2024 for me.

 

When I thought about what I was going to write for this blog entry at the end of November, it was going to start something like this:

The year has been a real rollercoaster ride, but it finally settled down with me in a good job, a great plan for the future, and my writing projects all laid out. It's so nice to feel settled after all I've been through after being made redundant from my old job. Onwards and upwards.

But, just when I thought life had finally settled down and things were going my way, the rug was pulled from under me spectacularly.

On Monday the 2nd of December, I arrived at my job to find the depot boss already in. He asked if I had a minute. After sitting in his office, he sighed, and I knew something was up. He informed me that, because of the Labour government's budget, the company had been forced to introduce cost-cutting measures, and since I was at the end of my probation period, I was being let go. I'd never truly felt the sensation of everything crashing down around me until then. Don't get me wrong, some moments in the past had come pretty close, but that moment tops them all. What made it hurt all the more was that the week before, I'd expressed my concerns about my job, and he had assured me I was safe. But, over the weekend, the upper management had overruled him. He was genuinely sorry to let me go, and I could tell by the look on his face. So, I said my goodbyes and left.

It was the coldest, loneliest walk home I'd ever had, and it's painful to remember as I write this. The worst part was that I had to go home to an empty house. Nobody was there to talk to except the horrible silence. I was a mess.

I started job hunting right away, but there was no luck. I was unemployed for two weeks before friends at my old job put me in contact with the agency the company used. I ended up back there, the one place I'd thought was long behind me. It was nice to see a lot of the old faces, and that made it easier, but the pain of losing a job I loved was still heavy in my chest. I went back there to pick up a Christmas hamper that had been ordered for me before my departure. My former boss and I talked, and he said the place hadn't been the same since I'd left. They were tough words to hear but also nice in some small way. He suspected there was a slight possibility of me returning there, depending on how things went over the next few years, but I couldn't see it with this current government. So, I collected my things and left. I can't see myself ever going back there, but life is funny like that, isn't it?

During my year, I'd managed to get Detective in Mind 2: Rogue finished and released. Given all that I'd gone through, I had even forgotten to blog about its release, and I feel stupid about that. However, the book sold well, and books 1 and 2 are still selling to this day. I'm insanely grateful to the community for that, and at the time of writing this, book 3 is in the works. My old job's main office area has a small bookshelf consisting mainly of cookery books. My old boss bought a copy of each and put them there without telling me. When I spotted them, I was so touched, and I take some comfort in the fact they are still there. It's like I left my own little mark on the place.

"Justin was here," I suppose.

I don't know what 2025 holds for me. I'll watch for a full-time job, but with this current Labour government, who knows. I know I'll never vote for either them or the Conservatives ever again. Say what you like about that, but one party put the country in a fine mess, and the other made it worse, trying to improve things. In the UK, we're truly at the point where there are no good choices anymore, and it's such a shame.

But, I shall carry on. I don't want my life or writing to suffer, but I've had one hell of a hurdle to overcome. The wound of my job loss is still raw and will take some time to heal, but I can be thankful I have some great family and friends around me to help with that.

I'll finish this blog entry by encouraging anyone reading this to treasure those around you. You'll never know when you need them the most.

Celebrating the Good Stuff: Kamen America.

 

When it came to backing Yaira, or anything to do with Rippaverse Comics, I was late to the party. When it came to backing Kamen America, or anything to do with Antarctic Press and Iconic Comics, I was very late to the party. This wasn't the fault of those involved, I had been burned by the lateness of certain CG products and had become much more selective with who I gave my money to. The online drama certainly didn't help with this, although those involved with Rippaverse, Antarctic, and Iconic have been involved with that the least, as this documentary shows. Still, I was apprehensive.

After Yaira was such a fun read, I decided to try Kamen America, given what I had seen of it on Twitter. I got hold of a copy of issue one, Stars and Strife, and was immediately taken with the fun and vibrant art within. After being caught in an explosive accident, our heroine, Carly, gains superpowers and is signed up by a media relations agency, given a crappy super hero name and back story, and sent out to fight monsters and villains. It isn't smooth sailing. She learns to navigate these choppy waters before eventually going it alone.

The writing is fun, contained nothing cringe-worthy, and gave us a character worth investing in. The art also comes across as fun, not to mention colourful and dramatic, especially when Carly finally becomes Kamen America.

It's obvious that the series has a legion of fans and quite rightly so. As far as I'm aware, Timothy Lim and Mark Pellegrini have only ever been late with one book. That was by three weeks, and it was due to a delay with a perk that was shipped with the book in question. They have smashed their funding goals for each issue, as was the case with volume 9, shown here on Kickstarter.

I'll be investing more in this series in the new year, and I highly recommend you do, too. Because, if anything, at the very least, you'll get the books on time.