C.C. Adams's Blog: C.C. Does The Write Thing

FanExpo 2025.

Let the right ones in - discussing the Ryan Coogler vampire film Sinners on the Sinners and Vampires at FanExpo. l-r: Stephanie...

Catching Up.

You know, the more I write, the busier I get? This may sound like a very, "well, duh," thing to say, but it's true. In the nicest way...

StokerCon 2025.

First day of StokerCon: an early Thursday afternoon with, l-r: Linda Addison, Cindy O'Quinn, Colleen Anderson and me. For all the fuss...

Appetite.

One of my favourite scenes from An American Werewolf In London. What I like about it is that, for me, it's one of the few instances in a...

Like Sharks Do.

From when I was a kid, there was a notion that sharks would need to keep swimming so that they could breathe; that the constant motion...

Sci Fi Weekender, March 2025.

Opening Night: on the red carpet with Raven Dane, flanked by Area 51 dancers. Picture courtesy of the Blazing Minds / SFW team. Last...

UK Ghost Story Festival 2025.

Having done an online workshop for the UK Ghost Story Festival last weekend, I then had the idea to attend the in-person event this weekend.

Despite relatively late notice, I bought tickets to a couple of panels, and let the genre community at large know that I'd be on site, if only for a few hours. Having done the journey to Derby repeatedly for the likes of Edge-Lit, I had a pretty good idea where I was going. Note that the last time I'd been in Derby for such a convention, it was held at the Derby Quad - but it's since been held at the Museum Of Making. This was my first time heading to said Museum.

For the uninitiated, the UK Ghost Story Festival is a relatively recent thing, with the inaugural event taking place at the Derby Quad in November of 2019. I'd actually gone because I'd had a piece published - a ghost story called Curious, If Anything, in fact - in The Third Corona Book Of Horror Stories the month before, and I wanted to meet with the publishers in person. Three days of interviews, workshops, an array of books on sale where you may get them signed by the authors if they're on site. And let's not forget the networking element.

The main reason I went this year was to catch up with a number of people in person. One of which is Pete Indiana Allison - a journalist and podcaster, among other things. Always good to catch up with this man. Discussing everything from what we've been working on, to the highs and lows of the Alien franchise, along with the newest Marvel properties. Yes, I'm amped for Daredevil: Born Again. I also went looking to catch up with Tim Rideout, who I was put in touch with by Sam Howe, since I'm due at the Sci Fi Weekender at the end of next month. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to speak to him. I did, however, get a chance to catch up with a number of people, including Ally Wilkes, Charlotte Bond, Keith B Walters (at long last), Lauren McMenemy and Alex Davis.

It's here in particular that I need to give the nod to Alex. As someone who has regularly put in work hosting both the Edge-Lit convention that used to happen in the summer and the pre-Christmas (in November) variant known as Sledge-Lit, Alex has been instrumental in spearheading those events. Of course, it can't all be done alone, so there's a team on hand to support (also good to catch up with Pixie Peigh this convention weekend as well).

What I'd seen in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown - and for a number of things were online/remote initiatives. It was also around that time I saw Alex do more of specifically online events/workshops; he'd first asked me if I was interested in doing one of these a year or so ago, in fact. With people social distancing and staying at home to maintain it, such events got good engagement. Little wonder that now, conventions such as the UK Ghost Story Festival are now hybrid events, where there's both online and in-person programming.

Probably the biggest indicator I had of how much this event had grown legs is when I'd posted it on social media and one of my non-author friends already knew about one of the guests expected to attend. Another one was that, having gratefully followed Lauren's lead to the Cosy Club (a bar/restaurant that's like a Tardis), I had to bail out early in order to get a train back into London.

In terms of general scheduling, I do need to weigh my convention attendances against what projects I'm working on, along with what I get of attending said convention in the first place. At this stage, I may have to up the attendance at the UK Ghost Story Festival to an overnight one.

We shall see.

#covid19 #coronavirus #ukghoststoryfestival #writing #game #game101 #convention #edgelit #sledgelit

Game, 101 - Conventions.

I'll give the nod to Gavin Jefferson to begin with; since he was one of the first people I can remember asking me, 'what do I get out of going to conventions?'

For those not sitting comfortably, I have a number of reasons here. Everything from giving me something to talk about to keeping me at the forefront of my peers and my audience. If that's enough answer for you, feel free to bail out now. If you're sat comfortable and want a deep dive into the hustle/game of it, read on.

What comes to mind now as I write this is the volume of conventions/attendances that I have lined up so far this year which, for me, is a record number. So far, I have the online version of the UK Ghost Story Festival next month, StokerCon in Connecticut in June, FanExpo in Toronto in August, and WorldFantasyCon in Brighton in October. I currently have at least another one that I'm booked in for (and more detail on that when I'm able), along with another that I may attend.

Before I get into it, I'll mention that I did touch on this previously in an entry called, "Mix Business With Pleasure." There is an element of conventions which is mixing business with pleasure, seeing your peers in person and getting new business at the same time. But doing conventions takes a degree of game. So, here's where I get into it.

"What do I get out of going to conventions?"

1. I GET TO SEE MY PEERS.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again: as a kid, I was painfully shy. So much so that when I was ill and my mother took me to the GP (General Practitioner, read: 'physician', i.e. doctor), I sat in that chair next to her, swinging my legs and looking down at my feet. Why? Because I couldn't make eye contact with people. Years of experience and history taught me that shrinking violets just ...shrink, so I faced that fear head on. But here's the thing. I'm not a people person or social butterfly, but I can appreciate people.

As someone who was 'the runt of the litter' and incompetent at best with women, I can appreciate that people - not just women - come in all shapes and sizes. I can remember how it is to be socially awkward; and I sure as hell remember how it is to lack confidence. Having spent time on social media talking to numerous people, be they authors, editors, publishers, podcasters, illustrators, journalists, etc. you start to get to know them. And as such, you've already gotten to know them to a degree, which makes those real-life interactions easier - sweeter, even. Especially if you love the same franchise, can't stand that scene in the same film, appear in the same anthology, have both submitted manuscripts to the same publisher, etc. Conventions are an additional way to build and reinforce those associations, those friendships. Not only that but...

2. THEY SHOW YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR CRAFT.

As fun as it can be attend those conventions, they can also be tiring. More often than not, those conventions are held somewhere you don't live. Across the city if you're lucky. Across the country. Or across the planet. These things bring additional challenges. Juggling work and family responsibilities. Additional expense to make the journey to the convention, a ticket to attend the convention, and a place to stay while you're at the convention. Plus, those additional considerations like time away from the comfort and norm of your daily routine; and mingling. Doing a meet-and-greet with a plethora of people who - despite best intentions - aren't people you'd usually spend so much time with. And given how conventions can be, it's not unheard of to start early; maybe talking shop over breakfast to staying up late, talking shop in the bar long after last orders. Such is the nature of the beast.

Yes, conventions can be full-on. But in attending those conventions and engaging with people who you wouldn't usually meet, they show a level of dedication to your craft. They show that you're open to engaging with people - from those you know to those you don't. They can also appreciate more the lengths you might (literally) go to in order to do so. Again, conventions are hardly down the road from you ...and if one of them is, that's not likely to happen again any time soon.

3. THEY GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW YOU.

Even without a pandemic behind us, social media has made it easier to engage with people. You can just 'Like' someone's post on Facebook, Twitter, et al. - without being face-to-face with them, making eye contact, smiling, and nodding in approval. As in many a business, that face-to-face interaction is hard to beat.

Personally, I don't buy into the notion that authors are socially awkward. By default, we may spend more time in isolation than the non-scribes as we devise a tale, plot a tale, write a tale, edit a tale, etc., etc., etc. See where I'm going with this? Good. Because when that's all said and done, at some point, you'll have to engage with the genre community - whether you're sending that manuscript to a publisher, stating your case with an editor re. edits, working with an illustrator/designer in relation to your book cover, etc., etc., etc. But, if you can state your case with eloquence, charm, personality and such? Better yet - if you carry yourself with eloquence, charm, personality and such? Yeah; it's easier for people to get a measure of YOU when YOU are in front of them and when YOU are talking to them and when YOU are engaging them and YOU are piquing their interest.

Yeah; YOU.

You might miss a Facebook like. You might miss a Tweet. You might miss a repost or a tag. It's a damned sight harder to miss a person when they're in front of you asking what you're working on, or why they have to outline their stories, or why they self publish, or why they drink Jack & Coke before and after each draft of long fiction. You might not be great at this; at least not at first. But, like a lot of things, you can get better with practice.

Know this: the main reason I started going to StokerCon in person is just that; so that more people can see me and I can engage with more people. There's an irony in that, being a black man in London writing horror, I still encounter plenty of peers who don't know/recognise me. So I work on changing that. And the more you can meet someone in person, present yourself as creative and driven...

4. YOUR PEERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU AS A RESULT.

Why? Because you've shown that not only are you driven enough to go to a convention across the country or planet, but you can talk to someone about the genre with love and enthusiasm, and talk about your body of work and your next project(s) the same way, if you're a good talker, you'll pique their interest, they're more likely to want a piece of you. I've had everything from invites for everything from book signings, readings and discussion panels to invites for anthologies, podcast sessions and live/in-person interviews. And this is a non-vicious cycle - because the busier you are with the business of writing, the more likely it is that your peers are going to do business with you.

Even at that very convention you attend, you may end up being a part of it. While people may arrange to attend conventions and plan to take part in the programming, that's in theory - but it doesn't always happen in practice. People may have double-booked, need to cancel last-minute to deal with emergencies, etc. But then, as per the showbiz 'the show must go on' - so who gets to fill in? Someone who's eloquent. Someone with charisma, someone who can talk, engage, someone passionate about the craft, the business, etc. And in being on a panel or a reading, if you can keep people engaged (yes, that word again), your peers and your audience are more likely to stick around to see more about you and what you bring to the table.

5. THEY GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO BLOW OFF STEAM.

Make no mistake. Time in the business - at least as an indie author - can be hard work. Sure, it might not be the same as a 'regular' office job (if there is such a thing) or working on a building site or whatever, but that doesn't mean it's without challenges. That case of writer's block or imposter syndrome or some other such ailment that stops your proverbial juices like a cork in the wrong hole. That submission you've not heard back about, that author with a sense of entitlement when it comes to book reviews, the convention guest who cancelled last minute, etc. etc. etc. Such things are common to the genre community - and such people/publishers/reviewers/etc. are common to the genre industry. So when you hit a convention, not only are you in the company of those experience the same things, they're the people who experience the same things with the same individuals. So there's that common ground.

That's not to say you'll bond with everyone - because that's unrealistic. But as a whole, the genre community is one of diversity, inclusion and support ...which might seem ironic given that some of us write some really insidious and twisted shit. And who knows what you'll have in common besides of a love for horror? It could be a love of Kraken rum, with a side of nachos. It could be pizza. Or a mischievous sense of humour. Or a love of Spider-Man and lifting weights. And because you're around your peers with that common ground for how many hours over how many days, you may have some stories to tell. I have no doubt that Ben Jones won't let me forget The Waitrose Incident, or that Pete Indiana Allison will always be mindful of 'so much flute' since I warned him about Alien: Covenant, and that Ramsey Campbell won't forget the standing ovation he got at last year's FantasyCon. Etc., etc., etc.

See? There are worse places to be than in the company of your peers for a couple of days or so.

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6. THEY GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT.

Lest we forget, they do give you something to talk about. For those that fear missing out, this is a way to keep them informed: everything from pictures of discussion panels and signings to unanimous middle fingers, skeletons reading books (yes, that's that I said), pictures of burning typewriters, great food, swanky evening wear. And for those just curious about conventions, apparently a picture is worth a thousand words.

And for your audience at large, they do show another aspect of your hustle, whether it's your craft or how you approach it, or who you approach it with. All part and parcel of piquing people's interest in you. Which can be a good thing.

There it is. Game, 101. - Conventions.

#game #game101 #writing #convention #hustle #writing #business #podcast #editor #publisher #artist #panel #reading #discussion #UKGhostStoryFestival #FantasyCon #stokercon #WorldFantasyCon

Property Damage.

I don't often get time to relax but, thankfully, I did this week. And what I did was take myself to the cinema to watch Kraven The Hunter. For the uninitiated, Kraven The Hunter is the film adaptation of the Marvel Comics character of the same name, who is a Spider-Man villain. Be it known that I'm a big Spidey film; still owning some several hundred original-issue comics primarily across three Spider-Man titles: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Web Of Spider-Man. Some of these issues are landmark in both Spider-Man's history, and therefore as collectibles. These include Harry Osborn on drugs, the death of Kraven The Hunter (a six-comic arc in which he finally committed suicide by rifle), and Venom's first appearance.

The film deals with Kraven's origin and how he comes to be Kraven The Hunter. This is the sixth film which features characters from Spider-Man's comic universe, and it includes The Rhino, The Chameleon, The Foreigner, and Calypso. Spider-Man himself doesn't feature ...despite this cinematic universe referred to as Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), since Sony owns the film rights to the Spider-Man character. Given the deal with Sony and Marvel Studios that brought Spidey into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, Sony decided they could bring other characters from Spider-Man's world to the big screen.

I never really rated Kraven as a Spider-Man villain. Sure, he's got enhanced strength, speed, stamina and such; but only to the level where he can beat up most regular men, as opposed to supermen. Strong as he may be - and the comics pitch him as an comparatively older character - he's nowhere near the strength class of someone like Spider-Man, who can lift 10 tons. That being said, I still wanted to check out the film firsthand, so off I went.

Adaptations of comic book characters, regardless of whether they're the central comic book character or not have their work cut out for them. Why? Because the source material has such a devoted following that anything less than a masterful representation on screen is in for a scathing rebuke. So, how about a film that features a Spider-Man villain but not Spider-Man himself?

Hmmmm.

The Venom films (of which there are three), by many accounts, appear to have done good box office even if they haven't had glowing reviews. Venom first appeared in the arc of The Amazing Spider-Man, issues 298 - 300, where ultimately Peter Parker goes back to his red and blue costume, since, 'it's impossible to get Venom's suit away from him.' This arc is solid and sets up why Venom is such a threat - partly because he's a rare exception that doesn't trigger Parker's Spider-Sense. Plus, Venom is much stronger than Spidey, so every time they tussle in the comics, it's pretty much divine intervention that Spidey isn't killed - and there is actually an issue where Spidey only wins by letting Venom think that he actually died. Yes, Venom appears to be a big fan favourite. Not so much for me. But, anyhow.

You then have the remaining films in the SSU: Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven The Hunter. All of these I've seen ...and all of these I found disappointing. I'm not the only one. But then, I'm cut from different cloth, since the theatrical cut of the Ben Affleck movie Daredevil is quite possibly my favourite superhero film of all time. But let's dissect Kraven here.

As a supervillain, I wouldn't put Kraven in the class of some of Spidey's rogue gallery. He has stronger than a regular human, and has a hunter's sense of tactics, but he doesn't have the physical strength and cold intelligence of Dr. Octopus, or the cunning of the Hobgoblin, the savagery of Vermin, or the maniacal contempt and love of violence of the Scorpion. Truth told, the comic book version of Kraven has, in my opinion, precious little going for him, apart from that 6-book saga where he shot and buried Spider-Man and took down Vermin single-handed; note that Vermin is someone that Spidey only bested previously with help from Captain America. Once Kraven felt he had proven himself superior, he then swallowed a rifle barrel and blew out the back of his head. I can remember one particular letter to the editors about that issue, the response being, 'Kraven was a villain and he was insane. We do not advocate the actions of villains, especially insane ones.'

It's a big ask to watch a comic book film without considering the source material. Kraven The Hunter with no Spider-Man? In the comics, Kraven rarely makes it entertaining. But in the film with him as the main focus? The film goes some way to showing his superhuman strength, savagery, agility and such. But the tone and pacing is uneven, the casting in some instances is baffling (and I'm sorry, but that is NOT the Foreigner) and some of the central characters are uninspired, from their physicality to their M.O. The Chameleon, for example, is so slight in comparison to regular men, let alone the buff and rippling Kraven. As per the source material, what makes the Chameleon dangerous is not only his talent for mimicry, but as he himself tells it in the comics, it's his will.

I've never written for an IP (intellectual property), but if there were one particular IP I'd love to write for, it'd be Spider-Man. Favourite Spidey villains I'd choose from would be the Scorpion, the Human Fly, Electro, and the Lizard. Even as I sit here writing this, I have at least one story idea for all of them. In service to those characters, and as a bona fide fan ever since I was a kid, I'd like to think I could do the story justice. And despite my misgivings on Kraven as a comic-book character, I don't feel the film did him justice. But then, given that the film has no Spider-Man in it, I doubt it'll harm the comics reputation (especially given the comics' legacy). No risk of property damage there. But I can't say the same for the rep of the cast, directors, producers, or studio. Movie history is rife with stories of properties adapted for the screen that failed to hit the mark by varying degrees. Just look at video games; Street Fighter, for one. The array of Mortal Kombat films, for another.

Anyhow.

Given the failings of such films on release, part of me wonders why they ever get made in the first place, if they're such critical or commercial failures. I mean, it's a film about the villain, rather than the hero - and yes, I'm aware that a villain may not see themselves as a villain. Specifically as an author, this is one of those things that I keep in mind - I can't be slouching on a story I write. If I were to get careless and think maybe I could just half-ass it, all I need do to get back on track is ponder any number of big-screen adaptations of a superhero - or supervillain, for that matter - and dwell on the critical and commercial reception. Again, those two gates of quality: would I gladly put my name to it. And would I gladly part with my hard-earned money to buy it?

#kraven #kraventhehunter #spidey #SpiderMan #ip #intellectualproperty #marvel #marvelcomics #SSU #MCU

Little And Often.

I can remember from when I was first learning bass guitar something that one of my bass instructors taught me. For the record, I had two bass instructors. The first one was Jack; cool, laidback white guy with infinite patience. Hands moving like a spider up and down the fretboard. Those instances where he'd warn me that a particular tab was for a more advanced player and he'd see me start getting the hang of it were always cool - just to see a reverential and somewhat goofy grin on his face. The other instructor was Devid; Italian cat. Flat cap wearer. Hand movements less like a spider and more of a grip around the neck of the bass as he worked the fretboard. All about the muted notes to add some flavour to the grooves. And, in terms of practise, he would tell me 'little and often.' Play the bass for just ten minutes a night, before bed.

Little and often.

It actually paid off. And, more often than not, those ten minutes actually stretch into about thirty.

I can remember Devid going to town on the bassline for 'Stuck In The Middle With You' by Stealers Wheel, freestyling it. Truthfully, it's not one of my go-to basslines for warm-up. That accolade goes to the likes of 'Money' by Pink Floyd or 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes. But with two basses - one in the room where I write, and one beside my bed, the credo of 'little and often' still sticks with me.

The reason why 'little and often' comes to mind is because, in terms of the writing, that's the method I have. Generally, when I write, I'll aim for a thousand words at a time, which equates to about three pages if we're talking Microsoft Word (97-2003 version preferred). I'm aware that there's a romantic school of thought that 'you' should write every day. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is foolishness.

Let's be clear. I love to write. I love to craft something that engages, disturbs, and scares the shit outta people. But to write every day?

Mmmmm, no. Not happening.

Not yet, at least.

But, here's what's key. I'll usually write a minimum of a thousand words at a time. If I get more words down in a sitting, great (and in some instances, I'll do up to around ten pages / three thousand words a day). But the important thing is to write often. Because the more often I write, the more thousand-word batches I have. Those batches add up to short stories. Or chapters that add up to novellas. Novels. Mythos. A body of work.

But, the more I think about it, the more I think that as a result of my successes in the craft, it's also left me with less time to write. Longer works of fiction need more time to do edits. Even when the work is (thankfully) sold, there's additional work to be done in proofing, promoting, Q&A sessions, podcasts, etc. All very welcome and graciously received ...but it does mean getting to the bottom line of actually writing is more challenging.

The additional aspect is that while I love writing, I'm not slavish to it. Again, I can regularly knock out a thousand words a day, but I don't want to write to the exclusion of everything else. As I hope shines through in my work, I love London, so I love to go out and experience it. To live a little, go places, meet people, do things. Time with friends, time with family. All that good stuff.

Typing this now, I'm thinking back on what the hell have I been doing for the last few months, author-wise. Most recently, trying to wrap the first draft of a new novelette. More on that as soon as I'm able. Most of the first draft is done, so not too long before I can do basic clean-up and then start to layer in detail and nuance. Prior to that has been work on the re-release of the Misery And Other Lines collection - especially since the plan was to try and get it into print in time for FantasyCon. While that didn't work, at least it was in print in time for Halloween - which, given the theme of the collection, was more important. And prior to that was clean-up on both the new novel and the new collection, both of which still need an additional draft before I throw pass them to the next round of beta readers.

Next up is a couple of short stories to write. And while they don't take as long, they still take time - as does everything that hits the page. The advantage is that 'little and often' has me acclimatised to generally having less time in any one sitting to write. That's not a bad thing, since I now have less time to actually write so much in one sitting. Plus, I don't have the urge or need to write every day. Nor do I have the need to write, say, ten thousand words a day. For those writers who hit those kinds of numbers and beyond? Good on you. But, that's not me. As per the American phrase, "Your mileage may vary."

Mine? Well, it's 'little and often.'

#bass #bassguitar #game #game101 #evolution #writing #miseryandotherlines #edits