10 London slang sayings you’ve never heard of
Having been born and bred in London, I've come to learn a thing or three about Cockney Rhyming Slang. For those not from the UK (or London), it's basically a subset of idioms that sprang out of the East End way back when. It's typically used among working-class folk, though, sadly, it is also something […]
Avoid the Shire
I've been a typist all of my life. However, as of this year, I have been transitioning more and more of my writing to dictation. Not just to protect these delicate wrists of mine, but it can realistically 2-3x my output in the same amount of time. Which means… More books for you. […]
95% of you agreed
In response to last Monday's email where I announced — quite proudly — how The Divided Region doesn't have dragons, complicated magic systems, or shape-shifting elves who like to romp every fairy in the forest… I received quite the slew of replies. Some disagreed, stating how they appreciate the complexity of magic systems […]
A lesson this defunct TV show taught me
A while back, when Lady Laura and I had this luxury called an evening, we'd religiously watch a now-defunct survival reality show called The Island. Bear Grylls (remember that guy?) would plop a bunch of strangers on a tropical island, and they had to, well… SURVIVE. There was one episode — or more […]
The habit I can’t quit
I've got a bit of a bad habit. Well, I guess that depends on who you ask. Some people will praise me for being bold, while others will consider me reckless and uncaring. The habit I speaketh? Killing characters. When most people think of fantasy, it tends to conjure visions of rolling hills, […]
What’s worse than 96.8 degrees and no AC?
Yesterday was an utterly disgusting day here in the southeast of England. I have family up north in Newcastle who were complaining bitterly about their pathetic 24 degrees Celsius, which, quite frankly, I don't know whether they just said it to insult me. Entirely possible. In any case, it hasn't been fun for us "southern […]
Send help
Today marks the start of a four-day heatwave here in the UK. 36 degrees Celsius today. 35 tomorrow. 34 the day after. Then it tapers off towards the weekend. Now, I know for some of you — particularly those down under or sweating it out in certain states of America — this might seem like […]
The mistake I almost made
Fun fact: There was a time I considered weaving dragons into The Divided Region. Thankfully, I woke up from that nightmare and scrapped the idea before a single dragon complained of heartburn. However, this sentiment is often met (especially on social media) with gasps and spirited replies like: "Boring. Never going to read your books." […]
Arrows, coconuts, and a dead missionary
I recently fell down the rabbit hole of the North Sentinel Island tribe. For those who, like me up until a few days ago, couldn't tell "North" from "Sentinel," I'll give you a quick summary: North Sentinel Island is a tiny, heavily forested slab of land in the Bay of Bengal, part of India's Andaman […]
The writing advice that blighted me for years
Now, I will preface this email with the following: There is no one way to do anything in this world, and that is especially true of writing. There are so many story structures one can mould their tale around, and so many ways from which to tell it (type, dictation, hell, even longhand is making […]
My 3 biggest regrets with The Divided Region
I try to live life with minimal regrets. For starters, they are usually tied to a past we cannot change or alter in any way, shape or form. And even if we could step into a time machine, there's a very good chance we'd do precisely the same thing. Why? Because we tend to make […]
Saying goodbye is never easy
As I draw nearer to the end of The Divided Region, I'm met with a plethora of feelings. Some might be disappointed to hear that one of them is unbridled relief. This has been a series that sprang from the COVID pandemic, like so many other books, business ventures, and other transformative ideas, I suspect. […]
The real reason I wrote Lore & Order
If you've ever read a Divided Region book and thought: "Bloody hell, I'd love to know more about that…" Good. That means my dark arts are working. You see, one of the core tenets of my writing is to say what needs to be said, and no more. Meaning, limited POVs, no lore […]
BIG NEWS
This email was supposed to have gone out yesterday, but for reasons I’m too technologically inept to understand, my email service provider didn’t send it. My sincerest apologies to all Legionnaires impacted by this error. How about a little good news to make up for it? It's official (well, yesterday it was)… Book 6 […]
I’ve been quietly sipping on something for 12 months
It's no secret that I'm a bit of a caffeine junkie. The day splashing cold water on my face stopped giving the desired "jolt" I needed was the day I unboxed a coffee machine. And that worked great for a few years. …Until I hit my late 20s and realised my mortal coil was just […]
Another day, another troll
It seems not a day goes by that your daily host, Lord Loco the Only, doesn't get hit with at least one snarky comment on the interwebs. Today's latest edition was honestly too good not to share. Seasoned Legionnaires will know I couldn't give two rips about criticism from people who haven't read my work. […]
The real reason Lady Laura hates the sun
For everyone else who isn't wet behind the ears with how we do things in the Legion, I bear some favourable tidings: I'm 2-3 days off from sending Book 6 of The Divided Region to my editor, who, by the way, devours manuscripts like they are popcorn. I suspect it won't be long before I […]
The soundtrack responsible for my success
As I sprint towards the finish line of Book 6 and put my editor on notice, I can definitively say that the following soundtrack has had — in Donald Trump speak — a "YUGE" hand to play in my momentum. It's no secret to long-standing Legionnaires that… I LOVE listening to music whilst writing […]
“Don’t f**ing push in on me”
Here’s one for fans of a certain actor: While doing a little doom scrolling on Facebook because, you know, not even I — your Overlord and Saviour — is immune to the ills of our time, I happened across a video I kind of wished I never saw. In it was arguably one of the […]
Last week almost broke me
The UK endured something of a rare heatwave last week, particularly here in London. For two days, we hit a scorching 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit for the rebels across the pond). I can't imagine the concrete jungles, ever-shrinking green spaces, or the giant magnifying glasses — I mean, skyscrapers — are to blame for […]