Rachael Eyre's Blog, page 2
June 1, 2022
Free Promo: Book 666
If, like me, you want to escape from the Jubilee celebrations this weekend, here’s the perfect antidote!
Starting from tomorrow (Thursday 2nd June) and ending Monday 6th June, #Book666 will be free on Amazon! A supernatural romance, it follows demon Meg and angel Selina as they go from enemies, to friends, to more.
‘Being a demon is no picnic. Especially when your full-time job is trying to Tempt a nine year old who thinks unicorns are the coolest thing ever. Oh, and you’re expected to give your evil uncle regular updates. No pressure.
But when Meg Wormwood falls in love with Selina, the Guardian Angel at her posting, all hell breaks loose. In fact, it may even mean the end of humanity as we know it ...’
Book 666
Starting from tomorrow (Thursday 2nd June) and ending Monday 6th June, #Book666 will be free on Amazon! A supernatural romance, it follows demon Meg and angel Selina as they go from enemies, to friends, to more.
‘Being a demon is no picnic. Especially when your full-time job is trying to Tempt a nine year old who thinks unicorns are the coolest thing ever. Oh, and you’re expected to give your evil uncle regular updates. No pressure.
But when Meg Wormwood falls in love with Selina, the Guardian Angel at her posting, all hell breaks loose. In fact, it may even mean the end of humanity as we know it ...’
Book 666
April 18, 2022
Thasmin! (Part Two)
The Doctor Who Easter special was one of the most eagerly awaited shows of the year - and not just because it saw the first appearance of old foes the Sea Devils for thirty eight years.
It’s because in the last episode, Eve of the Daleks, Yaz confirmed what viewers had long suspected: that she had romantic feelings for the Doctor. Dan told Thirteen later in the episode, meaning queer fans have been on tenterhooks ever since.
Would the Doctor reject her? Accept her? What would that look like? The Doctor’s previous love interests have all been female, but they were when she was in male incarnations. They’ve had at least two wives and one major relationship, though that was resolved less than satisfactorily by sending Rose off into a parallel universe with a Doctor clone.
Nor has the fact they’re both female gone unnoticed by the media. TalkRadio did a vile feature equating lesbians with paedophiles; the usual suspects have bellyached about “Doctor Woke.” Even toxic gay male fans, who should know better, have dubbed it “Dyketor Who.” Lesbophobia is alive and well, it seems.
I needn’t have been disappointed. Early on in the episode, the Doctor takes Yaz to the ocean floor in the Tardis. As they gaze out at the beautiful panorama, the Doctor asks, “Not a bad date, am I?” - causing millions of sapphic hearts to skip a beat. They were seconds away from their first kiss, only to be interrupted by a fish monster. Damn!
It didn’t stop there. As they hurried to save the day together, the Doctor clarified that although she wasn’t one to date, she would date Yaz, because she’s one of the best people she’s known (a callback to Yaz fangirling over her when they met). She even mentioned her wife, River - causing Yaz simultaneous surprise (she likes women!) and jealousy (a wife?!)
Their last conversation clinched it for me. Some fans believe Yaz has been friendzoned, but they’re a younger generation who don’t understand that for older queers, coming out scenes are more in what is said and implied than passionate PDAs. I can forgive them for wanting more, especially when they’re smarting from the fiasco that was Killing Eve, but this is a family show. *Any* overt display of sexuality would be inappropriate for the time slot and audience.
The Doctor says she wants them to have what they have for as long as they can. Yaz passes her a rock to skip across the waves to make a wish; she holds it lingeringly, as though it’s Yaz’s hand. Her eyes full of meaning, she wishes this could last forever. That’s the closest any Doctor has come to saying, “I love you” - to her female companion, no less.
It was sensitively, tastefully done, sending the right message to the people who matter. If this helps even one viewer come to terms with their sexuality and have conversations with their loved ones, it will have served its purpose. If the comments on Twitter are any indication, it has helped normalise gay relationships for young fans.
We’re winning, guys.
It’s because in the last episode, Eve of the Daleks, Yaz confirmed what viewers had long suspected: that she had romantic feelings for the Doctor. Dan told Thirteen later in the episode, meaning queer fans have been on tenterhooks ever since.
Would the Doctor reject her? Accept her? What would that look like? The Doctor’s previous love interests have all been female, but they were when she was in male incarnations. They’ve had at least two wives and one major relationship, though that was resolved less than satisfactorily by sending Rose off into a parallel universe with a Doctor clone.
Nor has the fact they’re both female gone unnoticed by the media. TalkRadio did a vile feature equating lesbians with paedophiles; the usual suspects have bellyached about “Doctor Woke.” Even toxic gay male fans, who should know better, have dubbed it “Dyketor Who.” Lesbophobia is alive and well, it seems.
I needn’t have been disappointed. Early on in the episode, the Doctor takes Yaz to the ocean floor in the Tardis. As they gaze out at the beautiful panorama, the Doctor asks, “Not a bad date, am I?” - causing millions of sapphic hearts to skip a beat. They were seconds away from their first kiss, only to be interrupted by a fish monster. Damn!
It didn’t stop there. As they hurried to save the day together, the Doctor clarified that although she wasn’t one to date, she would date Yaz, because she’s one of the best people she’s known (a callback to Yaz fangirling over her when they met). She even mentioned her wife, River - causing Yaz simultaneous surprise (she likes women!) and jealousy (a wife?!)
Their last conversation clinched it for me. Some fans believe Yaz has been friendzoned, but they’re a younger generation who don’t understand that for older queers, coming out scenes are more in what is said and implied than passionate PDAs. I can forgive them for wanting more, especially when they’re smarting from the fiasco that was Killing Eve, but this is a family show. *Any* overt display of sexuality would be inappropriate for the time slot and audience.
The Doctor says she wants them to have what they have for as long as they can. Yaz passes her a rock to skip across the waves to make a wish; she holds it lingeringly, as though it’s Yaz’s hand. Her eyes full of meaning, she wishes this could last forever. That’s the closest any Doctor has come to saying, “I love you” - to her female companion, no less.
It was sensitively, tastefully done, sending the right message to the people who matter. If this helps even one viewer come to terms with their sexuality and have conversations with their loved ones, it will have served its purpose. If the comments on Twitter are any indication, it has helped normalise gay relationships for young fans.
We’re winning, guys.
April 13, 2022
Free Promo: Hello Satan
Starting today, Spy Wednesday, and ending on Easter Sunday, #HelloSatan is free on Amazon!
Lucky never meant to start a war in Heaven. It’s all a terrible misunderstanding, stirred up by his enemies.
With his aide Malcolm at his left, his best friend Lilith at his right, he shambles his way through Bible times - and beyond.
Lucky never meant to start a war in Heaven. It’s all a terrible misunderstanding, stirred up by his enemies.
With his aide Malcolm at his left, his best friend Lilith at his right, he shambles his way through Bible times - and beyond.
April 11, 2022
Killing Villanelle: The Survival of a Toxic Trope Into the 2020s
I’m writing this blog because I am ANGRY.
Killing Eve, the stylish sapphic spy drama, finished this weekend. Ostensibly about a shadowy organisation called the Twelve, the meat of the show has always been the complex relationship between special agent Eve Polastri and elite assassin Villanelle. Over four seasons we’ve watched them evolve from enemies, to cautious allies, to friends, to - lovers?
When the two kissed and had a taste of domesticity in the last episode, it looked as though our dreams were going to be realised. But it wasn’t to be. Villanelle was taken out by a sniper’s bullet, tumbling into the Thames. Eve tried to save her, but was left helplessly clawing at water as her beloved’s body disappeared.
This seems very familiar. Where have we seen this before?
If you watched Buffy in 2002, you might recall Willow and Tara’s relationship ending in such a way, thanks to a bullet that wasn’t even intended for them. And in The 100, fan darlings Clarke and Lexa (Clexa) were parted by yet another bullet. The outrage over the tragedy was such, ClexaCon was named for them.
Disinterested viewers might chalk this up to coincidence or a lack of imagination, but LGBT audiences know this isn’t the case. They’re only more recent manifestations of a tired cliche dating all the way back to The Well of Loneliness, the alleged “Bible” of lesbianism, where heroine Stephen commits suicide so her girlfriend Mary can desert her for a man. Morality laws dictated that while you could portray homosexual characters in print, you weren’t allowed to show their relationships in a positive light, terminating them with a last minute conversion to heterosexuality or death.
When the Hays Code was introduced in cinema, it had similar strictures that LGBT figures could only be characterised as villains and their sinful tendencies should be punished. This meant that for many years the only representation the LGBT community had was an endless march of depression, alcoholism, madness and death. Even sympathetic characters like Martha Dobie in The Children’s Hour committed suicide because they couldn’t live with their ‘deviant’ sexualities.
The Hays Code was abolished in 1968, but the cliché had become entrenched in fiction. For every hopeful ending like Desert Hearts or Carol, you have countless more where queer couples are denied happiness - for the sake of drama, the writers insist. This remains the case even though we have equal marriage and are protected under law in many Western countries.
Bury Your Gays, as the cliche is widely known, has assumed a very distinct form in recent years. A lesbian couple (they’re nearly always lesbians) are finally together; they experience true happiness, whether that’s kissing, sex or getting married. Just when their joy seems complete, one of them is brutally, shockingly killed. Bullets are common culprits, as previously mentioned, but car accidents and even collapsing buildings have claimed the life of many a fictional sapphic who dared to say “I love you” out loud to her partner. As you might have noticed, Villanelle’s demise ticks every one of these boxes.
In other shows where the lesbian couple aren’t the leads, writers can pretend they weren’t aware of the optics and it’s only one plot among many. But Villaneve *was* the show. It was the only prime time, mainstream programme about a slowburn romance between women. It had a unique setting where queer relationships were treated as unremarkable, with Villanelle open about her attraction to women and Eve drawn to her nemesis despite identifying as straight.
The understanding was Villaneve would be endgame; it was alluded to constantly and confirmed by Phoebe Waller Bridge, the series creator and original showrunner. Not only have the writers broken this contract, they have displayed an astonishing lack of empathy, vision and even understanding of the show they were supposed to be writing.
Laura Neal, the showrunner for Season 4, describes Eve’s emotions at Villanelle’s death as “relief” and “a rebirth.” She professes none of the writers could picture a future for them, despite the source novels by Luke Jennings showing this very thing. In one interview she treats Villanelle’s death flippantly, saying it’s yet another instance of the show’s black comedy. She doesn’t seem to comprehend how invested viewers were in Villaneve and how this ending is a betrayal.
It’s not as though antiheroines in love is uncharted territory. In the Wachowski’s neo-noir Bound, moll Violet and ex con Corky kill Violet’s mangy boyfriend, scam the mob and drive triumphantly into the sunset. It’s the fabulously queer ending Villaneve should have had, because both characters deserved so much better.
I thought 2022 would be the year we buried Bury Your Gays with a stake through its heart. Apparently not #KillingEve
Killing Eve, the stylish sapphic spy drama, finished this weekend. Ostensibly about a shadowy organisation called the Twelve, the meat of the show has always been the complex relationship between special agent Eve Polastri and elite assassin Villanelle. Over four seasons we’ve watched them evolve from enemies, to cautious allies, to friends, to - lovers?
When the two kissed and had a taste of domesticity in the last episode, it looked as though our dreams were going to be realised. But it wasn’t to be. Villanelle was taken out by a sniper’s bullet, tumbling into the Thames. Eve tried to save her, but was left helplessly clawing at water as her beloved’s body disappeared.
This seems very familiar. Where have we seen this before?
If you watched Buffy in 2002, you might recall Willow and Tara’s relationship ending in such a way, thanks to a bullet that wasn’t even intended for them. And in The 100, fan darlings Clarke and Lexa (Clexa) were parted by yet another bullet. The outrage over the tragedy was such, ClexaCon was named for them.
Disinterested viewers might chalk this up to coincidence or a lack of imagination, but LGBT audiences know this isn’t the case. They’re only more recent manifestations of a tired cliche dating all the way back to The Well of Loneliness, the alleged “Bible” of lesbianism, where heroine Stephen commits suicide so her girlfriend Mary can desert her for a man. Morality laws dictated that while you could portray homosexual characters in print, you weren’t allowed to show their relationships in a positive light, terminating them with a last minute conversion to heterosexuality or death.
When the Hays Code was introduced in cinema, it had similar strictures that LGBT figures could only be characterised as villains and their sinful tendencies should be punished. This meant that for many years the only representation the LGBT community had was an endless march of depression, alcoholism, madness and death. Even sympathetic characters like Martha Dobie in The Children’s Hour committed suicide because they couldn’t live with their ‘deviant’ sexualities.
The Hays Code was abolished in 1968, but the cliché had become entrenched in fiction. For every hopeful ending like Desert Hearts or Carol, you have countless more where queer couples are denied happiness - for the sake of drama, the writers insist. This remains the case even though we have equal marriage and are protected under law in many Western countries.
Bury Your Gays, as the cliche is widely known, has assumed a very distinct form in recent years. A lesbian couple (they’re nearly always lesbians) are finally together; they experience true happiness, whether that’s kissing, sex or getting married. Just when their joy seems complete, one of them is brutally, shockingly killed. Bullets are common culprits, as previously mentioned, but car accidents and even collapsing buildings have claimed the life of many a fictional sapphic who dared to say “I love you” out loud to her partner. As you might have noticed, Villanelle’s demise ticks every one of these boxes.
In other shows where the lesbian couple aren’t the leads, writers can pretend they weren’t aware of the optics and it’s only one plot among many. But Villaneve *was* the show. It was the only prime time, mainstream programme about a slowburn romance between women. It had a unique setting where queer relationships were treated as unremarkable, with Villanelle open about her attraction to women and Eve drawn to her nemesis despite identifying as straight.
The understanding was Villaneve would be endgame; it was alluded to constantly and confirmed by Phoebe Waller Bridge, the series creator and original showrunner. Not only have the writers broken this contract, they have displayed an astonishing lack of empathy, vision and even understanding of the show they were supposed to be writing.
Laura Neal, the showrunner for Season 4, describes Eve’s emotions at Villanelle’s death as “relief” and “a rebirth.” She professes none of the writers could picture a future for them, despite the source novels by Luke Jennings showing this very thing. In one interview she treats Villanelle’s death flippantly, saying it’s yet another instance of the show’s black comedy. She doesn’t seem to comprehend how invested viewers were in Villaneve and how this ending is a betrayal.
It’s not as though antiheroines in love is uncharted territory. In the Wachowski’s neo-noir Bound, moll Violet and ex con Corky kill Violet’s mangy boyfriend, scam the mob and drive triumphantly into the sunset. It’s the fabulously queer ending Villaneve should have had, because both characters deserved so much better.
I thought 2022 would be the year we buried Bury Your Gays with a stake through its heart. Apparently not #KillingEve
January 2, 2022
Thasmin!
The New Year’s Day episode of Doctor Who is always an event, but last night’s Eve of the Daleks was a landmark for another reason: Thasmin, the popular ship between the Doctor (Thirteen) and her companion Yaz, was finally made canon.
LGBT viewers took Yaz to their hearts early on. Unlike previous companions who fancied the Doctor, who went around telling as many other people as possible, Yaz kept quiet and demonstrated her love for her best friend instead. This was too subtle for straight viewers, who accused ‘Thassies’ of being “delusional” and “making everything gay.” They somehow missed Yaz’s yearning glances, her avoidance of pronouns when talking about her crush, her desperation when the Doctor disappeared for years at a time, driving her to sleep in the Tardis. Yep, that’s normal gal pal behaviour!
This is entirely consistent with Yaz’s character as established. She was bullied at school, eventually deciding to run away. She was helped by a friendly and slightly butch copper, who told her she had been in the same situation once, and inspired her to join the force. Her mum seems to know and accept - she even asked once if Yaz and the Doctor were dating - but as a young British Muslim woman, she has already endured prejudice, and doesn’t want to experience more.
When she was one of three companions travelling with the Doctor, she was overshadowed, but in the recent season she’s come into her own. Her courage and strength has grown alongside her love for the Doctor, which is palpable if you know what to look for.
For the longest time, I thought this was as good as it was going to get. Yaz would continue to love the Doctor, but because the showrunners were frightened of alienating older fans and the NotMyDoctor crowd, there would be no question of a romance between them. If we were lucky, we might have Yaz confessing her feelings in her last episode as she left, like Martha did. The possibility of the Doctor reciprocating would be zero - despite the character preferring women for all fifty eight years of the series’ run.
Fortunately the writers were braver than that.
Dan, the new companion, had already noticed Yaz’s affection for the Doctor and commented on it in Flux, the recent series. In last night’s episode, he raised the subject again, asking: “Have you ever told her … how you feel about her?”
Yaz automatically went on the defensive: “I don’t know what you mean.” But as she opens up, she admits that she hasn’t told anyone else, not even herself.
That line resonated with me, and who knows how many other LGBT people. Everybody’s story is different: they may realise at a young age, or after a good deal of soul searching, or only once they’re married with children and they’ve met someone special. There is no one coming out narrative. And when the person you love is your friend, there is always the danger that not only will they not return your feelings, but they’ll be disgusted and you’ll lose them. Yaz was in tears by the end. It was such an important moment, rarely put into words. I hope any young LGBT viewers watching felt represented and seen.
If that wasn’t enough, Dan told the Doctor later that Yaz likes her. Her reaction was clearly that of someone who recognised the feeling and owned it, but didn’t want to break another heart; she knows she’s on borrowed time in her present form. When they were watching fireworks near the end of the episode, she turned to look at Yaz, her eyes and heart full. It was beautiful.
The bigots are going to have kittens, but who cares? The first female Doctor’s love interest is a woman - and I couldn’t be happier.
LGBT viewers took Yaz to their hearts early on. Unlike previous companions who fancied the Doctor, who went around telling as many other people as possible, Yaz kept quiet and demonstrated her love for her best friend instead. This was too subtle for straight viewers, who accused ‘Thassies’ of being “delusional” and “making everything gay.” They somehow missed Yaz’s yearning glances, her avoidance of pronouns when talking about her crush, her desperation when the Doctor disappeared for years at a time, driving her to sleep in the Tardis. Yep, that’s normal gal pal behaviour!
This is entirely consistent with Yaz’s character as established. She was bullied at school, eventually deciding to run away. She was helped by a friendly and slightly butch copper, who told her she had been in the same situation once, and inspired her to join the force. Her mum seems to know and accept - she even asked once if Yaz and the Doctor were dating - but as a young British Muslim woman, she has already endured prejudice, and doesn’t want to experience more.
When she was one of three companions travelling with the Doctor, she was overshadowed, but in the recent season she’s come into her own. Her courage and strength has grown alongside her love for the Doctor, which is palpable if you know what to look for.
For the longest time, I thought this was as good as it was going to get. Yaz would continue to love the Doctor, but because the showrunners were frightened of alienating older fans and the NotMyDoctor crowd, there would be no question of a romance between them. If we were lucky, we might have Yaz confessing her feelings in her last episode as she left, like Martha did. The possibility of the Doctor reciprocating would be zero - despite the character preferring women for all fifty eight years of the series’ run.
Fortunately the writers were braver than that.
Dan, the new companion, had already noticed Yaz’s affection for the Doctor and commented on it in Flux, the recent series. In last night’s episode, he raised the subject again, asking: “Have you ever told her … how you feel about her?”
Yaz automatically went on the defensive: “I don’t know what you mean.” But as she opens up, she admits that she hasn’t told anyone else, not even herself.
That line resonated with me, and who knows how many other LGBT people. Everybody’s story is different: they may realise at a young age, or after a good deal of soul searching, or only once they’re married with children and they’ve met someone special. There is no one coming out narrative. And when the person you love is your friend, there is always the danger that not only will they not return your feelings, but they’ll be disgusted and you’ll lose them. Yaz was in tears by the end. It was such an important moment, rarely put into words. I hope any young LGBT viewers watching felt represented and seen.
If that wasn’t enough, Dan told the Doctor later that Yaz likes her. Her reaction was clearly that of someone who recognised the feeling and owned it, but didn’t want to break another heart; she knows she’s on borrowed time in her present form. When they were watching fireworks near the end of the episode, she turned to look at Yaz, her eyes and heart full. It was beautiful.
The bigots are going to have kittens, but who cares? The first female Doctor’s love interest is a woman - and I couldn’t be happier.
December 31, 2021
Why I Wrote Hello Satan
I’ve always liked stories set in Hell. Blame Dante. According to him, all gay people are bound for the seventh circle, and do a great deal of sprinting on burning sands. I reasoned that as a girl who liked girls, I had a one way ticket. Whenever I did the Bleep test at school, I was convinced I was there already.
Of course you can’t have Hell without its ruler and emcee, Satan. He was an important secondary character in Out of Place, the rock opera I wrote as a Paradise Lost loving kid. He features as Avi in The Revenge of Rose Grubb. He’s the big picture villain of Book 666, having far more impact on our heroines’ lives than God, who is rumoured to be senile. This wasn’t even a conscious decision on my part. If you write supernatural fantasy, the Devil’s bound to show up eventually.
I’m fascinated by the many questions the Prince of Darkness raises. He’s both the supreme sinner and punisher of human sinners. Why would you rebel against God, a futile action if ever there was one? If God is all powerful, why would Satan exist - and why wouldn’t He smite him once his treachery was known?
There’s a confrontation between Satan and the Adversary, aka God, at the end of Book 666. It introduces them as estranged parent and child, and how their entire conflict stems from that. I loved writing this scene but didn’t expect to see them again. I had several other book ideas lined up.
Then the attack on the Capitol happened. America could easily have fallen to fascism that day; it gives you chills just thinking about it. I had to write it out of my system - and somehow it transformed into the War in Heaven. Who would be a better first person narrator than Satan himself, trying to make himself both the misunderstood antihero and victim of a conspiracy?
It wasn’t intended as a prequel to Book 666, but I’d spent so long with that world and characters, it seemed pointless to start over. It also meant I could explore the God/Satan, mother/child relationship in more depth, and how they can never truly hate or destroy the other. Add ‘Junior,’ the infuriating little brother, to the mix, and you’ve a family dynamic anyone can identify with.
Above all: I wanted it to be funny. When I started writing the book, we were in the second year of the pandemic, and burnt out. Everything I watched or read seemed to relate to coronavirus in some way, and it was the last thing I wanted to think about. My previous story ideas foundered, but a black comedy about angels and demons? Why the heck not?
Every piece of research got thrown in. The sexy statues by the Geefs brothers are real, believe it or not; likewise Martin Luther’s inkpot and Dr Dee accidentally conjuring Satan in a library (in Manchester, no less). There was folklore so crazy and out there, I had to use it. Kitta Grau, the human antagonist, stars in numerous Swedish legends where she beats the Devil. There are even church murals where he gives her the famous slippers on the end of a ten foot pole!
I had a blast writing Hello Satan. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Of course you can’t have Hell without its ruler and emcee, Satan. He was an important secondary character in Out of Place, the rock opera I wrote as a Paradise Lost loving kid. He features as Avi in The Revenge of Rose Grubb. He’s the big picture villain of Book 666, having far more impact on our heroines’ lives than God, who is rumoured to be senile. This wasn’t even a conscious decision on my part. If you write supernatural fantasy, the Devil’s bound to show up eventually.
I’m fascinated by the many questions the Prince of Darkness raises. He’s both the supreme sinner and punisher of human sinners. Why would you rebel against God, a futile action if ever there was one? If God is all powerful, why would Satan exist - and why wouldn’t He smite him once his treachery was known?
There’s a confrontation between Satan and the Adversary, aka God, at the end of Book 666. It introduces them as estranged parent and child, and how their entire conflict stems from that. I loved writing this scene but didn’t expect to see them again. I had several other book ideas lined up.
Then the attack on the Capitol happened. America could easily have fallen to fascism that day; it gives you chills just thinking about it. I had to write it out of my system - and somehow it transformed into the War in Heaven. Who would be a better first person narrator than Satan himself, trying to make himself both the misunderstood antihero and victim of a conspiracy?
It wasn’t intended as a prequel to Book 666, but I’d spent so long with that world and characters, it seemed pointless to start over. It also meant I could explore the God/Satan, mother/child relationship in more depth, and how they can never truly hate or destroy the other. Add ‘Junior,’ the infuriating little brother, to the mix, and you’ve a family dynamic anyone can identify with.
Above all: I wanted it to be funny. When I started writing the book, we were in the second year of the pandemic, and burnt out. Everything I watched or read seemed to relate to coronavirus in some way, and it was the last thing I wanted to think about. My previous story ideas foundered, but a black comedy about angels and demons? Why the heck not?
Every piece of research got thrown in. The sexy statues by the Geefs brothers are real, believe it or not; likewise Martin Luther’s inkpot and Dr Dee accidentally conjuring Satan in a library (in Manchester, no less). There was folklore so crazy and out there, I had to use it. Kitta Grau, the human antagonist, stars in numerous Swedish legends where she beats the Devil. There are even church murals where he gives her the famous slippers on the end of a ten foot pole!
I had a blast writing Hello Satan. I hope you enjoy reading it.
December 30, 2021
Hello Satan
Hell, yeah! #HelloSatan is now available on Amazon!
As far as Lucky’s concerned, he’s the victim of bad press. He didn’t mean to get kicked out of Heaven.
Perhaps a celebrity autobiography would do the trick …?
As far as Lucky’s concerned, he’s the victim of bad press. He didn’t mean to get kicked out of Heaven.
Perhaps a celebrity autobiography would do the trick …?
December 5, 2021
Update
I’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily unpublish my new novel while trying to work out what has gone wrong with it. It’s not fit to be seen in its current state.
So yes, disappointing, but I can’t afford to damage my brand with subpar ebooks. I will get an answer to this.
So yes, disappointing, but I can’t afford to damage my brand with subpar ebooks. I will get an answer to this.
Hello Satan
I’m pleased to announce Hello Satan is available on Amazon! A supernatural black comedy, it follows the Evil One from his youth in Heaven to the present day. Indeed, this is what he has to say about it:
“Having noticed the recent trend for villainous backstories, I thought that I, the Prince of Darkness, should use it as an opportunity to set the record straight.
My aide Malcolm thinks this is a terrible idea. Bear in mind he thought the Spanish Inquisition were novices. You can take his opinions with a pinch of brimstone.
So here, complete and unexpurgated, is the tale of my Fall and undoubted rise. Enjoy.
(Any resemblance to persons living or dead is wholly intentional, since this is the Bible we’re talking about).”
Please note there is also LGBT content, a fair amount of swearing and Herod singing karaoke.
Hello Satan
“Having noticed the recent trend for villainous backstories, I thought that I, the Prince of Darkness, should use it as an opportunity to set the record straight.
My aide Malcolm thinks this is a terrible idea. Bear in mind he thought the Spanish Inquisition were novices. You can take his opinions with a pinch of brimstone.
So here, complete and unexpurgated, is the tale of my Fall and undoubted rise. Enjoy.
(Any resemblance to persons living or dead is wholly intentional, since this is the Bible we’re talking about).”
Please note there is also LGBT content, a fair amount of swearing and Herod singing karaoke.
Hello Satan
December 2, 2021
Everything You Need To Know About Hello Satan
Hello Satan is going to be released shortly before Christmas. Here’s everything you need to know …
* It’s a prequel (of sorts) to Book 666, sharing several of the same characters. Before you ask, there are no spoilers.
* The germ of the idea formed after watching the attack on the Capitol on the news. I wondered what would have happened if they had succeeded, but didn’t want to write a conventional dystopia, since there had been far too many in the wake of the pandemic. A few months later it occurred to me that the War in Heaven could have been similar - and there was my story.
* As you’ve probably guessed, I love Malcolm and wanted him to be a main character this time round. I quickly decided the protagonist would have to be Satan, but didn’t want him to be a panto villain or a sexy antihero. I struggled to write him until I realised he *thinks* he’s Blackadder, but he’s actually more of a Prince Regent.
* He’s born Lucifer and renames himself Satan, but God - his Mother - calls him Lucky. That’s what he goes by throughout.
* Lucky was originally going to be straight, in an attempt to make the story more mainstream. It seems I’m not very interested in writing about straight people, so he was reimagined as bi.
* His unrequited love for Eve is mentioned in Book 666, but he has another crush on a major biblical figure. I loved writing these chapters.
* There’s a lot of fabulous devil related folklore out there, especially if you follow the #folklorethursday hashtag. It’s there I discovered Kitta Grau, who had to play a part in the story somewhere.
* I’ve enjoyed putting my spin on various biblical/apocryphal characters. I’ve always felt Lilith has been unfairly maligned, and made her the nearest this book has to a heroine instead.
* Junior (aka Jesus) was another tricky one to write, until I twigged it’s all in his nickname: he’s the ultimate annoying kid brother. The two of them are constantly squabbling over which of them God likes best, but it’s clear She loves them equally.
* I knew how I wanted to write God from the very beginning: outwardly fluffy but a strong, brave and loving lioness. The perfect mother, in other words.
* Fido was a later addition, but I thought it’d make sense if Lucky is a dog person to his Mother’s cat person, emphasising how different they are. The idea of a goofy, slobbery, affectionate hellhound tickled me.
* If you live in the UK, it won’t take you too long to work out who Anthony Sherrin is based on!
* It’s a prequel (of sorts) to Book 666, sharing several of the same characters. Before you ask, there are no spoilers.
* The germ of the idea formed after watching the attack on the Capitol on the news. I wondered what would have happened if they had succeeded, but didn’t want to write a conventional dystopia, since there had been far too many in the wake of the pandemic. A few months later it occurred to me that the War in Heaven could have been similar - and there was my story.
* As you’ve probably guessed, I love Malcolm and wanted him to be a main character this time round. I quickly decided the protagonist would have to be Satan, but didn’t want him to be a panto villain or a sexy antihero. I struggled to write him until I realised he *thinks* he’s Blackadder, but he’s actually more of a Prince Regent.
* He’s born Lucifer and renames himself Satan, but God - his Mother - calls him Lucky. That’s what he goes by throughout.
* Lucky was originally going to be straight, in an attempt to make the story more mainstream. It seems I’m not very interested in writing about straight people, so he was reimagined as bi.
* His unrequited love for Eve is mentioned in Book 666, but he has another crush on a major biblical figure. I loved writing these chapters.
* There’s a lot of fabulous devil related folklore out there, especially if you follow the #folklorethursday hashtag. It’s there I discovered Kitta Grau, who had to play a part in the story somewhere.
* I’ve enjoyed putting my spin on various biblical/apocryphal characters. I’ve always felt Lilith has been unfairly maligned, and made her the nearest this book has to a heroine instead.
* Junior (aka Jesus) was another tricky one to write, until I twigged it’s all in his nickname: he’s the ultimate annoying kid brother. The two of them are constantly squabbling over which of them God likes best, but it’s clear She loves them equally.
* I knew how I wanted to write God from the very beginning: outwardly fluffy but a strong, brave and loving lioness. The perfect mother, in other words.
* Fido was a later addition, but I thought it’d make sense if Lucky is a dog person to his Mother’s cat person, emphasising how different they are. The idea of a goofy, slobbery, affectionate hellhound tickled me.
* If you live in the UK, it won’t take you too long to work out who Anthony Sherrin is based on!
