Why is writing like waiting for a bus?

We have reached the half way point of 2026 (HOW?!) and here in Wales we’ve suffered through another heatwave, and this one included the hottest ever temperature recorded in June (35.9C in Bute Park, Cardiff). Yes, climate change is real and it’s only getting hotter. The heat was so difficult to bear that for the first time ever it got me wondering about installing air conditioning in our house.

But, on a nicer note, I do have some very exciting news to share.

In fact, I’ve sold not just one, but TWO stories! As the old saying goes, you wait ages for a bus then two come along at once. I’m thrilled to bits. After a year of many personal rejections and “we really liked this story but we’re not going to take it” type responses, it’s great to make the cut this time.

I am not at liberty to say anything (yet) about one of those sales, only that it will feature in an anthology that is due to be published around the end of the year. I’ll provide more updates as and when I can.

However, I can announce news on my first sale of this year. And I am delighted to say that my humorous fantasy story, “Don’t Forget to Feed Barry”, will feature in the anthology, They Are Still Here, to be published by Wizard’s Tower Press in October 2026. The cover art for the anthology is really cool and, based on the two other anthologies I have (here and here), I know it’s going to be packed with quality stories. I can’t wait to read them and I’ll let you all know when it’s up for sale / pre-order.

This month I read Moby Dick for my book club. It’s a whopper of a book, aptly so for a story about whaling. And reading it got me thinking about my Swedish ancestor and what caused him to become a whaler. Was it a desire to see the world? And is that the same wanderlust that runs through my veins? I wasn’t expecting to have some kind of personal reflection reading this book, but that’s what happened. And I think that’s the beauty of great books. They can transport you to another world, make you stop and think about your place in the world and who you are, and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Regardless of how much I enjoyed Moby Dick, it was worth reading it for that alone. There will be plenty to discuss at this month’s book club meeting.

Last month, I mentioned The Guardian’s list of the 100 greatest novels of all time, as chosen by authors, academics and critics. Well, The Guardian has this month published a list in response, the 100 greatest novels of all time as chosen by their readers. It makes for quite a different list (though there is some overlap, which is to be expected) and there is more space for speculative fiction, which I am here for. And it seems I was not the only one shocked / scandalised / outraged that The Lord of the Rings did not feature at all. But it more than makes up for its omission from the first list in this one. I’ll not say one more thing about it, or where it placed on the readers’ list 😉

My personal tally for the books I have read on the reader’s list is 24/100 (including 5 of the top 10). There are some overlaps in what I read on the first list, and that goes for the books I started and did not finish too. With one exception: I have now, at long last, finally read Moby Dick 🥳

My story sale news means I can tick off one of my writing goals for 2026: to sell a story. That leaves one more goal this year, which is to write the first draft of a novel…

Well, between the heatwave, working on editor comments on my two accepted stories, and trying to read Moby Dick for my book club, I haven’t made any headway (again) on my novel. Still, I suppose that means I have a clear 6 month target to finish it by the end of the year.

This month, I also heard back from or, rather, did not hear back from, the other two short story contests I entered earlier this year: the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award and the Rhys Davies Short Story Contest. Alas, my stories did not make the final shortlist. However, I’ve submitted them both elsewhere and I received a “hold notice” for one from a great ezine, which basically means it’s out of the slush pile and into a shortlist for final consideration. I’ve got my fingers crossed but I’m not holding my breath. Still, exciting nonetheless.

I am a bit reluctant to say I “love” a book about a family getting murdered, but Truman Capote’s writing is just brilliant. He sucks you into Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959, and reconstructs the murder and its investigation so well it’s as if he was a fly on the wall. it’s considered to be the first true crime novel and I’ve yet to read another better than this. And the story behind the book, of how Capote came to write it and his relationship with one of the killers, is so compelling that they’ve made two movies about it: Capote, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Infamous, starring Toby Jones, both of which came out within a year of each other. If you like true crime, then for my money, this is the best one you’ll read.

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What I’ve been reading: As I’ve already mentioned, my book club chose Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, as our book of the month. I was very keen to read this as it’s been on my to-read list for a while. I did start reading it in 2009, but that was while I was laid up in a Chinese hospital recovering from a bout of quinsy and was attempting to read it on my gameboy. Yes, I had a gameboy game that was “30 Literary Classics”, which was in the days before I owned an ebook. I found it tough going in the circumstances and gave up (I was pretty much hooked up to a cannula while reading it, not to mention the tiny screen with about 40 words per page on it!), so I was very keen to get back to it, and I’m glad I pushed for it as this month’s book.

It was by far the longest book in our book club to date and, combined with a few other things going on at the moment, it meant I didn’t get a chance to read anything else this month. At least now I can be one of those smug people that says, “why, yes, of course I’ve read Moby Dick. Haven’t you?” 😆

I’ve added a “What I’m Reading” carousel to the newsletter page on my website, if anyone ever wished to scroll back at the titles.

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

What I’ve been watching: The Residence on Netflix. This is a cozy murder mystery starring Uzo Adoba (Orange is the New Black) as the brilliant but eccentric bird-watching Detective Cordelia Cupp. It’s set in the White House and revolves around the death of the White House’s Chief Usher (Giancarlo Esposito from The Mandalorian and Breaking Bad) during a State Dinner with the Australian Prime Minister and other dignitaries. I used to love watching murder mysteries when I was younger (can you beat Poirot on a lazy Sunday afternoon?) and this was as good as, if not better, than any I’ve ever seen. It was so much fun, there acting was great, there were loads of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end, and it has a great cast (even a cameo from Kylie Minogue). I really hope there’s another season.

Every few months it’s time that I get a haircut. My wife starts making subtle comments that I might want to consider getting a haircut soon, or that perhaps me and my son can go get a haircut together—that’ll be nice, and these comments get increasingly less subtle as I get more and more hirsute as time goes on. My lack of prompt hair cuts is part being badly organised and part (or mostly) summed up by this meme.

You know, I did once let my hair grow out during the Covid pandemic but, unfortunately (and perhaps more so for my wife), I did not look exactly like Aragorn. In fact, I did not look ANYTHING like him. Sadly, no photos exist of that time. Honestly, don’t even bother going to find any. You’d be wasting your time. Honestly…please don’t.

Until next time, keep dreaming.

Joel