Moving On Up

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Michael Cobley

Just a heads-up about new things afoot – I have established a crowdfunding page at Ko-Fi, my first ever tipjar on the interwebs! And yet it is intended to be much much more than a mere begging cup. This weekend I`ll be gathering all the materials for a grand update which should go live on Sunday night, all singing, all dancing, tarted up, levelled up version of my Kofi Internet Presence! Cant give anything away just now, cant spoil the plot, but I can give you the URL which is –

https://ko-fi.com/mikecobleywordsmith

Take a peek, even if only so you`ll have someting to compare when the great unveiling takes place!

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and LO! – for winter has come. Blimey, it’s baltic

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Michael Cobley

I know, I know, two post A YEAR just doesnt cut it, really. And what a year its been (pause for sounds of crickets, tumbleweed). Yup, time to come clean – yes, writing of the fantasy novel has slowed to a crawl and while I could blame all manner of factors (politics, various events of gargatuan stupidity and horror, money or the lack thereof), but ultimately it all comes down to personal culpability. That said, I have been writing a new short story, provoked by the scarcely believable slaughter in Gaza, a month of the very worst that human beings are capable of when armed with all the deathtoys in Uncle Sams locker. I went from transfixed shock to a burning rage, yet still felt stopped, frozen by this butchery unfolding before the worlds eyes. So I began writing a short story, being my way of dealing with it. Dont know how its going to end, though, or even if its the kind of thing I could submit to this or that publication. I do know that once its done I`m going to plunge back into the novel – if I wrote a 1000 words a day I could see the first draught done by end of January. And what a thing that would be!

Other things that have passed before my eyes and senses – our rewatch of the TV series, Person of Interest, a monument to excellence in screenwriting and imagination. Ten years old and its themes of sentient AI and the cold obedience of some willing to kill and die and erase their humanity makes it the 1984 of the digital 21st century.

And we`ve discovered Netflixs Castlevania anime series – which has turned out to be remarkably good, carried in voice acting by a really excellent cast and the vision of Warren Ellis.

Played Starfield – boy was I suckered. The game did not match up the hype, and the quality of the scripting, characters, dialogue and overall story were dull, dull, dull. Such a disappointment, that I went back to replay Uncharted 4, the PC port of the playstation game, along with a shorter extra game Lost Legacy. And both of them were tremendously well done, had all the character and dialogue and compelling story that Starfield lacked. Just wish the previous Uncharted games were available on PC as well.

Not that many books read this year – started a fair number, but I`ve grown very impatient with what I read now. Those I completed include a few David Gemmell novels, while still dipping in and out of one of the Erickson Malazan novs, Memories Of Ice – the Malazan books I find overlong, but Erickson`s visionary intensity is never less than compelling.

Well, thats it for this summary. Wish I could promise to be more frequent with my posts, but all I can say is coulda, woulda, shoulda – and hope for the best.

Sayonara

ps – that cyberpunk story of mine, Stealing From Titans, did appear in Parsec magazine No 8, and seems to be garnering some approval here and there. Go here for more info –

https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/parsec-digital-magazine-issues-58-subscription-5878-p.asp

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And LO! for Summer hath arrived!

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Michael Cobley

Well, so to speak. I swear, just a short while ago we were struggling, just enduring the biting cold of winter combined with the ongoing UK cost of Tories crisis (aka the energy sector ripping us off down to the bone) – then I looked out the front door earlier this week and, holy murgatroyd, it was summer allova sudden!

So time for a summary – the ‘Night, Rain & Neon’ cyberpunk anthology, as edited by yr hmble scribe, came out last July (as an anniversary commemoration for the initial publication of Neuromancer waaay back in 1984)….and was, well, noticed, shall we say. That said, ‘The Goruden-Mairu Job’ by TR Napper was short listed for the Aurealis award in Australia, and the Keith Brooke/Eric Brown story, ‘Assets’, made it into the Years Best SF, edited by Donna Scott and published soon by Newcon Press. But all the stories in the anth were worthy of consideration and celebration, in my view.

I had intended to contribute a story to the anthology, but the total wordage ran right up to the limit before I’d finished so I had to exclude myself from the collection I edited. However, said story (which I allowed to run to what felt like its natural length) will be appearing in the online magazine, PARSEC, published by PS Publishing, in the autumn/august edition, I believe. Titled, ‘Stealing From Titans’, it is an out&out cyberpunk story and is actually a kinda tryout/precursor for a cyberpunk novel I want to write in a coupla years time.

Otherwise, work on the new standalone big-fantasy nov continues, and may or may not appear under an assumed name. I have a peachy shiny pseudonym all picked out and ready, but we’ll see how that pans out once I have a finished MS to punt about.

Books Wot I Have Read – my reading frequency is up and down at the moment. Recently read ‘The Candidate’ by Alex Nunns, an exhaustive account of how Jeremy Corbyn came to run for the Labour party leadership and what happened up to him becoming leader. I knew a lot of what went on, but Nunns book told me even more that made my eyes widen.

Am currently reading Fairyland by Paul McAuley and while his prose narrative style feels slow at times I`m curious to know how and where this weird tale pans out.

Con plans – sadly couldnt get to Satellite in Glasgow, nor could I go to Cymera in Edinburgh; main reason being the simple lack of money. We’re just scraping by here. However, I do intend to get to Worldcon in Glasgow next year, by which time I shall have finished the fantasy nov (and who know, may even have a deal, but shhh, tempt not the gods), and will then be solidly into the early stages of my as-yet untitled cyberpunk novel (the one I’ve been yearning after for literally decades).

Future plans – got another gig end of June, Iron Maiden again at the Hydro (gawd elpus), and just beyond that survive the summer and finish the fantasy nov. And pray energy prices come down (Bwahahahahaha!)

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What a long strange trip its been…

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Michael Cobley

Last time I blogged here, my folks were still alive, Britain was still part of the European Union, and we had not yet descended into the unhinged derangement of Boris Johnson and the Tory dwarves of gibbering greed. Last year, 2020, was The Year of The Three Prime Ministers, and the winter of 2022/23 (still ongoing) is the winter when the Tories tried to freeze half the country to death.

As far as my writing and publishing goes, last year a short story anthology I edited was published by Newcon Press – ‘Night, Rain & Neon’ was released into the wild in early July, the anniversary of the first publication of William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Currently, I am half way through writing a new big fantasy novel (kinda like a return to the roots), and a cyberpunk short story entitled ‘Stealing From Titans’ will be appearing in the online magazine, Parsec, this coming summer.

But this is just a brief summary post for the time being – quite soon I`ll be getting in the painters and decorators to spruce it up a bit and refresh the fixings, as it were. Stay tuned!

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From Here To Anywhere – Boosters For Launching The Brain

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Michael Cobley

There’s a difference between getting old and being taught how to be old:

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Old-Timers by Boo Cook

And here`s another grimy-tech piece from McQue:

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Decrepit Rovers – McQue

And now – down the rabbit hole with George Grie:

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Dehydration – George Grie

And then I found this website full of abandoned Soviet-era monuments:

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But some visions are buried yet in full view:

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(unknown work/artist)
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Miniblimp by Sparth

(for above) Meanwhile, a bracing dose of scale is good for the synapses!

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Backup Boogaloo – Or How I Blogged After My Blog Disappeared!

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Michael Cobley

So. I went looking for my wordpress blog, which I had allowed to fall fallow for quite a few months during the sporadic pandemic lockdown…and it was gone. I`m not sure who to speak to about this, but in the meantime I’ve had to reactivate my old OLD blog, Interstellar Tactics (man, is that a title from last century!). Anyway, I will be doing a bit more blogging here, a bit more yacking, a bit more enigmatic graphical placementising! So, lets get down to it, shall we?

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yup, still from Dark City
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Neon glittering in the rain
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untitled by Cornelius Dammerich
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image from the Beyond Good & Evil 2 concept proofs
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we’re coming for your smart fridges!

More of this, as and when

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New Site Reminder

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Michael Cobley

I see that although search engine searches are supposedly blocked, some folk are still finding this blog and posting here. Please realise that I transferred all my current activity and updates to my new blog at www.michaelcobley.com – as well as info on my own books, I shall post updates about Dave Wingrove and the new Chung Kuo project there.

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Final Word – Then Its Over To The New HQ

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Michael Cobley

Well, I have a great time here at the ol Rockitboy blog, but times move on and, courtesy of my publishers, we’re moving to my new blogsite at –

http://www.michaelcobley.com/

I was advised to advise you to update your RSS feeds – the new address is www.michaelcobley.com/feed (which should re-direct to feeds.feedburner.com/MichaelCobley), or you can just click on the orange button when you get to the new site. Its a mighty neat looking new home for my ongoing masterplan (what plan? – why, to take over the world!), or at least where I can keep you updated on all things Cobleyesque. And of course, where you can say your piece and otherwise let me know how I`m doing.

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New Website/Blog In The Offing!

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Michael Cobley

Oh yes, I have seen the new site – as created by the wondrous brayne of Mr Turpin – and it is a thing of beauty, I can tell you. It should be up and running in a few days, and will have a brand new minimovie starring yr humble scribe as well. Stay tuned muchachos!

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Tory-LibDem Coalition: the Chalice from the Palace or the Flagon with the Dragon

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Michael Cobley

Well, that’s what this whole situation is turning into, a rerun of the pellet with the poison routine from the Danny Kaye movie, ‘The Court Jester’. Only it doesn’t matter which cup the Tories offer us, cos they’re ALL poisoned chalices.

And I’m getting heartily sick of rousing, upbeat messages from LD HQ, going on about the next batch of wonderful Liberal policies which will make the populace smile as they head off to work with a spring in their step … well, when I say off to work, that depends on whether they’ll still have a job by next summer.

Liberal policies. Hmm. I thought it was called the Liberal Democrat party, being a merger between the old Liberal party and the Social Democrats, with each bringing their own traditions and principles to the mix. Except now you never hear any mention of social democracy or Social Democrats in government for the first time since…well, that’ll be 1979, then.

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