August's Adventures in Storytelling

Hello there!

It's summer in the studio, and man alive, has it been hot! Britain is not set up for heatwaves, that's for sure. Hopefully, you've been able to keep yourself cool as the sun beats down. I know I'm praying for a little rain (as are the guinea pigs who have pretty much stripped what little grass is left in the garden!)

Welcome back to another round-up of what's happened over the last month, as well as things to look forward to over the next few weeks.

Let's dive in!

IN THIS MONTH'S UPDATE

• MY NEW SUPERBOY STORY
• A LUKE & LEIA ADVENTURE
• A TRIBUTE TO TOM CHADBON
• WATCH THE HIGH REPUBLIC CREATOR SPECIAL
• Q&A: FOR THE LOVE OF KON-EL
• FIVE BRILLIANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN JULY
• LOOKING AHEAD

MY NEW SUPERBOY STORY

My big news of the week was the publication of this year's DC summer special, Hawk-Girl Summer, featuring a new Superboy story by your truly with art by Rafael Loureiro, Alex Guimarães on colours, and Joss Reed on letters.

Huge thanks to editor Michael McCalister for having me on board. You can read more about my relationship with Superboy in the Q&A section below!

A LUKE & LEIA ADVENTURE

The audio editions of my Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny stories keep coming, with A Luke and Leia Adventure coming to Audible's Mission Stories line next month.

Hitting Audible 6th August, the adventure – again read by Ron Butler – follows the 'canon path' of the choose-your-own-adventure-style story I wrote back in 2018.

Here's the official blurb:

After the mysterious disappearance of several Rebel transport ships, Luke, Leia, and R2-D2 journey across the galaxy in hopes of discovering the fate of the missing ships.

This story is set during the Rebellion after the destruction of the first Death Star.

Don't forget, even though the original gamebooks are now out of print, a few signed copies are still available via my webstore!

A TRIBUTE TO TOM CHADBON

This week I received the sad news that the great Tom Chadbon had passed.

Anyone who's watched British TV in the last fifty years would've enjoyed Tom's work hundreds of times, telefantasy fans probably knowing him best from his role as Duggan in one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time – City of Death.

I had the pleasure of working with Tom on Blake's 7, where we brought his character of Del Grant back in the award-winning The Armageddon Storm.

He was simply a lovely, lovely man: full of life and stories and a complete joy to be with in the studio.

Godspeed, Tom.

WATCH THE HIGH REPUBLIC CREATOR SPECIAL

The Sacred Texts have been doing some lovely Star Wars: The High Republic round-ups recently and I especially loved this one featuring my pals Ario Anindito, Daniel José Older, Alyssa Wong and Tessa Gratton.

You can watch the full special on YouTube or simply hit play below:

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Let's delve into the Cavletter postbag!

For the love of Kon-El

Felicia Gayle used the AMA form on my website to say:

Hi!

I really, really, really loved your mini comic: The Superboy Experience!

I really appreciate the acknowledgment of Superboy's early superhero career and him seeing how others view him. Most modern comics don’t seem to ever touch on his past at all which I find such a shame because Superboy '94 is one of my favourite comics. So thank you for doing so!

Now for the actual questions, I was wondering if you’re planning or hoping to do anything else Superboy related? I would be ecstatic if you are!

As well as that I’d like to ask why you decided to make this comic? Are you a big Superboy fan?

And finally, just another big thank you for your work I enjoyed the comic so much! I would LOVE if you got to write him more!!! 

Wow, thank you Felicia. I'm so happy you enjoyed The Superboy Experience.

OK, let's deal with your questions...

Everything started when editor Michael McCalister asked if I'd like to contribute to Hawk-Girl Summer last September.

Here was the brief:

Anthology Title: Hawk-Girl Summer

Anthology Theme: Hot people doing hot things.

– Beaches! Pools! Hot Springs!
– Heroes or villains with Heat powers.
– Establishing shots of hot characters doing hot things!

Available Characters:
As I said earlier, everyone is currently on the table. Here are some thought starters:

– Green Lantern: If you go this route, maybe Hal and Carol are at an intergalactic resort?
– Barda and Mister Miracle: Could be fun?
– Lobo: He will have eyes on him because of the Supergirl movie next summer.
– Titans: Gar somehow convinces the team to do a “Men of Titans” calendar for charity. Donna can be the photographer and a villain crashes the party.
Superboy: Kon-El. Maybe team him up with Tim and Bart?
Fire and Ice

The email arrived at 6.39pm on September 9th. I spotted it at 8.32pm and immediately replied with:

Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el! Kon-el!

(Please.)

I supplied ideas for two separate stories on October 3rd and Micheal came back also immediately, opting for The Superboy Experience. The only real change requested was to swop out Tim Drake's Robin for another character, as Tim was slated to feature in another story in the anthology. Could I make it either Cassie or Bart? I opted for Bart.

As you can probably tell from my response to the brief, yes, I'm a huge Superboy fan. I had a chance to write a version of Conner in both Titans United and Titans United Bloodpact, but really wanted to write the real deal!

Superman has been my favourite superhero for as long as I can remember, and I've loved Conner ever since his introduction in World Without A Superman. I've pitched ideas for him on multiple occasions and would love to write for him again. For me, he's the most interesting character in the Super-Family, constantly fighting his true nature and aspects of his past.

Of course, whether I write any more Superboy depends on the powers that be at DC. If you'd like to see more Kon-El stories from me, then please tell DC! Start the campaign.

Thanks for your question, Felicia.

If you have a burning question you'd like to ask me about my work or the creative life, then either leave it in the comments or hit the button to use the AMA form!

FIVE BRILLIANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN JULY

1. The Scott family went on holiday! Two books were read as we explored the Lake District. The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver (which I review here) and Stone Lands by Fiona Robertson – which I read while visiting the incredible Castlerigg circle.
   
   I loved Fiona's book, not just for all the information about ancient monuments around the British Isles (and a host of potential folklore heroes to research) but the very human story about the loss of her husband and stone-searching soulmate Stephen.
   
   It's a heartbreaking book, achingly painful at times but ultimately peaceful, an examination of the inevitability of change, no matter how permanent life seems.
   
2. My beautiful goddaughter Emily got married to her now-husband Sam in a wonderfully chilled-out garden party-inspired celebration in Ivybridge, complete with pizza van and drinks wagon. Pure bliss.
   
3. Project: Avarice, the novel I've been working on all year was signed off by the editor, and my outline for Project: Passer – my new graphic novel adaptation – was given the green light so I can start scripting. Deadline 3rd November! Let's go!
   
4. I was also hired to write another fantasy novel, due to be delivered early next year. This one needs a codename too. Let's go for Project: Soldier. Yup, that fits.
   
5. We finally finished work on Godfather of Hell, my mobsters-meet-demons graphic novel which hits stores October 20th, just in time for Halloween!
   
   You can pre-order using these links or talk to your friendly neighbourhood comic store. Thank you!
   

LOOKING AHEAD

On we go!

I'm about to sit down and plan the month ahead in my logbook with a cup of tea and a slice of bara brith. Work-wise I have a couple of trips ahead, travelling up to Warlord Games for a Konflikt '47 summit and a jaunt to London for Secret Squirrel stuff.

I'm also really excited to be seeing Game of Thrones: The Mad King at the RSC in Stratford, which I'm sure will be a spectacle.

Let me know what you're up to in the comments!

Until next time, look after yourself and each other.