Gather round, Adventurers.
So, July has been and gone. What a month. The headlines? It was hot. Like… really hot. The World Cup came to an end, with England failing to win it yet again. The political landscape in the UK took some more turns. I went on a stag do that was rather enjoyable. Also, did I mention that it was hot?
It was both a great and a terrible month for my writing. On the plus side, I finished my edit of one of my novels, and even found a few readers to hand it out to for Beta feedback. I also wrote some extra chapters that will be attached to this newsletter shortly, and I’ve even made a start on the sequel while awaiting feedback.
So why was it terrible?
Firstly, it was hot. I might not have mentioned this. Writing in the heat was not fun or easy. I am useless in the heat. I become sweaty, irritable, and lethargic, so the conditions did not help. Secondly, the World Cup led to a few late nights with some drinks, which did not lead to me then setting down in the evening to write. Finally, I had some pretty shaky times personally towards the end of the month, and so was not in a great mindset to be creative.
That being said, we’re in August now. July is in the past, and it’s onwards and upwards from here.
Some other brand highlights include that I put my face on TikTok for the first time. I hated every second of it, but it’s out there now, so for those of you who follow me on there, I am sorry, but you will be seeing more of this face going forward. I also think I have found a cover artist for my debut series, and will be sharing details on that in the near future. Oh, I also spent one evening doing some more coding to add a funky new bar to my website with two duelling figures, and if you knock them to one side or the other, it changes the whole theme of the website. Was it worth it? Probably not. Was it fun? Absolutely. (A little sample below)
So, what other highlights did July hold aside from my writing experience? Well, I saw the latest trailer for Avengers Doomsday, and noticed Loki was in it. Then it occurred to me: I hadn’t watched Season 2. I always figured I didn’t need to, now that Jonathan Majors and Kang are no longer involved in the series, not to mention I was suffering from serious Marvel fatigue (is there anyone who isn’t? I mean, it’s been a slog since Endgame, let’s be honest). Anyway, I decided to get around to giving Loki a go. It actually wasn’t too bad, quite enjoyable even, though there was one issue that really bothered me throughout.
The thing we love about Loki is that he’s a rascal. You never know if you can fully trust him. While he’s saving Asgard, he’s also stealing the Tesseract. While he’s helping to fight the Dark Elves, he’s also faking his death so he can take Odin’s place. Yet in Season 2 of Loki, he is essentially a pure good guy. He may as well have been Captain America. That’s not the character we all came to love, and as such, something was lacking throughout the show.
I also finished season 4 of Vox Machina. Now… this was a banger. Scanlan not being involved was an obvious loss, but Tarington Daryington was an incredible addition who, while at first was a bit annoying, genuinely delivered some of the best moments throughout the series. The voice work was top-notch again, as expected, and the action sequences and humour were strong throughout. The ending was absolutely sublime. I know season 5 is going to be the last, and yes, I already know what happens because I watch Critical Role, but still I can’t wait to see it in animated form.
So what does August have in store? Well, it’s not fantasy nor sci-fi related, but Ted Lasso and Ludwig are both coming back, so I will be watching both with great anticipation. I will also be looking to dust myself off from the events of July and get back into the writing flow I had a few weeks ago. It’s not always easy to get yourself back into the flow of things, but it’s a horse worth getting back up on.
Then again… it might get hot again.
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Until next time.
JTK