Good morning, Readers!

I strained my back last night... Actually, I think I did it Tuesday night, and the back seized in protest at training last night.  Yay?  The pain is surprisingly strong.  I mean, I've been living with low level back pain since I ca remember.  This is a whole different beast.  I was almost crying last night.

Today's functionality courtesy of copious amounts of extra strength Advil and Voltaren.  Thank the gods for modern medicine!

Rather than complain, however, I want to show you a few things that made me smile and or clap enthusiastically.

There is THIS hilarious ad which makes incredible use of the New Zealand accent.  It laughed and laughed and laughed.

Then there was this video, which was a live-action first person shooter game that some really clever and dedicated people created in their garden:

I was so impressed and I loved it.

There was some really cool archaeology news that I came across. like Liverpool's 200 year old underground chambers and then just this morning I read about a macabre shrine to the dead in Scotland; where the heads of dead children were mounted on poles in front of a cave.  It is posited that the cave has been in continual use since the Neolithic.  It's so, so fascinating!

Apparently, this quiz thinks I'm a sensitive, giant ape:

I can live with that.

And according to this quiz I'm a Ranger.

Oh if only it were true!

Right, I'm off to paint and learn Welsh.  See you all Monday!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I received some sad news last night, and I don't particularly feel like talking about it.  Just know that if you happen across me and I'm not my usual (public) self, please know that I have a good reason and just let me be.

Having said that, because I'm not up for discussing anything just yet, I want to focus on the positive things going on at the moment.  They all, rather unsurprisingly, have to do with work.

Because I am unable (I've discovered) to sit idly while participating in the class, I've taken to working on my art during my Welsh lessons.  I used to play Sudoku, but that wasn't really achieving much beyond mild amusement.  This way, I get extra time to work on my paintings while improving my second language skills.  Yay!

I'm currently painting a mountain/valley fantasy landscape.  It took me forever to work out how to paint the mountains properly.  I think that the two mountains I've finished painting thus far (just three more to go!) look pretty darn good.  I'm proud of this one at the moment.  That might change when I start painting the statues and the boat.  But so far, it's looking great and I'm really, really happy with it. 

Editing Sky Road Walker is going well.  I was aiming for about three chapters a day, and I'm right on target.  Often I finish in time to get roughly a thousand words down on a different story.  I'm currently rewriting The Third Prince in preparation for self-publication... probably in 2017 or so.  It's up for change, 'cause who knows what the future might bring.  Does that mean that Daughters of Britain has been shelved?  Nope.  As soon as I'm done with this round of edits for Sky Road Walker, I'll be getting back to Daughters of Britain.  The only reason I'm now also working on The Third Prince is because I recently joined a writer's group (we're working on a name), and since I so desperately want this story told, and want it to be the best it can be, I'm running it through them.

So, editing three chapters a day and writing roughly a thousand words a day.  I'm doing really well in the productivity department.

I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up, but for now, I'm celebrating!

It's really the small things in life...

So, what are you celebrating?  Big or small, nothing is too insignificant to mention!

Now I'm off to paint and dysgu Cymraeg!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Forgive me for any typos in this post. I'm feeling extremely tired at the moment. I should have gone to the gym this morning, but couldn't drag myself out of bed.  In short, I'm exhausted and probably not making much sense.

Yesterday, friend and fellow writer (and all-round awesome human), Eric Desmarais posted this article on Facebook.

It had me shaking my head, not because the advice was bad, necessarily, but because I'm sick to death of all these prescriptions that people give on what makes a writer, and how to be a writer, and what you should or should not do to be considered a writer, as if it's a one size fits all situation.  As if it's their way or no way.

Yawn.

Look, the author of the article made some very valid points. But what they were prescribing and under what pretence was utter crap.  It is very true that chances are high of producing a steaming pile of weevil-riddled dung for a book if you rush through it, if you don't take some time to practice and hone your craft, if you ignore the egregious need for editing and so on.  Yup.  You'll produce shit.  If you do this in a rush to produce four books a year?  You'll produce a lot of shit.

On the other hand, you absolutely don't need to labour for ten or more years to create a book, either.  It doesn't need to be slaved over your entire life to be a valid and entertaining work of art.

Can we just stop it with all the writerly pretentiousness, please?

There is not one way to write.  There is no one way to make art.  There is not single path that is correct and all others are not.  Honestly.  There simply isn't.

Look, admittedly, cranking out four books a year with no heed as to the quality of the work will likely do little but produce crappy stuff.  But you know what?  It's your name attached to that crappy stuff.  If you want your name to be associated with rubbish then that's on you.  No skin of my nose.

If you want to spend forever just writing one book and have that be the seminal novel; you're one legacy left after you're gone from this reality, then that's on you, too.  By the way, doing this doesn't make your art any more legitimate than anyone else's.

I would strongly advice caution against shitty writing, and shitty book creation.  This is mostly because it is your name on these books.  I realise not everyone thinks as I do, but I would want my name attached to great things: great stories, great reads, great books.  To this end, I work very hard on trying to produce the best book possible.  Sometimes I fall a little short.  No one is perfect.

What do I mean the best book possible?  I mean the whole damned package.  I try to write the story in my head as faithfully and as skilfully as I am able.  I go through four rounds of editing.  I have three Beta Readers.  I have worked with and will be hiring on a formatter to make sure the inside of the book looks as good as possible (that formatter is the afore-mentioned Eric Desmarais.  He's an absolute pleasure to work with.  Check out his services here).  I do this for every book.

I also hire book cover designers, because my skills do not lie in that direction.  At all.  I give them an idea of what I want, and they work their incredible magic to give me a book cover that looks, to me at least, absolutely spectacular.  They take my ideas and create a cover that has meaning, looks good, and reflects what is inside the cover.  I take special care to ensure it is the best it can possibly be.

When I self-publish a book, I go through extraordinary lengths to try and make it the best possible.  I spend good money on a cover designer and I work with them to create a cover that appeals.  I hire a formatter and work with them to ensure the inside of the book looks as good as possible.  I edit a lot.  I have people help me edit a lot.

This all takes time.  There is a reason why, despite having a fairly substantial back list of manuscripts, I only put out a maximum of one book a year.  I limited myself deliberately because I know that the level of quality control I want takes time.

I write faster than it takes a finished manuscript to be prepared for publication.  I once wrote three books in a single year.  I published one book, one I had written the year before.

Now, is this the right number of books to publish, or to write per year for you?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  It really does come down to how you work.  I have a very narrow focus, and so can usually only write one book at a time.  I will be in various stages of editing others, but there is room only for one new story at a time in my conscious mind (don't ask me what my subconscious mind is doing.  It's not pretty).  Some people can bounce between stories in a single day, and have several different first drafts on the go at the same time.  Those people make me jealous.

There is no one way to work that is good.  There is no one way to produce that creates valid art.  It is all good.  It is all valid.

(For example, one of my favourite fantasy authors has cranked out loads of books since he started writing, and they're extraordinarily brilliant books.  Yes, I'm talking about Steven Erikson.  Again)

If you can create four great quality books in a year, then do it.  Don't let anyone tell you that it's wrong to do so.

If you can't, but feel perfectly fine with associating your name with utter crap, then do that.  It's your name, and I feel consumers are smart enough not to lump all self-publishers with the rotten quality of one author's works in the same way they don't lump all traditionally published authors in with those that have produced utter crap... and there are some traditionally published doozies out there.  Why you would feel comfortable doing that is well beyond me, but whatever.  You do you.  Just be prepared when people say it's utter crap.

It comes down to what feels right for you and what is a comfortable pace for you to work in.  If you feel like vomiting at the thought of producing four books a year, take a deep breath, self-published author.  You don't have to do that.  If you want to be alive to see your book in print, and the thought of only publishing one book ever in your life makes you hyperventilate, relax, self-published author.  You don't have to wait so damned long to get the book out into the world.  You can write more than one in your time on this planet.

My publishing advice, dear self-published author?  Practice your craft.  Write a damned good book.  Create a damned good publication.  And take as little or as long a time as you need to do it, and do it well.

That is all.

That's the point of being self-published.  YOU are in charge.  You do it your way.  And don't let anyone's frantic rush for recognition or another's idiotic disdain for your style, genre or work flow sway you.  M'kay?

Now, there is a Welsh lesson waiting for me.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So this weekend past was C.O.N.  I totally forgot to put it in my eNewsletter, and now I'm sad.  I meant to send out an extra email, but that didn't happen.  I don't know where my head has been of late!

It was, of course, a dreary cool day, drizzling rain all day.

My favourite weather.

I'm not being facetious.

In any case, it also happened to be the same day as the very first Saturday morning martial arts classes I teach.  It was also the day the Amazing Flatmate was headed to Toronto to walk the red carpet at TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival).  We both had tables.

In what turned out to be a logistical nightmare, we fared pretty well.  The Amazing Flatmate went in early to set up the tables (which she did very nicely, thank you) and then fled to catch the train to Toronto.  I got to sleep in before heading over to Carleton University to commence teaching.

The classes, incidentally, were a tonne of fun!  The women's kick-boxing was full, despite the rain, and they were all about the giggles and the working and it just made me happy.  The Intro. to Women's Self-Defence class was smaller, but just as fun.  They are, however, less into zombies than I am...

Immediately following the classes, I fielded a bunch of questions from my students... and then was interviewed!  What?!  Unfortunately, it kept me from my ride, Bill, who was waiting patiently for me to whisk me away to C.O.N. so that I could at least attend my table for part of the day!

Once at C.O.N. it was wonderful.  My table had been watched by good friends, the Coderre's, who I did not know were going to watch my table... and they were as lovely as ever.  Apparently Mr. Coderre started reading The Summer Bird while he was there, and managed to get to chapter 6 before I showed up.  I was later told that he will be stealing his wife's copy because he absolutely had to finish the story.  I blushed.  It was so complimentary.

There were some amazing vendors at C.O.N., and I bout a pair of earrings from this lovely lady.  I couldn't help it.  They were a pair of scalemaille earrings. Scalemaille!  SCALEMAILLE!  Ahem... She had many amazing pieces and I look forward to seeing her around and lots of other events.  I also bought coffee from JenEric Designs.  They roast and flavour their own coffee.  I bout the cinnamon one and the pumpkin spice one for the Amazing Flatmate (technically she bought it... she just wasn't present), and I bought the coconut one.  I love their coffees, by the by.  They come highly recommended.

The day ended far too quickly, and I was sad I couldn't be there for all of it, but it was lovely all the same.  Thanks to everyone who came out and made the event so wonderful, despite the rain.  You are all awesome!

In other fantastic news, Tony Abbott is no longer the Prime Minister of Australia. Yes! Yes! Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes!  Mondays are no longer terrible.

As you are probably aware, I'm very left leaning.  Tony Abbott being gone is great news to me.  You're free to agree or not.

There is a lot for me to do today, including but not limited to editing, drawing, and writing. I'm a little overwhelmed!  Must go!  Must work AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ahem...

Ciao.

Good morning, Readers!

So... I looked in the mirror after I got to work this morning...

I looked rough, guys. Really rough. Hell Fortnight is in full swing.

Immediately I knew that I had made the correct call in letting myself sleep in a bit rather than going to the gym this morning.  I will also be letting myself sleep in on Friday.  And Saturday.  And Sunday.

It should surprise no one, therefore, when I say that I barely managed to get anything done yesterday.  It took me all day to edit the next three odd chapters of Sky Road Walker and it probably wasn't even done well, if I'm perfectly honest.  Still, through the haze of exhaustion, it was done.  I will attempt another three today, but hold absolutely no hope at all for writing.  My brain is too fuzzy, my eyes too droopy, and my body too achy to promise much else!


In fact, I can't think of anything else to write about, so I'm going to take my bedraggled self and my non-functioning brain and attempt some Welsh!


Ciao!

Good morning, readers!

Yesterday was my first day back at real life.  I fared fairly well... all things told, though I didn't do everything I was supposed to.

I spent a good while editing, so I could check that off my list.  Yay me!  Then I went ahead and did my Welsh lesson, since I had forgotten to do that in the morning.  Another check off my list.  Then, I was supposed to write for the rest of the day.

I didn't do that.

Instead, I used the excuse of my editing-fried brain to go ahead and finish a piece of digital art I was almost finished before I went on holidays.

I mean, I'm really proud of this one.  Like, ridiculously proud.  It took forever to do.  There was much attention paid to the details...

I'm not proud that I skipped writing to finish this up, but I am proud of the art piece.  I'd venture to say that it's my best one thus far.

And before I get too upset with myself for breaking form, I did start rereading the last few things I had written in Daughters of Britain, so that I could put myself in the correct head space for writing.  I'm not sure how effective it will be as I'll be editing a different story and my head really feels like nothing more than a jumble of badly muddled stories.

In training news... Well... I went...  That counts for something, right?  This year on Tuesdays, I'm in charge of the beginner kick-boxing.  They did really well, actually, and I look forward to working with them more.  It was probably a good thing I didn't train with everyone else, as I was destroyed by weights beforehand.

It was certainly humbling to return to weight training after so long away.  I was absolutely useless.  It was honestly very frustrating, but I went, and I tried, and I'll get better at it.

I hurt today.  Le sigh.

Right, I have a tonne to do today.  Hope you're all well!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I'm back at work! Work has air conditioning!  I'm worried about the cats in this awful heat!

How are you?

There is a fair amount I need to catch you up on.  I'll start with the reason for today's image first.  Good friend of mine Tom had taken The Winter Wolf on his annual camping trip with him.  He gave a very short review of it on his blog along with all the other books he'd read while away.  If you're interested, you can read them all here.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I've moved! The Amazing Flatmate and I have moved into a town house.  There is still much unpacking and tidying away we need to do, but we're in and settled for the most part.  Life can return to normal now.

So, starting this week, Silver Stag's Nights at the Round Table will be resuming filming, I will be resuming playing and uploading my idiotic attempts at Skyrim, and my writing, editing and drawing will begin again.

It will start with editing.  Beta Reader One long ago returned Sky Road Walker to me.  Apparently, it was in really rough shape when I sent it off (sorry!  I thought I had taken care of it enough.  Nope!), so I'm expecting a very long edit before me before I can send it off to Beta Reader Two.  That takes priority since I have the cover artist waiting for the finished thing so she can fix up the proportions of the cover properly.  I also must send the finished manuscript off to the people in charge of the charity I intend to support to see if they'd let me put their logo on the book.  They'd like to approve it, of course.

I'm keen to get Daughters of Britain finished, however.  I'm so close, so I'll be editing for the majority of the day, and writing for the last two or so hours.  I think that's a fair compromise.

Then, I will be spending my Sunday's writing as I'm now part of a writing group that meets fortnightly on Fridays.  I signed up last night.  I'll be running The Great Man series in this group, using them to help me make the strongest manuscript possible before I self-publish it.  I'm determined to self-publish it now, and I think I might even attempt to paint the cover myself!  We'll see.  I know the image I want for the last book in the series, but that's a while away yet!

Fridays will still be spent digital painting.  It's my clear/calming/OMG WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY mind time.  The amount I need to focus to paint makes it impossible for all the stories up there to make their usual din.  I treasure that time!

In health news, today marks the second morning I've gone to the gym to start my day.  I'm feeling rather chipper at the moment, even though I had to practically run to work to get there on time.  The community gym that is part of the business that are renting our home to us also have a centre with a pool and a gym.  Unfortunately, the gym is only open at 7:00am (and I couldn't get in earlier, damn you timed pass keys!).  I'm trying to get them to open the gym a half hour earlier.  Even fifteen minutes would be a massive boon.  Hopefully they will, but if not, provided I rush and do things in a slightly different order than I did them this morning, I should be able to still work out for half an hour before heading of to work.

Also, today is the first day back at training; both weight training and martial arts training.  I am going to be hurting.  This is the start of what I have dubbed Hell's Fortnight, the two weeks back from training when my body decides it hates me and everything hurts.  Then, I get used to it and my body grudgingly accepts that I am trying to become a real life badass and stops fighting me about it.

An now I have taken up FAR too much time and need to get cracking on that editing.  Wish me luck!  I'm scared!

Ciao!