New Year, New News

Has anyone else noticed that advertising executives have been rolling out the same 'New Year, New You' campaigns every January for the last ten years? As slogans go, it's a strong one - but it started to tarnish when Justin Beiber was still in potty training. I guess even 'Creatives' put their feet up over the holiday season.

As it turns out, however, this New Year has heralded a new me. You may have seen the news in December that I've been appointed Editor of the London-based literary journal Litro, and my first issue of the magazine was released shortly before Christmas. It's a role that I'm already enjoying, even when my inbox is bubbling over with fiction submissions from overeager, hope-filled young writers. You can find my first issue of the magazine here, and consider subscribing to Litro to stay in touch with all the exciting developments we have planned for 2014.

The start of the year also brought a resurgence for some old material, too. We promoted my book Ka Mate: Travels in New Zealand heavily over Christmas, as ITV was airing the documentary River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt's New Zealand (a production that I advised on) on Christmas Day. The result was that Ka Mate suddenly shot back up the Amazon charts, ending up at #2 on the New Zealand book bestseller list (only the Lonely Planet guide kept it off the top). Not bad for a book that's two years old.

Then there's my recently-published interview on the Neon website, in which I share my thoughts on horror movies, writing, and the endless trials of Center Parcs. Be interviewed by a London literary magazine? I guess I can tick that off my 2014 to-do list already.

Oh, and I have a beard now. In 2014, beards are cool.

New Year, New Me.