This is the introduction to the sample from Simulation Bleed I included in my book of short stories, Troubled Cities.
'This is an extract from Simulation Bleed which started off as a series on my website. It ran for several years before being collected and published as a novel in 2020. It sees the return of the hostile and anti-social fairy Rainith the Red and the introduction of two unwanted companions, Mixt and Nakishdan, both of whom have been dragged through history into the present day. None of them are suited to working as government agents. However it happens and they're all stuck with it.
I wanted the serial to be based on things I knew a lot about. One main theme was punk and post-punk gigs in London. I went to very many of these. Most of the gigs in the serial are based on concerts I was at. I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about these early punk events, though this extract is set a few years before the advent of punk in London. It also features some gaming. I've spent a lot of time playing video games. The space adventure game that Mixt and Nakishdan play isn't described in much detail in Simulation Bleed but while writing about it I had Mass Effect in mind. Mass Effect is a great trilogy of games and I've played through them all many times.
Another theme of the serial, not exactly planned, is therapy. That's not what I'd call a favourite topic but I do know quite a lot about it from my own experience of treatment for anxiety and agoraphobia, both of which I've suffered from badly in the past. Things are feeling better at this moment. There's a scene in this extract where the outpatients in group therapy have to evacuate the building because the inpatients upstairs are rioting. That really happened to me.’
