Always, if you can, start with a song.

Welcome to saxonbullock.com, version 2.0. Well, technically it’s probably closer to version 2.8 considering how many attempts it’s taken to get this redesign up, for a whole lot of varied reasons (plus, there’s still some polishing and sorting out that needs to happen in certain areas), but this is the new site – shiny, colourful, and full of exciting things (with more to be added on a regular basis). I’m going to be trying to blog a little more regularly now that the site actually looks the way I want it to, as well as doing some regular looks back at some articles and reviews from my illustrious-if-accidental career as a film journalist.

Of course, there is the fact that November is in danger of being a month of being insanely busy – in a couple of days, Emma and I are off to World Fantasy Con in Brighton, which will involve hanging out in a hotel, getting absurdly drunk and talking lots with various members of SF and Fantasy fandom and publishing. I’m feeling a little reticent about it, thanks to this being the first SF con I’ve been to for eighteen months since various events in 2012 gave my confidence a right kicking. Despite WFC apparently going out of its way to appear terribly serious and ridiculously unwelcoming (there’ve been various storms – most recently, the announcement that if you lose your con badge, it’ll cost you £75 to get a replacement (and if it happens again, you have to pay your registration again)), there’s going to be a wide variety of interesting people there, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have a healthy amount of fun.

And two and a bit weeks after that, there’s the Thought Bubble Comic Convention in Leeds, which has such an insane bounty of cool guests attending that I’m likely to spend most of the con in a state of bug-eyed wonder. Last year’s con was splendid – if this year’s gets close, it’ll be extravagantly good.

Inbetween this, I have a ton of work to do for my course, which so far is progressing in a fascinating if damn intense way. I have even, much to my shock, written a short story – and the crit/workshop session that gave me feedback on it has resulted in me going in a really interesting (if much darker) direction for the rewrite. University is continuing to be a wonderfully odd but hugely rewarding experience, and I genuinely feel like I’m learning stuff, and my writing already feels like it’s getting better.

I could tell you more – about the writing group I’m now part of, about my mad adventures in Star Wars roleplay games, and my attempt to somehow get my head around the idea of maybe doing a Creative Writing PhD at some point in the not-too-distant future. But right now, I’m just going to relax, and go with it. There’s lots to do in the next couple of days – but my website looks good, life is treating me well, and I’m sure I’ll have the chance to get everything sorted. Time to get myself in the rocket, strap myself in, and hit the button marked “Blast Off”….