Thirty years ago, Rik Hoskin reviewed my small-press comic and helped keep its hero alive in my imagination. Now the Star Wars and Superman writer reveals how my novel returned the favour. Watch our conversation about heroes, publishing, AI and the pleasure of writing
Thirty years ago, a review helped keep a character alive in my head. During this conversation, I discovered that my novel Silent Ruin had returned the favour, helping inspire a new series of books now out on Amazon!
My guest is Rik Hoskin, whose writing credits include Star Wars, Superman, Doctor Who and Marvel UK’s X-Men. Readers may also know him through Brandon Sanderson’s White Sand graphic novels, Red Rising: Sons of Ares with Pierce Brown, Bystander 27, or his contributions to Deathlands and Outlanders under the shared pen name James Axler.
He’s now publishing his own adventure series, Hercules Versus, beginning with Hercules Versus Vampires. We caught up for a relaxed conversation about writing, heroes, publishing and the strange places creative inspiration can take you.
The review that stayed with me
Back in 1996, I self-published a small-press comic called Let’s Jam, featuring Jamshed Khan. Production involved the sort of technology you could find in an office after everyone else had gone home. Photocopier. Stapler. Considerable optimism.
Rik reviewed it, and his response meant an enormous amount to me. He understood the character, the action and the humour. That encouragement stayed with me through the decades before Jamshed finally returned in Silent Ruin.
Remarkably, Rik still remembered a particular joke involving a gun, a Tube train and a hastily improvised ticket inspection.
“The humour didn’t diminish the seriousness of the story.”
Hearing him explain why that scene worked, 30 years after I’d written it, was quite something.
Then the inspiration came back
When Rik read Silent Ruin, he was considering how to bring his Hercules books into the world. During our chat, he described sitting in his garden with my novel and realising that self-publishing could deliver the kind of finished book he wanted.
“This is indistinguishable from anything else I would buy from Waterstones.”
He even produced the notebook in which he’d begun planning his own next steps.
“I almost didn’t finish reading your book ’cause I was so inspired.”
That was a lovely surprise. His encouragement had helped me persist; my finished book had helped him move forward. You rarely get to see that circle close.
Hercules, superheroes and the humanity underneath
Hercules Versus Vampires gave us plenty to discuss. Why begin with a disillusioned hero after his Twelve Labours? How do you create suspense around someone with extraordinary strength? And what makes readers care about Superman when he can survive almost anything?
Rik’s answer comes back to the choices these characters make.
“It’s the humanity that makes them heroes.”
That led us into Superman, Batman, James Bond and the challenge of balancing spectacle with emotional stakes. We also explored what changes when a writer moves from collaborating with a comic artist to creating an entire world in prose.
Publishing, AI and finishing the thing
Rik speaks candidly about traditional publishing, creative control, burnout and finding pleasure in writing again. We compare experiences of self-publishing and discuss the equally demanding task of finding readers once the book exists.
There’s also an open discussion about AI, including artists’ concerns, promotional animation, editorial assistance and our own approaches to these tools.
I talk about writing the next Jamshed Khan novel, becoming attached to my characters and discovering how difficult it can be to put them through the experiences a story demands.
Rik’s advice for anyone wrestling with an unfinished manuscript is wonderfully direct:
“If you’ve written 100 pages of a book, you haven’t written a book. You’ve written a start, so get it finished.”
Watch or listen to the full conversation above for the stories behind those observations, Rik’s introduction to Hercules Versus and his golden advice for new authors.
And tell us in the comments: has somebody’s encouragement ever helped you finish something you nearly abandoned?
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https://browncarguy.com/2026/04/15/browncarguy-books/
📖 Silent Ruin – A Jamshed Khan Thriller. This international espionage novel is an action-packed page-turner!
📖 Want to become an automotive journalist, content creator, or car influencer? Check out my book: How to be an Automotive Content Creator
📖 Quantum Races – A collection of my best automotive sci-fi short stories!
📖 The ULEZ Files – Debut novel – all-action thriller!
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