Good morning, Readers!

I'm going to just quote the press release here, and add some notes later:

This announcement came in while I was ill, and I meant to blog about it, but my brain wasn't functional.  I did, however, manage to change the links for my books on this site that I have published by Renaissance Press.  For those who don't know, that would be Daughters of Britain and Skylark.

If you're new to this blog, or me, Daughters of Britain is a historical fiction set in Roman-occupied Britain and Gaul, staring (mostly) the eldest of Boudicca's two daughters and the son of the Batavian chieftain, Civillis (Civillis existed, but I'm not sure his son did).  I'm really rather proud of this one.  It draws on my academic love - Celtic Studies.  View your purchase options here.

Skylark is a space opera set in futuristic Canada... and space.  Obviously.  Think of it as kinda Mass Effect meets Starcraft meets pulp.  That's the only way I can really explain it.  If that perked your interest, you can learn more here.

Incidentally, if you have read any of my books, a book review is deeply appreciated.

Right, I have some writing to get done.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I am still alive. That's good.

This weekend was a bust. I spent all of Saturday asleep in bed. Or coughing. Mostly sleeping, though, which is preferable.  It was almost the same Sunday, but I forced myself out of bed in the afternoon to make it (late) to the double book launch for two anthologies - We Shall Be Monsters and Over the Rainbow - by Renaissance Press.  A goodly number of people went, and I was able to chat and catch up with a couple.  I mostly spent the event with my god-daughter, who is an absolute delight.

Immediately following, I spent a short time at a going away event.  I didn't last very long, being already exhausted.  I stayed just long enough to eat my first and only meal of the day before giving up on trying to function and heading home.

I had an idea about how to improve the painting I had given up on last weekend, and was hoping for the energy to get stuck on that this weekend, but alas... I was sleeping.  I'll try for next weekend.  I'm running out of time and I need to get this one done before Ottawa ComicCon.

Also, because of my sleeping and being generally miserable last week, I got absolutely no writing done.  I did, however, manage to binge enough Merlin to finish the series and now I'm sad.  I really do love that dorky show, and I'm sad to see it end.  Also, weirdly, there was a Merlin themed YouTube video that popped into my feed that was uploaded just Saturday, so I guess I'm not the only one rewatching the series (or perhaps discovering it for the first time) and really loving it.

However, the lack of routine has absolutely screwed with me.  I'm one of those terrible people that needs a rigid routine and a whole lot of "me time" in order to function properly.  When something disturbs that routine, it can wreck my entire life for a little bit. Being without a routine this past week was not a good time.  It wasn't just the nasty cold.  I'm glad to be back at some sort of routine today.

I shall return to writing tomorrow.  Today, it's going back over what I've written the last time to catch my brain up again.  I'm hopeful that, despite not writing at all last week, I can finish this manuscript by the end of May.  Lordy do I want to be finished this manuscript soon!

Right, I'm off to do stuff.  I hope you all had a great weekend and have a fantastic day today.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I apologise so much for not blogging this week.  I was quite ill (fever and all that jazz), and didn't do much save binge Netflix and sleep.  I'm almost done watching Merlin, incidentally.  I'm in the last season, in any case, and I'm sad about it.  I do so love this show.

The only blog post I managed to write while I was ill was my regular fortnightly spot on Black Gate, the e-zine I started writing for this year.  I wrote about Merlin.  Obviously.  It's literally been my life for the past few days.

Other than that, I have done absolutely nothing.  Except sleep, watch the telly, and be generally miserable.

In gaming news, I've finally finished The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt and it's DLCs last week.  I begin editing together the highlight reels soon.  I should have started last week, but Fridays are my video editing days, and Friday was a holiday.  I will be writing a sassy review today, instead of writing my current WIP.

​Anywho, this week marked the start of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.  It's a fantastic game that I started playing on my Xbox, but loved so much I decided I wanted to share it with my streaming friends.  So now I'm playing it on my PS4 from which I can stream directly to Twitch.  I did alright, actually.  I only died once, and I killed a number of captains.  I really should remember to interrogate them, actually.

I was feeling well enough to tackle the stream, though I was a little out of it, and forgot to turn my mic on for the first little bit.

Right, I really need to write that sassy review.  I will be back to blogging regularly next week, unless I fall ill all over again.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Yesterday, on my way home, I was playing with my hair while daydreaming.  Looking down at the strands I noticed something.  Something new.  A single strand of white hair in amongst all the blondes and browns.

I can honestly say that it was the sparkliest, prettiest thing I think I've ever seen.  I've become rather strangely let attached to that silver hair.

Let me explain.

I'm not all that afraid of getting older.  My time as a youth was fraught with all kinds of terrible, and I'm honestly not sad to see it go.  Looking back, I remember a sexual assault, whole lot of tears, scary episodes of depression and suicidal ideation, of bearing the brunt of abuse and gaslighting that fed those states, debt and fear and loneliness, a whole lot of other awfulness.  Obviously that wasn't all.  There were good times, but by and large, my younger years were desperately unhappy.

It's not until I hit my thirties that things improved.  I started therapy (and continue to do so when budget allows), and started to recognise the abuse.  I was given permission to get angry about it, and finally given the tools to establish boundaries, and enforce them.  That's not always easy.  Some people took umbridge with it and went on the attack.  For my own survival, I had to walk away, and remove those people from my life.  That was heartbreaking in the moment, but I am far better for it now, provided I don't think too much on it.

I finally left my student debt behind, closed and paid off my credit cards, and I'm close to ending other debts.  I've returned to the things that make my heart happy - writing, which I hope to make a career of, painting, and gaming.

Like how my younger days weren't all terrible, this new phase of life isn't all great.  I still suffer from depression.  It's a lifelong thing, and while I've learnt to accept and manage it, there are still really bad days.  I'm not in a great financial position - my job doesn't pay all that much (but there are other pay-offs), and so I don't have a lot of spare cash to do things I would love to do, like travel.  I want my own house, but honestly, only a lotto win will afford me one at this point.  While I'm not all that keen on the idea of marriage, and I'm undecided about whether or not I want kids, the absence of both in my life is notable, even if only because of societal pressure.  I've been writing for a long while now, and don't seem to be getting anywhere.  I often find myself frustrated and lost and really only chugging along because of spite.

Spite, incidentally, is a weirdly great motivator.

Still, I'm in a much better place now than I was even five years ago.

The thing about that silver strand in my hair is not that it represents the sad passing of my youth, but that I survived.  In spite of it all, I made it.  I'm old enough to get grey hair.  That, I think, is something to celebrate.

So, I shall keep that white strand, and all that come after.  I won't die my hair.  I will rock that silver top joyously, in rebellion of a culture that worships youth and shuns age, and in celebration of having made it this far.  Many do not.

Right, I have to go write.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I recently started rewatching BBC's Merlin, and, to be perfectly honest, I've missed it.

There's something wonderful about BBC programming that I can't quite put my finger on.  There's something about it that is campy and heartfelt, dramatic and whimsical, amusing and heartbreaking all at once.  Dr. Who, and Sherlock are other BBC programmes I've watched that share this.

Perhaps its because the landscape of the British Isles is so steeped in myth, many of which are whimsical and hilarious as well as dramatic and heartbreaking.  Surely that must have something to do with it.  Perhaps it's just the kind of humour one develops in a country notable for its rain - not hard or all that much, but often.  Maybe it's some combination of all of these.  All I know is that they manage to walk this fine line without straying too far in either direction.

It's something that television in North America could learn from, I feel.

In any case, I've started watching Merlin again, and I'm loving it.  Despite the issues I have with the twisting of many of the myths of the Arthurian cycle (and I'm thrilled about other things... Making Morgana a ward of Uther was a stroke of genius, in my opinion), the show is campy, fun, and heartfelt enough that I can parcel away my annoyances and just enjoy it.

Also, the CGI is terrible, and the fight scenes against CGI creatures is absolutely awful, and it makes me giggle hysterically.

Weirdly, I also had the title and character for a new story - hopefully a stand alone, this time - while watching the show... Series one, episode seven, in fact.  So there's that, as well.

It occurred to me as I was getting my Merlin fix last night after training, that I've actually not ever watched this series to completion.  I think I stopped watching part way through series two.  I understand that the whole thing ends rather tragically, because that's how the Arthurian myths end, and perhaps I subconsciously wanted to avoid that, so I stopped watching.  I'm really rather fond of the characters.

So, if you see me in a couple of weeks, looking weepy, it's probably because I watched the series finale and I'm sad.

Anyway, if you've not watched Merlin, it's available on Netflix now.  It's wonderfully silly, and yet still somehow tense and dramatic.  I recommend it.

And now I have to write words and stuff.  It will hopefully one day become my job.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So... just a quickie reminder that the period for listing eligible works for the Aurora Awards is now over, and it's time for nominations proper.

I'm up for two, actually.  In best novel, Skylark is available for nomination.  I'd love to end up on the ballot, but honestly, it's a long shot.  There are so many good books by awesome folk eligible, I'm not hopeful.  Still, if you liked Skylark and you reckon it ought to have a crack at being on the ballot, feel free to nominate it for the award.  There's no way I can win this one, but I'd love to pretend I have a shot!

Also, Nights at the Round Table is eligible for an award.  If you like talking nerdy books and film, and you think our show is worth it, feel free to nominate that too!

Nominations are open until the end of May.  You must be a member to nominate, but it's a mere $10.00 and for that price you get an awesome package of stories and books for you to chew through, ostensibly so you can vote for the award once the nominations are closed, but really you just get a bunch of really awesome books and stuff.

Right, I have things to be getting on with... You know, world-building and stuff. I should go.

Ciao!