Thraxas at War. Buffy Comic Problem.

Thraxas at War, seventh book in the series, now available as an ebook. As Thraxas book nine has already being published, it means there are now eight of the nine available, and just one more to go before the ebooks are up to date. Thraxas rumbles unstoppably on, which he does have the bulk to do. As he has been known to say, when criminals see him coming, they know they've got a problem. 

Amazon Kindle (US), Kindle (UK), iTunes, Kobo, Sony

I'm still receiving Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics regularly, thanks to the efficient subscription department at Reed Comics. As the comics are an official, Joss Whedon sponsored continuation of the series, I sort of feel obliged to buy them. But I'm not enjoying them that much. I've never particularly liked the artwork, and nor was I ever that keen on there being thousands of slayers. (Not sure if there still are thousands of slayers, I've got a lot of unread comics.)

However I'm unable to let go. I seem to be trapped into regularly buying comics I don't really enjoy. I lack the willpower to do anything about it. I don't know what the solution is. Just buy them for the rest of my life, I suppose.

I wish the Buffy bot had made another appearance. In the TV series the Buffy bot always did its best. It had a friendly personality too. I liked the Buffy bot, and regretted its tragic demise. It deserved another outing.

Four New Buffy Comics

Two Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics and two Faith and Angel comics to be precise. It's the new season nine, still overseen by Joss Whedon. I get these on subscription from Reed Comics, who do very good service for me in Buffy comics.

I'm unable to resist buying any new Buffy the Vampire Slayer produce, though I did say that I didn't love the last season of comics. I've never really enjoyed having hundreds of slayers running around, in a global organisation. It's a long way from the intimacy of Sunnydale. And I didn't like what happened to Giles. That episode didn't seem momentous enough, given what Giles means to the world of Buffy.

Still, Joss Whedon's Buffy remains a brilliant creation so I hope I like this series more than the last. I may even put on my Sunnydale High School t-shirt to read them. In fact I definitely will.

--

Current Millar books under film option - Lonely Werewolf Girl, Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me, Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving. And soon, probably, The Good Fairies of New York, again.

I have sold plenty of film options in the past. No one has succeeded in making a film. Perhaps someone will manage this time. I'll send out positive thoughts while reading my Buffy comics.

Pictures of Me

My friend Kate is visiting London, from San Francisco. It was great to see her. I met her in a pub at Clapham Common. She pointed her iPhone at us, and took this picture.



Later I sat at my new computer and became confused about the iPhoto application.



Finally I worked out how to use it. Aha!



Then Buffy arrived to protect me. (And she brought me a hat!)



(Buffy figurine from www.buffycollection.com)

Note the bare wall behind me. It looks like I'm sitting in a prison cell.

Something just thumped through the letterbox. Ah. Three copies of the Italian contract for Queen Vex. And a new Buffy comic. Both good.

Addiction

I suffered a minor spell of ill-health recently. While lying around, being tended by my coterie of glamorous literary secretaries, it struck me that I hadn't been very productive recently. I should be writing more. I also noticed how far behind I was with my email, and thought I should do something about that too. Then it struck me that I'd never played Tetris, which seemed strange, as it was one of the most popular video games ever. So there was only one thing to do. Find an online version and play relentlessly. Immediately become hopelessly addicted and give up all other pursuits. Decide never to do anything again except play Tetris. Hmm. This may go on for some time.

* Some time later *

Still struggling with Tetris addiction. Fingers now sore from continual aggressive keyboard action. Help arrives in the form of a new Buffy comic, which does give me a break. The story is a flashback to Buffy's days at school, when Giles was still the school librarian, and I like that. Perhaps Buffy can help to break the Tetris addiction.

Books I wish had survived from the ancient world - Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder) wrote an instruction manual on how to throw a javelin from horseback. He had first-hand experience of this, from various Roman wars in Germany. Sadly, the book no longer survives. But think how interesting it would be. Who can really talk authoritively about throwing a javelin from horseback these days? Probably no one.

Meandering On

Am buoyed by various recent events -

* Mass market edition of The Good Fairies of New York selling like hot cakes. Do things still sell like hot cakes? I can't think of another expression. Anyway it's selling well.

* This good review of Lonely Werewolf Girl in Bookslut. Bookslut is a really fine name for a literary site. Good site too.

* Only nine days till first Arsenal pre-season friendly. All Arsenal pre-season friendlies now shown on TV, even the most obscure matches against non-league opposition. This is more like it, it's what I pay the cable company for.

* Watching Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, an episode of Buffy from season two, and always one of my favourites. Xander's love-spell goes disastrously wrong and everyone falls in love with him except Cordelia. Even vampire Drusilla falls in love with him. I never tire of this episode.

* Healthy leek and potato soup from the supermarket. Well, they say it's healthy. It comes in a cardboard carton instead of a can so that seems quite healthy, really.

Spirits dampened only slightly by sore leg. Probably only a strained muscle, but may in course of time turn out to be a serious wasting disease which will eventually confine me to a wheelchair, we'll just have to wait and see how this turns out.

Films Comics Therapy

While meandering round the comic shop after a frankly unsatisfactory session with my therapist - this woman may cause me to progress from being agoraphobic to actually being a hermit - the theme music from Buffy the Vampire Slayer suddenly started playing. I was pleased. So pleased in fact that I launched into a Buffy conversation with the shop assistant standing beside me. But this did not go well. He wasn't a fan of Buffy, and furthermore he obviously had no desire to discuss it with a stranger who was apparently prepared for an in-depth analysis of all 144 episodes. He backed off rapidly, leaving me rather embarrassed. I realised ruefully that assistants in comic shops have no desire to engage in tedious conversations with over-enthusiastic customers. Which is understandable, I suppose. Probably if I worked in a comic shop I'd hate the customers. I left the shop quickly, still feeling quite embarrassed.

Last week I signed a film option for Lonely Werewolf Girl. I've signed many film options for my books in the past, and no film has ever appeared. It's difficult for producers to raise the necessary money. This producer however is very enthusiastic, with a good track record, and I do have faith in her. So perhaps she might succeed. But I won't expect too much, because of past disappointments. The American producers who currently hold the option for The Good Fairies of New York are still optimistic of making progress, though nothing much seems to have happened yet.

I've taken a violent dislike to my website, and am now attempting to redesign it. This is a challenge, as I have no art or design skills. Still, I've never let this stop me in the past.

Heating engineers currently 'waiting for parts'. Hah.

Another Week

My Playstation2 is becoming increasingly erratic. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It's so annoying. I suspect the universe is sending me a message.

* Stop playing video games and write something instead *

Hmm. No, I don't think that's the message.

* Get rid of your old console and buy a Playstation3 *

Yes, I think that might be what the universe is trying to tell me. If only these machines weren't so expensive.

I did read recently about a dating agency for really rich women. Apparently these female millionaires can have trouble meeting suitable boyfriends and husbands, so this agency finds men for them. Possibly I should put my name forward as suitable partner.

* London Author. Will be quite happy if you buy him a PS3 and leave him alone. And maybe a box set of Buffy DVDs too. *

But a man last seen wandering round the supermarket wearing cut-off army trousers, sandals, and a Sunnydale High School t-shirt, who's apparently not shaved for five days, may not be the dream target for rich women. I would just embarrass her at social functions.

The supermarket had run out of rhubarb crumble. It was the first crumble disappointment for some time, and I felt quite gloomy about the whole thing. Arrived home with soup instead, but could not raise any enthusiasm, for the soup or anything else. But will hopefully be revived later in the day, when Arsenal are on TV.

Really I need a new Buffy comic. It seems like a long time since the last one. They don't come out frequently enough. I blame these lazy comic artists, who are probably sitting around playing video games when they should be working.

Inflatable Bath Pillow

Soft Skull's edition of Lonely Werewolf Girl is now in bookstores in the USA, and available at amazon.com. This has taken me by surprise. Official publication date in America is 5th April but it's made it to the shops already. So this is cause for celebration.

* makes cup of tea *

But life is not without its problems. Having settled down in the bath for a comfy soak, and rested my head on my inflatable bath pillow, I found my head bumping uncomfortably. My pillow had deflated. I blew it up several times, to no avail. My bath pillow has sprung a leak. This is very disappointing. I loved that inflatable pillow. It may have been my most useful possession. It's no use trying to relax in the bath without some sort of support for your head. Will have to try and replace it tomorrow.

I think I bought that pillow from the same supermarket I buy rhubarb crumble. Which I still eat regularly though I've been attempting to broaden my diet a little recently. Urgh. I get bored trying to think of anything new I might want to eat.

A new Buffy comic arrives through the letterbox. Hooray! I can read it in the bath. But I don't have my pillow. Damn.

Come to the Cabaret

Ha. Have marched confidently into the modern technology market by finally purchasing a DVD player. Previously, all DVDs had to be watched on my Playstation, but that stopped playing them some time ago.

Faced with the alarming choice of complicated modern technology, I opted cheerfully for a DVD player from the supermarket which came in a plain white box and cost £19.99. I am pleased with this. I like cheap, utilitarian electronics from the supermarket. In the same way I like their cheap, functional T-shirts.

It works well, and I was enthused enough to buy copy of Cabaret, one of my favourite movies. Cabaret is such masterpiece, I love it. Why, I wonder, did Liza Minnelli never star in anything else?

It was sometimes said, as a criticism of the film, that Liza Minnelli's fabulous performance as a nightclub artist made a bit of a mockery of the whole story. Because the whole point of the story, really, was that the character she was playing was meant to be a lousy cabaret artist. Which is a fair criticism, I suppose. But it's still a great film.

* money money money, money money money... *

Excuse me, I was just humming one of the songs.

Joel Grey is excellent, as the Master of Ceremonies. Many years later, he turned up unexpectedly in season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He actually stabbed Dawn! But Dawn was quite an annoying character anyway.

I may now be inspired to watch more films. I do have fourteen movie channels on cable, but I rarely watch them. You would be amazed how many poor films my cable network can show on fourteen channels.

Reading in the Bath

A new Buffy Comic arrives through the letter box, just as I'm running a bath. I have an overwhelming urge to read it in the bath. However, I know that if I do this, disaster will follow. I will inevitably drop it in the bath. I have done this before, with books. And once you drop a book in the bath, there's no coming back from it. There is no way of restoring a bath-drenched book to its former shape. As my local library can testify.

This comic features Faith, and starts off with a flashback to the epic scene where she fought Buffy at the end of season three, and Buffy stabbed her. This whole sequence was one of the best things ever. I was awe struck at how good this television was. A highlight of Western culture, as far as I'm concerned. Right after Buffy stabbed Faith, she had to let Angel bite her, and drink some of her blood, in an orgasmic scene which involved much moaning and writhing around on the floor. It was great stuff.

My friend Ivy Webb has her first album out, which I've just bought from iTunes. It's taken Ivy a lot of time and effort to get this release and I'm hoping it does well for her. Ivy is American and lives in London. She has a beautiful voice. If you happen to be someone who does music reviews of any sort, I'm sure she'd be pleased to hear from you.

Not long now till Carter USM's re-union gig in Brixton, I'm really looking forward to this.

The Sunday Telegraph

Today there's an interview with me in the Sunday Telegraph Magazine about Lonely Werewolf Girl. Good, that should help to sell a few books. Although I expect I'll look around 90 years old in the photos. Soon it may be time to take that trip to LA for extensive cosmetic surgery.

Buffy season 8 issue 4 arrived, completing the first story arc, which was very enjoyable. But they're having a month off before publishing the next issue! Lazy swines. Don't they know they have a responsibility to produce regular new Buffy product for people like me? It's an outrage.

As you can see from the cover, Dawn is still a giant.

Werewolves, Pirates

Lonely Werewolf Girl now exists as a book. It's on its way to the distributor so it should be in bookshops by its publication date of June 7th.

As for internet orders, they also should be done on time, though anyone who knows me would not be astonished if something went wrong with this, like for instance I lose all the addresses they're meant to be sent to. But I'm concentrating on not being so incompetent, even if it means interrupting my normal schedule of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars.

So, you can make your internet order from my website, and you get a nice signed copy of the book. Or, if you prefer to support the giant wheels of international capitalism over the plucky independent author, that's OK, you can order from amazon.co.uk instead.

I've been doing some publicity for Lonely Werewolf Girl, several interviews, which is good. During the course of this I met my long time friend Angus, also good. When I first met Angus, he was doing a fanzine, and now he contributes to the Times, the Telegraph, and the Guardian, so he's doing well. We had a lot to talk about, particularly football, as Angus is a Newcastle fan, and Newcastle fans have much to think about these days, what with the new manger and everything.

An email arrives from Amazon. We've noticed that customers who have expressed interest in Tomb Raider are also interested in Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 (PS2).

Look, I'm a serious author. Do I seem like the sort of person who would be interested in a child's Playstation game about pirates? Well all right, maybe. I'll think about it.

More Crumble Problems

Not really liking most food, I'm still relying heavily on rhubarb crumble to keep me going. But there have been problems recently.

for instance -

I took my normal Sainsbury rhubarb crumble out of the oven and it was burned on top! I was mystified. I am prone to careless accidents in the kitchen so I could possibly have pressed the wrong buttons on the cooker, and baked it too long, but I didn't think so.

I retrieved the packaging from the bin and examined it suspiciously. I discovered they'd changed the recipe, and the cooking time! Though the packaging looked exactly the same. It's thoughtless behaviour on the part of the manufacturers. If they secretly change the product and then sneak it into exactly the same packaging, how are people meant to cope? Finer cooks than me would be defeated by this. Now I'm upset at this interruption to my routine.

and also -

I had a frozen apple crumble in the freezer, as a sort of emergency back up. But I decided to throw it in the bin. But as it defrosted it was leaking water all over the place. The kitchen floor started to get wet. I was baffled as to what to do about this. So I decided to lay it in the bath till the water ran out. Quite rational behaviour, I'd say. But I wonder what would have happened if I'd suddenly taken ill, and collapsed, maybe? Emergency services would break down the door and find a soggy apple crumble in the bath.

''He's obviously in a poor state of mind. We'd better take him straight to the psychiatric unit."

Apart from this, my agent is in negotiations to re-publish my out-of-print back list in the USA. Six books, or something like that. Which will be good if it happens. But I'm manly concerned with these crumble problems, really.

Am recovering from life's traumas with issue three of new Buffy comic.

Buffy Comic Crisis

Something of a panic in the Millar household this week, as I realised I'd missed the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics. I did know that Joss Wheddon's new series was on its way, but I thought that meant some indeterminate time in the future. Not right now. Not until someone reminded me about it in my blog, did it occur to me that they'd actually been published.

Well, this was a problem. With my agoraphobia, I'm not in range of any comic shops. I phoned up Forbidden Planet and was horrified to learn that issues one and two had sold out, and they weren't expecting any more in!

This led to a burst of frantic activity not seen within these walls for several years. Though I'm quite capable of staring into space for days at a time, I was galvanised into taking some firm action. Within minutes I was on eBay. And, even though I don't find eBay that easy to use, I located issues one and two and bought them immediately. Then I called the comic shop and placed a subscription so I'll get the rest of the comics delivered.

I regarded all this as strong, forceful, and decisive behaviour. When a Buffy crisis appeared, I rose to the challenge, and solved it instantly. If the United Nations needed a commissioner to look after World Buffy affairs, I'm sure I could qualify for the post.

Issues one and two arrived through my letterbox yesterday. All is right with the world again.

The launch for my new book Lonely Werewolf Girl will be at the Boogaloo Club in Archway Road on the 12th June. More on this later. (Will it be a problem for me, getting to the Archway Road? Yes, a big problem.)

I lay in the bath reading Buffy comics.

Despite being a dedicated fan of the TV programme, I haven’t really enjoyed Buffy comics before, and haven’t followed them. However, the excellent news that Joss Whedon is launching a new comic, taking the Buffy story on after the end of the TV show, made me think that probably I should catch up. So I found some Buffy graphic novels in the library. While I didn’t think they were great, I enjoyed them more than I remembered.

I find it a little annoying that the characters never look the same as they do on TV, but perhaps it’s reasonable for the artists to interpret them in a different way.

Now, having read a few of these Buffy graphic novels, I have an overwhelming obsessive urge to read them all. I may be forced to fork out a substantial sum on buying the rest of them.

I’m looking forward to the new Buffy comics. Really, I should be writing them. I’d write a great Buffy comic. For one thing I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Buffy. And I have a Sunnydale High School T-shirt. And I played the Buffy Playstation game Chaos Bleeds right through to the end. What more qualifications could you need? Dammit, I should be a shoe-in for the job.

Great Sock Crisis

Being agoraphobic, I don't do much shopping. There's a supermarket nearby, so I can buy food, but at present I can't travel much further than that.

This led, inevitably, to the Great Sock Crisis which threatened to overwhelm me recently. I discovered I had hardly any left. Some had worn out, some had been transported to different dimensions via the washing machine, and I suspect the rest may have been hidden by mischievous house fairies.

Yesterday I had to visit the dentist, a longer journey than I normally make, and not one I relish. Fortunately, this dental visit involved no pain or suffering. I was in and out quickly. Emboldened by this, rather than hurrying home as quickly as I could, I rushed to the Marks and Spencer in Brixton and loaded up with supplies, ending the sock crisis with a decisive purchase of a seven-pack of cotton-rich footwear. Feet are now well supplied with comfy new attire.

That was good. But by this time I really felt I'd been out the house too long, and I became more anxious, and had to hurry home.

So. A small success. Though as you can tell, I'm not making much progress with the agoraphobia. Self-help is not really going well. I'm on a waiting list for more therapy, but I've no idea when it will arrive.

A new Buffy comic, written by Joss Whedon, is on the way! This is quite an exciting development in the Buffyworld. I've never really taken to the Buffy comics before, but it's good to hear that Joss is now going to continue the slayer-story after the end of the TV series. No doubt I will have a lot more to say about this later. Endless amounts, probably. OK, I will never stop going on about it.

Good Fairies in Transylvania / agoraphobia

The Good Fairies of New York will be published in Romania next year, so the fairies will soon be fluttering their way over Transylvania. I'm pleased at this, though I doubt it will earn me any money. It seems like a long time since I actually earned any money. Did I mention my career hadn't gone well in recent years?

* yes, several times. *

Well, I just thought I'd mention it again. It is my blog after all, and I'm entitled to complain about stuff.

Not unconnected to career not going well, I once more failed in a bus journey, being defeated by agoraphobia. This definitely has the upper hand at the moment. Ho Hum.

Agoraphobia didn't exactly prevent me from writing - in fact you might think it would give me a lot of time for it - but the attendant anxiety did, and the OCD, which seemed to come with it. I did mean to write something in these blogs about OCD, but so far I haven't got round to it. It's a strange condition though, and difficult to explain. Fortunately, I've found it more susceptible to therapy and self-help than the agoraphobia, so it's a good deal better than it used to be.

Also fortunately, I don't suffer from depression. In fact, I'm a reasonably optimistic person. I'm sure the re-emergence of The Good Fairies, and the upcoming appearance of Lonely Werewolf Girl, will greatly improve things, leading to fame, money, and a sordid affair with Angelina Jolie, carried out in motel rooms while Brad is away in Africa, adopting more children.

Mention of Transylvania reminds me that Buffy actually met Dracula one time. Not one of my favourite episodes, but not as bad as I feared it might be. A few days ago I came across Buffy on Sky, and, once more, was unable to resist watching, though it was again an episode I've seen many times. The Prom. Ah. The Buffy prom was so great, I couldn't do it justice here.

Here's a moment that never fails to bring a tear to my eye, as Jonathan presents Buffy with the Class Protector Award.

Unanswered questions from this episode - who was Jonathan's date? How did he find someone to take to the prom?

Buffy - Band Candy

I was watching TV yesterday afternoon and came across Band Candy on Sky. I was unable to resist watching it again, even though I've seen it often. Band Candy, written by Jane Espenson, is one of my favourite Buffy episodes. It's so funny, it's a such a good story and there's so much going on.

Buffy catches Giles kissing her mother!

Buffy is worrying about her SATs, she's been secretly visiting the newly-returned Angel, and she's in trouble with her mother and Giles. Xander and Willow are playing footsie under the desk, though Xander and Willow are meant to be in relationships with Cordelia and Oz. The Mayor - one of the greatest Buffy villains - has hatched an evil plan which is being carried out by Mr Trick, another excellent bad guy.

Principal Snyder wants to be one of the gang

They arrange for Principal Snyder to give his pupils chocolate to sell. Ostensibly this is to raise money for the school band, but in reality it causes all the adults in town to start acting like teenagers. This leads to great scenes of craziness in the Bronze, where previously responsible citizens get up on stage to sing Louie Louie. Principal Snyder acts like a kid and wants to be one of the gang.

Buffy's Watcher Giles goes off the rails, reverts to his bad old youthful ways, talks of getting a band together, and hooks up with Buffy's mum. They rob a shop and then have sex on the bonnet of a police car! It's all great. (It was some time till Buffy found out that Giles and her mum actually did have sex, and that was in another good episode, featuring a suicidal Jonathan.)

Yes, Band Candy was a brilliant episode. I didn't regret watching it again. In fact, I felt quite inspired to get on with writing. I've often found Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be very inspiring.

Xander and Willow are playing footsie

Giles and Joyce move on to the police car