It's here! Thrill-Power Overload is here!

My author's copies of THRILL-POWER OVERLOAD: The Official History of 2000 AD, the Galaxy's Greatest Comic arrived yesterday, just after noon. Six years of work, more than a hundred interviews, millions of words transcribed and now it's all boiled down into a single, weighty tome [known as TPO hereafter for the sake of brevity, as TPOTOHOTTGGC doesn't exactly roll off the tongue]. First of all, it looks great. Rebellion have down me proud with the design, so it was worth all the waiting. A big, meaty, and bloody heavy hardcover, the book has a recommended retail price of £34.99. Not cheap, I know, but you can order it from Amazon for considerably less [click the link on the right hand side of this blog for details].

No doubt there are errors and mistakes in it - a book this big, they're bound to creep in along the way. But overall I'm more than satisfied with the finished product. It's been a long, long journey and I'm relieved to have made it to the end. Feels like the capstone on a 17-year involvement with 2000 AD and its many spin-offs. Ironically, my copies arrived just as I was walking out the door to interview another long-standing contributor to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. We talked for hours and hours about his career, much of which will make its way into a multi-part feature for the Judge Dredd Megazine. That's exactly how TPO started back in 2001. I heart symmetry.

In other news, people invited to the next stage of the BBC Writers' Academy selection process have been getting emails asking to a two-day workshop in London next month. Can't say I've received the summoning, which suggests I didn't make the cut. No doubt the polite rejection email will arrive tomorrow, probably while I'm in Glasgow visiting the BBC's new Scottish headquarters at Pacific Quay. In all honesty, I'm not disheartened to have dipped out. Many hundreds of people submitted material, so it was always a longshot to make the next stage, let alone be chosen for the academy.

I agonised before applying this year, thinking it was probably a year too soon for me. By this time next year I hope to another radio drama commission, at least one more TV calling card script under my belt and will perhaps even have done some work experience as a TV script editor. I'll certainly have finished my screenwriting MA and been able to watch Doctors, EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City on a more regular basis - a crucial element in earning your place within the academy. So, why'd I apply this time? You can't win a frozen chook if you don't buy a raffle ticket.