Finalists announced!

I'm thrilled to be announcing that AutoAngels is a finalist for this amazing award.

To be recognised for the work we are doing, and so soon after our launch is just amazing. Keep your fingers crossed for us! 

OUT NOW!

I am delighted to say that Volume 4 of the Owners series is out now and available as an ebook and in paperback.

Bigger and bolder than before!

This year our film festivals are bigger and better than ever. Stratford on Avon Film Festival now has an evening awards ceremony with buffet and free drink from the bar for an incredible £22.

Not to be outdone, Birmingham Horror Film Festival now boasts a horror convention alongside the film festival and has even more news to come.

There is still time to submit films to both festivals and for traders to book the last few remaining tables - but be quick!

Hear me talk about my books and other projects.

This Sunday at midday you can hear me talk about my most recent books, films and other projects on the Listen with Lee show on Black Country Radio.

http://www.blackcountryradio.co.uk/.../black-country-xtra/

It's also available on demand at https://www.blackcountryradio.co.uk/.../black.../on-demand/

Thanks to Lee Benson for being an amazing interviewer and for inviting me onto his show.

Are you bored? Need something fresh?

Do something more exciting. Get your tickets now!

https://filmfreeway.com/StratfordonAvonFilmFestival/tickets

Earlybird submissions still open

Love science fiction and fantasy? So do we! 

That's why we run Envisage International Film Festival - a WHOLE FESTIVAL dedicated to the very best independent science fiction and fantasy films. Hosted in the amazing Millennium Point, it's set to be a festival that will thrill and delight audiences. 

So if you have a feature, short or micro short, submit it now. Earlybird submissions are still open and you might just end up being the proud owner of one of these...

And don't forget we also have a horror festival and convention, Birmingham Horror Film Festival and the all genre festival, Stratford on Avon Film Festival. 

So get submitting now!

Dreaming Big

Several years ago I bought a house which was in a really bad state of repair. I knew it would be a tonne of work. But I had no idea of the nightmares that would arise in what appeared to be an idyllic spot. 

Follow the journey with me in posts coming soon. 

 

             

Stratford on Avon Film Festival

Have we got an event for you, coming up! 

Nestled right in the centre of historic Stratford-Upon-Avon is the Stratford on Avon Film Festival, and this year it's going to be bigger and better than ever. 

A ticket for a block of films is just £3.50 or you can immerse yourself in film for the whole day for just £12. 

Tickets to the awards event are priced at £22 per person and include a finger buffet and drink from the bar. Book your tickets here.

Happy World Book Day!

 

I had intended to publish another book, Volume 4 of this series in fact, for World Book Day - in other words, today. 

But if you've scrolled through these blog posts, you'll have seen how busy I've been. And the truth is that what you are seeing here, is only a fraction of the projects I have underway. 

So hold onto your hats as there's more to come. And I promise Volumes 4 and 5 of this series will be out soon. 

WE HAVE LAUNCHED!!

 For the past two years I have had to keep something under wraps as we filmed episodes and prepared for the big reveal. 

Yesterday we went live. 

AutoAngels means so much to me. The ethos of helping people and giving back to the community is at the heart of nearly everything I do. But it's not just about fixing cars for people, it's about encouraging people to enter the world of mechanics and STEM in general. 

So please take a look, subscribe and share - because we all need some angels in our lives. 

Come talk to me about my latest book releases.

Tickets can be purchased here or via Facebook.

 

Sci-fi, Horror and Film Memorabilia Traders Wanted

Thanks to Solihull College and University Centre

A couple of days ago I did a talk at Solihull College and University Centre to a group of young filmmakers. Talking with them, their grasp of the industry was clear as was their enthusiasm, and I believe that their futures are bright. 

But there is no denying that this is a tough industry to crack. That's why our team at  Envisage International Film Festival, Birmingham Horror Film Festival and Stratford-upon-Avon Film Festival are so keen to promote student films and indie filmmakers. 

Keep your eyes peeled for our big news coming soon. 

College and school talks

In the coming months I will be popping up here, there and everywhere, as I give talks at a number of schools and colleges about writing, publishing books, writing for film and TV, and running film festivals. I'm absolutely thrilled to be encouraging and ushering a new generation of  creatives into the industry. 

People have a skewed idea of what working in this industry is like. Some think it's a never-ending barrel of laughs, like the blooper reels from films and TV series we see so often on social media. Some think it's a hard, hostile, dog-eat-dog environment, and others think it's all champagne, red carpet events and glamour. The truth is of course, a lot more complex. 

I personally have gone full circle, more or less. When I was at school I wanted to be an actress and so at eighteen I left for London and the glamour that supposedly waited there. I never imagined that all these years later I'd be working on the other side of the camera, and that in 2025 I'd be busier than ever. 

New book release.

Well I promised you big things this year, and I like to keep my word. 

Girl Displaced is a book I thought I might never actually finish. I started it several years ago and I think I only got as far as the first few paragraphs before I had to put it aside to write a film for a client. When I managed to get back to it I completed the first few pages before I had to put it aside again. 

It was years before I returned, just last year. I was determined to sit down and write it. So I cleared my schedule for a few weeks and wrote hard and fast. The result is the book you see today. 

Girl Displaced marries two worlds I know so well - Birmingham and the Ayrshire coast - and tells a tale of a girl who no longer rightfully belongs in either. I hope you enjoy it. x

New year, old me...

Well 2025 has started with a roar and I'm working as hard as I ever do. But more news on that later. 

 Here's the first new book for this year. I hope you enjoy it. You can find it on Amazon here. 

Merry Christmas and may 2025 be as interesting as 2024 but in a nicer way...

 Merry Christmas one and all. 

I'm not going to lie, 2024 has been a challenging year but then, haven't they all? There have been some real highs and some spectacular lows. 

I set up Filmmakers United CIC and Envisage International Film Festival which is already receiving lots of film submissions, and I have realised a tonne of things, both metaphorical and actual. I've watched some amazing films whilst hosting the Stratford on Avon Film Festival and the Birmingham Horror Film Festival and I've been nothing but impressed by the standard of the films and documentaries. 

Now that I'm watching and rating the submissions that are pouring in for Envisage International Film Festival, I'm humbled by the talent I see around me, so much so that recently whilst watching a much acclaimed film on TV by a globally-known director, I ended up comparing the new films to that older one. 

The acting in the old film is still phenomenal but everything else has suffered the curse of the passage of time. The dialogue was dated, the camera skills clunky and it was too heavy in close-up "dramatic shots". But more damning was the attitude and concept of the film which centred around the fact that a man had been imprisoned for rape but - and get this -  it was most likely wrongful imprisonment because the prosecuting lawyer "had buried" the fact that the "girl was promiscuous". Sorry, what? 

I'm not going to delve into societal changes which are now reflected on our screens - that's a whole different conversation. My point is that line would never have been written in a modern film - and the world is a better place for that shift. And yet I am jarred by the realisation that I have found myself emotionally back where I was in my twenties, striving forward, desperate to change the world for the better, but this time filled with less hope and more acknowledgement that I am but a minute speck in the universe. 

Recently having had Covid for the umpteenth time I missed a social event I was due to attend and afterwards I was told I was missed. I think the surprise on my face showed. I can't imagine anyone missed me at all. And yet this year has brought great validation for my work from both my peers and from those much more established and higher up the industry ladder than I. 

My little animation got five film festival nominations, one of which was from the Royal Television Society no less, and I have genuinely lost count of the amount of people who told me they were touched by it. TV commissioners have gone out of their way to tell me how much they love my scripts and people I have worked with have given genuine praise and  congratulations. I've been told over and over that I'm a joy to work with and that my work deserves success and yet I feel like a coiled spring inside. 

All my life I've aimed to make the world a better, kinder place. I've rescued animals, I've volunteered for charities, I've done a tonne of stuff that might have impacted one or two lives for the better, but never really made a huge difference anywhere. My plan remains to use the profits from my various companies to do the job better. But there is still so much cruelty everywhere. I turn on the news and am bombarded with sickening images and stories. Instagram and social media in general is a scroll through cruelty interspersed with vacuous people sharing pointless posts. 

I spent two days this week trying to find the owners of a very ill cat I'd found before it got put to sleep; I rescued lots of pigeons and birds which didn't make it and my soul aches with the seeming futility of it all. And then yesterday I saw the most beautiful, lush fox in my garden, and I was reminded that there is still so much beauty in the world. So much to still keep fighting for. 

Next year I shall be launching several new books and have a lot of exciting news to announce so until then I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. But if you are like me and not currently filled with the joys of the season, just remember you're not alone in feeling more than a little blue. 

Until 2025... x 

 

Envisage International Film Festival

Two days ago I pressed a button which set a chain of events into motion. Perhaps you'll remember that I said I had 5 big announcements to make? Well this is the first of them. 

Envisage International Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing all independent productions of a science fiction or fantasy nature. If you've never really thought about those genres then let me be more specific. This includes space opera (think Star Wars and Star Trek, A Space Odessy, etc), dystopian works (the likes of The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games) and so on. 

As a writer of science fiction it's always fascinated me when people tell me they don't like science fiction or fantasy genres... and then tell me the films and TV shows they do like, such as Avatar, Fantastic Beasts and Stranger Things. Because guess what? Those things exactly fit the genres I love so much. 

So back to Envisage. It's brand new and brought to you by the team behind Stratford On Avon Film Festival and Birmingham Horror Film Festival. It's going to debut at the amazing Millennium Point in Birmingham, and its entry fees are super affordable, starting at £5 for a micro short submission. 

So what are you waiting for? Get submitting. Click here to read more about the festival. 

Coming soon...

 I have loads of exciting news but right now I'm not at liberty to tell. So here's a quick peek at just one of my big announcements coming soon. 

Guess what this is...click here.

Sad but not sad...

        

Just James didn't win an award in its category at The Royal Television Society but I really didn't mind. 

To be nominated alongside three other animations from large, established and very professional teams was enough for me. One day Rodders, one day...