I never thought I’d ever complain about how little rain we had during a summer, but goodness, was it nice when the heavens opened recently. Our village green was more like the village yellow! Perhaps it’s true that us Brits just love to talk about the weather, and I’m already wondering if we will have an Indian summer or go straight into the crisp Autumn temperatures I love. And with the end of summer, that means the kids are back in school next week (save our youngest, who is only 8 months old; he can take his time growing up thank-you-very-much). I think they are looking forward to going back even if they won’t admit it.

Good news for anyone hoping to get their hands on a copy of WERE-2, which includes my humorous story “Who Are Ewe Calling A Cheat?”. The publication date is tentatively marked as 1 November 2026, which is sooner than I was expecting—Yay!

I have just received an ARC (advance reader copy) of WERE-2 and, as I was not expecting it for another month or so, opening up the package I was like a child on Christmas morning. It really is a lovely book and I am chuffed to be a part of it. I’ve even included a sneaky peak below for you.

The usual ebook suspects are below. For UK readers, make sure to change the store to the UK store, although UK readers will not be able to purchase an ebook from the publisher’s website (the Zombies Need Brains store). However, UK readers can order a paperback of the anthology from the ZNB store directly once the paperback is released on 1 November 2026. Although this date may be changed subject to the printer’s schedule. I’ll keep you posted.

Kindle: www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFLP1QH7

Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/were-2-1

ZNB online store: zombies-need-brains-llc.square.site

Between the heat, work, and school holidays, I’ve been too tired, too busy and too distracted to do much writing this month. Truthfully, I feel drained mentally and have struggled to summon the motivation to write. Perhaps it’s my mind telling me I need a breather, or I need a looming deadline to get me going (that usually helps!). My book club commitment has kept me reading through the fatigue this month, which is always great for keeping the creative juices flowing (even if it is only at a treacle-like pace), and I have sketched out a few ideas for short stories, including upcoming anthology calls and my next entry for the Jim Baen SF Memorial Contest. So, in the round, it doesn’t feel like a total flop, just not as productive as I might have liked.

…where I recommend one of my favourite books and discuss what I’ve been reading this month.

I am a big fan of George Orwell who is a writer who has never been not relevant, sadly perhaps never more so than today. So it is long overdue that I recommend one of his books. Aspidistra is one of his lesser known books but it involves a conflict that will resonate with many creatives: whether to pursue your passion into a life of poverty (in this case, as a poet), or continuing in a profession that keeps you comfortable yet unfulfilled creatively.

I read this book not long after I had made the decision to train as a solicitor, knowing it could mean my dreams to be a writer were buried (though at the time that dram was very much a dirty little secret I had told no one but my wife). I certainly have no regrets about my decision and I know I am in a very fortunate position where I can write for passion and joy without the pressure of writing to pay the bills. But this book offers a glimpse into the “what if” had I chosen otherwise.

This month, my book club chose (at my recommendation) The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, which won the Booker Prize in 2022. My wife bought me this for Christmas last year and she always does a great job of selecting books that she thinks I’ll like, rather than ones I put on my gift list. And this one is a wild ride. It follows Maali Almeida, a recently murdered war photographer in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1990. He is now a ghost, of sorts, and is not yet in any After Life but rather floating around viewing the events of the days after his murder. He has seven moons (days) to undertake a few tasks to allow him to head into The Light. However, instead, he uses this time to find out who murdered him by following around (sometimes against his will) those who speak his name. It takes the reader through various events in the early days of the Sri Lankan civil war (1983-2009) and we meet plenty of unsavoury characters (being generous in that description).

It is quite a surreal book, somewhat mystical and—in parts—comedic, but it also taught me about the Sri Lankan civil war, which I knew little about other than the fact the Tamil Tigers (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE in the book)) were fighting for a separate Tamil nation state. I also learned that the great sci-fi writer, Arthur C. Clarke, who was born in the UK, actually spent about five decades living in Sri Lanka, which I agree with the narrator means he can properly be claimed as a Sri Lankan writer.

Overall I enjoyed it. It really picked up in the last half of the book, so much so I found it very hard to put down as the book started to race toward its climax where we find out how Maali died and who killed him. I’d certainly recommend it.

Disclosure: To cover some of my running costs, I have incorporated affiliate links from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops, and, if you prefer ebooks, Amazon Kindle. If you buy books linked to my site or newsletter, I may earn a commission.

With the end of summer, that means the kids are back in school next week (save our youngest, who is only 8 months old; he can take his time growing up thank-you-very-much). It feels only fitting to include a back to school meme.

Our kids are at that very busy stage where they want you to play with them all the time. So, it will be nice to have some peace and quiet in the house while I am working, after a summer of noise, squabbles and anarchy…for a few days anyway. Then I’ll miss their little faces about the place, their giggles, and being asked to check out some cool Lego construction or my daughter’s drawings / crafts when I should be reading some boring legal document. Sigh…

Until next time, keep dreaming.

Joel