay in the Brian Keene readthrough for my ongoing Gingernuts of Horror series; breaking format to cover Terminal: Author’s Preferred Text. Really enjoyed it, and revisiting my own initial response in light of the re-read. Patreon backers have had that for a few weeks, Gingernuts will be running it soon.
I also got a couple of new essays written on movies - one covering The Batman (2022) and another on The Banshees of Inisherin. I really enjoyed both, for different reasons. Again, Patreon backers got these already, Gingernuts will be publishing them sometime in Feb. I also actually managed to finish a couple of books, one consequence of which is that I’ve written a review of The Exeter Incident by David Watkins (spoilers; I enjoyed it). Because it’s relatively brief, I’m planning on bundling it in with another review for Patreon backers in the next couple of weeks, and then to Jim thereafter.
I also revisited a partial draft of a short story that I’m keen to finish, but didn’t actually make any progress. One for February, I think.
Recorded:
Writeopolis launched season 5 with two episodes in Jan; the debut, a host-only episode, and then an extended chat with the brilliant Joshua Phillip Johnson. The first episode is publically available here, and the JPJ episode will go live to backers tomorrow, and the public a week after that. Both were really fun, engaging conversations; the show feels like it’s going from strength to strength, and it’s great to have a regular way to catch up with some mates and talk about writing. A reminder that the show runs Live on our Discord alternating Sundays, 8:30pm. The next show, Sunday 5th Feb, will feature Kayleigh Edwards, author and EIC of Happy Goat Horror Reviews. Live shows are totally free to join and participate in, so do check it out.
I also recorded the pilot of a brand-new podcast episode with my daughter. It’ll be Patreon exclusive, and the first episode will be dropping this Sunday, 5th Feb. For more information, see the reading section :)
And A Very Special Episode of Human Bondage will be recording tomorrow night, though that one won’t be released until April.
Published:
Due to December being a quiet month in terms of production. January has been quiet in terms of publication. However, I did manage to record a long-form chat/interview with George Daniel Lea. As you’ll recall from last month’s newsletter, he’s taken over the My Life In Horror series, and his first couple of essays are already up on the site. He’s also expanding the series, to interview other creators about their relationship with the horror genre, and he had me on for the inaugural episode on his new channel. We cover a ton of ground, here, and it was as always a blast to catch up with him. Check it out:
BabyCat sleeps with one eye open
Reading: After a tough time with reading in December, I’ve gotten back on the horse this month. In addition to finishing The Exeter Incident, I read Lawless, Book 2: Long-Range War (a graphic novel I got as part of a 2000AD bundle a couple of months back) and I’m making good progress on another ARC that I am absolutely loving.
Most importantly, I reread The Colour Of Magic, as prep for the new podcast with Kiddo - yes, my daughter and I will be reading the Discworld series, in order, and then recording conversations about it. It’s her first time through, and my first revisit in at least a decade, and it’s an absolute thrill to get her fresh view on what was, for me, a hugely important teenage reading experience. Obviously, due to reading speeds, we’re not committing to anything as grand as a release schedule, but I can already tell it’s going to be a delightful project. The show will be a Patreon exclusive for the foreseeable, and the first episode will be going live this Sunday; and remember, just $1 a month will get you instant access to this, my ongoing exclusive Sherlock Holmes show, and literally hundreds of other posts.
Watching:
Finished season 2 of Slow Horses; enjoyed it even more than the first, a combination of the show hitting its groove and me tuning in to the tone, I think.
Gulped down season 1 of Severence; a definite slow burn, how much you enjoy the first few episodes may in part depend on your tolerance for/fascination with weirdness, and there the set design does almost more work than the actors, but boy does the second half kick off. And the finale had me yelling at the telly in the best way. Furious there’s a wait time for season 2, but I guess people need holidays or whatever.
Also one episode into Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World from Chuck D and the BBC. It’s exceptional and really gets under the hood of the social forces in play as the form emerged. Only seen the first episode so far, but fired up for more.
As mentioned above, in movieland, caught The Batman and The Banshees of Inisherin - essays to follow. Also watched the All Quiet On The Western Front remake, which was as brutal unflinching and relentless a portrait of trench warfare as you’re ever likely to see. Spectacular, but a tough watch.
Finally, back on TV, Tulsa King would be my guilty pleasure if I believed in guilty pleasures; it’s really not very good, but Stallone has such star power that it’s ludicrously watchable, and tonally it’s such a fascinating mess. Plus at least once per episode, he does something with his acting performance that absolutely knocks my socks off. Seriously, the cat’s got game. Can’t really recommend it. But I’m having a blast :)
Playing:
Mainly Marvel Snap, though I’ve cooled on that a bit since realising that I’m never going to hit infinite on the ladder. It’s still a superbly designed game, tho, and I’m hoping now the ‘play against friends’ mode is live, I’ll get a second lease of life with it once I can get some suckers hooked into it :D . Over on the PS4, after a brief, intense, but ultimately unsatisfying dalliance with Elite: Dangerous, I’ve started a replay of the Uncharted trilogy, and a first-time playthrough of Wolfenstein: A New Order, both of which I’m enjoying.
Rocky, the OG Basket Case
Book of the month: GodBomb!
The book that started it all. Published in September 2015, my debut novel is a tight, focused thriller, taking place in a single location over the course of a few hours. From the blurb:
Someone wants answers.
North Devon, England. 1995. A born-again revival meeting in a public building. The usual mix of the faithful, the curious, and the desperate. And one other – an atheist suicide bomber. He's angry. He wants answers. And if God doesn't come and talk to him personally, he's going to kill everyone in the building...
The most popular book I’ve so far produced, I still receive occasional messages from readers discovering this story for the first time and wanting to tell me what a bad, bad person I am. Why not join them? :) Available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook.
February plans:
On the podcasting front, Human Bondage appears to be firing back up after a hiatus, and the health issues that put The Backer Street Irregulars on hold also appear to be resolving, which is excellent, so I expect at least one more of each of those shows is on the cards in February; as, I hope, will be Seasons of the Crow 3, where George, Steven and I will talk season 3 of Sons Of Anarchy.
Writingwise, more reviews, but most importantly for me, more fiction, I hope. I have a bunch of short stories calling my name, and the first 6K of the next novel(la). Will it be a challenge balancing producing regular Patreon content with working on the long-form projects? Yeah, of course. Welcome to my world.
But I’m up for it, and with MLiH and the novel away, it feels achievable.
And I’m so excited to get to it.
Rocky is also excited, as you can tell
Song of the Month:
In honour of Chuck D, and maybe the best live show I’ve ever been to, let’s play it out with Prophets Of Rage banger anthem, Unfuck The World. Listener discretion is advised, as we used to say. But this is a fair reflection of the inside of my brain, on the good days. Enjoy.
Hey, we made it. Good work. Stay hydrated. Stay in touch. See you next time.