Jamie Russell

Childhood

I was born in London. When I was five I saw a Space Invaders arcade machine in a greasy fish and chip shop at the seaside. It blew my mind and started a lifelong love of sci-fi and videogames. I love the way games, books and movies can transport you to other worlds and let you live inside them for a while.

Adulthood

I went to London University and stayed there so long they gave me a Ph.D. in English Literature (I think they just wanted to get rid of me). After that I became a film critic for Total Film magazine. I got to go to lots of special screenings of movies and eat free sandwiches. I thought it was the best job ever. But I was wrong. A little later, I wrote for videogame magazine EDGE and realized that you could get paid for shooting aliens in the face with virtual shotguns…

As an Author

I like to work at a desk facing a blank wall. This is so I don’t get distracted staring out the window. I write on an ancient laptop that’s really slow and can’t even cope with the internet. Which is good because it stops me from wasting time on Twitter. As you can tell, I am easily distracted when writing... Is it time for another cup of tea, yet?