BEYOND HONOURED that the world’s greatest podcast gave Nineteen and Far From Vastrid a shout out in their excellent two part Masters Of The Universe episode.
If you haven’t come across MARVEL VERSUS MARVEL before and are into superhero and such like movies and comics DEFINITELY check it out… it’s full of research, insight and big time laughs. If it’s not part of your leisure time you’re doing leisure time wrong,
It’s on ALL the podcasting platforms but I’m guessing most of you use Spotify so click here!
And then get subscribed to their Patreon bonus content. The OBSCURE shows are less than the cost of a pint and are hilarious. Check them out here!
When Ryan Tyler leaves his mundane day job to join the Royal Guard in the Kingdom of Vastrid, he finds himself flung into battle on day two, alongside a cosmically-powered warrior, a thief and a hybrid cat-monkey.
Meanwhile, fellow Royal Guard Callie Haywood yearns for adventure and the chance to use her squandered talents as a pilot.
As the malevolent Shadox Corporation unleash their sinister attack on Vastrid, Ryan and Callie must face threats forged from the far reaches of space and master the strange, repeating visions which plague their minds and hint at a fate that is both frightening and fascinating.
SURVIVE THE UNIVERSE and NINETEEN AND FAR FROM VASTRID are fast paced, fun to read futuristic fairy-tale space operas filled with humour, horror and heart. The novels tell the story of a wild galactic adventure that mixes snappy, humorous dialogue, intense action and tense, edge-of-your-seat horror.
His portrayal of Villa in Blake’s 7 was and remains a huge influence on my writing. Of course most notably when I write Caleb Scudder in the SURVIVE THE UNIVERSE books (the character was always intended to be Villa mixed with the spirit of certain kids I went to school with). However I also think there’s shades of Keating’s very British style of downtrodden and weary humorous delivery in BITE BACK! too.
Michael Keating as Villa in Blake’s 7
Either way it’s always a delight to watch him try to duck and dodge, outwit and wrangle his way out of anything that looks like danger or (even worse) hard work. It’s also a delight to draw inspiration from his performances, there’s a bit of business with Caleb Scudder in the upcoming NINETEEN AND FAR FROM VASTRID that’s wholesale me channeling Villa. And I make no apologies for it, I welcome the opportunity for his legacy to live on and only hope my use of the inspiration serves as a worthy tribute.
Yes indeed, 19&FFV is available there for you to (hopefully) add to your TBR lists and eventually review (please). If you could take a minute or two to express an interest and tickle the algorythm I’d really appreaciate it.
CHILDREN OF THE TIDE REJOICE💫 Yes indeed my new space opera novella NINETEEN AND FAR FROM VASTRID will be available for kindle download on 29/05/26 and as all formats ebook freebie through my mailing list from June.
It’s my intention that this should be available for free for as many people as possible (and I’ll be attempting to launch using a free for 5 days promo on Amazon) HOWEVER should any kind souls wish to tip your author and help with the accursed algorithms of the digital age you can get it via the presale here: https://amzn.eu/d/00CT4N7G
Fancy a synopsis? Well I’ll give you a synopsis…
Nineteen years old. Captain of a stolen starship. Chosen by a cosmic force he barely understands.
Ryan Tyler thought surviving the massacre at the Vastridian Debutant Ball would be the hardest part. He was wrong.
Now a captain of the rogue vessel the Salvatore, Ryan and his unlikely crew of fugitives, outcasts, and reluctant heroes are drifting deeper into a universe consumed by fear, corruption, and war. The sinister Shadox Corporation continues to spread its influence across the stars, twisting alien energies into terrifying new weapons and leaving entire colonies swallowed by ruin.
The crew of the Salvatore’s latest mission leads them to Terra Ferus, a lawless wasteland smothered in toxic green mist and haunted by secrets nobody was meant to uncover.
There, Ryan encounters Kelita Finch, a sharp-tongued teenage scavenger surviving one day at a time amongst the wreckage of forgotten lives, and Arbie, her strange empathic floating companion whose quiet compassion hides deeper mysteries. Drawn into a desperate fight for survival alongside the weary bounty hunter Aric Lammont, Ryan begins to uncover horrifying experiments linked to corrupted creatures known as synistrails and rumours of something even worse waiting in the darkness.
But Terra Ferus holds more than mysterious laboratories and deadly secrets.
Far out beyond the drifting mist, something ancient and grieving watches the world below.
As Ryan struggles with the growing power of the Tide of Light inside him, loyalties begin to fracture aboard the Salvatore. Sacrifices must be made, painful truths begin to surface, and Kelita finds herself searching for answers about her own past amongst the ruins of a galaxy that has discarded countless others before her.
Fast-paced, emotional, and filled with cosmic mystery, Nineteen and Far From Vastrid is a sci-fi fantasy adventure about destiny, survival, friendship, sacrifice, and the fragile light people leave behind in one another.
The universe is in danger. The light is calling. And somewhere in the space between hope and oblivion, Ryan Tyler is running out of time.
Back in November, I was honoured to be interviewed on AMERICAN RADIO by the king of the airwaves Frankie Moloney. In the 2 hour super show you can hear us talk about: 🩸 the making of 🧛BITE BACK❗️🧛♀️ 🩸 news on future books 🩸 THE BRITPOP WARS: a 16 band tournament where we discuss and crown who was the best act of 1995
On the one hand it’s a maddening racket from an over hyped band lead by a nepo baby but on the other (if you give yourself to it) it’s unsteady tempo and cacophonous edging make for a thrillingly tangible rollercoaster of a song that feels wonderfully alive in this age of digital music with its rigid beats and pitch correction.
Words – BIG THIEF
Another fuzzy, buzzy melodic gem from Big Thief.
Flood – LITTLE SIMZ (featuring Obongjayar, Moonchild Sanelly)
A toss up between this one and Thief from Little Simz this year but Flood just edges forward with dark rhythmic and Simz assertive rhymes.
Satanized – GHOST
Papa and the nameless ghouls continued to answer the accusations that aren’t ’proper metal’ by pushing even further into Scandinavian pristinely produced POP rock instead with the Skeleta album. Santanized was its calling card – big, crunchy, a Headbangers Ball friendly howling guitar solo but with some light folk touches and a melodic flavour that pushes more towards ABBA than SABBA(TH)
It’s Amazing To Be Young – FONTAINES DC
Not quotes as magically wistful as last years Fontaines track ‘Favourite’ but still hits the mark with its jangly nod to The Smiths and The Lotus Eaters.
Mum Does The Washing – JOSHUA IDEHEN
Funny and insightful spoken word piece over a sample and a beat that takes the concept of a mum doing the washing and runs it through various ideologies.
Aftermath (Edit) – DOMINIC FIKE
Bringing the beach bum slacker mentality to the Gen Z kids, the Fikester returns with 1x weary yet irreverent verse, 1x great chorus and 1x sandblasted guitar solo and then it just ends because who needs long songs when the kids will only spend a minute and a half max watching a TikTok video before swiping.
Back of My Hand – THE BELAIR LIP BOMBS
Possibly the catchiest song of the year for me. Slight Belly meets Frente vibes like The Beths and all that. It plays in my head a lot.
The Man Comes Around – PULP
Unexpected Johnny Cash cover from Jarvis and the gang. It’s nicely rhythmic and builds quite splendidly. Lots of fun, Jarvis hasn’t sounded this pleasingly arch in decades.
10 – Ad Astra – ASH & GRAHAM COXON
Tim Wheeler doing what he does best (charmingly playful pop punk about space travel and such like) with the added bonus of a guitar solo duel rock out between him and Blur’s Graham Coxon.
Thrilled to have received a great video review for 🧛BITE BACK❗️🧛♀️ from DanniReads.
I’ve been answering social media requests that ask for authors to suggest their books for consideration and attempting to push Survive the Universe 💫 and 🧛BITE BACK❗️🧛♀️ towards reviewers all year with little to no success. However just when I presumed that my books just weren’t what book social media were looking for this happened.
Proof if ever that an author’s readers are out there, it’s just sometimes takes time to find them.
An update to explain the lack of news or content from author Phoenix Phil Morley
“WHERE THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?!”
…you may ask and you’d be within your rights to do so. Apologies for the E-distance but this year’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.
I had grand plans, didn’t I? Novella by Whitsun bank holiday followed by a load of 🧛BITE BACK❗️🧛♀️ promo throughout the Summer to celebrate (cough cash in on) the 30 year anniversary of the summer of Britpop. And yet, the novella didn’t arrive and my promo work was minimal. I don’t have excuses but I do have reasons.
Primarily my father was suffering from an extremely rare brain tumour. So rare in fact that its position meant that there wasn’t a surgeon in the country prepared to do a biopsy and as such there wasn’t a diagnosis. His health deteriorated rapidly throughout the spring and eventually he passed away in the Summer. Naturally this meant that completing the novella was often put on the back burner and I’d down tools more often than not, I did and indeed continue to work on it though. It’s getting there with eight out of a proposed eleven chapters done. I think the biggest takeaway I’d like to serve you is that part of the reason it’s taken longer than expected is that captured my imagination and I’ve added bits and bobs that weren’t originally going to be in it. This isn’t just some dashed off ‘reader magnet’ , it’s fun little adventure with some new characters and I’m really enjoying creating and developing them. It’ll be worth the wait I promise.
Don’t be scared it’s just me “Esteemed Author” Phoenix Phil Morley
Another hurdle I’ve had this year is that my laptop has aged-out. So I’ve been severely restricted tech wise which has impacted lots of promo plans and formatting work I’d hoped to do this year. I’m currently saving as hard and as fast as I can but money’s tight these days.
In brighter news, despite the lack of promo my books have had had a couple of sales spikes over the past few months with Bite Back❗️getting some Kindle unlimited page reads and reviews recently so it’s good to know people are finding my books and enjoying them.
Right, back to the novella. Thanks for sticking with me, I’ll update again soon.
And you can trust this… It’s from the lips… Of the ‘niX
Phoenix Phil Morley - author 