I've had this blog up and running for well over a decade now, but it's time to move on. I've finally got round to setting up my own writer's website. The following link will take you there:

https://jimalexanderwriting.com

No plans from now on to update this blog. To be fair entries have been pretty sparse over the last couple of years as it is. Many thanks for all of you who dropped by. I still intend on posting the odd thing on the new website, so I hope you might consider checking it out.  

Cheers and awrabest!

Something on the TV

I wrote something that started as a comic strip which ended up on TV. If you've exhausted every other box set going, you could do worse than take in Whisky in the Jar, which stars Michael Biehn and James Marsters.

It’s a tale of the Wild West set in the town of Totem, with Marsters as a doc who has the healing touch. Word spreads, and cowboys with a feud to settle, or who are just looking for a wild time, flock to Totem, sure in the knowledge if they get wounded, they have a higher chance of survival in a town with the doc with the healing hands. What should be viewed as a blessing quickly turns into a nightmare as the town is overrun.

Available on streaming everywhere. Here's the link to Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B07Q3KB1QH/

As a wee added bonus if you’d like to read the original comic strip, written by me with art by Gerald Parel, send me a PM and I’ll send on the PDF.

Podcast Frenzy

Hey there. Hope you’re digging in. Hope we’re over the worst of it.

If you’re really desperate for something to listen to, I’m interviewed in a podcast where I chat about my comics career and among other things making the transition into writing novels. If you fancy a listen it’s available here:

https://soundcloud.com/workingcomics/jim-alexander

On the subject of novels before I committed GoodCopBadCop to prose there were a few comic book versions. Now out of print, but if you’d like the PDF for GCBC: Tiny Facts of Kindness, then drop me a message and tell me how you’re getting on.

 In the meantime, be well, be safe and see you on the other side.

April

Last time, I made the bold claim that ‘The show must go on’. It only occurred to me after the fact that all the shows have been cancelled. Our world at the moment is one of social distancing, taking advice from baked potatoes, and a Prime Minister in intensive care. What’s the point of fiction in a world stranger than fiction?

I don’t have an easy answer to this. Except that stories can take us out of the world we live in. It’s a form of escapism we can enjoy while staying put (and safe) behind four familiar walls.

My new novel the Light is now up on the Planet Jimbot shop on Etsy. It’s available as both paperback which I can sign and personalise and digital (ebook, PDF & Kindle) which alas I can’t. I can send you an e-mail though. Yes, another one! 😊

Here are the links:

the Light (paperback novel)

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/779147800

the Light (ebook/Kindle)

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/793031489

I do have a freebie for you. Gabriel#1 featuring the first part of an archly askew urban drama touted as “a true story taking place in an alternative Scotland”. Where demons and angels are real and regularly meddle in mortal lives and matters. Superb art by David Hill (Luther: Echoes of the Hammer). Just DM me. Happy to chat and I’ll send you on the PDF.

In the meantime, be well, be safe and see you on the other side of the outbreak.

the Light explores a world where you wake up and know this is the day you die. On sale here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/779147800/ and here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191645352X

GoodCopBadCop is a modern take on Jekyll and Hyde where ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person. On sale here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731747383/ and here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Jim-Alexander/dp/191645352X

March

Hey there, 

Well, what a difference a month makes. A week. A day even. I hope this post finds you safe and well. I was in two minds whether I should post something out this month, but here it is. The show must go on. Although technically no shows are going on...

My latest novel the Light is still on sale. I'm still promoting it. In a recent review David Higgins writes, 'Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking science-fiction that is focused more on exploring the impact of a single change on human experience than on space battles and alien civilisations.'  You can read the whole review here:

https://davidjhiggins.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/the-light-by-jim-alexander/

If you'd like to check the book out, there's a link here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191645352X

Our latest giveaway is the PDF of Amongst the Stars#1 featuring the current Louise Lane artist from DC Comics, the one and only Mike Perkins. If you’d like a PDF copy post me a message with your e-mail address (I won't publish any personal info on this blog).

Thanks for listening.

Jim A

the Light explores a world where you wake up and know this is the day you die. On sale here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191645352X

GoodCopBadCop is a modern take on Jekyll and Hyde where ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person. On sale here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731747383/ and here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Jim-Alexander/dp/191645352X

The Herald/Paisley,Aberdeen,Carlisle/Food Chain

It’s February, which means it’s no longer January. I'm staring out of my window and wondering is that the first bud of spring I can see in the distance, or an oddly shaped mushroom? Oh, and here comes the snow...

News this month, as I continue promoting my new book the Light, I'm interviewed by the Herald. Also, details of signings in March taking in the delights of Paisley, Aberdeen & Carlisle.  Also, we have the next monthly giveaway, which comes in the form of the PDF of Food Chain#1. OK everyone take a deep collective breath and we'll begin... 

The Herald interview

I talk to Teddy Jamieson of The Herald about the Light and some of the comic strips I've written. It's a great interview. There's one question in particular that nearly had me stumped. 'If you lived in the novel would you want to know the day of your death? And if you did, what would you do with your last day on the planet?' Did I come up with some kind of answer? I'll leave it for you to decide. You can find the link to the interview here:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/18213279.graphic-content-death-x-men-q-jim-alexander/

Paisley, Aberdeen & Carlisle

I officially launch the Light at Paisley Central Library on Friday evening 6th March (6pm-7pm). The event is part of Will Eisner Week organised by Renfrewshire Libraries. I'll be joined by editor Kirsten Murray and comics historian John McShane to discuss The anatomy of the Light. We'll be covering all aspects of writing, editing and producing the book. I'll be doing a reading and once that's done, trying to crowbar in as many witty anecdotes as I possibly can. The event is free, but ticketed. The book will be on sale after the talk and I'll happily sign it for you (if you want me too, that is)! If you'd like to come along, and I hope you can, you can register for the event by following the link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-anatomy-of-the-light-tickets-92703120529

The following week I'll be in the granite city of Aberdeen. On Saturday 14th I'll be doing a signing at Asylum Book and Games, 29 Adelphi, situated in Aberdeen city centre. I'll be there for the guts of the day (11am-5pm), so if you're in the neighbourhood please pop in and say hello and, you know, if the mood takes you, pick up a copy of the book.

I'm in Aberdeen one week and the next week Carlisle, which is a tidy 228 miles away.  I'll be an exhibitor at Megacon, situated at Richard Rose Central Academy, on Saturday 21st March. The event is on 12pm-7pm. Entry will cost you £6 and you pay at the door. There are all kinds of events taking place on the day. Check them out on the events page on the Book of Face:

https://www.facebook.com/carlislemegacon

Giveaway

Our latest giveaway is the PDF of Food Chain#1. 'You’re in Sales. You’re top of the food chain. Your whole life – every client detail – is held on your smartphone. So what happens when someone gets hold of your phone – your contacts – your life? Someone bad? Someone demonic?' Featuring fully coloured art by Pete Woods who is currently working on the webcomic Voodoo Chille (check it out at voodoochille.com).

If you’d like a PDF copy of Food Chain#1, send me an e-mail (planetjimbot@gmail.com) and tell me the last half-decent movie you've seen.

Thanks for listening.

Jim A

the Light explores a world where you wake up and know this is the day you die. On sale here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191645352X

GoodCopBadCop is a modern take on Jekyll and Hyde where ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person. On sale here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731747383/

January

Happy New Year! Let’s hope it’s a good one. So, if you’ll indulge me I’d like to delve into news about my new book the Light, as well as other publishing news and any public appearances I have planned. Also, there will be a monthly giveaway of a PDF of a comic published by Planet Jimbot. In this case the award nominated Wolf Country#1. So without further ado…

 

the Light

There have been a couple of reviews posted already of my new novel. Up on the book’s Amazon page we have a five-star review from Piaras, who says, ‘It’s a first-class speculative fiction with perfect pacing. Not much is as it appears here, which is just the way fans of mystery, thriller and suspense will want it.’ What more can I say, but Piaras knows his onions.

the Light has also garnered a beautifully streamlined and aesthetically pleasing 9/10 on the website Now Read This! The review goes on to say, ‘Told through a string of narrative viewpoints from the highest and mightiest to the most excluded and lowly, how The Light works – and how it ultimately fails – is beguilingly exposed in a wry and mordant, satire-saturated tale that delves like a forensic exam into the nature of what it means to be human and truly alive…’ And you’ll get no argument from me.
 

Other Publishing News

      

Not that I’m finished with comics. I’m one of the writers on a new Marvel Graphic Novel, Uncanny Origins: Myths and Magic. I write a re-telling of the origin story of Storm. It tells of her birth, the tragic death of her parents, her life on the streets as a teenager and her discovery of her powers all the way through to her ascension to goddess and ultimately X-Man. Marc Campos supplies the art. It’s a really dynamic endearing story featuring one of Marvel’s enduring heroes.

Public Appearances

I’m still officially in a state of hibernation, so no plans to venture out before March, but I’ve already got dates planned in Paisley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Carlisle. And I’m hoping more besides. More on such things in future blog posts.

Giveaway

 

Wolf Country is a comic strip featuring vampires v werewolves in a Wild West setting. It’s a lot more than that, but why should I ruin the surprise? Nominated by the Eagle awards/True Believers for best UK comic. Written by Jim Alexander and drawn by the superlative Luke Cooper. Luke is currently busy working on his magnum opus Hollow Girl published by Markosia.

If you’d like to a PDF copy of Wolf Country#1 either comment on this post (please include an e-mail address) or send an e-mail (planetjimbot@gmail.com). 

Thanks for listening. Stay warm (and dry) this January. Chat soon.

the Light explores a world where you wake up and know this is the day you die. On sale here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191645352X

GoodCopBadCop is a modern take on Jekyll and Hyde where ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person. On sale here:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731747383/