10 November 2016

One Last Post

This website was conceived as a diary of my successes (and failures) as a ‘hobby’ writer. Despite being published 47 times in various books, anthologies, magazines and comics over the last 3 years, my new job and a hectic family life have unfortunately conspired to put a temporary, but likely lasting stop to my writing output.

All of the posts on this website (all 148 of them!) will remain active for now and a full list of my published works can still be found at the top of this page.

COLT-45 and the other books in which my stories appear are all available via Amazon and links to them can be found on this website.

Thank you for your support.

7 November 2016

TIME

Time is precious.

I remember being ‘bored’ as a kid and now find it strange that I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt that way. If only…

In early 2015, I was promoted into a managerial job which quickly took away a lot of my ‘spare’ time and inevitably, my writing output began to suffer. That precious hour or so in an evening (without the kids!) is simply not enough time to continuously and seamlessly work on either a comic script or book and as a result, my writing has effectively stopped.

Over the last eighteen months or so, those stories that I’ve had published were mostly already complete and so were either looking for a home, or sitting on some editor’s desk awaiting final publication.

I currently have a couple of scripts still awaiting an artist (one story for Something Wicked has been waiting for over two years now) and so any hope of them seeing publication soon is slim. When they do, I will of course update my ‘published work’ page.

It’s therefore somewhat fitting, that as I now find myself without the time to actively pursue a career as a ‘hobby’ writer, I look back at some of the highs and lows of the last few years. Indeed, this website was originally conceived as a diary of my success/failures, something for me to hopefully look back on with a degree of pride.

Lows

-           -     That the comic book version of COLT-45 never became a reality. Despite a successful Kickstarter campaign, the artist unfortunately failed to deliver.

-            -     I spent more time on my ‘Next of Kin’ project than anything else (bar my book) and it was a little disappointing for the artist to give up when we couldn’t secure a publisher. More so as I would have found a way to fund the project myself.

-            -     Fast forward to the present day. My current job and a busy family life have effectively conspired to put a hold on my writing and with it, any hope of writing a second book.

Highs

-            =   Publication of my first book, the novella ‘COLT-45’. Despite few people (but my kids) actually reading it, I’m still immensely proud of something which took me about 1000 hours and over two years to complete.

-           -      Since the publication of my very first story back in 2013, I’ve managed to get a grand total of 47 stories published in 3 years!! The challenge I first set myself was to get a comic script published and I’m pleased to say I’ve somewhat exceeded that.

-          -      I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented artists and I’m especially grateful to Trystan Mitchell, Dan Cornwell, Edward Whatley and Jake Lynch.


Overall, I’ve enjoyed being a part of so many writing projects and I certainly don’t regret the time I’ve spent doing them. Going forward, there are perhaps a couple of old scripts I might brush off and I dare say I might even have a go at a short story completion or two, but it’s fair to say that this website will be a quieter place from here on in….


Time is indeed precious and it seems that as far as writing is concerned, it’s no longer on my side.

5 November 2016

British Showcase Anthology Volume #2

This weekend sees the launch of the British Showcase Anthology Volume#2 at one of the UK’s biggest and brightest comic conventions, Thought Bubble. Published by Markosia and edited by Adam Cheal, it features a ‘showcase’ of British comic writing and artistry… and me.

‘Blast Into The Past’ sees me once again working with Trystan Mitchell on a story that was both written and drawn several years ago, having taken this long for BSA#2 to finally see the light of day.

At 101 pages long and with 12 wonderfully illustrated stories, this graphic novel really is a showcase and the perfect way for me to bow out as a ‘hobby writer’.

BSA#2 is available in digital from here or in paperback here.



Enjoy!

31 October 2016

Hallowscream 2016

Today is Halloween and that, of course, means Hallowscream!

I had my first story published in this annual Horror comic back in 2014 (here) and this year, Ghastly McNasty himself has once again seen fit to publish another terrible tale. 'Endless Love' is written by by myself and has the artistic talents of Davy Francis.

Click here or on the cover below to download your own FREE 2016 edition of Hallowscream.

Happy Halloween!



2 October 2016

British Showcase Anthology #2

Next month sees the launch of the British Showcase Anthology Volume 2 and it gives me great pleasure to announce that one of my stories was selected to be showcased in its hallowed pages. The anthology itself will be published by one of the UKs biggest comics Publishers, Markosia and has been once again edited by the unstoppable Adam Cheal.

‘Blast Into The Past’ has been wonderfully illustrated by my oft artist-partner-in-crime and fellow Boltonian, Trystan Mitchell.


More info to follow as the launch approaches, but for now, here’s the rear cover with list of contributers:


18 September 2016

COLT-45 Anniversary

It's hard to believe it was fully a year ago, that COLT-45 was first published on Kindle format.



As a part of this anniversary celebration, COLT-45 will be FREE for the next couple of days!

Click on the picture above and enjoy!


11 September 2016

100% Bio #13 Review

It's a great feeling when one of your stories gets a nice review, especially when it's a part of such great company as within 100% Biodegradable #13.

A Place To Hang Your Cape is a superb comic resource website, with a vast array of articles and reviews all put together by by a dedicated team of writers. The quote they've given to 'Atomic Control' I think sums the story up perfectly:-

"Chris Redfern's narrative dovetails perfectly with Edward Whatley's art in what can best be described as an old-school meets new-school mash up."

Edward Whatley's artwork is as stunning as ever and deserved of the praise given:

"Whatley’s traditional drawing technique is supercharged by modern methods of digital colouring and image manipulation..."

You can read the rest of our review and for the other stories here.

(and thanks to 100% Editor Dave Hailwood for letting us be a part of this issue!)



28 August 2016

Prompted Tales - The Scout

The challenge set by the Editors at Prompted Tales was this, to create a short story in 100 words, no more, no less.

Sounds like my kind of challenge.

The story they published is called 'The Scout' and can be found via the link below.

Enjoy!

https://promptedtales.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/the-scout/


9 July 2016

Secrets and Dreams - Published!

One of my perhaps more 'experimental' short stories has been published in the latest anthology by Kind of a Hurricane Press

Incredibly, ' Letting Go' was chosen from a total of 823 submissions!

The book can be downloaded for FREE here or bought from Amazon as a paperback here






29 June 2016

Published! 100% Biodegradable #13

Well, here it is....



Look at that! What a cover!

It's been an honour to once again team up with the incredible Edward Whatley and provide the cover story 'Atomic Control' for this issue. Thanks also to Dave Hailwood, as ever, doing a sterling job of Editor-In-Chief of this magnificent comic and to the other creators inside #13 whose stories are truly worth your viewing/reading pleasure.

Want a copy?

Yours for only 69p! and available from here.

17 June 2016

Hallowscream 2016

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have a story published in Hallowscream and it now looks like this year's comic will have my name in the credits once again!

'Endless Love' was previously published by Uproar Comics several years ago (as blogged here), but with Uproar folding not long after the comic came out, it never really saw much exposure.

Thankfully, Mr Ghastly McNasty himself decided that both my story and Davy Francis's artwork were good enough to be a part of his popular Halloween styled comic.

Here's a teaser of what's to come...


4 June 2016

100% Biodegradable #13

John Freeman has put up a great promo piece for 100 Biodegradable #13 on his internationally renown website - downthetubes.com

Choosing the artwork of Edward Whatley to preview the issue is a tribute to Edward's incredible skill, attention to detail and colouring expertise.

Click on Edward's work below to link to the website story itself:-


100% Biodegradable #13 will be on sale next month!

14 May 2016

A Little Update

It's good to finally have a physical copy of The Gathering in my hands. Printed in America by GrayHaven Comics, it features the story 'Desperate Measures' which was very ably drawn by Edward Whatley.

In other news, I've had another script accepted by Futurquake and so the wait for an artist begins there. I've also seen the draft of 'Secrets and Dreams' by Kind of a Hurricane Press. It'll be great to see my own story within the pages of such a outstanding anthology.


23 March 2016

100% Bio #12 Released!

It's official, 'Area 101' has a new home! Released within the hallowed pages of 100% Biodegradable #12, the story was written by myself and features the wonderful artwork of Dan Cornwell.

To get your hands on a copy for only 69p - YES ONLY 69p! - click on the cover below...


1 March 2016

100% Biodegradable #12

Dave Hailwood, the Editor of 100% Biodegradable has published a sneak peak on their Facebook page of my story that's due to appear in the upcoming issue 12 .

With artwork by the rising star himself, Dan Cornwell, the story is called 'Area 101' and was originally published a few years ago in the ill fated Metaverse Anthology.

Click here for the link to Facebook.

Interestingly, Dave's decided to have a rear cover for this issue and happily for me, it's based on 'Area 101'. Even more happliy, it's been done by Brett Burbridge.

Brett has done a simply stunning adaptation of one of the stories main characters, styling the cover on both Dan's work and his own. I think you'd agree, it's simply out of this world...



13 February 2016

The Gathering - Released!

A story I did with Edward Whatley called 'Desperate Measures' is now available to buy from Grayhaven Comics.

It appears in their latest Sci-Fi Anthology called 'The Gathering', which features an array of other great indie artists and writers (as well as little old me!)

It's an American comic, but 48 pages for $3.50 still sounds good to me!


7 February 2016

Secrets and Dreams

I'm delighted to announce that one of my flash fiction stories has been accepted into the latest anthology from Kind of a Hurricane Press. The story is called 'Letting Go' and will feature in a book called 'Secrets and Dreams' to be published in the coming months.

Incredibly, my story was chosen from a total number of 823 submissions!



12 January 2016

Atomic Control Cover

Edward Whatley has produced a stunning cover to accompany his artwork for 'Atomic Control' and there's a good chance it'll be used for the front cover of 100% Biodegradable itself!

It's a twist on the old horror / mystery comics, but using several sci-fi elements and characters from the 'Atomic Control' story itself.

I think you'll agree, it's a fantastic piece of artwork.





10 January 2016

AATW Released

My story 'All Along The Watchtower' has just been released!

With fantastically trippy artwork by David Snell, it's included in the very first issue of Sliced Quarterly, a new experimental comic anthology.

Issue #1 can be downloaded for FREE by clicking the picture link below...




9 January 2016

2015 - A Summary of My Writing

If 2014 was about writing my first book, then 2015 was thankfully about finishing it. After the final edits were completed in summer and with no real success at finding an ebook publisher, I quickly made the decision to self-publish.

For anyone toying with the idea of self-publishing, it really isn’t as difficult as you might think. It’s a major reason why, in recent years, there’s been a 400% increase in self-published books, an area that now accounts for 40% of the market. I chose Amazon Kindle for initial publication, followed by Createspace a short time later for the paperback version. Each process was very user friendly, needing some changes to the MS Word formatting and of course, an eye catching cover! Step forward Trystan Mitchell. Trys managed to produce a stunning cover for me, perfectly fitting with both the style and the market I was looking for. And so that was it. One click and I was officially an author on Amazon!

Sales so far haven’t exactly set the world on fire, (JK Rowling is probably safe for now), but during my ‘free ebook’ offers with Kindle Select, a large number of free copies were downloaded. Surely this means there are at least few people in the world with COLT-45 on their tablets!? The greatest compliment however, was the fact that my two eldest sons genuinely enjoyed the story – mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned. (As an aside, thanks must also go to my Dad, who went and bought a dozen paperback copies and then gave them away as Christmas presents to friends & family – better than receiving a new tie I hope!)

So, after almost two years of dedicating the major share of my writing focus towards the book, COLT-45 is finally out there and the sense of achievement is massive. I’ve already been asked if there might be a follow up, but unfortunately my new job is extremely demanding and it’s left me with little free time. However, I do have several ideas simmering away, one of them even started, but it might be a while before anything sees print this time around.

I also had a couple comic scripts published in 2015, ones rolled over from the year before. ‘It’s a Dirty Job’ became my first story to be published in a National magazine, appearing in the March edition of SCREAM and featuring the artwork of Paul McCallan. Secondly was ‘Timepoint’, again with Trystan Mitchell, which was printed in ‘The Psychedelic Journal of Time Travel’ and launched at Thought Bubble in November. Finally, as Christmas was approaching, I decided to send a piece of flash fiction to a new website with the hope of it sitting in their slush pile for a few months. Imagine my surprise when Friday Flash Fiction published ‘Arise Ovis Aries’ only a few days later. A good result to end the year with.

So, what does 2016 hold?

‘Desperate Measures’ with Edward Whatley will see print by publishers Grayhaven Comics in the coming months. ‘All Along the Watchtower’ with David Snell will be a part of the launch issue of Sliced Quarterly and ‘Atomic Control’ will showcase EdwardWhatley’s best artwork to date within the forthcoming pages of 100% Biodegradable.

With regards to ‘Next of Kin', Pete Woods has completed some incredible artwork and we're currently looking at where to go with in next.

If only I had more time!