I went into Project Hail Mary expecting a standard sci-fi blockbuster. Ryan Gosling. Space. Spectacle. The possible extinction of humanity. A lot of science I wouldn't understand. And, to be fair, it has all of those things. What I didn't expect was how much I'd enjoy it. Clearly, I'm not alone. It's been a hit with critics and audiences alike, hovering around 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Now it's available to stream at home, if you missed it at the cinema, I'd highly recommend giving it a watch....

A reader messaged me on Instagram this week to say they cried when they got to Karo's death in The Monkey State. This caught me off guard. When you're writing a novel, you're so focused on making the story work. You're thinking about scenes, dialogue, pacing and all the moving parts. It's easy to forget that readers aren't consuming it like that. They meet characters. Spend time with them. Start to care about them, maybe. It's an odd feeling when someone has such an emotional reaction to a...

Some ideas find you in fun places. Early on in the writing of Book 1, I was visiting my sister and now brother-in-law in Glastonbury. A strange spiritual home of sorts due to its epic musical festival. It was before they had the boys (my two wonderful nephews!) and I found myself alone in a coffee shop, nursing a latte and letting my mind wander. Later that same day I climbed the Tor, ideas brewing, and somewhere between the coffee and the climb, something found its way into the mythology of...