My first introduction to the phrase “four eyes” came in trying to understand the strange alien creature Twoflower depicted by Josh Kirby on the cover of The Colour of Magic. It was several months after finishing the book as an eight year-old that I got the joke. Since then, I’ve developed an appreciation for having an extra pair of eyes look at my work. Or, in the case of Escape From Portsrood Forest, four extra pairs of eyes. And let me tell you, the book is so much better thanks to their honest and helpful input. Some of the phrases I’ve had addressed at me over the last few weeks by my playtesters have been: “the writing is…

Escape From Portsrood Forest is essentially an experience of wandering around an enchanted forest, filled with mythical creatures at every turn. But that’s not what makes Portsrood Forest enchanted. In fact, I’d argue that every forest is enchanted. I’ve found a tendency to treat trees like stones – interesting bits of scenery – when they’re so much more than that. Trees can feel, communicate, and care for their own children. Trees can see, count, play, move, and make decisions. Trees are alive. More alive than I think we realise. I hope that I’ve captured my awe in the presence of the remarkable creatures that trees are in the pages of Escape. In many gamebooks, the star of the…

Reading a gamebook can be a disappointing experience for several reasons. Poor creativity, lack of realism (or, at least, internal consistency) and plain old bad writing are up there, and those are common problems with every book out there. Gamebooks also have a unique opportunity to disappoint through the challenge they present to the reader, and the subsequent satisfaction in completing it. Probably my favourite of the Fighting Fantasy books is still Creature of Havoc, and one of the most positively received modern gamebooks is Victoria Hancox’s Nightshift, for that very reason – overcoming the high level of challenge is part of the fun, and they’re both books that are enjoyable to return to as well. So in…

My new book will be launching very soon – if you’d like me to contact you when it’s live, please do get in touch. I thought it might be interesting to give some context around why Escape From Portsrood Forest got written now. The Entram trilogy is waiting for its third book, and when New Gaia launched just before Christmas, the intention I’d laid out for myself was for the finale to be out by Easter. The plan and much of the content was already written – this was perfectly possible – but I found myself suddenly in the midst of a stressful house move. My ability to write seemed to go out of the window. I wasn’t…

I’m pretty much done with the writing part of a new book, and it’s been quite a different writing process from my others. With both The Altimer and New Gaia there is broadly one true path through the book, and so the intuitive way to write was to do it in a relatively linear way. The new book, Escape From Portsrood Forest, is much more non-linear. It has just over 50 distinct locations, all of which can be visited in any order from any direction and multiple times. So there’s been a challenge to write them such that they make sense to the reader regardless of whether they’ve just started out their adventure or are about to conclude…

Just take a moment to appreciate the image below. It might not seem that exciting at first glance, but it really is. It’s the wall I’m sitting in front of in my new house, and that means good news for the final in the Entram trilogy because my brain is finally working properly again. Expect good news in due course (notwithstanding current events, which will have unpredictable consequences, I’m sure). Thanks to everyone for bearing with me while I’ve been away from the adventure!