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/

 

 

 

the Light

Happy New Year to one and all. ‘So what’s new’ I hear you ask? I have a new novel out called the Light.

the Light explores a world where you wake up and know this is the day you die. How would such a world shape the way we think, our views on each other and society, how we conduct our personal and financial affairs; how we live and how we will die?

You can read the first chapter here:

https://donjimmyreviews.wordpress.com/2019/12/04/extract-from-thelight-by-jim-alexander/

I chat to Meredith Rankin about the book and writing in general:

https://meredithrankin.com/author-interview-jim-alexander-author-of-the-light/

At the start of last year I was promoting my first novel GoodCopBadCop. As we embark on 2020 I’ve moved on to the Light. There’s a diary of my year of 2019 (a little tongue in cheek thrown in for good measure) posted up on Between the Lines:

https://betweenthelinesbookblog.com/2019/12/06/guestpost-from-jim-alexander-author-of-the-light-where-does-time-go-jimplanetjimbot-books-sciencefiction/

Edited by Kirsten Murray. Cover by Alex Ronald. It would be remiss of me not to give you a few links where you can pick the book up. Available in paperback and digital almost everywhere, but for starters here are a couple of Amazon links:

UK:

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

USA:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/191645352X

Signed copy of GCBC on sale on Etsy

Where has the time gone? No sooner am I touting the first novel, I’m now prepping for the second. The new book is called ‘the Light’, which is as far removed from the first one as you’re likely to get (except for the fact I’m writing it of course).

More on the Light shortly, but in the meantime if you fancy a signed copy of GoodCopBadCop for a tenner (postage included) it’s up on the Planet Jimbot shop on Etsy. Happy to dedicate it to whoever you like making it the ideal pressie for yourself or someone you know who love books:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731747383/

Alternatively, get your digital copy of GoodCopBadCop for £3.69 including VAT also on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/731748691/

GoodCopBadCop novel now on sale

GoodCopBadCop is a crime novel with a twist. It is a modern crime take on Jekyll and Hyde where both ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person. This is not a story about a good man turned bad, or a bad man turned good.  Both good and bad arrived at the same time.

Cover by Alex Ronald

GoodCopBadCop was originally released as a Graphic Novel, which went on to win the True Believers Comics Awards. The novel delves deeper into the psychological trappings, black humour and surrealist overtones that made the title such a hit with readers. It really gets into the gut(s) and mind(s) of the main character.

Jim Alexander is an award-winning writer who has worked for TV (Metal Hurlant Chronicles) and for DC (Batman 80-Page Giant, Birds of Prey) and Marvel (Uncanny Origins, Spectacular Spider-Man). GoodCopBadCop is his debut novel.

Book is 300 pages and available far and wide. Some links to follow:

UK

Amazon (print & digital):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916453503
Blackwell’s (print):
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781916453500
Kobo (digital):

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/goodcopbadcop

US

Amazon (print & digital):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1916453503

Barnes & Noble (print & digital):

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1129823698

Kobo (digital):

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/goodcopbadcop

A potted history of GCBC#1

The first issue of GoodCopBadCop the comic came out in 2012.  I came up with the idea a year earlier.  I was looking for an idea – a high concept even – for my next indie comics venture and I remember seeing an ad on a double-decker bus and suddenly it came to me.  It popped into my head more or less fully formed.  I have absolutely no recollection what the ad on the bus was.  I always assumed one day it would come back to me.  Now I’m not so sure.

GoodCopBadCop is a modern crime take on Jekyll and Hyde where the ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person.

The same night I put together the pitch, everything came together beautifully, seamlessly.  On a wall in Sauchiehall Lane, I saw a piece of street art in the shape of a human-shaped chalk mark and I thought, that gives me an idea, and the opening story began to form.

 It was a Wednesday.  It had to be because I was attending Weegie Wednesday, a monthly networking event for Glasgow-based writers and all types of creative, held at Universal (as it was called at the time).  That was the night I bumped into artist Garry McLaughlin, who himself was catching a quick drink, having been to the cinema previously to watch Terence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’.  I knew of Garry, rather than actually knowing him, so I approached his table, introduced myself and sneaked in a quick pitch.  Garry was up for it and there it was.

Funny that, I can remember so much about that night, but not the ad on the side of a bus which in my mind sparked the whole thing off.

The comic featured three stand-alone stories.  It was a sort of ‘proof of concept’ issue.  I wanted to show I could take the idea and play it out.  Put some flesh on the bones.  Garry’s version of DI Brian Fisher remains the definitive one.  His version of BadCop is a brutish one, the character bulking up in front of your eyes.  His rendering of Mrs MacPhellimey with her ‘mushroom cloud’ hair (whose name I took from ‘At Swim-Two-Birds’ by Flann O’Brien) is just superb.  The cover he did for this issue remains one of my favourites.  It's a beauty...

 

Quit your jibber jabber…

…And tell us how long it took to write your first novel.

Okay good question, deep breath – 9 months writing it; 6 months in a drawer; another 6 months of rewriting it; 3 months of editing, proofing and publishing.  After a quick count of all my fingers, toes, and some other appendages, I make that 24 months in total.  Or 2 years, give or take the odd hastily eaten sandwich and dodgy haircut.

The book is still at the proofing stage, but once it’s in and the changes are accepted it’ll be good to go.  I’ve made myself promise myself there won’t be any hurried last minute changes.  I suppose it’s taking the adage to its logical conclusion that a novel is never finished, it’s just published.  Eventually you’ve got to let it go and unleash it onto an unsuspecting, but I hope deserving, world.

I've got a novel coming out

I’m about to publish my first novel.  It’s called ‘GoodCopBadCop’.  Some of you might already recognise the title from the brace of graphic novels written by me a few years back, published by Rough Cut.  The novel has given me the chance to really get into the guts of the mind(s) of the main protagonist.  This for me will be the definitive version.  Now I’ve done it, I can move on and write something else.

For those who don’t know, GoodCopBadCop is a modern crime novel in the tradition of Jekyll and Hyde where the ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ are the same person.

The plan is to use this blog to dip in and out and provide a commentary on various facets of the debut novel experience.  If I was to sum up the process in a few bullet points, it might read a little like this: 

- Write the thing
- Send it out to traditional publishers
- Decide to go the self-publishing rout
- Redrafts/editing/proof-reading
- Publishing
- Marketing
- Lessons learned (in case I want to write another one)

Like any creative process, the one above isn’t strictly a linear one.  You can, for example, start talking about the book (which could come under marketing) before you’ve even written a single word. 

Also, now I’ve decided to go down one publishing route rather than another, I’m treating ‘sending it out to traditional publishers’ as a by-word for putting your ‘finished’ manuscript in a drawer for six months before taking it back out again, ready with fresh eyes for the final redraft, which is itself a by-word for another six months of rewriting.

As I type, the manuscript is with a proof-reader.  I’m hoping the book will be out before the end of the year, probably when everyone is skint in the lead up to Xmas, but I see this project as a slow-burner.  People will still be finding out about the book in six months’ time.

If this is a road trip (bear with me), then feel free to climb aboard.  We'll see where it gets us.

Wolf Country#8

Continue the journey and check out Wolf Country#8 out now.

Written by me, cover by Luke, art by Will, letters by Jim and edits by Liz & Eli.

On sale at the Planet Jimbot shop:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/588346087/wolf-country8

Savant/Dark Horse Presents

Savant by Jim Alexander, Will Pickering, Fin Cramb & Jim Campbell appearing right now in the pages of Dark Horse Presents.

Wolf Country#7

Wolf Country#7 by Jim Alexander, Will Pickering, Jim Campbell & Luke Cooper on sale now at:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/511072174/wolf-country7

Wolf Country#6

Award-nominated Wolf Country#6 is out now, written by Jim Alexander and drawn by Will Pickering; with Jim Campbell on lettering and Luke Cooper on cover duties.

 

You can grab a copy at the Planet Jimbot shop on Etsy (you won't be sorry).  You'll find the TPB and issue 5 there as well:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490317579/wolf-country6

Zarjaz#27

Got a Dredd in the new Zarjaz#27. 

‘The Last Constable’ introduces Special Constables to Mega-City One; put in place to investigate low level crime, so freeing up the Judges to investigate the important stuff. Good idea or bad idea? You decide, but you might want to read the comic book first.

The strip reunites the Food Chain team of Jim Alexander and Pete Woods. Book also features the talents of Daniel Dwyer, Norrie Millar, Mike Lynch, Chris Askham and James A...lexander (different guy – absolutely no relation) with a terrific wraparound cover by Neil Roberts. 

£3 plus shipping. You can buy your copy here:

http://www.futurequake.co.uk/zarjaz/zarjaz-27/

Calhab Justice collected by Hachette Partworks

On sale now is Calhab Justice/Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection#47 by Hachette Partworks.  Ah, dear old Calhab, the love, the hate, the comics equivalent to Marmite, it’s been there for most of my adult life. (I’m the writer, btw.) Most peoples’ opinions have been formed from reading an issue or two back when the story was first published and/or the bits and pieces reprinted over the last couple of years. This book, though, reprints the whole story arc, not ...available for the best part of 20 years, spanning the art of John Ridgway, Lol, Colin MacNeil (artist on a particularly scatologically-based one-shot) and Kevin Cullen. Keeping with the Marmite theme, one of the detractors is current Tharg Matt Smith who just happens to contribute as ungracious an introduction to the book as common decency would allow. Never mind Matt, at least it served as a temporary distraction from yet another e-mail from some Earthlet asking if you still eat plastic cups. Better is the interview between yours truly and Michael Molcher especially commissioned for the collection to be found at the end of the book.

Looking back, I was given the opportunity warts and all to tell the whole story beginning to end; the exploration of the Scottish stereotype as a source of humour before changing, as the story arc took hold, into something more sinister; the development of MacBrayne’s character into something more than a Scottish version of Judge Dredd; the relationship between the main three characters; some reflections at the time on the country of my birth, if not experiencing a full-blown identity crisis, not fully at ease with herself either. Also, there is ‘Family Snapshot’, which remains if I do say so myself one of the best things I have ever written. But it’s probably at its best when Judge Ed MacBrayne is running around waving his claymore in the air and calling everybody a mad bam! I mean, I doubt there is anything there that will change your opinion of Calhab Justice, you’ll still either love or hate it, but at least having read the collection you’ll be better informed.

And if none of that tickles your fancy the book also has a couple of strips featuring fellow Celt Judge Joyce of the Emerald Isles courtesy of Garth Ennis, Greg Staples and it pains me to write the late great Steve Dillon.

Full list of contents: 1.Calhab Justice; 2.Hogmanay; 3.Dounreay; 4.Casualty; 5.Unfinished Business; 6.Flashback: McTash; 7.Family Snapshot; 8.False Dawn; 9.When Irish Pies are Smiling; 10.Innocents Abroad

Available to buy here:

https://www.hachettepartworks.com/judge-dredd-the-mega-collection/calhab-justice

Wolf Country Trade



Wolf Country 96-page TPB is out now, collecting the out of print introductory story and issues #1-4 of the award nominated comic.  Written by Jim Alexander with wunderkids Luke Cooper and Will Pickering on art.

 

Starburst Magazine has just this minute reviewed the book.  It says, 'The story first begins as a simple vampires vs werewolves tale within a Western setting, but soon develops into something far greater as its myriad intricacies become revealed.'

 

You can read the full review here:

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/book-reviews-latest-literary-releases/15355-wolf-country-review

 

The book is available to buy on the Planet Jimbot Etsy online shop:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/279160974/wolf-country-tpb-volume-1