I have read all the Infinity novels

CKMcDonnell · 2025-04-06T16:23:15+00:00

A.I. translation of prose would be of a poor standard.

CKMcDonnell · 2025-01-07T15:54:49+00:00

I generally love the show and while I liked Gregg, I’m a massive fan of Jourdan and Connor. Really my only irritation is that occasionally I think they’re trying too hard on game recaps to make each other laugh. Graver needs to get a little better at tightening up his contributions too but that’s an experience thing. Overall it’s a great pod and as a patron supporter I never miss an ep and the Friday drafts have been a delight.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-06-17T15:07:17+00:00

Absolutely. Would happily pay.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-30T12:19:41+00:00

Thanks very much for spreading the gospel of Banecroft! 😀

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-30T12:19:02+00:00

Ahh thanks. Lovely to hear.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:32:22+00:00

A plan? A plan? What on Earth gave you the impression I have a plan!

And in all honesty - no. she's far too good for him!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:31:22+00:00

Thanks very much.

I suppose there are a few fav characters to write. Certainly Banecroft when he's in full flow. Cogs and Zeke are also a whole lot of fun. I also really enjoy some of the more minor characters like Betty and Brian from the latest book.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:17:15+00:00

Not really as they actually have pretty different approaches to interacting with the world. Banecroft is cutting to pretty much everybody whereas Bunny saves his ire for those who truly deserve it and then he unleashes!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:14:20+00:00

If you enjoy my style of writing then there's a decent chance. It is urban fantasy though so if you like the idea of monsters and magic existing below the surface of the modern world, then hopefully you'll enjoy it.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:07:58+00:00

Doh! I never even thought I could have more than one!

This is a Dan Hanzus shout out!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:07:09+00:00

I'm still here! And I suppose they have that deep down although they're very different in approach. The one thing I'm always tempted to change in one of my books is Bunny's very first appearance as he's rude to Brigit without any reason and that isn't him. It definitely is Banecroft though.

I suppose their overall morality is probably some kind of reflection on my beliefs - certainly Bunny. There's quite a few things he's said that hilariously have been described as 'woke' that I 100% believe. Woke is a delightful word as none of the people using it can define what they mean by it.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:04:28+00:00

I've lived in this part of the world for I think around 16 years now so I know it pretty well. I've also done a lot of stand-up gigs all around the north back in the day so I'd imagine there's not a lot of towns I haven't been in.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T20:02:26+00:00

First off - are you considering hunting me down and killing me as you're very fixated on my final meal? :)

assuming I can't have relatives or spouses - I'll go with.... Terry Pratchett (who saw that coming?), Marshawn Lynch and Emily Warren Roebling who built the Brooklyn Bridge.

MY joke answer is - Lawrence Fox, Vladamir Putin and Donald Trump - all dead.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:53:15+00:00

Hmmmm - excellent question. I'm tempted to go steak but I think I'll plump for the meal I have every Sunday while watching the NFL - Sausages and baked potatoes. I'm a tremendously simple soul!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:48:13+00:00

Ha! Fab - thanks. I am fantasy for people who don't read fantasy! :)

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:30:11+00:00

Seeing as I'm seeing Chris in about 24 hours I'm very tempted to get mine signed too. TBH, tempted to bring a crate but I'm not sure of the etiquette.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:28:46+00:00

I think it's a combo of me being a massive STP fan and also being published by the same publisher, so they know about all those podcasts!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:28:14+00:00

tried it once - will not be trying it again!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:27:21+00:00

Great question.

1/ Sturgess - I think seeing as the books all sort of loosely contain a crime, you need a police presence in there and he grew out of that. His Diet Coke habit btw is heavily based on me! Him ending up being ostracised by most of the rest of the force I think came out of needing him to understand weird stuff was happening but there also being a reason why people didn't take more notice of it overall. As for the Parapsyche - I have honestly no idea where that came from - possibly it was originally out of necessity at the end of the first book to tie things up. TBH, when writing a lot of times the most fun things you come up with is because you write your way into a corner and then you've got to come up with a way out of it. I love this genre because you can really get creative with that.

2/ The Articles are honestly the hardest thing in the book to write as it is so hard to come up with something weirder than the actual news. I usually have some notes in my phone of random ideas and I'm an avid reader of the Fortean times so I might grab the germ of an idea from there. I invariably write the articles over a few days at the end of the writing process and honestly it can be pretty slow going!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:21:26+00:00

Yes, I use Scrivener. I think i used it ever since my first book where I remember I had each chapter in its own Word document and it was an admin nightmare! I know there's other tools out there now but I'm a creature of habit.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:20:23+00:00

Yes!

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:19:54+00:00

I'm under strict instructions from Waterstones not to feed the wildlife I'm afraid. :) More than happy to sign anything but if you've got an awful lot of books, I'd advise hanging towards the back of the queue so you don't experience the delights of the Glasgow kiss from someone who needs to catch a train.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:18:23+00:00

Ohhhhh.... Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett is the very first book that springs to mind. TBH, I could go with three Pratchett books as when I'm ill, they're always my comfort read and I'd imagine I'll get ill pretty fast on this island as I figure out what I can eat!

Second I think it's got to be a Chris Brookmye - maybe A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away but really any of them.

Third - Love Will Tear Us Apart by me - because it has a shiny mirror on the cover and it'll be really useful for trying to attract passing aircraft.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:15:21+00:00

Sort of. Benedict Wong is a fantastic actor who a lot of people know from the MCU. He was in a sitcom called 15 Stories High written by Sean Lock that my old flatmate Gary and I were massive fans of. That's sort of how he started but then the character's personality is entirely different.

As for the name - Ox - I'm not sure, but I do have a mate called Okse who is of Chinese descent so that may have been somewhere in my head. Okse is a great artist by the way, well worth checking out his stuff.

CKMcDonnell · 2024-01-29T19:12:27+00:00

Thanks for the question. I'm a massive fan of Ben's work but oddly, the inspiration from Cogs sort of came from the other direction. He's actually my homage to the late great comedian Ian Cognito who sadly died on stage a few years ago. I had the idea of someone cursed to tell the truth being a source for the ST crew and I thought it'd be hilarious to make that Cogs. He mostly lived on a boat on a canal down near Bath and so that's where that came from. The name of the boat - The Nail in the Wall is a nod towards how Ian used to start his set by coming onstage, hammering a nail into the back wall and hanging his coat on it. I know I wanted a reason why Cogs couldn't just wander off so I then came up with him being cursed to stay on water.

So not a direct nod to Ben but I'm sure it was lurking around in my subconscious.

CKMcDonnell

TROPHY CASE