iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 06/10/2026

I’m continuing work on the next chapter of Deciduous and Evergreen, my spooky cli-fi novella. If you like prophecy, magical realism, and buddy movies, I’m hoping this will be right up your street. Aiming for a Halloween finish. 🎃🤞

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 05/10/2026

Where else does a public footpath lead past sights like this? Wimpole House and gardens are gorgeous: walled gardens, a farm, a second-hand bookshop (I couldn’t resist), and the house to explore. This is why I love living in England.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 29/09/2026

I’m sharing a bit of creative work tonight. I used to post a lot on my wine Instagram, but paused when I joined a wine company to handle their marketing. I think I’ve found a safe pivot—here’s a mockup banner. What do you think?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 29/09/2026

The stage I enjoy most is when you have a vision for a piece, but you’ve only just started, so it still looks garish and obnoxious. But it also bristles with potential.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 25/09/2026

I finally fixed my teenage Les Paul guitar this weekend. Holding it again brought back a feeling that, as an adult, can be easy to forget: that raw, hair-standing-on-end awe when you’re fifteen, hit a single screeching high note, and feel the whole room vibrate.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 14/09/2026

Amazon sometimes feels like an endless marketplace, but it is sorely lacking in depth. Yesterday I went to Baggins Book Bazaar in Rochester, the largest second-hand bookstore in England, and what a treat it was!

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/09/2026

Today I’m participating in an “at home” writing retreat organised by fellow Substack author Johanna C. Eschwald. So far, it’s been a really great experience. It’s rare that I give myself an entire day to dedicate to my creative practice, so this already feels like a real treat.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/09/2026

If you over-think your first drafts, change the medium - not your mind. I’m in the final sprint of drafting my Halloween novella, and every single scene starts right here with the friendly touch of pen to page, and my hand resting on a notebook.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/09/2026

I caught myself staring like a child in the middle of Victoria Station yesterday. I was walking through the grey, hurried commuter crowd when I stumbled upon the Belmond Pullman vintage train.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 10/09/2026

It turns out having no signal in a stadium can be a gift. Last night I saw Bon Jovi at Wembley — the same stage that hosted Queen’s legendary set, and countless others.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 09/09/2026

I am having a cheesy day of rock n roll shenanigans before I go and see Bon Jovi tonight. Here is a Hendrix outfit in the meantime 🤘

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 02/09/2026

I once led the design of an entire fictional American football league, complete with 8 teams from around the world, a full roster of players, and a detailed backstory of the league and its founding, set in the year 2250. Sometimes I am tempted to revisit it. Would you like to learn more?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 06/03/2026

The steam clears at 7pm UK. 🐇💧 Hec'ten and his human commander survived the explosion, but the real danger is what's hidden beneath the pipes... and the order to cover it up. Read it here: graemesatlas.substack.com #SciFi #WritingCommunity

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 25/02/2026

100 subscribers! 🎉 To celebrate, I’m testing a new community-powered launch model for my sci-fi serial, The Strings Of Us. Think indie pub meets co-op. Full details drop tomorrow at 6pm GMT! 🌌 Come join the Guild over on Substack: graemesatlas.substack.com #WritingCommunity #IndiePub #SciFi

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 28/08/2025

21) Is my MC a morning person? I would say yes and no. Once they get into their journey, strict regimented industrial earth time, i.e. doing a 9-5, is less relevant. He sleeps with the curtains open. So that helps to be a morning person by virtue of the light seeping through. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 28/08/2025

Ahh running out of time! 20) Superstitions in WIP There is a thing called the strings. Its relatively unknown by humans, and those that have heard of it think its nonsense. Rabbits on the other hand live with it every day. To them it is a way of life. Who has the truth of it? #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 22/08/2025

Time to break up my feed with some personal art. A quick scroll through my albums uncovered this. Painted on my iPad (procreate) about 2 years ago. It's an interpretation of Gavilar Kholin, from 'The way of kings' by Brandon Sanderson. #ArtSky #Art #Illustration #ConceptArt #DigitalArt #Drawing

An Arabic, ottoman looking interpretation of Gavilar Kholin in royal attire. Deep blues, yellows and gold's. Persian architecture.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 22/08/2025

19) "It's called ma. Emptiness. It's there intentionally. The time in between my clapping is ma. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it's just busyness, but if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension". #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 22/08/2025

Still catching up 18) a WIP playlist. I tend to let the music fit the mood of what I'm writing. This recent fit of words has been quite a serene one, and so this playlist of mine has been in rotation. It's called 'working in the garden' #FantasyIndiesAugust open.spotify.com/playlist/6j5...

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 20/08/2025

Flash fiction: It all started when the Koi walked. I remember it well. Almost 2000 years ago a pair of gentlemen walked by my river and began a discussion that begged of each other to answer a ponderous question, ‘what is the happiness of fish'. (1/7) 👇 #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 20/08/2025

(Catching up still) Snippet Saturday: 'If she could sense it in them, why did they not sense it in us? Her song faltered as this new understanding dawned on her, and as she stumbled, she felt the child's string stumble too'. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 20/08/2025

Catch up time! 15) Comfort movie/tv show. Movie: Lilo and Stitch, Master and Commander, Way out west, Lost in Translation, My neighbor Totoro, Lord of the Rings. TV show: The good place, Mash, Stargate Sg1, Downton Abbey, Only fools and Horses, Looney Toons. I'm sure I've forgotten plenty!

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 18/08/2025

New post exploring my drawings for one of my characters: Cash'ya. Let me know what you think. 😀 open.substack.com/pub/graemesa...

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 14/08/2025

14) Romance? Not yet. But that does not mean there won't be. I just haven't got to it. I have a few suspicions as to how this might evolve. But also a theme I want to explore is to emotionally validate platonic companions as having just as much emotional and communal meaning. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 13/08/2025

13) Ebooks for me. I like physical copies too. But I once lived on a boat, and now live in quite a small single room. There isn't much space for books, so when I buy physical, I make sure they're special. EBooks are great space-savers. Much more boat friendly. #FantasyIndiesAugust #booksky

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 13/08/2025

I did not have 'Cheap' in my manuscript so far. But I like the way in which cheap can also mean low, unscrupulous, contemptible. Or in this case. Unfair. #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #Draft #WIP #Writing #Fiction #Fantasy

Philoc however was conspicuously absent, or so it seemed. That was until a rustle from a nearby stall, laden with tidily packed up baskets, gave way to a Rabbit mumbling to himself about how unfair it was that the market sellers would store all of their dried figs elsewhere for the night. Disgruntled for a moment, he seemed instantly cheered, however, by the sight of a garland of flowers hanging nearby. He stopped for a moment and sat down on his hind feet, admiring them like a person might admire a statue of Aphrodite - with his head cocked slightly to the side like a puppy.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/08/2025

Last, current, and next reads: 🌀The old man and the sea - Ernest Hemingway 🌀 One thousand vines - Pascaline Lepeltier 🌀A pirate of exquisite mind - Diana and Michael Preston Generally I'm more of a non fiction reader for some reason. 60/40. #FantasyIndiesAugust #Booksky

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/08/2025

Surprisingly I have not used the word split in my WIP so far. So borrowing some creative license, I have taken this excerpt instead from when a husband splits from his wife and daughter. 😭 #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #Fiction #Writing

I didn’t know then whether to be thankful that when I got home she wasn’t there. By this point my heart was in tatters and I didn’t read the room properly. I was crushing myself under the weight of this betrayal and so I only saw what I wanted to see, that perhaps she had gone to her sisters as she often did to listen to some music.
I grabbed my phone and my belongings and left. An utter disgrace, and yet I knew it had to be done. What kind of a man abandons his wife and unborn child? I did.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/08/2025

Every story has a spirit. This is Terrance - a character I keep returning to, a personal locus of wonder who has transcended time. He's a creature of energy, imagination, and fun. (1/2) #characterdesign #illustration #storytelling

A gentle, black-and-white line-art illustration of Terrance the triceratops, shown in three forms to represent his journey through time. On the left, he joyfully hatches from an egg, his long tail ending in feathers, sometimes with a butterfly resting there amicably. In the center, he stands as his full self, waving warmly at the viewer. On the right, his animated skeleton waves with equal cheer, its own tail a delicate string of detached vertebrae. He's a character who has transcended his mortal body, and here he is waving hello to the past, the present, and the future, all at once and with the same friendly smile.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/08/2025

#FantasyIndiesAugust 11) Fave fairytale: I think mine would have to be Enid Blyton with the 'Magic Faraway Tree'. It might not be as classic as some fairy-tales, but it has so much mystery and intrigue. Some tense parts, some delightful parts. It makes me reminiscent of childhood.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/08/2025

There's something truly magical about the raw first draft, isn't there? For me, it's a stream-of-consciousness process, two pages every morning to let the subconscious chart the course. It’s messy, often surprising, and where the real discovery happens. #Writing #WritingCommunity

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 10/08/2025

WIP tagline: For the Rabbits, gravity doesn't pull down, it pulls them across the stars—and now they're finally going to find out why. Or One man abandoned his daughter to give her the world; one species is leaving the world to find their centre. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 10/08/2025

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts I am loving these WIP snips so far. So many people are creating such beautifully written work.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 09/08/2025

Snip Sat: The capsule glided into a station that was seamlessly integrated into the robust structure built at the glaciers apparent edge. The air that greeted them as the doors hissed open was noticeably cooler, carrying the crisp tang of mountain air and the faint, distant roar of rushing water.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 08/08/2025

Dreams & Goals: A few; I would love to finish my book and have it available online as a serialisation. I am keen to progress in my wine journalism/marketing career. I would like to go on a silent retreat. Maybe one day be a dad? Visit St Lucia, derive income by my own means. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Mental health in WIP: 2 things. My mental health whilst working on my book, and mental health within my book. For myself, keeping a check on expectations works. Allowing myself time and routine. For the book, it is an evident theme albeit discussed through multiple views. #FantasyIndiesAugust

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

What kind of books would your MC read? There are a few main characters, but Elias is probably the emotional core of the story. He is a stuffy middle aged man, a historian of rabbit history. He likes to read dusty books about myths, archeology, and Rabbit culture. #FantasyIndiesAugust #Writing

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Do you tend to write in the morning, afternoon, or evening? - I would like to get into a routine of doing my two pages a day in the morning, but I am not a very good person at that whole waking up thing. So generally it's either in my lunch, or on the bus to work. #FantasyIndiesAugust #Writing

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Favourite line in my WIP: Gosh that is hard... "It all began, as many good stories do, in the bustling Polis of Athens city. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Philoc the Terra runner, who was indulging in a few well earned market figs, overheard a proclamation." #FantasyIndiesAugust #Writing

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Show us your book cover: Hmm this is a trickier one, as I don't currently have one. However, here is a picture of one of the rabbit characters, Cash'ya, I drew recently. #FantasyIndiesAugust #Writing #Booksky #Art #Conceptart #Illustration

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Snippet Saturday: "Time slipped past as she hid motionless on her branch, staring down at the young human. The child below gently grew still. She sensed this was not the stillness of sleep, where breathing became a sonorous to and from. No, this was a sullen stillness. A dead stillness."

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/08/2025

Going to catch up on this: My name is Graeme, and I am writing a Fantasy/near future Sci-Fi, set in an alternative earth where both Humans and Rabbits became self aware and sentient. #FantasyIndiesAugust #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Writers #Writing

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 05/08/2025

Part 2: This was a vague commission I did for a friend in Spain who wanted some ideas for a Lion-Pirate video game character. I did one very cartoony, and another much more gritty and intense. Here is the more adult one. Kinda assassin's Creed vibes is what I aimed for. #art #procreate

A full-body digital illustration of a heroic, anthropomorphic lion pirate standing against a neutral grey background. He is tall and muscular, with a full, dark mane framing a stoic face. He's dressed for adventure in a tattered pirate hat with a feather, a ragged red cape that billows to his left, a simple white tank top, and dark, loose-fitting breeches. A leather strap crosses his chest and a blue sash is tied at his waist. He holds a wickedly curved dagger in his right hand, ready but not aggressive.
For the sighted and the story-seekers: This is Captain Kaelen, moments after a squall. The salt spray still clings to his mane, and the tear in his cape is a fresh reminder of the mast he had to climb. He isn't looking for a fight, but his steady grip on his knife, 'Persuasion', suggests he's quite prepared to finish one. He's likely calculating the distance to the nearest port and wondering if they have any ale that doesn't taste like bilge water.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 05/08/2025

Here is some of my own work. This was a vague commission I did for a friend in Spain who wanted some ideas for a Lion-Pirate video game character. I did one very cartoony, and another much more gritty and intense. Here is the cartoony one. A cursed coral lion pirate thing. Spooky? #art #procreate

A digital drawing of a bizarre and menacing anthropomorphic lion pirate. He is short and stocky, crouched in an aggressive stance. Instead of fur and flesh, his face, mane, and exposed chest appear to be made of a lumpy, pinkish, coral-like substance, and his eyes glow with an unsettling orange light. He wears a weathered pirate hat and a formal blue captain's coat over his monstrous form. He brandishes a long, sharp boat hook in one hand and a short sword in the other, poised to strike.
For those peering into the abyss: Be wary, for this is a sketch of a 'Coral-Cursed' captain. Sailors whisper that such creatures are formed when a pirate's greed is so great, the sea itself claims and reshapes them. His coat is fine, a relic of the man he once was, but the creature within is pure ocean wrath. The glowing eyes don't seek treasure anymore; they hunt for souls to drag down into the crushing dark. His name has been forgotten, lost to the depths he now serves.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 03/08/2025

After a nice busy weekend, what better way to kick back and relax than by finishing up my article on the genius storytelling that is present in the movie Surf's Up, about surfing penguins... naturally! open.substack.com/pub/graemesa... #MovieAnalysis #Storytelling #Storycraft

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 02/08/2025

A song lyric that represents hope, and what it means to be present. I think this world needs more hope. So hear this please And watch as your heart speeds up endlessly And look for the stars as the sun goes down Each breath that you take has a thunderous sound Everything, everything's magic.

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