I don’t post updates here often. The reason is I’m working or getting on with life. Either way, I’ve got my head down and I’m making stuff happen, and this social media malarkey just sort of falls by the wayside.

Nevertheless, a fair number of projects have lined themselves up and will be forthcoming in 2026 and 2027, so I thought it might be helpful to list them here.

First off, I’ve contributed to a collection, The Thirteenth Floor Anthology, edited by the estimable, honey-voiced Guy Adams and based around the Thirteenth Floor strip from 80s British weekly comic Scream. All the stories feature vengeful sentient computer Max exercising his (violent) idea of justice on ne’er-do-wells and miscreants. In mine, “Lobsters”, the people deserving and getting their comeuppance are executives of a planet-raping energy company. The book is available right now.

Next up is Atomfall: The Omega Order, out in the summer. It’s a novel connected with the videogame Atomfall, which is a very British version of Fallout and takes place in an alternate 1960s UK where the disaster that almost happened at the Windscale nuclear facility in real life, did actually happen. Since then, the Lake District has been closed off by the government, and all sorts of strange shit is occurring within its heavily patrolled borders.

My book is set a few years after the catastrophe, and takes us somewhat further south, to the city of York (one of this Home-Counties-based author’s favourite places that isn’t in the Home Counties). Children are disappearing mysteriously off the streets, and Graham Beynon, our protagonist, is determined to find out why. I was asked by the publisher, Rebellion, to write something with a John Wyndham/JG Ballard vibe, which was not at all in my wheelhouse (sarcasm). I’d never done a videogame tie-in before, and I had a ball with it.

Also upcoming in 2026 is a short story collection, Tongue Disease, from the wonderful PS Publishing. The book assembles a series of tales I wrote around a decade ago, all relating to a top secret government installation where experiments are conducted on language and imagery, with a view to creating new weapons and methods of controlling the populace. This is me giving full rein to my tendence to muck about with words, typography, and grammar.

As for my to-do list, right at the top is a novel starring that gigantic, fire-breathing, city-stomping, monster-battling reptile… Yes, the only and only Godzilla! Godzilla: World War Kaiju is the title, and we’re just sorting out the final few details of the contract, with a view to the book coming out early next year. By way of preparation, I’m immersing myself in the history and lore of the Big G, which includes watching all the movies in order. Some of them are better than others, but none of them is anything but fun.

Following that, there are rumours of a fifth Cthulhu Casebook. It’s verrrry early days on this, everything is tentative, but it’s definitely on the cards. The title I have in mind is Sherlock Holmes and the Dartmoor Diabolists, which may give you some idea of where the plot will be going. Expect devil hounds, abominable cults, and the Plateau of Leng.

Speaking of the Cthulhu Casebooks, Japanese publisher Hayakawa is going to be producing a manga version of the first volume, Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows. Again, contracts are still under negotiation, but all being well, the serialisation should start in early 2027. As yet, there aren’t any firm plans for an English language edition, but I would be surprised if one doesn’t appear at some stage. I’ve been sent some preliminary character sketches, which I’m not at liberty to share publicly, and I’m very excited. The art style is beautiful, and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

Finally, after twenty years or so of agenting myself, I am being agented again. Alexander Cochran and Maria Brannan at the Greyhound Literary Agency are representing me henceforth, and I couldn’t be happier. They’re both of them committed, enthusiastic, tenacious, accursedly young, and all round just terrific to work with. I know I am in safe hands.

With Alex’s and Maria’s encouragement, I’ve just finished work on a novel which is all my own thing. Not a tie-in, not a pastiche, not a continuation. I’m not in a position to talk about it at present, but I can say that it’s got vampires in it and I think it’s one of the best, and funniest, and paciest, and goriest, books I’ve ever written. More on this breaking story as it develops…

But that’s all for now. Plenty to be getting on with there. Look after yourselves, make the most of your lives, and if you are in a position to do something about the ridiculous, posturing politicians who are currently misgoverning the world, then do it, but otherwise try not to pay any attention to them. The thing they hate most of all is us not caring about them.