Hello there,
Welcome back to the Midnite Gazette with me, your host, Ol’ Tommy Three Shoes. Named such for obvious reasons. This incredible issue is sponsored by the unrelenting power of the ocean. Remember kids, the ocean isn’t locked on Earth with us. We’re locked on Earth with it. So show it some respect. I had planned for a topic for this next entry, but I couldn’t really find one that got me excited enough to write about. Due to that, this will just be a nice old update post and some reminiscing about my first (and only) comic convention.
Updates and Making Memories:
If I remember correctly, the last time we spoke, I said I was taking a small writing break. Well, that break is over. We’re writing until our eyes bleed, then writing some more. Writing in our sleep and writing in the shower. I’ve been planning out Project Drive (comic project) and I’ve also rewritten the start of Project Tentacle (horror novel) fully rewriting the first half of the first chapter as what I had written didn’t grip me enough and if it doesn’t grip me it’s not going to grip a reader or agent or publisher. Apart from those two, I’ve also finished writing issue four of Osaka S.P.D. I already had the issue mostly finished (and issue five began) but that was a raw proto-draft that was written on the notes on my phone. I had about half the issue written on there and finally transferred it over to the script and cleaned it up enough that it resembled an actual script. I'm hard at work on the edits before sending it off to Clare. Issue four is almost done and I'm about to start the last issue, which is both exciting and terrifying. Hugo’s working away on the art for issue three and I sent Rob the pages and script for issue two today, so he’ll be working away on the lettering.
I’m pretty sure the last few newsletters I’ve spent going on about how great this iPad I got is but I have to say it has been a game changer for my productivity. Having something you can easily carry with you makes writing at all times much easier. It’s useful when on the commute to work, though I don’t do any typing there because typing loudly on a fake typewriter at seven in the morning is a good way to get said fake typewriter smashed over your head. Obviously, you can carry a laptop around and use it for writing, but the iPad is smaller and more convenient to carry. I’m not sure what it is, but I seem to find writing on it easier than on a laptop. When on the train, I’ve started to bring a pen and notepad and take editing notes of whatever I’ve written recently that’s in need of some edits. Here’s a pic of me doing that with a lovely view.
Another place that I’ve started using for editing and writing while on pen and paper is in a pretty special place (I’m moving it from here into my office, my beautiful ADHD brain demanded I rearrange my office and find space for it).
This is my Granda Jimmy’s davenport. My Granda was a writer himself (mostly for newspapers for historical articles as far as I know) and he wrote a lot of that stuff on this davenport. I’ve only read one or two things he wrote, but he was a brilliant writer. My Mam gave this to me and I’ve been trying to use it when I can. It’s very nice to write on and also just looks nice as a piece of furniture. My Granda passed away when I was seven and he was sick for as long as I have memories so we didn’t get to make much memories (that I can remember) though the few I have are special. This makes the davenport that extra bit more special and it’s nice to have this link with my Granda as the two writers in our family. He was a well-read man and from the same town as Patrick Kavanagh (he was a friend of his brother I think) so I would say I’d have found it tough to impress him with my writing had he ever got the chance to read it but that’s a nice goal to aim for each time I write. Write something that would have impressed your Granda.
Life update wise I’ve been hard at work on my driving lessons and have even started driving my own car in the evenings, which has been a lot of fun. Twenty-eight isn’t the youngest to be learning, but better late than never.
Watching and reading wise, I recently watched Dead Man’s Shoes, which I’ve had on my watchlist for ages. It’s an absolutely harrowing watch, but well worth it. It’s short (less than 90 minutes) and uses every minute to perfection, no filler. It starts at a rapid pace and never lets up. As I’ve said, it’s a harrowing watch and not something to watch when you aren’t having a great day, but if you are in a good frame of mind, then check it out. Proper review on my Letterboxd. I recently finished Dubliners by James Joyce, which was a great little short story collection. It feels redundant to review Joyce, but I will say for anyone who has wanted to read his work but felt it might be difficult or impenetrable, I’d say just give it a go; I found it to be fine and his prose is so strong that you can just enjoy that part of it without worrying about the rest. I’ve started reading No Country For Old Men as I got it a few months ago and it felt like a good time to read it with the recent passing of Cormac McCarthy. I’m a huge fan of the movie and it’s been interesting to see just how fateful the Coen brothers have been to the source material. I’m only in the first chapter, but I’m enjoying it so far. The book is a pretty easy read. I don’t want to say the writing is basic as that can sound like an insult, but it absolutely follows the idea that any word in a sentence that isn’t imperative to the sentence should be removed. I like that style of writing, but I also like flowery sentences and paragraphs. They both have their place. It depends on the writer. I can appreciate a long, overly-descriptive paragraph describing a grey wall and I can appreciate somebody just writing “his grey wall was faded and needed a lick of paint”.
I also read Zoe Thorogood’s autobiographic novel It’s Lonely At The Centre Of The Earth. I’ve posted a review on GoodReads for it. I absolutely loved the book and had tears in my eyes at many parts. It’s equally heartbreaking as it is hilarious. I need to pick up Zoe’s other book, The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott now. It’s a really beautiful read and I believe Zoe was only 22 or 23 when she wrote it which is crazy as the talent on display is unbelievable. It’s introspective in a way that you’d expect of someone much older. The book also stands out to me as a perfect example of why AI art will never match human art. AI can study and replicate the emotions of a human writer, but it has none of those experiences, and without that human aspect, many of the big emotional beats in the story wouldn’t land. The art style and direction is also illogical and erratic throughout, jumping between styles from panel to panel, something that a human mind could only imagine. I’d recommend the book to anyone, whether you like comics or not.
One of the major moments in the comic is when Zoe attends ThoughtBubble in 2021. I reacted like an idiot at that moment, saying to myself with a smile, “hey I was at that one”. Seeing Zoe recall her memories of ThoughtBubble had me thinking back to my own memories of it. It was my first (and at the time of writing only) comic convention and I was hilariously underprepared. I had no price list, I had no card machine, and I had no comics. I pulled something together before we (myself and my partner Pam) travelled over, running for a Luas (tram) to get down to the print shop before it closed the same week we were travelling over. I got some art from Osaka Mime made into prints, printed and signed some scripts and also made some stickers. Pam was amazing help and I wouldn’t have gotten through it without her (she even quickly created some prices with paper that we could put beside products). Even though we were underprepared and could only accept cash, we still sold a good few things and, most importantly, had a great time. We both loved Harrogate and loved the convention and it was a lovely memory to make at the end of 2021, which felt almost like the sun was rising on the terrible two years we all collectively had. It was a great time and we are excited to go back this year (this time with a card machine and hopefully some comics. If you have ideas for other stuff, then give me a shout). Though our plane got stuck on the runway for like an hour so that was a shit way to end a great weekend, but ah well we got through it. If you are going to be at ThoughtBubble this year, then make sure to pop by and say hello.
That’s about it for this one. As always, I hope you enjoyed my rambling and I hope you have a great week. Remember to stay hydrated, stay safe and keep it sexy x
Oh, yeah, also I forgot and can’t be bothered editing it in, so I’m just mentioning it here. I’m on Bluesky now aka good Twitter. My handle is @leavy.bsky.social give us a follow if you are on there.
All the best,
AAL x