Flavours of the Month: May 2019...

An incredible true story, the end of an era, and a return to Celebrityville are just some of what's been setting the tone of my May 2019...

Click "READ MORE" below to see this month's looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

"Celebrityville" and "Sleb: Tigress of Celebrityville" now on Smashwords!

Good news - Celebrityville and Sleb: Tigress of Celebrityville are now both available through Smashwords! Follow this link - http://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/19591 - to check them out for yourself. What's more, you can download "Celebrityville" to your preferred device for FREE!

They're both available via Smashwords' Premium Catalog, which means you can get your copy from Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Oyster, Kobo, OverDrive, Flipkart, Baker & Taylor (Blio, Axis360), Page Foundry (e.g. Inktera.com, Versent.com, Android eBook Store).

Additionally, via Kobo, you can access this book at WH Smith (UK), FNAC (France, Portugal), Livraria Cultura (Brazil), Angus & Robertson (Australia), Bookworld (Australia), Indigo (Canada), Collins (Australia), Feltrinelli (Italy), Paper Plus (New Zealand), Play (UK), Rakuten (Japan), as well as Buy.com (now Rakuten, US).

N.B. If you don't see them on one of these services yet then please give it time as it can take a little while before they'll find their way into their respective systems.

Flavours of the Month: January 2015...

Sword-swinging fantasy, gut toting goons, the pleasures of world domination, and more...

Click "READ MORE" below for January 2015's looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

"Celebrityville" marches forth...

I got a little bit done before Christmas ... then all the usual festivities got in the way ... drinks, chocolate, presents, chocolate, roast dinners, chocolate, you know how it goes.

Then I caught a stinking, foul cold which dragged on for days. I was pretty floored by it but, eventually, it passed and I was able to get back to the twisted world of "Celebrityville" - and I'm now two thirds of the way through it...

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"Celebrityville" update 22/12/2014...

After a few delays - such as having surgery to remove my gallbladder - I've finally been getting underway with "Celebrityville". First of all I got cracking with the short story ("The Great and The Good") that will tie-in to the main narrative (and accompany it in the book), but now I'm well underway with the primary text...

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"Celebrityville" is getting there...

Planning out "Celebrityville" (my second book) is coming along very nicely indeed. Today, after a few weeks away due to another project I was working on, I finalised the layout of the story. The break was good though, as I could spread out the index cards for all the major beats of the story (something I talked about in an earlier post) and see it all with a fresh pair of eyes. I plugged a few plot holes and motivation gaps, so the events and pacing of the story is locked-in. Next up I'll be doing a rough map of each chapter (where it starts, where it ends, the basic beats of what happens when, and who says what to whom and why) ... and then it'll be time to getting my fingertips waggling.

Click "READ MORE" below for a teasy little tease...

"Sleb" eBook FREE for a limited time offer!

Got a Kindle? Dig thrillers set in the absurd world of celebrity? Like FREE stuff? - well for the duration of Friday 14th & Saturday 15th November 2014, visit your local Amazon website and you can get my book "Sleb" for FREE and download it onto your Kindle anywhere in the world!

Don't have a Kindle? Download the Kindle App (which is also FREE) to your phone, tablet, or computer, and enjoy yourself some crazy celebrity chaos!

Sleb on Amazon US
Sleb on Amazon UK

Want to know more about "Sleb" - click HERE for info galore!

Piecing together your story's jigsaw...

I'm diving into the planning process of my second book - Celebrityville - and so I thought this would be an opportune time to talk a little bit about initial ideas and linking up the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that will become your story.

The events of Celebrityville will take place before those of my first novel - Sleb - and will stand as the first part in a continuing series set in that absurd universe with those curious stars, obsessives, haters, and all-round warped individuals.

Click "READ MORE" below to continue...

"Sleb" is into the quarter finals!

Good news on this Sunday morning - the screenplay version of "Sleb" has reached the Quarter Finals of the Screenwriting Goldmine Awards Competition 2014! Click HERE to see the list of Quarter Finalists.

Click "READ MORE" for, well, more...

"Sleb" is now available in paperback print format!

In the words of Professor Farnsworth - "Good news everyone!"

My debut novel "Sleb" is now available to purchase worldwide via Amazon in Paperback Print format (in addition to the already available eBook version).

392 pages of darkly humorous celebrity-based thrills and spills in the lavishly chaotic life of besieged starlet Roxie Black. I've seen the proof copy first-hand and it looks fantastic - glossy cover, clean white pages, and sharp print make it a lovely looking book indeed. The dimensions are the traditional paperback 5x8 inches.

Click "READ MORE" below to continue...

Flavours of the Month: June 2014...

LOOKS:

South Park Season 16 - seasons 15 and 16 definitely had some dud episodes in their mix, but as I said last month, re-watching these shows on their own terms (rather than with the expectation that you have, perhaps unfairly, when new episodes air) does bring a new sparkle that you didn't see the first time around. One of my favourite episodes from season 16, and the series in general, is the Halloween episode in which Randy buys the local Blockbuster rental store and everything goes a bit 'Shining'.

Fargo - this limited-run 10 episode story from FX and MGM has been a real gold mine. I was unsure how it would work upon first hearing they'd taken the Coen brother's movie and turned it, somehow, into a television show, but after the first couple of episodes I was hooked and it just kept getting better. It wasn't really an adaptation at all, it was a spiritual successor. Unpredictable, truly stunning, filled with characters that you genuinely care about (or fear), and all written by Noah Hawley with such an easy flair and eye for gentle dark humour that he makes it seem effortless. Clearly a lot of thought and craft went into all aspects of making this show and it paid off in spades. A bright shining highlight for 2014 television drama.

Click "READ MORE" below for the other flavours of this month...

"Sleb" is now available to buy!

"Sleb", my first novel, is now available to buy worldwide via Amazon for Kindle, or the Kindle App (for Apple, Android, and Windows Phones, Tablets & Computers - the App is free to download).

BUY ON AMAZON UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403517455&sr=8-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson

BUY ON AMAZON US:
http://www.amazon.com/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403517591&sr=1-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson

Or visit your local version of Amazon and search for "Sleb Nick Thomson", but please note that "Sleb" is currently only available to read in the English language.

Want a taste? View the video trailer for "Sleb" here:

Music by Alex Vegas.

Or preview the first three chapters when you view the Amazon links.

Click "READ MORE" below for more information on "Sleb"...

"Sleb" cover art...

"Sleb" is nearing completion. There are final draft tweaks to make, but I've been busy working on some of the additional tasks relating to the project recently - getting the synopsis just right, for example, but also - the cover art.

I've also alluded to doing a special little something to help try and spread the word of the book once it has been released...

Click "READ MORE" below to finish that thought...

Flavours of the Month: May 2014...

LOOKS:

Twin Peaks - finishing off season two. There were about eight episodes after the reveal of Laura Palmer's killer where the show went off the rails and didn't have a new main story and threat to pick up the ball. Various subplots and side stories didn't really work, so for those iffy episodes only parts of them are working. It stopped being strange, it got safe and even a bit plain. That said, in the last few episodes it swung right back up again and found the groove for a grand finale. Good news too about the imminent release of 90 minutes worth of deleted scenes from Fire Walk With Me.

South Park Season 13, 14 and 15 - when South Park hits a home run, it really goes all out, but then you end up (unfairly) expecting every episode to be like the one where the Internet goes down, or the Facebook episode, or the World of Warcraft episode etc. However, watching these episodes for a second time on their own terms really frees them of any first-watch expectations you originally had. What was a tad underwhelming the first time becomes a rather good run of episodes with some forgotten gems hidden away.

Click "READ MORE" below for the other looks, sounds, vibes & flavours of my May 2014...

"Sleb" update...

I've reached the end of the story!

80,301 words.

I edit as I write, so I've essentially completed the story while also sitting at third draft standard. Next up is to go right back to page one and re-read the whole book and tidy up the earlier chapters to help the flow fit-in better with the mid-to-late sections once I had found my groove.

There's a few specific things I want to insert here and there as well, and then there'll be some final tweaks, so it'll be as a fifth or sixth draft once things are done (in addition to the several drafts the story underwent in screenplay form).

Click "READ MORE" below to continue the update...

Flavours of the Month: April 2014...

LOOKS:

Lost Season 6 - and so ends the return trip to the island. The final season did feel a bit over-long, and certain elements didn't tie-up quite as well as they should have, but ultimately I was still impressed by how the show ended.

The Trip To Italy - a second series of the delightfully entertaining comedy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as slightly askew versions of themselves. It's a welcome return, although a subplot about infidelity does, to me at least, sit a little uneasily with the generally jovial tone of the show. We'll see how that particular thread plays out over the remaining episodes.

South Park Season 10, 11, and 12

Mad Men Season 7 - the final season, annoyingly split over two years. The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad are more my kind of thing, but even still, I'm a big fan of this show. Three episodes deep - so far so good. A year-long mid-season break is going to be a pain though, just like with the final season of BB.

Click "READ MORE" below for the other looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

Flavours of the Month: March 2014...

LOOKS:

The League of Gentlemen (DVD commentaries)

Gravity (Blu-Ray) - it's definitely not a horror film, but it's the scariest movie I've seen in years. An astonishing technical and directorial achievement that features a gripping central performance by Bullock.

8MM - apparently screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) disowned the movie after it was watered down and had the tone somewhat lightened, but even still, it's a pretty grim thriller that's simultaneously quite compelling. Part of that post-Se7en vibe in 90s filmmaking where everything got very dark and brooding (also see End of Days).

True Detective - familiar elements given a unique spin. A superb piece of dramatic work with two exceptional lead performances at the heart of it. Lyrical, poetic, and exceedingly dark. An iconic piece of television drama. Let's hope they can recapture that same spirit with a brand new cast and storyline for season two.

Click "READ MORE" below for more looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

Racket & Writing...

Good news! "The Racket" has received two nominations from the St. Tropez International Film Festival!

Best Director of a Documentary & Best Producer of a Documentary Film.

Follow this LINK to visit their website and see the 2014 nominations list.

Click "READ MORE" below for an update on the novelisation of "Sleb"...

"Sleb" novelisation update...

A quick update on the progress thus far with my current project - writing a Kindle eBook novelisation of my screenplay "Sleb".

Naturally, switching from one form and style of writing to another was tricky to begin with. Progress was initially slow - or perhaps it was more a case of it feeling that way. I've been able to hit my daily word count target from the get-go, which is pleasing, but at the start it was more of a struggle to get there.

Click "READ MORE" below to see what the current word count is...

I'm writing a book...

I've mentioned a couple of times in recent weeks that I was planning a new project for the coming few months and so, without any further obtuse references to it, my new project is: adapting my screenplay "Sleb" into a novel.

Click "READ MORE" below for further details...