Best of 2013 - Top Ten TV Edition

Hello, and welcome to the final section of my Best of 2013 series. Earlier posts covered Music, Movies and Podcasts and Books and Comics, and now we're finishing on TV, the only area of culture to get a whole post of its own. Well, I do blog about it a lot, so I seem to have accrued more opinions. To make those thoughts easier to digest, they're arranged in an internet-friendly Top Ten format.

If you want to compare and contrast, my Top Ten of 2012 appeared on The Digital Fix as I was TV editor at the time. I am no longer, as I wanted to devote more time to the fiction writing, so we're over here for the 2013 countdown. I've stuck to show which actually aired in 2013, and there are some omissions simply because I haven't seen them - Netflix's new House of Cards series, for example, may well have made the list if I'd viewed it. (I got the DVDs for Christmas if that helps.) Here we go.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #18 - Witnesses

The messy action sequence continues as Hobson and Choi try to tell the difference between confused hippy and blood-crazed wolf. Meanwhile, I size up the competition in the back matter.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #18 - Witnesses by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

Hobson & Choi #46: "Passive Resistance"

Yes, it's the day after Christmas, but the Hobson & Choi update schedule waits for nobody! Chapter #46 is up now, as our heroes try to dig past their personal problems into the meat of Case Three!

Good to be back, not that H&C ever really went away. We're maybe about an hour later than usual, sorry if you were waiting. And if you're bored of your family Christmas already, good news: ten minutes of escape!

Looking forward to some high-end Hobson & Choi stories in 2014 - #50 is coming! And not long after that, the second year begins. Wow.

Hope all's well, as ever. See you soon.

Doctor Who Christmas review!

Matt Smith regenerates into Peter Capaldi in an episode that covers one hell of a life span. Any good? New Doctor Who review on Dork Adore.

And that's my final individual TV episode review for 2013, I think. Back here early next week for the full-year round-up, and back later today for H&C #46. Hope you all had a good Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It's nearly 11:30PM on Christmas Eve and I've not got any presents to wrap, which may explain why I've ended up writing this instead. I should be doing something, dammit. (Considering I have to leave the house for my annual church visit at 7:50AM, you could argue that I should be asleep, but shut up.)

So, my overarching message here has to be Merry Christmas. To anyone reading this especially, as I'm not planning on plugging it on Twitter or anywhere much, so if you found this, you must've made some effort to engage. Or stumbled across it on a fluke. Either way, may your day be merry and not shite.

My Christmases recently have become increasingly quiet, as friends from back home in Essex have ended up scattered around, due to family relocation, marriage, deployment to Afghanistan, etc. My own family is pretty small, so this leaves us with a fairly contained affair. Lots of time to think.

Long story short, I've ended up planning a lot of the broad aesthetic decisions for the possible Next Novel. This is potentially unwise, as I really need to make myself do the editing on the one I finished in November, rather than casting it aside for the newer, shinier thing.

Anyway. Even though I am thinking about my writing a lot, dwelling at length on future goals probably isn't the right material for a Christmas post, it's more New Year fodder. For now, despite my endlessly grinding, introspective brain, I'm hoping to manage a hazy sense of warm Christmas enjoyment. We'll see.

Merry December 25th to all, hope you get whatever you're after out of it - in terms of fun, presents, decent Doctor Who specials, anything. Back here soon enough with a Hobson & Choi chapter, potentially some kind of Who review as well.

New TV review: Homeland finale!

If you don't want to wait a week for my Best TV of 2013 post, here's my review of the Homeland review on The Digital Fix.

That was a reference to my just-posted 2013 Books and Comics round-up, in case that wasn't clear.

Best of 2013 - Books and Comics Edition

I'm off home for Christmas tomorrow, I should be packing a bag, so it seemed an ideal time to type up the second installment of my 2013 cultural intake summary! This time: Books and Comics!

If you want to see my movies, music and podcasts of choice, that was last week. TV to follow next, once I've formed an opinion on the Doctor Who Christmas special.

But first, it's time for stories told in page format. From a wide perspective, the big development this year was my moving entirely digital in both these areas. I can comfortably read digital comics on my widescreen monitor (though if anyone wants to buy me a tablet for Christmas, don't let me stop you), and started properly using my Kindle all the time. It's great, my room is much less drowning in paper. But what was I reading, exactly?

Hobson & Choi Podcast #17 - Bleeding Upwards

It's the Hobson & Choi Podcast Christmas special, and there's nothing festive whatsoever happening, as the team look into that horrific bloody murder they stumbled across last week. Fans of tinsel will at least find some mention of the season in the back matter. Happy holidays!

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #17 - Bleeding Upwards by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

Hobson & Choi #45 - "Big Troubs"

Hobson & Choi's third case begins here! A new day dawns back in Peckham, but what have our heroes been called in to deal with?

And since this is the final H&C chapter before Christmas, I included a brief H&C festive message at the end. Don't get excited, it really is just a short paragraph. Not a story or anything.

But yes, this is the last chapter before the Day Of Santa, so I guess it's definitely Christmas now. I'm off to listen to festive music and wrap my presents, hope you're all on track.

Best of 2013 - Movies, Music and Podcasts Edition

As half-predicted in last week's WriteBlog, my fiction-writing has slowed to a standstill thanks to festive distractions and an inconvenient cold. I'm just about keeping up with Hobson & Choi commitments, but aside from those, all quiet.

So, both to keep this blog ticking over and because I genuinely love reviewing stuff, I'm going to do a few posts about stories, shows and stuff I enjoyed during 2013. These are in no particular order and may involve items released pre-2013 that I've only just got round to dealing with, though I'll try to keep those to a minimum.

This time out: movies, music and podcasts. Subsequent posts will cover books, comics and TV.

TV review: Homeland

My penultimate season 3 Homeland review on The Digital Fix, and pleasingly, I'm definitely on board with this show again now.

Also, the start of everyone's last working week before Christmas. Hope you're using it well.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #16 - Could Be Darker

The big midway action sequence begins this week in the story, as Hobson & Choi discover why one generally doesn't lurk around strange buildings at night. Meanwhile, in the back matter, I get a bit overexcited.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #16 - Could Be Darker by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Agents of SHIELD

Guest-review of the Agents of SHIELD mid-season finale on Dork Adore. Surely it's stunningly eventful?

That was a refreshing reminder of why I stopped writing that show up week-by-week. Ah well.

Hobson & Choi #44 - "The Hammer Falls"

All kinds of grim visitations involving Hobson in our second Case Two epilogue. Will he be okay? It'll be close.

So yes, a mere couple of hours after blogging about H&C's anthology appearance, here we are with a new chapter. I'll leave you alone for a bit now, I swear. It's a decent chapter though, the final moments of Case Two, before we launch into Case Three next week.

As ever, the Podcast is still going as well, if this still isn't enough Hobson & Choi. Enjoy.

Anthologies, both JukePop and Comic Book (WriteBlog #10)

Those of you who see my updates on any form of social media are probably familiar with the photograph on the right of me (and my thumb) in the Jukepop Serials anthology, as I posted it more or less everywhere on Tuesday night.

Now, for anyone who fancies some context, here it is: Jukepop Serials, the publishers of Hobson & Choi, have produced a print collection of their ten "best" serials.

Review: Homeland!

Review of last night's UK Homeland episode on The Digital Fix, as ACTION-BRODY leaps into ACTION.

Only two episodes left, and I'm pleasingly excited. Also, Christmas coming pretty soon.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #15 - So Far, So Awesome

The calm before the metaphorical storm, as Hobson and Choi have one last fateful check-in with the Social Awesome crew. Elsewhere, I have been watching UK TV for once and writing comics.

As mentioned in the show, if you want to see our newly well-stocked Web Fiction Guide page, go to WebFictionGuide.com and search us up.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #15 - So Far, So Awesome by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: The Walking Dead

Walking Dead! Mid-season half-way semi-finale kinda-review! Exciting times. Death, zombies. Up now on Dork Adore.

First weekend of Advent! If you're currently riding out the office party hangover, hope it doesn't hurt as much as mine.

Hobson & Choi #43 - "Sad Receptionist"

Case Two epilogue spotlight for Angelina Choi, as she attempts to deal with romance and street crime at the same time. Tense.

This week's chapter is a few hours late, sorry about that. Technical issues, fixed now. Hope none of you had withdrawal twitches in the meantime.

More excitingly, we were #6 in the Jukepop Top 30 for November! Best placing yet! Woo! Thanks to all for voting, don't forget to continue.

Also had some new and quite charming reviews on our Web Fiction Guide page. Check them out, leave one yourself, whatever you like.

Most importantly, hope you enjoy the chapter. Case Three beckons!

Comic scripting - Invisible words? Too many words? Words? (WriteBlog #9)

And now, a change of pace: a blog not about NaNoWriMo. About six blogs ago, I wrote about a bunch of short pitches I was putting together for some comic stories. Well, while I busied myself with bashing out a novel-third in Nov, I also heard that two of those had been accepted. So, yes, if all goes well, two shorts by me will appear in GreyHaven anthologies in the future. Good times.

Now, since I only had to write paragraph-long summaries originally, this news also means I must now write the scripts for both these stories. So, that's been my project since NaNo finished. How's that gone?

Homeland review!

Review of the latest UK Homeland episode on The Digital Fix!

And yes, got a lot of votes for H&C at the end of November in the end, so thanks everyone. A couple of nice new reviews on our Web Fiction Guide page too, which is pretty cool.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #14 - The Outsider

This week, Hobson heads back to the Social Awesome office and shines the spotlight on one of the other suspects. What will he turn up? Meanwhile in the back matter, a little NaNoWriMo post-mortem, maybe talking a tad slower now I'm not in such a rush over that.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #14 - The Outsider by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Walking Dead!

Another all-Governor effort in The Walking Dead. Is this approach still working? Review on Dork Adore.

And today is the last day of November, so if anyone fancies reading/voting some Hobson & Choi to help us in the monthly charts, please do. Hope any of you rushing to finish NaNoWriMo make it.

Hobson & Choi #42 - "Found Property"

It's the climax of Hobson & Choi's second case! It's all over bar the epilogues, so can Hobson get off the hook which he seemed to have solidly hung himself on last week? Find out now in #42!

And elsewhere, yes, it is the final H&C chapter of Nov, the monthly top 30 is nigh, so if you've been meaning to catch up on reading/voting, now would be a tactically advantageous time to do it.

Or indeed spread the word somehow, that helps too. Still trying to work up some kind of wider strategy beyond hopeful tweeting. You can still review on Web Fiction Guide if you're so inclined.

But thanks for reading regardless. Enjoying the serial a lot at the moment, some fun stuff to come as we rush towards #50. I love round numbers, so fully intend to make something of that one. Exciting.

Thirty Nine Thousand, Six Hundred And Thirty Four Words - NaNoWriMo Ends Here! (WriteBlog #8)

Calendar fans will note that National Novel Writing Month runs another few days, until this Saturday, but for me, it is all over. Because, well, I finished my novel, and as discussed in these WriteBlogs at some length, that was the job.

I could probably find a few thousand words to put me over fifty thousand, maybe a between-chapters diversion where my characters embark on a lengthy game of Scrabble. But I don't really care. I have finished my novel.

Homeland review on The Digital Fix!

Latest Homeland review is now on The Digital Fix. See Carrie run!

So, I finished my NaNo project on Sunday. That was pretty exciting. More details of that excitement probably coming in a WriteBlog soon enough.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #13 - Lunch Club

Thirteen really is turning out oddly lucky for our heroes, as this week they don't have to eat anything disgusting! There is still food though. Meanwhile, I am doing NaNo whilst making out of date Who comments. You can also now read my actual review if you're so inclined.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #13 - Lunch Club by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

TV review: Day of the Doctor!

Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor gets the me-review treatment! At long last! Does it live up to my obvious silly expectations?

The H&C Podcast will be with you... pretty soon, as I need to do all my internet admin in this space. Let's go go go!

Walking Dead review time!

This week's Walking Dead review on Dork Adore! The Governor is so lonely and bearded!

And enjoy the Day of the Doctor, fellow Who-people. My inevitable review should be up tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's my top eleven Matt Smith episodes on The Digital Fix.

NaNoWriMo Week Three - So it wasn't just a phase? (WriteBlog #7)

So, as of this writing, I am 31.3K words through NaNo, and the bad news is: barring a miracle, I am unlikely to make 50,000. I know, I was disappointed too. It's still possible I might finish the novel, then crunch through about five chapters of Hobson & Choi in advance to take me over the edge, but realistically I am probably going to pound out the final scenes early next week, then spend the rest of the month partying.

And by partying, I mean watching DVDs and tweeting. Nonetheless, there is good news too, and it was kinda spoilered in the last para: unless I break all my fingers in the next few days, I will most likely finish the first draft book I am working on. So that's nice, for reasons I already outlined last week. See adjacent graph for more detail on my word progress.

New TV blog: Homeland up late!

While checking my earlier H&C post, I noted I forgot to link to Monday's Homeland review on The Digital Fix. So, here it is. Another decent episode.

And if the earlier post wasn't persuasive enough, definitely check out Hobson & Choi, it is well good. (How is my new promo push going so far?)

Hobson & Choi #41 - "Rush Job"

Hobson & Choi #41 - "Rush Job" - up now! Hobson tries to negotiate with an arsehole! Ellie and Choi try to have a conversation! The end of Case Two looms into view like a whale or something!

Another chapter I particularly enjoyed writing, hopefully that will come across in the reading experience. Big extra-long resolutiony chapter next week!

I'm trying to do a wee bit of putting the word out about Hobson & Choi, so if you want to write a review on Web Fiction Guide that'd be awesome. Or indeed any other fiction site or your own blog or whatever. If you need a guest posting slot filled, I am happy to talk H&C or related issues.

If you want to help in a less labour-intensive way, you can vote for us on Top Web Fiction, which only requires a brief captcha-fill. Everything is good.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #12 - Bad Breakfast

It's the Bad Breakfast episode! Can Hobson finish the world's worst breakfast to win some info from his source? It's the episode my girlfriend told me not to let her listen to, as we go into full on anti-food-porn.

And back in the back matter, the never-ending NaNoWriMo battle still has not ended.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #12 - Bad Breakfast by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Walking Dead on Dork Adore

Latest Walking Dead review on Dork Adore! The randoms are dying!

Today, I am off on NaNoRilla, the "guerilla novelling" event held as part of NaNo every year. Basically, we sit on the streets and type. So if you see a bunch of homeless-looking people round London with weirdly nice laptops, that's us!

Hobson & Choi #40 - Last Contact

Hobson & Choi hits the big 4-0! And to celebrate the approach of middle-age, they're considering what to do about this Rush Recruitment crisis.

So, can the duo survive last week's reveals about Hobson's past? Only one way to find out - go read, obviously.

And the podcast is just getting up to the quite fun Bad Breakfast section, so check that out too.

Now, I gotta do some NaNo. Maybe watch that Doctor Who prelude again a few more times. Adios.

TV review: Night of the Doctor!

New Doctor Who prelude thing reviewed! Is fun! On Dork Adore!

Hobson & Choi publication slightly delayed by this. Never mind. I'm starting on it now. But wasn't that prelude awesome?

NaNoWriMo 2013 - End of Day 13 - A Graph

My NaNoWriMo words so far. I'm behind but I keep going, because I am a trier.

My novel is about Hell, so the comparison is amazingly apt.

More ramble-angsty NaNo blog update posted earlier.

NaNoWriMo Week Two - Book Existence (WriteBlog #6)

I was chugging along nicely with the novel for a while - it had been around three whole chapters since I last stopped and reworked half the rules of my fantasy setting - when I ground to a halt and thought: Right. Shit. This may not be working.

Hate it when that happens. Happily, after only three hours of staring into space and 507 words of notes, I was able to get back on track.

New TV blogging: Homeland!

Homeland review on The Digital Fix!New villain does bad thing!

Seriously, it's dark out there.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #11 - The Dark Spoons

What are... The Dark Spoons? Hobson and Choi dive deeper into the underworld this week, and it's all set-up for something truly disgusting next time.

Meanwhile, in the back pages, there's NaNoWriMo spilt everywhere and I recommend Crossed: Wish You Were Here, available from http://www.crossedcomic.com

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #11 - The Dark Spoons by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV blog: Walking Dead!

Walking Dead review for the week up now on Dork Adore, as the sad characters go for a grim walk.

And now, I'm off for a four hour NaNo write-in. When next I post here, I will have words to my name.

Guest post about pushing webserials

A blog post for the lovely TuesdaySerial people about the awkward art of pushing webserials online, now with eight months of H&C-declaring under my belt.

I did a similarly themed blog here back in March but this one has more experience and a blog-friendly list format. So if my recent WriteBlog pieces have been too conversational for you, here's some structure.

Hobson & Choi #39 - "Management Conferences"

Hobson & Choi #39- "Management Conferences" - exists! Extra-long episode with revelations and dark portents. Highly recommended.

I guess I would say that. Anyway, as discussed in my NaNoWriMo writeblog earlier, we were #9 on Jukepop for October, so that was excellent. Thanks to all voters.

But quite aside from the voting business, I'm really really enjoying H&C at the moment and I hope that excitement is transmitting to those of you who read it.

And now, I will stop posting here for at least a day or two, after a slight mini-splurge of content. TTFN.

New TV review: Orphan Black

Orphan Black season 1 review on The Digital Fix!

And now, a short break before I return with this week's H&C chapter...

NaNoWriMo Week One - Uh-huh? (WriteBlog #5)

You wouldn't think I'd have time to dash off mid-length blogs about my writing process in the heart of the NaNoWriMo maelstrom, but I'm trying to treat this piece as a short warm-up for later greatness. However, if it seems slightly more rushed or badly spelt than usual, the month-long writing bender is my entire excuse.

So, I've been on the NaNo gravy train for nearly a whole week, I've written just under seven thousand words (so yes, I am pretty behind) - how is it going? Can I describe my experiences? Well.

New TV blog: Homeland on The Digital Fix!

Carrie goes to yoga, but exciting spy-type yoga! New Homeland review on The Digital Fix!

Back in the tedious real world, our heating is broken and several of my toes are numb. Oh well.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #10 - Day Two

The second day of the investigation begins, and time to check in with the locals again before heading out on the road! Meanwhile in OutroWorld, the crazy powertyping event of NaNoWriMo is upon us, which may explain why I'm talking so quickly...

For the second week running, fellow serial author Alastair JR Ball was integral to this podcast existing, stepping in when I failed to give myself access to the file. Show your gratitude by visiting his site at alastairjrball.blogspot.com.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #10 - Day Two by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Walking Dead on Dork Adore!

New Walking Dead review on Dork Adore! Happy happy sadness!

And the NaNo's going pretty well, for anyone interested. Woo.

Pre-NaNoWriMo WriteBlog #4 PlanStraVaGanZa

Tomorrow, NaNoWriMo starts and as I've said before, I'll be working on the final third of my current novel in progress. This will probably not be fifty thousand words, although once I add on four Hobson & Choi chapters for the month and maybe improvise a short story about a man taking his dog for a walk, I might make it over the top.

But, regardless, that isn't the point. I'm pleased with the opening 66.6% of this novel (even if it still has no title), so it would be a shame to bolt a load of slapdash verbal diarrhoea onto the end and quadruple my editing time.

So, with that in mind, I spent four hours (or three full plays of the new Arcade Fire album) in my regular writing-cafe this afternoon trying to produce a decent plan to keep myself on track.

Hobson & Choi #38 - "Disturbed Duo"

Hobson & Choi #38 up now! The detectives do some shellshocked contemplation of #37! Dark times both ahead and behind!

Yes, it's a quiet chapter of Hobson & Choi this week, but y'know, it's The Big Spooky Day, why not turn things slightly grim?

Today is the last day of October as you probably already know (Happy Halloween!) so if you haven't caught up for a few weeks and want to blast through a few chapters to help us in the monthly charts, go for it. We love you.

Now, I'm off to a cafe to plan the entire of my NaNo. No biggie.

TV blog: How I Met Your Mother on The Digital Fix!

The final season of How I Met Your Mother, inspected critically for The Digital Fix.

Happy Halloween, everyone! The not-at-all-spooky Halloween special of Hobson & Choi should be up later! In other terrifying news, I am no longer represented by an eyeball on my Twitter account. Bloody hell.

New TV blog: Homeland!

Latest Homeland review on The Digital Fix! Includes bonus sheep re-enactment of the series!

Seriously, that sheep parody is brilliant.

New TV blog: Agents of SHIELD

Latest Agents of SHIELD review on The Digital Fix. Okayish episode, basically.

Another week, another Agents of SHIELD review. Hopefully TV will pick up soon, because I'm genuinely getting a tad jaded with some of this. Oh the plus side, new Hobson & Choi Podcast up yesterday as ever so that's a ray of sunshine.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #9 - Family Time

The team go deep-background on themselves, as lives away from the office finally intrude. Meanwhile, the author finds he enjoys pretending to be an angry teenage girl more than he'd expected. Deep insight this week.

Links mentioned: check out Alastair JR Ball's serial The First 500 at alastairjrball.blogspot.com.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #9 - Family Time by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV blog: Atlantis!

An unusual (possibly first time ever) development in my TV reviews in the Atlantis review on Dork Adore this week. Check it out.

And in cheerier news, Hobson & Choi Podcast #9 soon!

Book Review: Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman

Review of The Split Worlds: Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman on Many A True Nerd. Good fairy-fun.

The weekend starts here, everyone! (By which I mean: Walking Dead review tomorrow, Atlantis the next day!)

Hobson & Choi #37 - "Supermarket Sweep"

Hobson takes Choi on the shopping trip from hell in this week's all-action chapter! Sorry, UK readers, but Dale Winton does not appear.

And it's more or less the last update in October (the next one will be on the 31st), so do vote for a few chapters to help big us up in the Jukepop monthly top 30. The guys would really appreciate it, they're having a tough time.

The podcast continues too, latest episode here, including links to subscribe on iTunes and such.

Danke. Have a lovely lovely day.

WriteBlog #3 - The Short Pitch And Me

As promised in the last one of these, I've been doing a few small projects in the buffer between finishing Part Two of my current novel last week and starting Part Three for NaNoWriMo. The main one I've found is submitting a few ideas for short comic stories, using the themes and guidelines here.

In this case, they're not looking for complete scripts, just short pitches describing your story. Now, some of you might be thinking this: "Great! Less work for you!" And although there was an element of that, it's been harder than I expected too.

New TV blogging: Homeland on The Digital Fix

Review of the latest Homeland episode on The Digital Fix. Sad sad sad sad Brody.

Yeah, that show's a bit of a downer right now. In fact, most of the shows I currently watch are a bit pessimistic. Hm.

New TV blog: Agents of SHIELD!

Review of SHIELD review on The Digital Fix! Steady improvement and eye horror!

Happy Monday, everyone. I'm off to write some Hobson & Choi.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #8 - Evening Plans

The detectives go their separate ways, and the cliffhanger noise gets its most warranted outing yet! Meanwhile, at the back end, the author discusses transition and comics. Especially comics. Lots of those.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #8 - Evening Plans by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Atlantis on Dork Adore

Latest Atlantis review on Dork Adore! Babies, farting and wee!

Yup, highbrow times in Atlantis right now.

New TV blog: The Walking Dead!

Review of The Walking Dead season 4 premiere! Includes unusual character happiness!

Hope you're all having a good weekend as ever. I meant to post this earlier but have been napping.

Hobson & Choi #36 - "Hit The Shops"

Hobson & Choi #36 up now on Jukepop, and this week they're going to the supermarket. And Hobson eats a sandwich. It's more exciting than it sounds.

Enjoying this Case Two stuff a lot, I must say. Hopefully you guys are too - feedback welcome, if you want to review us on Web Fiction Guide or just on the Jukepop serial, all both helps me improve the story and spreads the word.

The podcast continues as well, if you like that sort of thing. The latest episode includes a live broadcast from the cafe where I do most of the actual H&C writing.

That'll be all. More next week, as our heroes go on a raid. Yes, a real one.

New TV blog: Orphan Black!

Midway review of Orphan Black season 1 on The Digital Fix! Clones everywhere

And Hobson & Choi's next chapter soon to follow, just as soon as I've put my laundry in, had a coffee and generally warmed up...

WriteBlog #2 - Two thirds and working in the vacuum

Today, the oft-hinted Satan novel hit exactly two thirds done, and even though I'm well aware it needs a lot of editing, this makes me immensely happy, because it's the least troubled novel I've ever worked on. No huge gaps, no stumbles, nothing I'm convinced is shit. I live in hope that this is something I can either sell to agents/publishers or persuade myself is worth the effort of self-publishing.

New TV blog: Homeland on The Digital Fix

Review of the latest UK Homeland on Digital Fix, including some consideration of why exactly it's called "Uh... Oh... Ah...".

Meanwhile, I'm getting to work on Hobson & Choi today. Good times. Hope you're all well.

New TV blog: Agents of SHIELD

Review of the third Agents of SHIELD episode on The Digital Fix! Jetset time!

And, for fans of listening to stuff, new Hobson & Choi Podcast up now, including live broadcast from the cafe where I do my writing!

Hobson & Choi Podcast #7 - Interviews

Our title is Interviews, and that's exactly what happens this week, as Hobson and Choi interrogate the remaining Social Awesome employees. Whodunnit? Place your bets now! And if you already know, don't spoil it for everyone else! Meanwhile, in the author's notes, we go on the road (or down the road, at least) with a not-live outside broadcast!

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hope you're all having a good weekend, folks. And if you've enjoyed this podcast, rate/review it on iTunes to help us spread out across the planet!

Hobson & Choi Podcast #7 - Interviews by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Atlantis!

Third episode of Atlantis on Dork Adore! Is it better? Will it ever be better?

Probably not. Hobson & Choi podcast publication to begin as soon as I've finished editing this other TV review for tomorrow!

New comics review: Lazarus volume 1!

Review of Lazarus volume 1 on Many A True Nerd. Seriously, it's a very good comic, and if you ever take my recommendations seriously, go for this one.

After a raft of kinda middling TV in the last week or two, good to be able to recommend something without reservations.

Hobson & Choi #35 - "New Territory"

Hobson & Choi #35 up now on Jukepop! New office, new case, new newness in "New Territory"!

So that's fun. Elsewhere in H&C land, as you may know from mentions elsewhere, we hit #13 in the monthly Jukepop top 30, another best-ever, which I'm quite pleased with.

Oh, and the Hobson & Choi Podcast released its sixth episode. I'm quite pleased with the upcoming seventh podcast, which will feature a wee twist on the usual outro section.

That'll be all for now. If you want to help us take over the world (or even just the internet), feel free to review us on Web Fiction Guide or review the podcast on iTunes, it's all handy.

My editing is out of order! (WriteBlog #1)

As avid Twitter followers will already know, I've been entering a difficult phase of editing recently. My current novel in progress (the Satan one I mentioned earlier) is coming along well, but thanks to both my own instinctive genius and some insightful feedback from my writing group, I have a lot of changes to make already.

I am currently roughly 57% through the book - I worked that out with a calculator - and already I know I need to rewrite four chapters from close to the beginning and probably massively rejig even the most recent ones I've done.

New TV review: Homeland!

Review of the Homeland season 3 premiere on The Digital Fix! Is Brody still going?

And you may be excited to hear Hobson & Choi made #13 in the Jukepop ratings September, which is another all-time record. Go team. Now time to begin voting for September.

New TV blogging: Agents of SHIELD

Review of the second Agents of SHIELD episode on The Digital Fix! Planes, guest appearances, etc.

And the sixth Hobson & Choi Podcast went up yesterday. Features NaNoWriMo talk, comic recommendations, etc. As ever, all the TV reviews are clustered around the weekend.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #6 - Social Awesome

This week, Hobson & Choi investigate the sinister Social Awesome and meet a bunch of new potential suspects. Meanwhile, I wait for a chart placement, muse about NaNoWriMo and recommend a comic. It's a tightly packed eight minutes in podcast #6.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hope you're all having a good weekend, folks. And if you've enjoyed this podcast, why not mention it to your friends?

Hobson & Choi Podcast #6 - Social Awesome by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Atlantis!

Second week of Atlantis reviewed on Dork Adore! Can Medusa stir up some excitement?

Hobson & Choi Podcast coming later! Still no news on where we are in the Jukepop top 30, but definitely higher than 16th!

Hobson & Choi #34 - "Moving Day"

Hobson & Choi #34 is up now! The start of Case Two, and after last time's triumphs, Choi thuds back down to earth in "Moving Day".

I'm pretty pleased with this episode too, hopefully you'll all enjoy it. Exciting to be moving on to a whole new case and pushing the subplots forward a bit.

And thanks to everyone who helped vote for us in September's chart - not sure where we've ended up yet, hopefully the very top, obviously.

Last but not least, the Hobson & Choi Podcast is now up to #5. Worth a look if you want to hear me do some silly voices.

Sci-fi audio sitcom review: A Brief History of Time Travel

My review of the fun sci-fi audio sitcom A Brief History of Time Travel on Many A True Nerd. Like Red Dwarf or Hitchhiker's Guide? Give this a go.

Something a little different from the review department there, but still firmly recommended. Now, time to start prepping Hobson & Choi for launch...

New TV review: Breaking Bad conclusion!

Finale of Breaking Bad reviewed on The Digital Fix! Did it live up to all those hopes and dreams? Spoilers? Yes.

Well, definitely time for autumn TV to get going now.

New TV review: Agents of SHIELD!

Review of the Agents of SHIELD pilot on Digital Fix! Whedon + Marvel = Genius?

As you may know, today is also the last day of September, so if you fancy voting for a couple of Hobson & Choi chapters to jump us up the monthly Jukepop chart, absolutely do that. Cheers folks.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #5 - Inspiration Gestation Station

This week, Hobson & Choi both take a few steps out of their depth, ending up with them meeting an important new person in an important new place. Meanwhile, my phlegmy cough has entered a particularly annoying phase, leading to a fairly brief outro.

As promised in the show itself, the Twitter username for Daniel Ruiz Tizon is Available is @1607WestEgg. Check out his tweets and podcast.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

As ever, you can read the prose serial at Jukepop Serials. September ends tomorrow and the charts/votes are tallied, so if you want to vote up a few chapters, I'd be greatly appreciative.

But whatever way you want to experience H&C, that's ultimately fine with me.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #5 - Inspiration Gestation Station by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

New TV review: Atlantis

Review of the very first Atlantis episode on Dork Adore! Is it better than Merlin?

Yes, the first of these new shows I was talking about reviewing. Another one to follow tomorrow. But before that, the next Hobson & Choi podcast should be up this evening!

Comic review: Sex Criminals

Review of new sex action comedy comic book Sex Criminals #1 by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky on Many A True Nerd.

In other news, new TV shows are starting up! So you'll be seeing some different items appearing here, including one that you've probably guessed already.

Hobson & Choi #33 - "The Long Weekend"

H&C #33 up now! Featuring the giant sized epilogue to the entire of Case One - more hinting and character developments than you could shake a tiny stick at.

I'm pretty chuffed with this one, hope you folk also like it. And yes, this means next week we splash into the uncharted territory of Case Two. Bloody hell.

Also, we're coming to the end of September, so if you have a second to vote for a few chapters to help us up the Jukepop monthly top 30, all appreciated. Cheers.

And meanwhile, the podcast rumbles on, we've hit episode four! Get the subscription links and such in the most recent podcast post here.

Lot of business there, I know. Hope you're all well. I'm excited by all this, I really am.

New TV review: Breaking Bad!

New Breaking Bad review on The Digital Fix! Penultimate episode ever! Repent!

This has actually been up since 9AM, but I've only just posted it due to my shattered exhausted sleeping. Been an odd week.

New TV blog: Dexter finale!

Dexter has finally finished. Sadly, my reaction is mainly relief. Review up now on The Digital Fix.

And yes, I normally review these shows in a different order - I fancied doing Dexter first, plus it seems more newsworthy. Breaking Bad tomorrow.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #4 - Dry Blood

Fourth episode of the podcast! This is definitely happening now. The download figures have picked up this week, I've even had a complimentary tweet about the show, so thanks to all listening. Now, this episode...

Hobson takes over the narration, as he bullies the only available witness through some murderous backstory. Featuring dry blood and a sandwich. Meanwhile, backstage, this week I have a sore throat but still find some authorial insight to lay down.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

As ever, you can read the prose serial at Jukepop Serials, where the first case has just concluded. All action over there.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #4 - Dry Blood by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

Book review: The Shining Girls

I review the involving time travel serial killer thriller The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes on Many A True Nerd.

And yes, the next Hobson & Choi podcast is coming this afternoon. Ready yourselves, which I guess means listen to the previous ones.

New TV blog: Orphan Black!

Orphan Black preview on The Digital Fix! Starts tonight on BBC Three!

Or, if you're in America or a user of The Pirate Bay, you've already seen the whole thing. Ah well.

Hobson & Choi #32 - "Crazy Like A Wolf"

Up now on Jukepop, it's H&C #32 - "Crazy Like A Wolf"! It's basically the final throwdown in the entire first case of the serial, so hopefully quite exciting. Stuff happens. Check it out.

Or if you want to be 29 weeks behind in audio format, there's also a Hobson & Choi podcast which you can get here.

The end of the month is also approaching, so do vote for us on Jukepop too. We have charts to top and stuff. Cheers very much!

TV review: Dexter.

Another Dexter review on The Digital Fix. The episode was kinda lame in the same way last week's episode was kinda lame.

Never mind. Hobson & Choi first-case action finale later!

New TV/Comic blog: Newsroom! Celtic Warrior!

Two blog posts today covering two separate sites and areas of media...

First up, it's the season two finale of The Newsroom - or is it the end of everything? Review on The Digital Fix.

And meanwhile, over in comics:

I review Celtic Warrior, a graphic novel retelling an ancient Celtic myth, over on Many A True Nerd.

New TV review: Breaking Bad!

Breaking Bad review on Digital Fix! It's a particularly heart-rending episode, so get ready for some pain.

And now, I'm off to spend the day working on Hobson & Choi. Remember, the third podcast is out now.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #3 - Doorstep Challenge

Podcast #3! It's now a trilogy! Until the fourth part next week, when we can use the weird made-up word "Quadrilogy". If we want. Anyway, what's in the show this week?

Our heroes meet a crowd of press, their first suspect and Choi finds a way to hate Subway sandwiches. All true. Meanwhile, in the back matter, I am hungover but struggling on. I also mention H&C being close to 1000 votes on Jukepop and ask people to go vote, only for it to go over 1000 literally while I was typing this blurb. Oh well. Can't complain.

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

As ever, you can read the prose serial and help jack the votes up even higher at Jukepop Serials, where we've got 31 whole chapters up.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #3 - Doorstep Challenge by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

Hobson & Choi #31: "Cornered Animals"

The end of the first case is just about upon us, as Hobson & Choi have that bloody showdown you've been waiting for since #1. Blood will literally run in the streets. Up now on Jukepop!

It's both fun and pressuring writing these big climactic chapters. But don't worry, the comedic arguing will recommence soon. In the meantime, check out the new part and vote for as many chapters on Jukepop as you feel able. Never too early to consider the September charts.

And if you missed it, there's now a Hobson & Choi Podcast where I read out edited versions of the chapters from the beginning. More details here.

New blogging: Dexter! 2099 comics!

Dexter continues, as does my frustration with its quite slow ending. Review on The Digital Fix!

AND

An introduction/retrospective/futurespective about Marvel 2099 on Many A True Nerd!

And Hobson & Choi later too. Whole lot of stuff today.

New TV blogging: The Newsroom!

The Newsroom season two begins its finale! Review of part one on The Digital Fix.

Tiring week in the real world, but don't worry guys: the TV reviews are still on time! And Hobson & Choi should continue tomorrow also.

New TV post: Breaking Bad time!

New Breaking Bad review on Digital Fix! Action! Cliffhanger anatomy!

Yeah, be a sad day for my review routine when that show finally ends.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #2 - #HobsonVsWolf

The second Hobson & Choi podcast is with us! We're now officially not a one-hit wonder! Can we get past the difficult second episode, though?

Anyway, this week: Angelina Choi explains to her new boss why he has to fight a wolf and what their social media strategy is. And what "social media" is. Can she land the pitch? And in the Author's Notes section: why am I crying in a bin? All this and more!

You can play the episode in the player below, download the MP3 here or subscribe on iTunes to have it thrown at you every week. Or if you hate iTunes on principle, you can point your RSS reader at our Libsyn page to get every episode.

Hope you like. More next week, and if you hate audio or badly want to know what happens next, episodes up to #30 are up on Jukepop too.

Hobson & Choi Podcast #2 - #HobsonVsWolf by Nick Bryan on Mixcloud

Hobson & Choi #30: "All Together Now" PLUS Podcast news!

The big 3-0! Hobson & Choi #30 is up, entitled "All Together Now", and featuring big confessions and confrontations in the ongoing storyline. Not to mention some big podcast news, which I'll reproduce below.

Basically, the podcast is now up, running and launched, after some brief technical issues! Me reading an edited version of each H&C chapter from the beginning, plus notes/insight afterwards! You can find it on iTunes by either searching my name or clicking here, or if you hate Apple, you can subscribe to the RSS/grab the original files from the Libsyn page. It's also streaming on MixCloud.

Back on Jukepop, we were #14 in the August top 30! Pretty good guys, best result yet in fact. Thanks to everyone who voted. Now, hopefully with some podcast-momentum, onwards to September!

TV blogging: Dexter & Coupling!

Hectic day in TV blogging as a load of work flies up in a single mass...

First up - there's no new Dexter episode this week, so I've drawn up a list of seven possible spin-offs on The Digital Fix instead. Would you watch any of these? Got a better idea?

And secondly, from our retrospective department:

A lookback at Steven Moffat's excellent sex-comedy Coupling on Dork Adore! Did you watch it? Should you?

That's all for now. Big Hobson & Choi update later! Lots of news!

New TV review: Breaking Bad!!

Latest Breaking Bad review on The Digital Fix! More from the Hank/Walt/Jesse love triangle!

Yeah, coming up with bad things to say about that show is becoming a challenge. Still, can't complain.