AWOL

Sorry I've been AWOL for so long, life keeps getting in the way of what I really want to do... which is write. Having a young child, and one who needs me to be there for him even if it's just to drive the car, means I'm bound by motherly duties which are, by their very nature, fixed to set times of the day. You can't get breakfast at three in the afternoon, for example, and the schools take a dim view of 'My child won't be in today because I've had this great idea for the next chapter and have to get it down on paper'.

Then there was Christmas which takes up a huge chunk of time even if you do order most of it over the internet. My husband is great and does most of the cooking and washing up when he's at home and does it all over the Christmas period but I still have all the presents to buy, even two for myself this year. And when you have a family the size of a small state, a son born on Boxing Day and a grown up child who still insists on having a stocking, it works out to be quite a lot of things to organise.

So writing has taken a back seat, not that I haven't done any but blogging and everything non-novel has been dropped until now. One of the presents I got was an Italian leather journal which I started my new novel in and I've written 130 pages so far, not bad considering. Considering what? Considering my hands don't like the cold so they give out on me or refuse to work at all. I've had the odd day when my brain has given out on me and the journal has remained unopened on the bed next to me.

Now, I'm going to try harder to get things done... I've said that before though so don't hold your breath!

I'm there. I'm not sure it's any different from here.

Yesterday was the day I'd been waiting for. The day my book was published. The Legends of Light is now available to buy. My e-book is a reality. So I'm over the moon right? I'm dancing on air and shouting it to the world... right? Well no, not really. I'm wondering what to cook tonight. Yesterday I rushed out during the dry spell and cleaned up after the dogs (I know, too much information). I'm wondering if there's enough washing for a full load and deciding that if I don't look it won't exist.
So what's going on? This is something I dreamt of, this is IT as far as a writer is concerned surely?
What I've discovered is that the thing that gets your heart racing (only a little, hopefully), the thing that gets you excited and up in the mornings, is writing. Creating something out of nowhere, getting involved with your characters, getting to know and love them, even the evil ones. Once the book is written then that's it, unless you are doing a sequel or a prequel or an offshoot or some other quel or shoot, you need never see those people again. It's like being on holiday, you make new friends, you have so much in common, you are going to keep in touch no matter what. Then when you get home you never hear from them again and you don't mind.
At the moment I'm still typing up Altair Jones' story, I'm editing my horror poems, I'm starting a book with no name yet and I'm wondering if I should do a short story as a lead in to my next published work... Endings. Oh and I'm doing pizza tonight, it's quick, it doesn't involve lifting heavy pans and there's only me and youngest at home. And it doesn't take up so much of my life if I do quick and easy meals. I'm never going to write a cookery book that's for sure.
http://greyhartpress.com/our-fantasy-stories/the-legends-of-light/

To blog or not to blog

OK so I was stuck for a title but it just about sums it all up.

I've been toying with the idea for a while and finally decided that, since I already had a Blogger account I may as well use it.

News on the writing front, I'm hoping to have my book of Fantasy poetry published towards the end of the year. I had begun to wonder if I was ever going to get anywhere other than the odd short or poem hidden away here and there in obscure magas or e-zines. Mind you if you write fantasy and or poetry there's not a huge choice when it comes to lack of obscurity.

Recently, on Linkedin, someone described speculative fiction as crap for teens... this got a whole lot of 'crap writers' talking, as you would. We now have our own catch phrase... Crap On! So I will.

On the fibro front, I'm doing better than I could be doing. Not much else you can say about it... for those who don't know about fibro or don't have fibro feel free to just ignore these bits... or better still look it up, educate yourself there's probably someone near you who has it but doesn't talk about it for fear of misunderstandings and abuse.

So that's it, my first blog... enjoy, hate whatever... but please don't ignore.