His portrayal of Villa in Blakeās 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 thereās shades of Keatingās very British style of downtrodden and weary humorous delivery in BITE BACK! too.
Michael Keating as Villa in Blakeās 7
Either way itās 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. Itās also a delight to draw inspiration from his performances, thereās a bit of business with Caleb Scudder in the upcoming NINETEEN AND FAR FROM VASTRID thatās 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.
CHILDREN OF THE TIDE REJOICEš« 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.
Itās my intention that this should be available for free for as many people as possible (and Iāll 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 Iāll give you a synopsisā¦
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 Salvatoreās 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.
On the one hand itās a maddening racket from an over hyped band lead by a nepo baby but on the other (if you give yourself to it) itās 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 arenāt āproper metalā 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)
Itās Amazing To Be Young – FONTAINES DC
Not quotes as magically wistful as last years Fontaines track āFavouriteā 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. Itās nicely rhythmic and builds quite splendidly. Lots of fun, Jarvis hasnāt 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 Blurās Graham Coxon.
Thrilled to have received a great video review for š§BITE BACKāļøš§āāļø from DanniReads.
Iāve been answering social media requests that ask for authors to suggest their books for consideration and attempting to push Survive the Universe š« and š§BITE BACKāļøš§āāļø towards reviewers all year with little to no success. However just when I presumed that my books just werenāt what book social media were looking for this happened.
Proof if ever that an authorās readers are out there, itās just sometimes takes time to find them.
An update to explain the lack of news or content from author Phoenix Phil Morley
āWHERE THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?!ā
ā¦you may ask and youād be within your rights to do so. Apologies for the E-distance but this yearās been a bit of a rollercoaster.
I had grand plans, didnāt I? Novella by Whitsun bank holiday followed by a load of š§BITE BACKāļøš§āāļø promo throughout the Summer to celebrate (cough cash in on) the 30 year anniversary of the summer of Britpop. And yet, the novella didnāt arrive and my promo work was minimal. I donāt 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 wasnāt a surgeon in the country prepared to do a biopsy and as such there wasnāt 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 Iād down tools more often than not, I did and indeed continue to work on it though. Itās getting there with eight out of a proposed eleven chapters done. I think the biggest takeaway Iād like to serve you is that part of the reason itās taken longer than expected is that captured my imagination and Iāve added bits and bobs that werenāt originally going to be in it. This isnāt just some dashed off āreader magnetā , itās fun little adventure with some new characters and Iām really enjoying creating and developing them. Itāll be worth the wait I promise.
Donāt be scared itās just me āEsteemed Authorā Phoenix Phil Morley
Another hurdle Iāve had this year is that my laptop has aged-out. So Iāve been severely restricted tech wise which has impacted lots of promo plans and formatting work Iād hoped to do this year. Iām currently saving as hard and as fast as I can but moneyās 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 Backāļøgetting some Kindle unlimited page reads and reviews recently so itās good to know people are finding my books and enjoying them.
Right, back to the novella. Thanks for sticking with me, Iāll update again soon.
And you can trust thisā¦ Itās from the lipsā¦ Of the āniX
Thrilled to announce that my chart topping, 5 star rated darkly comedic Britpop era vampire novel š§BITE BACKāļøš§āāļø is available to download for FREE for a limited time on AMAZON for Kindle app or device.
āWHAT A CRACKER! This is the second book from this author that Iāve read. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the characters really came alive for me and I was transported back to the 90ās in a heartbeat. Well rounded and an interesting take on the vampire story line, with some excellent ānodsā back to when music was still awesome!ā ā 5 star Amazon review
āMETHINKS THE GOTH DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH! When I was halfway through this I still didnāt know where it was going, which for a book one might initially have summed up as āvampire love triangleā is a big achievement. Obviously this is a lot more than that and that second half does indeed go some places, but at its core itās a story of 90s indie kids in Sittingbourne discovering who they really are. You might say, āBut Iāve never been to Sittingbourne, is this really going to resonate?ā and I would answer, āNeither have I but Iām already going to be casually calling it āthe Bourne’ā. Anyway, characters are big and, despite their many mistakes, highly loveable. There are some good laughs and while stuff gets serious, it never gets heavy.ā ā 5 star Amazon review
āKEPT ME HOOKED! Being from Sittingbourne it was nice to read about places I know and have grown up in for the last 51 years.ā ā 5 star Amazon review
āSALEMāS LOT MEETS SUBMARINE. Bite Backās ability to capture the teen experience is spot on. I felt myself recognise, cringe and laugh in equal measure at all the naive missteps and awkward social interactions. I burned through the back chapters in an evening. Hanging out with Christine and Benjamin in the Summer of ā95 was so much fun. Recommended!ā ā 5 star Goodreads review
āEXCELLENT TEENAGE VAMPIRE FUN set in the ā90s. I loved it. Itās a quirky little book that mixes coming of age comedy drama with horror, essentially two teenage vampires run amok in a small town while a love triangle builds around them. Things really pick up in the second half of the book when they switch from being the hunters to the hunted and it turns into one hell of a page turner. Thereās some very funny moments and quite emotional character beats too. And if you like 80s and 90s music thereās lots of references.ā ā 5 star Barnes and Noble customer review
Weāre just a few months away from the 30th anniversary of the fateful night a vampire named Christine walked through Woodberry Drive and discovered a young man called Benjamin Cooper.
As Iāve found myself back in the āBourne over the Easter break I thought Iād take some modern day snaps of their old hang out – the roof of the Icelands looking over St. Michaelās church graveyard.
Sadly itās just one of the many abandoned empty stores in the high street these days but the roof remains (should any of you Creatures of the Night wish to follow in their footsteps and hang out there). Also sadly left abandoned and unloved is the old cinema where Batman Forever came and went.
Just thought Iād drop a little update to you all as I know itās been a quiet start to the year.
I suppose the biggest headline is that your new favourite space opera novel SURVIVE THE UNIVERSE š« got a little bit of a boast last month. I was thrilled to see that it had picked up readers in Japan šÆšµ for the first time. Iām always humbled and grateful when my books travel to other countries especially as they havenāt been translated (Iād love to translate them but yāknow itās expensive to do). Also it climbed back up in to the TOP TEN of a few genre charts, which I always find charming. Thereās always something I loved about genre charts, I think it goes back to the data of ITV pop music show THE CHART SHOW where theyād have the indie chart and all kinds of underground curios got a chance to shine on TV if only for a second or two.
As for new stuff? Iām still chipping away at the novella. Iām about half way through, itās taking me much longer than I hoped it would but I seem to struggle to write during winter. Though I struggle with most things in winter, Iād happily hibernate through January and February if I were able. Still as the nights grow lighter Iām feeling more productive so hopefully itāll be ready in a couple of months. Dare I propose a Whitsun release?
One problem I do have is that my MacBook has grown too old for updates so Iām without the tech to publish. Iām desperately trying to save for a new-second hand one but Iām not getting far with that so if anyone wants to gift me an old one Iād be grateful – no harming in asking right? š
ANYHOWSA I hope you all are happy and healthy and if not I hope youāre getting the help you need to make things better.
Phoenix Phil Morley - author 