Hello reader,

Here’s what I’ve been working on since ‘Apprentice Superhero’ was released in November.

1A. Next volume of longer short stories and a novella.

1B. The next post-collapse novel will be a crime/detective story in a post-collapse England, ten years into the re-set.

1A. Next volume of three longer short stories and a novella.

In a previous newsletter (they can all be found here) I mentioned two and some of the ideas behind them. ‘Sweet Baby James’ is about a Maori man-boy called Tane who spent years as a gang prospect, still hoping forlornly he’d get patched when the end of the world happened. He ends up, by a stroke of luck, falling on his feet at a very successful community. After failing more trials than he passes, Tane is assigned as a shepherd on a high hill pasture. All alone for months. Nothing to do but watch the sheep — and think. Then something happens.

I also mentioned ‘Anjelica ’ a medium-class call girl, who clicks that her earning days are (almost) over and plans to get out by landing a wealthy husband. She expects the husband will be a dupe, a true believer in love, trust, genuine complementary relationships and so on but after a lifetime of charging for love, will she be able to recalibrate?

The third short story, ‘Taking the piss’ is about a rising corporate executive using companies as stepping stones to the top. She switches jobs regularly, collecting companies to build up her CV. None of them are more than a means to an end. 

Then she arrives at ‘Earthkind,’ solely to boost her green credentials but finds, to her exasperation and bewilderment, the owner’s strategy, indeed you could say, his code is entirely upside down, the very opposite of her own and surely doomed to imminent failure. And yet it doesn’t.

Will curiosity open her closed mind and with it, the risk she’ll be changed forever? Or will cynicism keep it locked up tight?

The novella – (working title ‘Princesses in the new world’) is set in post-collapse North Wales, where a highly driven leader has taken over a former holiday camp, think Butlins, populated it, fortified it, and is desperately trying to retain and rebuild enough of the lost 21stC tech to give them a chance at rising above the hand-to-mouth subsistence agriculture all the surrounding survivor camps are scraping by with. Most of his workers are grudgingly tolerating semi-slavery until that longed-for day arrives.

Trouble arrives from within and without. Within are the Repayers, beautiful, treacherous women, all former mistresses of the ultra-rich oligarchs who plundered the old world, who are plotting a rebellion to put themselves back at the top of the tree. And from without, a merciless biker gang, tearing through the weaker, surrounding settlements, ravaging and stripping them bare before abandoning them moving on to the next one. And it looks like both may strike on the same day.

I’ve mentioned a few times the themes I explore intentionally and unintentionally in my stories, including true manhood and masculinity, true leadership, honour and integrity. They’re especially strong in three of the above.

1B. Post-collapse mystery novel.

Ten years after, three walled villages have achieved self-sufficiency and more. Two are even thriving, with simple economies and public services. The abandoned land between them is abandoned and uninhabited, unless you count the ragged camps of the outlawed dotted among the farthest forests.

Then someone pulls off an audacious heist on the wild lonely road between two villages. The villages have rudimentary policing which keeps order within, but no CID, no jurisdiction and no interest. Contemporary crime novels are structured around a well-funded justice system with laws, courts, prison and detectives, all funded by taxes and PAYE. The new world has none of these. What it does have is a tarnished hero, not quite a wild west hero nor a ronin. Enter Danny Dagnall - part Randle McMurphy, part Philip Marlowe and part Arthur Daley and Del Boy’s love-child.

2. Here’s what I’ve been reading.

‘The Narrows’ – Michael Connelly. Someone once told me I liked the Harry Bosch books because he’s just like me. I wish I made my bosses suffer even half the headaches and insubordination he gives his.

‘Salem’s Lot’ – Stephen King (if you needed to ask). This was only his second book and it’s a masterpiece.

‘On Writing’ – Stephen King. The gems I’ve found in here on my first read! There’ll be more on the second.

‘The long lavender look’ – John D McDonald. Book 12 Travis McGee series. Travis’s character is lurking in the background of Danny Dagnall’s.

‘Agent running in the field’. John Le Carre (2019) His last. Has any other author had a higher percentage of his books made into films?

3. Films that have impressed and/or touched me.

Dead of winter. Best film of last year. (NEVER ‘Sinners’, not even if it was the only film released!!) I’m green with envy at the writers’ talent and vision. Could they lend me some? I promise to give it back after.

Weapons. Came a close second to Dead of winter. Original horror by a new writer/director on only his second project. Zach Creggan. I’ll be watching out for him. 

28 years later and Bone Temple. I’ll watch everything Alex Garland writes. 

Caught Stealing. I’ll watch anything with Austin Butler. I knew right from ‘Once upon a time in Hollywood’ he was going places. 

On DVD. In order to bone up on my detective novel I’ve been devouring many classic (and less well known) crime and mystery films. The Big Sleep. LA Confidential. Marshland – a terrific, show don’t tell, concentrate or you’ll miss a clue, murder investigation in redneck 80’s Spain. 

Happy reading and don't forget you can try out the first chapters of all of my books for free

Here’s what I’ve been working on since Jacksboro Highway was released in April.

1. Colin the superhero is coming along nicely. About 50,000 words or half a novel. No idea for a title, but I’ll have to devote some time to the question soon. I’m intending Colin to become a series, so maybe a recurring word or phrase in the title might be useful. ‘Reluctant superhero’ could lead on to ‘Overconfident superhero’. ‘Apprentice superhero’ leads on to ‘Journeyman superhero.’ Then there’s ‘Genesis of a superhero’ which has plenty of possibilities.

If you have ever dreamed or daydreamed how you would mend our country — if only you woke up one day with amazing superpowers — then Colin will be your cup of tea.

Remember, you can read Chapters 1 & 2 here. Feel free to reply with comments, suggestions, likes, dislikes. If becoming a beta reader appeals to you, or being the first to receive chapters in progress, I’d welcome that.

2. A collection of half a dozen unfinished stories have been demanding I finish them. They’ll appear in my next short story collection – possible titles ‘Brave New World’, ‘How to rebuild a country’, ‘New direction’, ‘Shall we try this again?’, ‘Stories from a better world’, ‘The first turn after the corner’.

I’ll tell you about two of them today.

In the series of emails I send out to every new subscriber, I mention the themes I explore intentionally and unintentionally in my stories, including true manhood and masculinity, true leadership, honour and integrity.

As I see our country draw ever closer to being flushed away down the toilet, I anticipate that — come the rebuild — these discarded values will become more and more essential.

A couple of days ago I spent the whole day on a long, short story I’ve been working on and off with for years. All those themes are high in the mix. It’s set in New Zealand after the collapse. Our protagonist, a Maori man-boy called Tane, spent years as a gang prospect, hoping one day he’d be patched. The end of the world happened and there was no rebuild. Instead, survivors returned to farming and simple manufacturing. Ferals scrape a living by raiding these farms and communities. Except the one which Tane ends up living on, by a stroke of luck, as a prospect. Tai Tapu is a well organised, successful farm, tightly regulated and protected by a rigidly hierarchical military leadership. Warriors are in charge and they don’t dish out membership like confetti. Rather like a biker gang. And at the same time, nothing like one.

After failing more trials than he passes, Tane is assigned as a shepherd on a high hill pasture. All alone for months. Nothing to do but watch the sheep — and think.

Have you ever watched the underrated gem ‘The Wrestler’ by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Whale) starring a spellbinding Mickey Rourke? It gives generously every time I re-watch it. What gripped me last time was the utterly bare, mercilessly transactional world that Ram (Rourke) and Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) live in. They have two identities, a performer and a real-life, day to day person (who is almost invisible by contrast). Their performer identities are valued and sought after, the real person they are is not. At all. Hence, the ‘fake’ persona keeps pulling them back, but time is a one way street and one day soon they will have to reconcile with the real world. Or will they? 

Anyway, Cassidy’s character and dilemma, but even more so the transactional world she lives in, is what inspired my short story ‘Anjelica’. She self-identifies as a high-class call girl, clicks that those days are (almost) over and plans to get out by landing a wealthy husband. She expects the husband will be a dupe, a true believer in love, trust, genuine complementary relationships and so on but after a lifetime of charging for love, she finds she cannot recalibrate. Can anyone?

The transactional world, which we see idolised and promoted everywhere ... by rappers, Kardashians, crime and gangster dramas and films is a good example of all that glitters. It offers golden riches, satisfaction of your every desire, fame, status, exclusive gated mansions proles can only dream of but it’s really a cheap and shiny counterfeit world when compared to – well, family, love, sacrifice, selflessness, brotherhood, truth and beauty – to name but a few.

Happy reading

Martin