Happy new year, hope you're doing awfully etc.

Hello sparrows,

How are you? As is tradition, I thought I might drop in to ruin your day with a few recommendations and a spot of news about projects in progress... unless you're busy with something else in which case I'll wait, no it's fine, I'll wait, I'm sure you have far more important things to be doing. No no, I wasn't muttering anything under my breath, you just take your sweet time, I'll sit here waiting and doing nothing you ungrateful sack of

I mentioned the new book is getting going, and it is but I lied slightly. So: I was walking down a street in Hamburg a few years ago listening to Ghost of Stephen Foster . Do you daydream sometimes when you listen to music? Every now and then I can't help imagining what the music should be set to if it's a really decent track, and this one was a really decent track, and just for a moment I had a very clear image of a load of explorers descending into the belly of some enormous alien machine that I knew was a consciousness accelerator. And the deeper they descended, the more their minds would expand and fold over on themselves, and the stranger the creatures would be that they'd meet down there. For whatever reason I decided I wanted to know more about that universe and started idly making notes about it, hoping maybe it was the next book coming over to say hi.

Anyway, recently I was working on one of the stories and began to wonder why the hell I wasn't turning it into a video. And I asked the same of the other stories and it hit me they should probably all get made into animations, that's what they've been telling me they're supposed to be. And stupid as that decision was considering I'm allergic to work and spiritually opposed to effort in general, that's just what they were supposed to be, so that's what's going to happen. I wonder if you've experienced that weird period when you don't quite connect with many people around you, the signal strength is always about 50% and you convince yourself it's your fault, you're just too weird or not fit for public consumption etc. Then suddenly you chance on someone you immediately can talk to, the bandwidth is so high it's almost telepathy, you don't have to hide any of the strangeness, and either you instantly fall in love or attempt to turn that person into a best friend. Well I must say, I've found stories can be like that too. You spend years collecting little odds and ends of plots and half-baked ideas, never quite sure where they go but knowing they have to go somewhere. And the right project turns up out of nowhere and suddenly it all makes sense, that's what you were waiting for, that's where this was all heading, thank you Mum, thank you baby Jesus, everything is going to be amazing forever, phew.

I won't lie, there are some slightly difficult days when I'm convinced this is a stupid idea and it's going to blow up in my face, and others when it all just seems like I'm about to embarrass myself with my worst work yet. But I'm also rather aware that if I don't do this I'll regret it more or less for forever. So yes. When there's anything to show you, of course I will. At some point I'll also drop in to see how you might feel with Patreon support for the illustration side of things, but let's burn that bridge when we get to it. Plus I thought why not also release a book version of the stories at the same time they're all uploaded, just because. Anyway, I just gently ask that you're a little patient with me as this one might be a bit of an undertaking.

Okay okay, housekeeping nonsense out of the way and to put it directly: you should be playing Chants of Sennarr. Just before this Christmas I was about to fly home and see my family, been ages, was massively looking forward to it. Then one evening I come down with the flu and wake up yelling at fever dream spiders coming down the walls of my bedroom – my neighbours must be thanking all their lucky stars for the day I moved in. Took a covid test and guess what. So I isolated in my apartment in Sofia for Christmas instead. Wasn't great, wasn't terrible, but I admit I wasn't the happiest panda for a few days there. Right at the low point I somehow chanced on Chants of Sennarr on Steam. And was immediately, totally smitten. It's a very simple concept – you're a wanderer climbing up through the Tower of Babel (at least that seems to be the implication) and you have to learn the various languages of the strange people you come across: the religious devotees (quite pleasant), the soldiers (wankers), the bards (melodramatic actors), the alchemists (friendly scientists), and a mystery group. Each language is grammatically rather different, some using plurals at the start of nouns, others doing it by repeating a singular word twice, but the joy is in slowly learning to understand what the hell is going on around you. And the level design is gorgeous, and the pacing is perfect, and oh god if you get sick or even if you aren't, I'm sure you'll love it. There's a word maybe English doesn't have, whatever that relief is when you're sick enough that you simply can't work, so you stop feeling guilty for all the work you're not doing and get to be a kid again for a few days. That's when video games and books seems to hit the best in my experience, during those lovely horrible malady windows.

And 1670, another covid gem I found, a Polish comedy about a feudal village, one of the funniest shows I've seen in years. You can find it on Netflix and if you don't enjoy it then I'm afraid we can no longer be friends.

And Mutiny on the Bounty by Peter FitzSimons, the insane (and true) story of mutiny aboard a British ship in the 1700s, all for the sake of some breadfruit. I listened to it as an audiobook, can big recommend.

And finally Sons of the Forest, a fairly weird take on a zombie survival game that allows you to wear....people's remains as armour, among other fun mechanics. I would strongly recommend playing it with a mate. Once you find the handglider and the katana sword it's hard not to have an absolute blast.

So yes, a belated happy new year, hope you're doing well. As soon as there's anything to show you then I'll be doing exactly that. And as always, thank you ever so much for sticking around here. I know my upload schedule is spotty at best and neglectful at worst, but I'm forever touched you're willing to tolerate it. Looking forward to showing you something a bit different anyway,

Massive love,

Ex

And what's that? - you want some cat photos? Oh fine, fine, if you insist. Isn't that a fetching winter sweater?