The night we lost our v-card
It wasn't a typical Friday night. Usually, we'd go out and see wherever the evening took us. That night, however, we chose to stay in. We agreed that I’d cook while she kept the wine flowing (which she was all too happy to do…). Fast-forward 45 minutes and more glasses of Pinot Noir than I […]
Accused by a disgruntled illustrator
On New Year’s Eve, I got a rather interesting comment on one of my ads from, let’s just say… A disgruntled illustrator. She said this: “Authors that market their work with ai slop likely used gen ai to write their book-” [For context: Yes, I absolutely used AI images in my marketing — […]
4 things I won’t be doing in 2026
I got quite a few replies to yesterday’s email regarding your New Year's goals. I specifically asked WHY you’ve set them because, usually, as much as we like to think we’re striving towards a goal, we’re actually striving away from something. Often pain or discomfort. So with that in mind, here are my goals, revamped […]
Hello, 2026
Happy New Year, Lords and Ladies. We made it to 2026. Just typing that feels weird, given I remember at the turn of the millennium thinking these were the sci-years. Well, in many ways, they are, given that self-driving cars are now more prevalent than ever… AI has become ever more commonplace… and we brace […]
Farewell, 2025
As the year draws to a close, it’s the time when I — and no doubt countless others — take stock of the year past. For me, 2025, like 2024 before it, will forever be the most memorable, given these were the years I became a father to my two boys. Crazy to think that […]
“Win the crowd, and you’ll win your freedom.”
I mentioned the other day that one of my yearly traditions is to watch Gladiator (the first movie). I do it for a variety of reasons, but the main one being you never quite know what will leap out at you on the second, third, fourth — or, in my case, 13th — re-watch of […]
Fraudsters are breaching my walls
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been getting random orders of Tiny Epics: Vol. 1. “What’s wrong with that?” I hear some say. Well, while not abnormal, these orders have come from first-time customers who aren’t a part of the Legion. That’s the first red flag. Furthermore, when I inspected these orders, […]
Today only means one thing
I sincerely hope you and your loved ones had a great day yesterday. I write this email with a partial headache and a distended belly as I blaze towards my New Year's goal of owning a ‘Dad Bod’ that makes many a man weep. In true Boxing Day fashion, I shall be continuing where Christmas […]
Merry Christmas, Legionnaire
Today is a day of unapologetic indulgence, laughter, and awful cracker jokes. Whether you’re celebrating it with family, friends, or by yourself, on behalf of Lady Laura, the boys, and me, we bid you a wonderful day wherever in the world you are. I shall be raising a glass to our lowly, ragtag Legion later. […]
I put a 93-year-old out of her misery
Earlier today, I made the worst possible decision you could make. I ventured out of my writer’s cave into the community — also known as the local mall — to be among not only the unwashed masses, but lots of them. All in the name of grabbing some last-minute bits that, in hindsight, I regret […]
A quick FYI
This one will be shorter than a politician’s list of kept promises. As of today — for the first time ever — you can buy gift cards at my Storehouse. Yes, that means if you know anyone who might enjoy one or more of my books (in any format — including bundles), you can now […]
The Christmas commercial everyone wants to watch
All eyes turn to retailer John Lewis at the end of the year here in the UK. Their Christmas ads — known for their exceptional (and tear-jerking) storytelling — have captured us since 2007, despite being hampered in recent years due to the incessant need to check certain boxes. Will not explain. John Lewis hasn’t […]
Good message, ugly comments
I came across a post during the week about an interview with Jamie Oliver. Those who live on distant shores will likely have never heard of him, but the long and short of it is he’s a well-known British chef with a string of restaurants. Anyway, according to this post, Jamie said: “I’ve never […]
Heckler gets heckled
For those not in the know, last night Lady Laura and I had a rare night off from the kids to go and see Jimmy Carr perform live at the O2 Arena. While he’s not entirely my cup of Earl Grey, he did drag a couple of laughs out of me. But for some, […]
The halls of absent thunder
As I write this, we’re only hours away from watching one of Lady Laura’s most-loved comedians perform live at the O2 Arena. No, it’s not me on this occasion. Jimmy Carr is one of the UK’s most prominent comics, and this trip will mark the dozenth time we’ve gone to this arena. We’ve seen Usher […]
Why AI won’t take everyone’s jobs
For the last few years, we’ve been told robots are going to take our jobs… our livelihoods… our identities… and even our spouses. (Though I’m sure we all wouldn’t mind that sometimes.) And yet, it hasn’t happened. While useful, the tech feels like it has reached a ceiling at the moment; a ceiling I don’t […]
I’d pay $70 to rewatch that episode
Over the weekend, while Lady Laura was busy tarting herself up for dinner with our friends on a rare night off from the kids, there I was… Sat on the couch, dressed in my chinos and a roll neck, waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more, until, finally, I relented. I whipped out my phone […]
My advice to this struggling author
In response to yesterday’s masterful dissection of a Goodreads Goblin came this reply (presumably from a fellow scribe): Hats off to you sir. i wish I could not care about negative reviews but it’s really hard 😭 Any tips? First, some tough ‘lovin: If you paid attention to the whole email, you’d have found […]
Dissecting a Goodreads Goblin
For those new to this lowly squalor of mine and are not familiar with the Lore of the Legion, then I’ll quickly bring you up to speed. Critics/trolls/whatever you want to call dissenters were categorised into one of two things: Orc – These are the snappy, sneery types who gnash their teeth and scurry to […]
I like to touch things
It’s true. Or so my Myers-Briggs personality test tells me. Apparently, I’m more of a Feeler than a Thinker, which I’m not sure I fully agree with. On one hand, yes, I have a strong ability to empathise with people, but on the other, I also have something of an engineer’s mind. That said, if […]