I’m working out if I can host my podcast on micro.blog directly. I mean, I can, but I don’t think I have the skills to make sure everything looks right in Apple Podcasts. That all the information is there, and in the right fields.

I like quirky, unusual people, with offbeat humour and deep wells of laughter.

I’ve been trying micro.blog for a couple of years now, on and off. Recently I moved my website here. It feels right because we’re all works in progress - micro.blog, me, and my site.

I’ve had a lot of websites, too, which also felt fake. And I could never write email newsletters because … what on earth would I say?

I don’t use Facebook or Instagram, or the app formerly known as Twitter. I’ve tried them, and the remains of my efforts are still there, I think, but those apps never gelled with me. There was never a good use to make of them, for an introvert like me. It all felt very strange and artificial.

My Kind of Writing

My kind of writing isn’t really meant for picture books. It goes on too long. It follows ideas into the undergrowth and loses sight of the main path. It arrives, eventually, but it’s all about the journey.

Read More →

As I voice what I’ve written, I’m confronted by the urge to rewrite. There’s always another way to say what’s been said, so no piece of writing is ever quite finished.

Trying not to rewrite as I record is just one challenge among many.

Only on Sundays

I can only record audio on Sundays. The time in between fills up with self-doubt and criticism.

Read More →

Sascha Martin's Ripping News: the Podcast

Work continues on episodes of the podcast. When I started this I didn’t appreciate how many obstacles I’d be facing. Surely, I thought, I can record myself reading the stories.

I’m not an actor, though. I’m not a performer, and I’m not an audio engineer.

Read More →

It’s science on the fly as Sascha crafts a critically cataclysmic collision of cosmic consequence, and suddenly it’s the girls they’re all afraid of. Sascha Martin’s Zombie Dust.

Where can you run, on a mountain made of balls? How do you hide from a drooling girl?

It’s all slippery slopes and midnight cravings as Sascha battles a pair of apocalypses only he could have created.

A Wee Bit of Integrity and the Whole Cover Issue

A Wee Bit of Integrity is my book of limericks based on the Irish TV show that I loved, called Derry Girls.

I wanted to use some of the show’s imagery on the book’s cover, and wrote to Channel 4 in the UK (many times) to seek their permission. They’re the copyright holders, but I also wrote to Hat Trick, the production company, and even tried to contact Lisa McGee, who wrote the series.

Read More →

Books by John Arthur Nichol: Paperback ISBNs

Six of my books are available in paperback, as print-on-demand through Lightning Source and Ingram. The easiest way to buy them is to enquire at your favourite bookseller, and quote the ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

To make it easier, I've listed them below.

Read More →

Sascha Martin's Ripping News: Teaser Episode 3

Sascha Martin’s Ripping News: the Podcast, by John Arthur Nichol

Teaser Episode 3: Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo, Part Three

Our third and final Teaser concludes the tale of Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo, an incident too rude to be told. At the end of Teaser 2, the galloping goo had overrun the last great bastion of order and authority. Now, listen on, as Sascha’s nightmare gobbles its way to an end that isn’t, though it’s pretty conclusive.

Worst day ever!

But is it? Really?

Read More →

Sascha Martin's Ripping News: Teaser Episode 2

Sascha Martin’s Ripping News: the Podcast, by John Arthur Nichol

Teaser Episode 2: Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo, Part Two

In Teaser 2 we continue the regrettable tale of Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo, an episode taken out of sequence because laughter is an important thing to share. If you’ve listened to Teaser 1, you’ll know that something truly terrible has happened to Mary-Alice Cooper, drama queen; and now this truly terrible something is coming for everyone … and everything … and everywhere.

Now, listen on.

Read More →

Sascha Martin's Ripping News: Teaser Episode 1

Sascha Martin’s Ripping News: the Podcast, by John Arthur Nichol

Teaser Episode 1: Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo, Part One

This story was written years ago, but I could never work out how to finish it because, as you’ll hear, there’s not much left to work with in the end. But I liked the story because it was funny and rude, and diabolical for the grown-ups involved. So here it is - Sascha Martin’s Gobbly Goo: an embarrassing story in three parts.

Read More →

This should toot.

still testing

First Post

First Post

which was actually the name of a wartime publication by the 1st Battalion, 2nd AIF (the City of Sydney Regiment).