Paul Cornell's Friday Newsletter
For 24th November. I'm on Twitch this Sunday! And my stores are back open!
Stitches in Time
This weekend is Stiches in Time, a twenty-four-hour Doctor Who watching marathon with loads of fannish guests, myself included, in aid of trans health care. It runs from 25th-26th November, 3pm to 3pm Pacific Time, and you can go watch the comedic commentary (and, one hopes, donate!) on this link. I’m on at 6am Pacific (2pm GMT) on Sunday 26th. I’m very much looking forward to waking them up and talking Who.
Doctor Who: The Wilderness Years
I’m one of the many people interviewed by Matthew Sweet in this celebration of the gap between old Doctor Who and new. For the next five weeks, wherever you are in the world, you can listen to it free here.
Progressively Horrified
I’m the guest of Jeremy Whitley on the latest episode of his Progressively Horrified podcast, talking about the great horror movie Don’t Look Now.
My Ko-fi Store has Re-opened!
Just in time for the festive season, (and after Thought Bubble) I’ve re-stocked my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised. I’m only quoting UK postage at the moment, but if you’re elsewhere in the world message me in the store and I’ll quote you a postage price.
My eBay Store is now Fully Stocked!
Similarly, I’ve now re-stocked my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices, a Doctor Who item or two and, err, a guide to learning Japanese!
Con and On Collected Edition
The collected edition of Con and On, with all five issues plus some lovely extras, will be out from Ahoy on 26th March, and is now available to pre-order from these links at Amazon UK and Amazon US.
The Night of the Gnomes is Over!
My Witches of Lychford Substack serial Night of the Gnomes ended yesterday. Next week, paid subscribers to this Newsletter will continue their access to weekly episodes with a four-part Christmas Special, Don’t Forget to Catch Me, before the second new Lychford novella starts in January.
If you’d like to read all the previous episodes, and start getting new ones every Thursday at 5pm GMT, you can sign up for $8 (or the equivalent in your currency) per month, or $80 per year.
Hammer House of Podcast
Hammer House of Podcast, in which myself and Lizbeth Myles watch the Hammer horror movies in UK release order, is out on the 13th of every month, with our November episode being about The Satanic Rites of Dracula. You can get these episodes free wherever you normally get your podcasts, as well as on our site, but if you sign up to our Patreon, for any sum of money from £1/$1, you get an extra episode every month too, on the 27th, in which we watch Patron requested movies and films from other horror studios of the same era.
I mean, that is actually what happens, but it’s… just okay.
Find my Books at Bookshop.Org and Help Out Indie Booksellers!
Bookshop.org is a collective selling tool that sets up a marketplace for all indie bookstores in the UK, functioning exactly like Amazon, except you’re supporting your local bookshop. You can find a selection of my books here, and I get a little cut of the proceeds too if you order from here!
My Linktree
You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree!
My Week
Before you ask, bless you, no, still no idea about why I’ve been dizzy and fainting. I’d due for some blood tests and an ECG on Monday. And some other vaguely worrying stuff is going on with the old innards, which is far too dull to trouble you with.
Thomas went to get his covid booster this week, which he moaned about, but about which he was, as ever, pretty brave when the moment came. One lovely thing that’s been going on is that me and him had suspended our game of ‘ball’, ridgidly scheduled at 7.30pm every evening, because it had got too dark for us to see the ball, especially with Thomas bouncing on his trampoline. (The rules are complex and I’m not sure I’ve ever grasped them.) But, at a suggestion from the wonderful Nanny Louise, I bought an illuminated football, one with an LED light inside, and now we’re happily bouncing and kicking and throwing again, and probably causing the neighbours to report UFO sightings.
Work-wise, this week, I’ve been finishing up the third issue of the as-yet announced new creator-owned comic, and finishing another comic series which will start in the New Year and I should be able to tell you about shortly. Thanksgiving means one is working without the feeling of U.S. editors waiting for the material, which takes the pressure off a bit.
I’m also stuck in one of those weeks where the irksome awkardnesses of everyday life pile up a bit. Why can’t I book my airline tickets to L.A. on the website? Did that lady at my bank really pay in my U.S. cheques in pounds and is that why they haven’t shown up in my account? I really should have remembered to book that M.O.T. But last night I went to the monthly meeting of the Festival committee, and we had two new members, and so the existing members all showed off a bit, demonstrated what they could do and who they were and how witty everyone was, and it felt great. I came home and stopped outside my house, still dizzy of course, and looked up at the moon and thanked someone for this evening of relief.
Next week is December, which is, especially for Caroline, but also for me and visiting Liz, a packed time. There’s lots of great stuff, from Kim Newman’s Christmas lunch to the Festive Market to a party at the Vicarage, but there’s also a ton of work. And I’ve got to keep writing Lychford every Thursday!
Thank goodness for the love one finds in the world, and an illuminated ball.
To Be Continued
I hope I see some of you on the Twitch stream on Sunday, and all of you next week!