At the end of last year I professed some wary optimism that, if current trends held, 2019 might end up being a good year.
I did not expect that 2019 would ride up on a snowy white horse, place a single finger on my trembling lip, whisper “You deserve better than this, let me treat you right” and whisk me away to a world of adventure and romance.
2019 has been the best year of my life since 2012, a year which saw my wedding, the birth of my daughter, a play of mine getting a staged reading in the Abbey, the launch of this blog and the world not ending due to Mayan calendar magic. Guys, it has been a trip.
So let’s start small and work our way up.
The Reviews
So in 2019 I reviewed 1 Canon Disney movie, 2 Disney sequels, 1 MCU movie, 2 X-Men movies, 1 Studio Ghibli film, 4 live action movies, 3 non-Disney animated features, 2 animated series…
…and Mysterious Girlfriend X who has to sit over here away from the others.
2019 also saw the launch of my new feature, Bats versus Bolts, which you can probably tell how much I love because I did it four times over the year.
Counting each BvBs as two movies because it’s my blog and who among you has the power to stop me, that’s 23 movies reviewed, 2 TV series…
…and Mysterious Girlfriend X.
Best movie I reviewed this year was Frankenstein, worst (in a pleasing symmetry) was Van Helsing.
Novel Fair
The year got off to a great start when my novel, The Caspian Sea, was selected for Novel Fair at the Irish Writer’s Centre. 12 Novelists are selected and then locked in a room with 12 agents and publishers in a brutal no holds barred battle royal. By which I mean, you sit down with each of them and have five minutes to pitch your book. But in a brutal, no holds barred way. And while I didn’t land an agent at Novel Fair it was a fantastic experience where I got to meet lots of great writers and publishing nobs.
BBC Writer’s Room
Because The Caspian Sea has basically been holding my brain hostage for almost a decade now I also have a screenplay version that I submitted to the BBC Writer’s Room. Didn’t get in, unfortunately, but I made it to the final 35 out of 4000 applicants and got to visit the Beeb in London, where I got to see THIS:
You cant go in, unfortunately. Couple of Daleks got trapped in there and went completely feral.
Got an Agent
Oh yeah, this was a big one. In the early summer I had the privilege to be signed by Jennie Goloboy of the Donald Maas Literary Agency. A literary agent basically does all the things a writer does when trying to get published, like sending off manuscripts and enquiry letters to publishers. The difference being that when the agent does those things, the publishers actually care. It’s actually amazing how much more willing people are to look at your stuff when you’re agented. It’s like that episode of The Simpsons where Homer joins the Stonecutters.
The End of Sharuf
This one was bittersweet. After 2 years of YouTubery my brother John, me and my Dad George decided that we just couldn’t commit the time to Sharuf that it deserved. You can see our final farewell below.
And lastly…
Micro-Mouse was born last month and he is a really cool guy.
So yeah, 2019 was pretty good to me. I hope it was good to you. Have a wonderful New Year guys.
See you in the twenties. Who’s up for running a liquor racket and taking on Capone for control of Chicago?
unshavedmouse 
Congrats on a very good year, and may 2020 be even more so! 😁
Welcome, Mini-Mouse!
Congratulations on the new pup (baby mice are called pups, I checked. Also pinkies)! Glad to hear things are going well. Hope I get to read your novel someday soon.
Thanks man! Watch this space…
A THOUSAND CONGRATS ON SO MANY THINGS BUT ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE
So, what Disney movie are you gonna show them first? Someone really should rank them! You could bring a lot of happiness to a lot of people that way.
Happy New Year to the Many Mice!
It ended up being Meet the Robinsons of all things
There are worse messages for a New Year than keep moving forward, I suppose!
Congrats, Micro-Mouse is really cute!
Is there any animated films set in 20s you could review to get us in the mood lol
Hmmmm…nothing springs to mind?
Ethel and Ernest-2016 film based on a book by Raymond Briggs
You could reread his review of “The Princess and the Frog.” It is set in the 1920s.
Poor Sharuf, but whoo, congrats on Micro-Mouse!!
Micro-Mouse! And a picture of two unrelated hairless apes. No, but seriously, congrats on a cracking good year!
Such majestic animals…
Congrats on to the good year, and especially on Micro-Mouse!
Thanks Gram!
Congrats on a wonderful year and your new little dude!
Mouse, felicitations on enjoying such a Good Year and congratulations on the newest addition to Clan Mouse – as he slides down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way! (-;
On an unrelated note, have you been able to catch Episode 1 of DRACULA 2020? This far it’s not my favourite adaptation, yet remains worth watching and will doubtless end up a Guilty Pleasure for more than one audience (I’m also morally certain it has the Best Jonathan Harker to date and that means something).
‘Ware snark though – this definitely feels like a production made in the middle of a giddy whirl of youthful delight and one which might have benefitted from being shorter by an episode (to allow Mr Gatiss & Mr Moffat less room to throw in EVERYTHING that occurred to them).
Holy shit, it’s out already?
It’s certainly on the BBC; I’m not sure how TV works in the Republic (in terms of what channels are available licitly or through accidents of transmission), but thought you might want to know that the series is well worth watching when you can get it.
Brace your neck for some mood whiplash though.
Will do
Congratulations on a great year. Here’s hoping for more in 2020.
Congratulations on a magnificent year. And a warm welcome to the micro mouse. Hopefully, this upcoming year will continue the trend.
Uhhh…I have enough kids. But thank you!
Aw what a cute little mouse.
As usual, all we can hope for is that the next year is better than the last.
(I live in America, please pray for us)
Every day, my friends.
Congratulations for everything, and especially for Micro-Mouse!
Many congratulations on your new mouseling!! Little boys are awesome (I have 2)!! Glad you had a great year!
Thanks Cinders!