TREAT YOURSELF

We’re all busy these days and it can feel like we’re all trapped on a never ending treadmill as we move between work and tasks at home. We recognise how important holidays are so the taking of the ritual two weeks in the summer so we can lay next to a pool in a far off land and hope that we can untie all of the knots in our rope that the world tied in there is something that everyone grasps with two hands.

But that should never be all.

The book I’m writing at the moment is filled with monsters and the people fighting back against them in a post invasion world populated with an ever dwindling number of people. To a point, quite a familiar idea, but something I’m keeping bouncing along with that bigger story of conflict is the value of embracing our humanity.

A big example of keeping the old human flame burning is the holiday to lay on a beach and do nothing for two weeks but within the world of constant fighting for survival, holidays are a far off luxury no-one can afford. There’s that constant threat outside the walled towns and villages which means that everyone is always ‘switched on’. No-one gets down time beyond sleep and even that is affected by the limitations of the homes everyone has. Think dormitories rather than single rooms.

So how to relax and unwind?

One of the struggles that we face as people is that we often can’t see the wood for the trees, and our down time from our job gets filled up with jobs at home, with family and friends, with activities that take us away from just ‘being’. We can end up feeling like we don’t have even the slightest piece of our lives to our selves and there can be a spiralling effect where the pressure just builds and builds.

We all need to do everything we can to not forget even the smallest possible chance we can take to look after ourselves. Spending time reading a book, taking a bath, getting a massage, taking a walk, or just letting your mind wander over the vast landscape of your imagination, all of these things can give you the chance to escape from the world we’re in for a short while and have a chance to let our minds decompress. We can have that short time to ourselves where we aren’t expected to do things for anyone, to fit in with convention, to exist inside the pressure.

We all need a little time to ourselves, some chance to look after ourselves against what we’re bashing up against every day. Taking time to ensure that we’re not just stuck on that treadmill is a vital cog in feeding the strength of our humanity.

It’s where we move from existing, to living.

Stay safe all.

BACK TO NORMAL

I don’t know about anyone else, but after a while, it comes as something of a relief to get back to the normality of time out of the silly season. I enjoy the festive period as much as the next man but after a while, there’s only so much chocolate that you can eat for breakfast.

Wizzard proudly sang that they ‘Wish it could be Christmas every day’ and no doubt, on paper, almost all of us would love the idea of every day being Christmas day. The food, the gifts, the excitement, the fun. Bung everything together and you have a heady cocktail of the magic of Christmas.

Now as kids, the silly season was just the ultimate magic time. The twinkling lights and all the things listed above added together to create this explosion of wonder which so many of us would wish to last a lifetime but the reality is very different.

The day itself is magical because it only happens once a year. If it was the same every day, eventually even the most die hard fan would start to feel jaded. It’s the change that we love. The out of the ordinary which we don’t see all of the time makes it so prized.

I struggled out to work in the dark on Boxing day morning, cursing the horror that was normality, but the reality of the fact was that the cold splash of water which was going back to the usual world was what made the previous day mean as much as it did. It was so out of the ordinary.

So I welcome the return to work and the packing away of all of the decorations because it means that the journey towards the next one has well and truly begun and with that in mind, I’m going to get started on the next book.

THE CIRCLE OF STARS

After the wait to end all waits, I’m proud to present to everyone, the third bod in ‘The Circle’ series – The Circle of Stars.

Available from Amazon and Lulu.com but if you’re interested in a signed copy, just let me know.

HOME STRAIGHT

Taken a while but it’s now just the final stages.

Won’t be long now.

FINALLY

It took me longer than expected but The Circle of Stars is finally finished.

Not long now.

THE CIRCLE OF STARS

The beautification process has commenced and the book will be with us very soon.

I haven’t got a complete cover for you but as an early treat, this is a sneak peak at the cover art.

via Shutterstock

THE DAY AFTER

You know that come down you get after a great convention weekend? I’ve got that.

We had a great time and all the talk about dragons and all things science fiction and fantasy really managed to pour a huge amount of fuel into my mental tanks.

How often do we all just soak in all the good things we need from a particular event? A convention, a family gathering, a long awaited holiday. Our batteries get low and an event can suddenly re-charge what we’d run out of.

I published a new book of short stories recently so it’s understandable that some of my ‘well’ had been depleted but thanks to this weekend I’m full to the brim again. I’ve been feeling pretty good about the latest stretch of my writing journey so the energy from this weekend really has done the business.

New jacket and waist coat even came out to play as can be seen in the picture of me in the selection below.

I even managed to come up with a new idea for a YA novel. It came to me in a dream and I had a mad scramble to get the notes written down while they were still fresh in my mind.

Looks like 2018 is filling up with ideas nicely.

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ANSWERS FROM THE DARKNESS

Today I release my latest collection of short stories ‘Answers from the Darkness‘.

Last year was a swirling horror show for my family and off the back of that, my work on the third novel in The Circle series slowed to a near crawl. It didn’t seem to matter how hard I tried to force the words onto the page, nothing could release the grip on what was stopping them.

So instead I had to work through my issues in another way.

My short stories have helped me to explore ideas and work through the images in my mind following my Dad’s death.

I’ve played with some things, worked on some stuff for the world of The Circle, and tried to move into outer space with a few stories. And I enjoyed giving it a go as I climbed out of my own darkness.

The stories are looking at some uncomfortable topics and are quite gruesome in places so I’d suggest, not for kids. Everyone come and download a copy, the print copy’s coming soon.

The answers are in there……………..

ROLLING

You know it’s important to plan. You know it’s important to manage your time. You know, that even though you don’t feel like it sometimes, you have to keep plonking along steadily towards the goal.

Doesn’t change the fact that sometimes you have to be smashing up against the clock to get the best results.

Over the last few weeks I’ve really put the hammer down on the next collection of short stories and you know what? The more I write the more it’s been flowing.

No you can see regularly as a writing tip, the more you do it, the easier it’ll get, but the reality is just that. The concerted effort is having the desired results.

Now being creative is a tough journey.

It’s not as if you can just turn your creativity on or off with the barest hint of effort. Sculpting a story isn’t something that just happens you know. Concentration and focus and inspiration all have to work together which takes time, and that’s when things are going well. Add in Writer’s Block and things get really tough.

Happily though, I’ve been able to get onto a real roll and the more that I’ve written, the more the ideas have been flowing. I’ve been able to really pour energy and urgency into the words and things have been going pretty well.

All in all, the purpose of this post was more to wave the flag of positivity.

It’s all too easy to get trapped into the spiral of negativity when we work on any and all projects. Trying to push onwards, even when it seems that everything you try is just fizzling out to nothing. We all have to deal with the nastiness of failure, if we try anything there’s always going to be the risk that it’s not going to unfold as planned. But that shouldn’t mean that we don’t give the project our everything just in case.

You know what all?

If you’ve got a project or hobby on the go, the more you do, the more you do. Practice may not always make perfect but make the most of those good days when they come along.

Now I’m off back to the fighting on the crippled starship I’ve been working on.

Good times.

SOON

Just a quickie this week.

Look what I was sent today.

Not long to wait now.