Blake’s 7: Chosen
- At November 24, 2020
- By Niel
- In Writing
0
I’m really pleased that my Blake’s 7 audiobook, Chosen, is out today. I’ve been a fan of Blake’s 7 all my life, so the opportunity to write a novel set in that universe was something that I had wanted to do for a very long time.
My love of Blake’s 7 goes all the way back to the original transmission which I saw at the impressionable age of seven. It gripped me from the first episode, and once I saw the Liberator there was no turning back. I’ve been hooked ever since, and I’ve wanted to play in the Blake’s 7 universe for a very long time. I was lucky enough to animate the intros for the DVDs but this is the first time I’ve written for Blake’s 7, so this is a dream come true for me.
Chosen is set between the Season One episodes Mission to Destiny and Duel. The crew is still getting to know each other when the Liberator is damaged in a flight through an asteroid field. Blake thinks a base might be a good idea, somewhere to conduct repairs and hide from the Federation, and he thinks he’s found the perfect planet. While he, Villa and Jenna teleport down to the surface to explore, the others conduct repairs to the failing ship. Cally accidentally activates a dormant defence system and she finds herself sealed on the Flight Deck, her mind flooded with images of a teenage boy growing up in a ruined city on an icy planet. As Cally fights her own personal battle for control of her mind, Avon and Gan struggle to save the ship from destruction. And Blake’s hope of finding sanctuary quickly turns into a battle for survival against a horde of killer robots.
I completed Chosen earlier this year, and as I also turned 50 this year I decided it was time to get myself a fantastic Liberator handgun and teleport bracelet replica from Century Casting.
You can listen to Chosen here: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/blake-s-7-chosen-audiobook-2254
Doctor Who at the BFI – the last days of normality
- At March 15, 2020
- By Niel
- In Animation, Events/News
0
I love going to London. It’s where most of my friends live, it’s where a lot of my work comes from, and it was my home between 1994 and 1998. I have a lot of memories embedded in the grime of that city, so if there’s an opportunity to go there I usually grab it.
But so far I’d avoided the BFI screenings of my Doctor Who work. I don’t like seeing my work once it’s done, especially on a big screen. I only ever see what’s wrong with it. But I’d heard such good things about the BFI events. They were always sold out, celebratory events with lots of special guests, so I finally accepted the offer to attend for the screening of the Talons of Weng-Chiang, the Season 14 Doctor Who adventure starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson.
That was about a month ago. Then the world turned upside down. The Covid-19 virus started to crawl from country to country, tearing up the usual conventions of society. So I had mixed feelings about attending the event at the BFI. I expected it to be cancelled, but it went ahead, so I jumped on the train and set off for London.
I met up with my good friend Chris Chatterton and we had a few beers – all very normal. London bustled and glittered, but there was a sense of unease, as if this was the end of something special.
The next day, after a very nice breakfast, I went along to the event and spoke about my work on the story. I wasn’t sure if the screening would be deserted, but it was about three quarters full.


I think the interview and the screening of the story went down well, and it was lovely to bump into some old friends who I hadn’t seen for a while like Cameron McEwan, but the feeling of unease never went away and I was glad to be on the train and heading home again afterwards.

Who knows what the next few days and weeks will bring, but I don’t think I’ll be going to London again for a long time.
September 1st: 10 years of writing
- At September 01, 2019
- By Niel
- In Advice, Writing
0
I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was a little boy. For years it was comic strips, then it was TV and film scripts, and in between I dabbled with writing a book, but I never got much further than a chapter or three. It always seemed like too big a task. I’d write a few pages, stop to read it, then edit it, over and over again. Eventually, I’d give up, put the project to one side and do something more manageable.
Back in the summer of 2009 I was in the highlands of Scotland, spending time at my Aunt and Uncle’s home in the picturesque countryside close to Balmoral Castle. I’d picked up Stephen King’s book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and was eagerly reading it, trying to learn from the Master’s experience. It’s an invaluable resource for any writer, with plenty of things to consider, but the main lesson from that book is a simple one: Read every day, write every day.
A few months earlier, I’d started writing a book, another failed attempt that didn’t get further than Chapter Three. It was about a young boy who could travel in time through gravestones.
By the end of the holiday I’d finished King’s book. I came home and vowed to put into action what I’d learned on holiday. Neatly, it was the start of September, so I began to write every day, as much as I could. I picked up the barely-started time-travel novel and began to write, resisting the temptation to stop and go back over what I’d written.
And it worked! I got further than I ever had before! And I kept going until, by the 21st of November I’d completed the first draft of Yard Boy (later renamed Sorrowline). I’d managed to average just under 800 words per day, and I’d only failed to write anything at all on three days. On Writing had shown me how to complete a book.
Of course the book needed lots of editing before it was any good, but at least I had something to edit. I knew what my book was about because I’d actually finished it.
Eventually, after several rewrites, in 2011 Sorrowline won a Northern Writers Award, which helped me to find an agent, who managed to get me a two-book deal for Sorrowline and its sequel. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t read (and chosen to follow) the advice in On Writing.
Ten years later, I’ve written ten books and counting. Writing a book is possible, it just takes focus, dedication and perseverance.
Read every day, write every day. It really is that simple.
I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was a little boy. For years it was comic strips, then it was TV and film scripts, and in between I’d dabbled with writing a book, but I never got much further than a chapter or three. It always seemed like too big a task. I’d write a chapter, stop to read over it, then edit it, over and over again. Eventually, I’d give up, put the project to one side and do something more manageable.
Back in the summer of 2009 I was in the highlands of Scotland, spending time at my Aunt and Uncle’s home in the picturesque surroundings close to Balmoral Castle. I’d picked up Stephen King’s book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and was eagerly reading it, trying to learn from the Master’s experience. It’s an invaluable recourse for any writer, with plenty of things to consider, but the main lesson from that book is a simple one: Read every day, write every day.
A few months earlier, I’d started writing a book, another failed attempt to get further than Chapter Three. It was about a young boy who could travel in time through gravestones.
By the end of the holiday I’d finished King’s book. I came home and vowed to put into action what I’d learned on holiday. Neatly, it was the start of September, so I began to write every day, as much as I could. I picked up the barely-started time-travel novel and began to write, resisting the temptation to stop and go back over what I’d written.
And it worked! I got further than I ever had before! And I kept going until, by the 21st of November I’d completed the first draft of Yard Boy (later renamed Sorrowline). I’d managed to average just under 800 words per day, and I’d only failed to write anything at all on three days. On Writing had shown me how to complete a book.
Of course the book needed lots of editing before it was any good, but at least I had something to edit. I knew what my book was about because I’d actually finished it.
Eventually, after several rewrites, in 2011 Sorrowline won a Northern Writers Award, which helped me to find an agent, who managed to get me a two-book deal for Sorrowline and its sequel. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t read (and chosen to follow) the advice in On Writing.
Ten years later, I’ve written ten books and counting. Writing a book is possible, it just takes focus, dedication and perseverance.
Read every day, write every day. It really is that simple.
I’m in the top 10%
- At July 16, 2019
- By Niel
- In Awards, Writing
0
Earlier this year I entered my first feature screenplay, The Waiting Room, into the Page International Screenwriting Awards.
Now celebrating its 16th anniversary year, the PAGE Awards is, according to their website (and who am I to argue?), widely regarded as one of the industry’s top sources for new screenwriting talent. Each year some of Hollywood’s most influential producers, agents, managers, and development executives judge the contest and read the winning scripts, and as a result, dozens of past winners have secured representation, landed script assignments, signed option agreements on their work, and many now have movies and television shows in production, on the air, and in theatres.
Today I heard that I had made it to the Quarter Finals! That’s the top 10% of entries. Now, that’s still a big old field, more than 700 scripts, but I’m still delighted to have made it this far. Being in the top 10% of anything is a good thing, right? I’ll hear if I’ve made it through to the semi finals next month. Let’s see what happens from here.
Designing the cover for Arkship Omega – Vlog #010
- At May 14, 2019
- By Niel
- In Writing
0
You can pre-order Arkship Omega here:
https://getbook.at/Arkship6
Passionate People, Passionate Places
- At April 16, 2019
- By Niel
- In General
0
Back in 2005 I took part in a campaign to help promote the North East of England as a great place to live and work. It started with a letter about the campaign which was sent to dozens of local businesses, including mine. At the time I was running my animation studio, Qurios Entertainment. I responded immediately to the letter (unusual for me!) saying how much I liked the idea and asking how I could support it. A representative of the campaign came to see me and, in no time at all, I was named as one of the ambassadors of the One North East Passionate People, Passionate Places campaign. What followed was a blur of publicity, starting with a photo shoot of me in my studio, perched next to a CRT monitor. It soon spread to local newspapers, billboards and even some promotion in London. It was exciting and embarrassing! I was interviewed by national newspapers and radio stations and, for a while, it felt like I was a very, very minor local celebrity.
But it kept going! For years I had my face in the underpass at Middlesbrough Railway Station. In all that time it somehow remained intact! No graffiti, no crude drawings, nothing. It lasted for almost a decade until it was eventually removed. The one in Newcastle Airport lasted even longer. I last saw it just a few years ago in 2016. Every time I travelled abroad my 2005 face would be waiting to greet me as I queued for customs. It was all very surreal!


It wasn’t just me, of course. There were about a dozen faces of the campaign, some who were included in TV adverts. I went along to a launch event at the Tall Ships Race in 2005 and met some of the other people involved – innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and me.
Eventually, the campaign came to an end. I’m not sure what sort of impact it made, and it’s really hard to find anything about it now, but for a while I was a poster boy for the North East!






Out now: Arkship Prophecy
- At March 08, 2019
- By Niel
- In Writing
0
It’s here! Arkship Prophecy, book 5 in the Arkship Saga is available to read now!
As the Church of the Infinite forces its doctrine on the survivors of humanity, the battle-weary Prince Halstead finds himself torn between his desire for peace and the growing tide of resistance, led by his estranged wife Bara. As the survival of humanity hangs in the balance, Halstead must finally decide what the Infinite Gods want him to do, a decision that could change the balance of power across the Cluster forever.
Meanwhile, the followers of the prophet Gofal, in hiding from the brutal forces of the Church’s Inquisitors, work towards a better future, one that may demand the ultimate sacrifice of their outlawed cult.
Now, I’d better get writing book 6, Arkship Omega.