The Festival, an illustrated novel co-written with Christopher Golden is out now featuring a rock show to die for! Click on the cover for more information along with ordering details.
Sixteen years ago today was my first day as a full-time writer! I can still remember sitting at my desk that first morning and starting work on the 30 Days of Night movie novelisation. Two days later I was sent the shooting script and I had to scrap my first 2 days’ work (a valuable early lesson!). It’s been so much fun, and I’ve now almost spent half my working life as a professional writer, with plenty more ups than downs.
Here’s a quick pic of the books I’ve had published since 2006.
Plenty more before that date, of course. And it’s likely I’ve missed a couple, because my shelves are about as organised as, well … me (and glancing through, yes, I forgot to include ’30 Days of Night’!) But it’s nice to look back and see how productive those 16 years have been, and these don’t include the screenplays and audio scripts, and lately the RESURGENCE game I’ve been working on.
I’m always grateful that I’m able to do what I love for a living, and thankful to each and every person who buys and reads my work. You keep reading, I’ll keep writing! There’s lots of exciting things to come. Now though, it’s time for me to head to the vicinity of Baffin Bay, where my intrepid heroes have encountered something horrible…
I’ve done the Half Brutal triathlon before, back in 2017, placing 29th out of 90 starters. And I did the Full in 2018 –– now known as the Brutalist Brutal Ever –– when a red weather warning shut Snowdon and I had to run two more laps of that lake in the dark, with a fading head torch, in 40mph winds and rain. I think they call it character building.
So I knew what I was letting myself in for doing the Half Brutal again this year, right? Well, yes. But being 5 years older, ten pounds heavier, and less fit with post-Covid loss of mojo meant that this was destined to be pretty much the hardest race I’ve ever done.
There’s definitely some advantages in revisiting a race you’ve done before, especially one like this. My Half Brutal of 2017 remains one of my favourite races out of a dozen halfs and five full-distance ironmans. The low-key organisation, cameraderie, Brutal Events’ desire to give you the best race experience, and that utterly stunning landscape made it a pleasure (if you set aside the pain for a while). So it was an easy choice to go back, and knowing the layout, the route, and what I was about to face meant I was pretty laid back about the whole thing. Pre-race butterflies, sure, but if you don’t get them you’re odd and possibly not quite human.
It’s funny how memories can fade. I’ll get back to that later.
My good mate Mike was coming up to support me, having signed up for the Half just a few weeks before and then coming down with Covid. He made the wise decision to defer––even though he was over the illness, this isn’t a race to take a chance with. So it was great having Mike take me to the start in the morning, help me carry my kit, and generally ease my nervousness. Top bloke.
This is going to be fine, I thought. Atmosphere in the transition tent I’d describe as nervous excitement, with a hint of rubber and chamois cream.
I’ve done this before, I thought. It’ll be fine.
That fading memory, again …
The Swim––following a minute’s silence for the Queen, who’d passed away just two days before, we entered the water … and it was like a bath. Lovely! Ah, I thought, a good omen, this is going to be easy. I finished the swim in 34 minutes, a great time for me. Note to self: only swimming once a week for two months before a race is obviously the way to go. If such lack of training translates into decent times across the board, I was probably going to win!
Onto The Bike––I’d planned on hitting about 1:50 for each 29 mile lap around the Snowdon, and the first lap I was spot on. There’s only one nasty steep hill, and the 3 mile climb up to Pen-y-Pass is just a long slow grind, with mind-bogglingly glorious views to distract you from any discomfort. The weather was perfect, sun peeking through the clouds, and I kept glancing up at Snowdon’s summit. Cloud-wrapped one minute, clear and exposed the next. I was looking forward to getting up there later in the day, trotting up like a frisky mountain goat, leaping from rock to rock and dodging past people out to climb for the day and acknowledging their impressed applause. Yep.
The second bike lap was five minutes slower, and I was feeling it in my legs, but I still enjoyed it. Apart from almost being taken out by a car overtaking another cyclist (not racing) who was climbing Pen-y-Pass from Llanberis side, while I was descending in the middle of my lane. Mostly drivers were pretty good, but it does seem common in the area to be overtaken on blind corners, so those racing all had to keep their wits about them. Brutal’s insistence on every cyclist wearing hi-viz was very wise.
Off the bike and onto The Run––and as usual I went out too fast, happy to be on two feet and jogging around the lake. A couple of miles in and the hills hit … and so did the cramps. And no, not the punk band. I necked down some crisps at the aid station, and though salted peanuts are the devil’s own food I had a couple of handfuls, sucking in the salt.
I jogged most of the mountain climb last time, I kept thinking. I’ll be fine. Ah, my poor faded memory.
Pain is like this. I always hated the dentist, but I got through my dislike of injections etc by trying to observe objectively, and regarding the pain as research (I write for a living so anything is research). And pain is something you don’t remember after it’s gone. It’s fleeting (okay, maybe not so fleeting, as DOMS always hangs around for a few days, but you get my drift). So yeah, the pain fades, as does the memory of pain.
As I finished the lake run and tried to inhale more salty food in transition, I was actually looking forward to the mountain. 9 miles up and down and I’d done it before. No problem.
I started out, and soon the problems began. My legs were weak and cramping, and that first steep climb up the tarmac path was tough. It all very quickly became tougher. I jogged maybe 200 metres in the first mile, then I decided to just slow to a power walk. This I did, but soon the ‘power’ bit of that phrase disappered. Then the ‘walk’ bit almost vanished too, as I found myself struggling to put one foot in front of the other.
I’ve done some tough races. I like them. I’m not particularly fast in any discipline (apart from post-race cake eating, perhaps), I’ll never chase a podium, so I like challenging myself with races like The Fan Dance, Ironman Wales, Blaenavon Triathlon. But I’ve never felt so tired, weak and pained as I did climbing Snowdon. I’ve also never DNF’d, but there was half an hour on that climb when I really started to wonder if I could do it. I was necking down flapjacks and gels, drinking water, but what got me through was what I love about these types of races, and the Brutal in particular––other competitors. I started climbing with a couple of other guys, and I’m not sure I’d have finished otherwise.
At last the top was in sight, and we had glorious views, and I suddenly felt better. I knew there was no way I wouldn’t finish now, so along with the other guys I started jogging back down. Weak legs meant I almost took a tumble three or four times, but I managed to stay on my feet. Yes, it was hurting almost as much on the way down, but we could see the lake now, and we knew the pain would end soon. And then we hit the tarmac and we were almost home.
What a great feeling. Mike was at the finish waiting for me (and he bought me two much-needed coffees, loaded with sugar), Brutal Claire gave me my medal, and somehow it was Job Done.
Anyone reading this, take note – they use the name Brutal Extreme Triathlons for a reason. This half-ironman took me 9 hours, and I still finished in the top half of the field. It is … Brutal. But it is amazing.
A few beers and a curry later, I completely failed to sleep through the night because of pains in my legs and Achilles and heels, but I was buzzing. And I kept reminding myself (as I did on that long painful run) that we do this stuff because we love it.
And as for that poor fading memory––yes, toughest race ever, and I went to some very dark places despite the sun being out all the way up that mountain … but I’m already thinking about confronting the Full Brutal once again next year.
I mean, I’ve done it before, after all. I’ll be fine.
The Last Storm hits shelves and e-readers in the UK tomorrow (US fans will have to wait until July 19th). Tim has done an interview with Ginger Nuts of Horror about the book, which you can find here.
Chillercon UK is in Scarborough from Thursday this week. Tim will be at the event, and PS Publishing will be launching not one, but two new titles from Tim.
The first is a new collection of short fiction, All Nightmare Long, featuring an introduction by Sarah Pinborough and cover art by Daniele Serra. Available to pre-order from PS Publishing as either an unsigned Jacketed Hardcover, or there is a limited edition of 100 signed copies.
Urban hauntings, dark rural myths, bizarre superheroes, mysterious hotels, quiet apocalypses and violent dystopias, disturbing futures and blood-drenched histories . . .all these nightmares and more provide the contents of All Nightmare Long, Tim Lebbon’s brand new collection of short fiction.
So close your eyes, calm your breathing, and don’t be afraid.
It’s only a dream
The second release is Without Walls, a supernatural illustrated story book, which is a collaboration with Daniele Serra. Available to pre-order from PS Publishing as either an unsigned Jacketed Hardcover, or there is a limited edition of 200 copies signed by Tim and Daniele.
Jasmine lives alone in the house. It’s her whole world. It caters for her every need. The doors are locked, but that doesn’t matter, because there’s nothing outside.
One day, on the staircase, she meets another little girl who thinks the same. And Cassia will change her life forever.
A haunted house . . . two haunted girls . . . the diary of a lost boy.
Why is the house so keen to hide the truth from them? And who, or what, is the ghost?
US readers you can pre-order the forthcoming novel, The Last Storm, with a signed book plate from Copper Dog Books. UK readers, watch this space.
A gripping road trip through post-apocalyptic America.
Struck by famine and drought, large swathes of North America are now known as the Desert. Set against this mythic and vast backdrop, The Last Storm is a timely story of a family of Rainmakers whose rare and arcane gift has become a curse.
Over at Ginger Nuts of Horror you can read an exclusive extract from the novel, as well as an article detailing the writing of the novel.
Jesse stopped rainmaking the moment his abilities turned deadly, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. He thought he could help a land suffering from climate catastrophe, but he was wrong. When his daughter Ash inherited the tainted gift carried down the family bloodline, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and ever since then he has believed himself responsible for his daughter’s death.
But now his wife Karina––who never gave up looking for their daughter—brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, the estranged couple set out across the desolate landscape to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.
Or at least we could hope that. But 2020 is almost done now, and as I do every year I wanted to write a blog about what I’ve been up to.
Usually I do separate blogs for my sport and triathlon, and writing. But this year has seen precious little actual racing on the sports front … in fact my only race this year was in January, the epic Fan Dance. It’s part of the SAS selection training, and the event is run by ex-Special Services members. And yes, it’s as ridiculously tough as it sounds, even though I went with the ‘easy’ version and ran in clean fatigues. The other option is to do the race –– up and down Pen-y-Fan, the biggest mountain in South Wales, twice –– with a loaded bergen. Maybe next time.
Other than that, I’ve spent this year of Covid still running, biking and, when I can, swimming. When lockdown began and we were all thinking it’d just be a few weeks, the purpose of all my training was still there. I’d signed up for several races, including a couple of half-ironmans (the Brutal being one). But as the year ran on and it became clear that all racing was off … I continued training. It helped me mentally, and through the summer it was great going for runs and bike rides with my kids too. We found a 5k route around our village, door to door, and had a little competition going on!
Strava tells me my stats this year are:
Active days — 216
Total distance: 3022 miles
Total elevation gain: 130,402 feet
Hilliest: Fan Dance! 3,875 feet
We’re so lucky living where we do, and all through the first lockdown we got out and about walking, running, and biking. And when outdoor swimming recommenced with my triathlon club NEWTs (for a few weeks in the summer), it was so lovely seeing so many great friend clad in lycra and rubber again!
It’s been a shit year, but I’m now looking forward to next year, and hoping that some or all of the races I’ve entered will be happening. Windsor Triathlon, Long Course Weekend, Outlaw Half, Monmouth Aquathlon, and the big beast at the end of the year … the Full Brutal, which was once voted the hardest ironman in the world by Triathlon 220 magazine. So I’ve got a long tough year as target to continue training for through the winter … let’s just hope Covid doesn’t fuck it up.
So onto my year in books and writing! And to begin with, books I had published this year:
EDEN –– being published during lockdown wasn’t the best experience, and I was gutted when signing tours of the UK and Germany were cancelled. But Eden is still out there, and I think it’s one of my best. Check out the link here.
FIREFLY: GENERATIONS –– it was slightly delayed, but it’s great to see my story aflight on the good ship Serenity!
THE SILENCE –– there was a gorgeous limited edition released by the excellent SST Publications, link here.
RESURRECTION –– a beautiful chapbook of a Machen-inspired story I wrote during lockdown. Turns out it was about lockdown, too. Link here.
And I also had quite a few novellas and short stories published, which I’ll list briefly here with relevant links:
Research appeared in After Sundown, edited by Mark Morris
My novella Castle of the Lost appeared in the epic Studio of Screams collection from PS Publishing. This was a real labour of love, featuring novellas from Stephen Volk, Mark Morris and Christopher Golden, and a ‘factual’ wraparound account by Stephen Bissette. A really unique, wonderful project. And it looks gorgeous.
And I think that might have been it! It’s likely I’ve missed something –– I’m 51 now, it’s been a shit year, and if I did miss a story or appearance please forgive me!
As for what I’ve been working on this year …
Just before lockdown began I started writing a new novel longhand, in a series of notebooks that rapidly piled up. I wrote all through lockdown in our garden cabin and various rooms in the house, and the result of that is The Last Storm. It’s not quiet finished –– just a little tweaking yet to do –– but my agent loves the book, and hopefully I’ll share some more news on that soon.
Also throughout 2020 I’ve been developing several TV projects based on some of my books, in different formats and with different collaborators. There’s also an original TV series I’m working on with a great friend! Unfortunately … I can’t share anything about any of these projects yet. Suffice to say, I hope 2021 will bring several exciting announcement. Which I will, of course, shout about all over the place! So watch this space.
I’ve also just finished first draft of a book called Run, Walk, Crawl: Getting Fit in My Forties, which I’m hoping to tidy up and get to my agents pretty soon. This was such good fun to write –– much more an account, warts and all, of my exercise efforts over the last decade, than an instruction manual –– and I’m hoping it’ll see the light of day next year. It’s also something very different for me, non-fiction, and I’ve really enjoyed the writing process. With the year we’ve had, I think fitness and exercise has been more important than ever.
I’m sold a new collection which I’ll be able to tell you more about soon, too.
There’s a lot going on right now, some exciting stuff –– TV, novels, audio dramas, novellas –– and I’m hoping some of it will see fruition in 2021. Sorry I can’t spill more beans, but it’s been one of those years… writing, speculating, planning. And just getting by.
So as usual at this time of year, I’d like to thank anyone who reads my stuff and follows my work. You keep reading, and I’ll keep writing. I always love to hear from you, too, and it’s nice to have made new friends through talking to people about my books. One of whom is the brilliant Tim Love, an old mate of mine who maintains my website and posts updates! As ever, thanks, Tim.
2020 has been tough. You don’t need reminding of that. It’s also been a year when I’ve seen kindness shining through, and it’s more important than it ever has been before. As the great philosopher Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson said, “Not only do I think being nice and kind is easy, but being kind, in my opinion is important.”
I’m blessed with the very best of friends, and thanks to every one of you for being there.
Season’s Greetings, stay safe and sane, and let’s look forward to a better, nicer 2021.
Depending on where you are in the world, Firefly – Generations is either out now or tomorrow. The latest in a series of Novels set in the Firefly universe, click on the cover for all the details.
On Sunday from 17:00 Tim will be appearing at the Virtual Abergavenny Writing Festival discussing his love of where he lives, new novel Eden, and having books adapted for the big screen! Tim will also be answering questions afterwards, too. To register for a free ticket to join in the fun head here.
