2008 - London - x, AKR

January: my sister turned 27...and, well... black.

People arrived to her party and had no idea they were talking to my sister.

2008 - Cosy Castle - DJR (in the Sky Bunker)

February: i don't shave since coming back from Newcastle at Christmas. The days blur into weeks...work remains intensely enjoyable, an adrenaline rush most days... the people I work with are fantastic, a variety of characters and personalities... I'm eating sushi every other lunchtime, and I'm making progress with Shadows of the Quantinex.

2008 - Jesus Mound - Mum, Oj

February: it was one day, at work in Bath, when I had the phone call from mum, saying "I need you and Jo to come up to Newcastle this weekend. Your sister is comming up too." A little probing gave me a good idea what this was about... and led to an afternoon and evening of me feeling upset and angry. Something was wrong with my mum. Something to do with her health. Mum wouldn't say anymore, we had to come up to Newcastle.

So...Jo and I drive up Saturday morning (this is the drive she set off without any windscreen wash...and tried to clean the road-grime-smeared windows with a bottle of water whilst hurtling along at 70MPH, hanging out of her driver-side window...me yelling "you're a bloody lunatic"...and leading to quite an interesting squabble).

Mum has lung-cancer. So begins a period of tests to identify what kind and the best way forward.

2008 - Bristol - Sonja

February: Jo and I have not seen Sonja since she came up to Newcastle with Nic at Christmas. Life has been busy, for me, with focussing all my spare time on writing Shadows of the Quantinex before and after work. We all meet up at a familiar eating place and have a lovely evening of catching up over food and a bottle of wine.

2008 - Bristol - Djr

February

2008 - Bath - Stu

February: my boss, and somebody who quite early on struck me as a top bloke and excellent company. This is the fateful night Stu, Jason and I..."popped into" a local bar for a "quick drink" ... which developed into a major session... Stu and I shuffling back to his place and breaking out the range of single malts.

I finally crashed onto a sofa at 4.30 AM.

Woken at 7 AM by Stu's twin daughters going "daddy daddy who's that strange hairy man on the sofa?"

He and I made our way into work well before 9AM feeling like utter death...but we coped.

2008 - South West England - Andy, Jamieson, Vega$, Djr

February: sadly for me, I had to be up the next day at 6 AM in order to get to Matthias' place early for the start of his stag weekend. Ugh...I was so NOT in the mood for it, and I can vividly recall lying in bed that morning trying to think of some excuse...but always coming back to the fact that Matthias is my brother (soul) and he'll never have another stag weekend. I dutifully crawled out from the duvet, pulled on some clothes, fell into my car and drove to Bath to Matthias' place.

Walking in I found Jamiesom cooking up a fine feast of sausages, bacon, eggs, beans... oh man was I happy.

We then blasted out across the sweeping countryside of the South West to a place called HAMBURGER HILL...paintballing.

It was just after we climbed into our cammo gear that we sniggeringly revealed our STAG TREAT to Matthias.... a pair of fluorescent orange underpants, with...the word STAG on the backside, and a bullseye on the crotch. Oh...how WE laughed...and how Matthias looked utterly sick with fear and apprehension as 200 other blokes looked at him like Matthias was the name of something they were going to kill for dinner.

2008 - South West England - Vega$ and those pants.

February.

2008 - South West England - Jameison (2008) and (1997).

February. Jameison has been known as "Curry King" since a fateful and tasty night at Vega$ place back in 1997. He continues to hold that honour.

2008 - South West England - Vega$, Djr.

February.

2008 - Cosy Castle - Simon P, Orson P

February: the same weekend as the paintballing and stag do. Simon swings round with the wee chap, who was an absolute delight... a real bundle of happy chuckles and smiles... later Vicky came over, and we all sat and marvelled as Orson tried to eat our table mats. Hmmm....drool city, but very funny. I'm still looking forward to meeting Orson in about 14 years time and reminding him of the first time I ever met him / held him in my arms... and he looked at me briefly, pulled a furious face...and farted on my hand. Ahhh, yes.

2008 - Bath - Eugene

March: Eugene joined the Digital Studio crew just after the New Year.

2008 - Bath - Jason A

March: Jason joined the company the same day I did, and rather wonderfully, he and I, and Stu (bossman) have all bonded really well together.

2008 - Bath - Guy W

March: Guy...also known as Mr 118. He's become something of a fan, in the fact he's now bought all my books. I get to enjoy a wee chat with him every other morning as he mows through the novels... which I love because I never read my own work, and getting to talk to people as they experience it gives me the ability to relive the story, like watching your favourite film over again.

2008 - Cosy Castle - Hagen, Chris DocToc

March: at the start of 2008 I realised that Rob C was unlikely to be able to make a regular committment due to becoming a dad; Simon P was shying away from Yellow Dawn because it was too intense / tense, and not like D&D; and Tony "NGT" was soon to become a Dad. I thought fek... I need another player, so cast the net out.

A few months go by and then Chris Doc Toc swings into my world, thanks to Mark GP keeping an eye out on various forums. Chris quickly and easily settles into the group, and the world of Yellow Dawn.

Meanwhile, I've been burning weeks...pushing towards the completion of Shadows of the Quantinex. In a way it can't come fast enough...I want to start a new novel, I haven't written a novel since Iron Man Project at the end of 2004.

2008 - Bath - Stu

March: a proud day.

2008 - Bath - Becky Sheep Coat, Vega$, Djr

March: i had a random call from Becky, who I've not seen for a year or so...she was working in Bath this day and did I want to meet for lunch? Absolutely I replied. I asked Matthias to come along too... so it was a lovely little reunion, at the continuing favourite eating place in Bath... Yen Sushi... awesome food.