If you’ve never heard of the Guardian, it’s a UK national paper, known for having (amongst other things) an excellent coverage of arts and literature. The third episode of Inanimate Alice (‘Russia’) was exclusively released last week on the Guardian website, together with an interview with my collaborating partner Kate Pullinger. The Guardian have done a good job of promoting it, starting with a front page banner on the weekend print paper (I didn’t see it – was away with friends in lovely Dorset without computers, mobile phone reception or newspapers – but apparently Alice was above Tony Blair, which could be a good thing or not). They’ve also placed an attractive Alice banner and link on their main online books page.

As a result of all this our main Inanimate Alice site has naturally received a huge influx of viewers and mailing list members, which hopefully makes future episodes that little bit more likely to happen. The feedback so far has generally been very positive… but at the moment my main feeling is relief that it is finally done and out there! This third episode has occupied a lot of my time in the second half of this year. Not just planning and creating it, but previewing it (at the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival in August, the Banff Interactive Project Lab in October, and the IOCT Salon with Kate Pullinger last month). It’s a fascinating (and challenging) project to be a part of – but it’s also nice to clear some headspace for new projects.

As I just said to Kate and the Alice producer Ian Harper, I do find it funny how for many people new media can only be validated through the old. I suppose it will always be the way. A good friend of mine who has never looked at my work saw Ep 3 on the Guardian, and that finally persuaded him to check it out. That makes my week – but it’s still unlikely that he’ll ever find his way here or to my other work unless it is splashed in a newspaper or on TV.