Been to Japan

Ginza Tokyo

I've longed wanted to travel to Japan. I dreamed of practicing aikido at Honbu dojo. Now, I'm back from a three week long sojourn in the Land of the Rising Sun with Susan, after the trip of a lifetime. I didn't manage get to go to Honbu dojo for some aikido, which was just down to a matter of practicality.

I've reached an age where that wasn't practical.

Being an old fart means the time I have left to do all the things I dreamed about doing requires more  time than I have left lived. Just an acknowledgement that can't do everything you want in life, and is not meant to be a downer.

Everyone's life has an end date. It's just what it is.

Now I'm back, and I have some thoughts. Japan is awesome, in both meanings of the word. Amazing, yet overwhelming in how it leaves you feeling. It's a strange combination of the future, which somehow manages to feel like the late 1970s.

As a Japanophile I thought myself prepared for the trip.

I already have a smattering of Japanese, from practicing aikido. Though I've been told most of what I know is either technical, or rather old fashioned ways of speaking. None of which is surprising given how formal Japanese martial arts are. 

However, I diligently spent time learning new words.

Spent a whole bunch of time watching YouTube videos making copious notes, and repeating useful phrases. It wasn't enough, but probably better than not trying my best.

Then you step off the plane and reality hits. 

The signs.

Arriving in Tokyo, is to experience what feels like to suffer aphasia after a stroke. I couldn't understand what I was reading, even when in it was in Romaji. Later in Osaka we witnessed Taco Bell's victory in the franchise wars.

That's a joke referencing Demolition Man, for those who have never seen the movie.

Just look at the menu.

The culture shock isn't the fact that Japanese dress conservatively. Men in white shirts and ties, and women wearing twin-sets and jewellery. Or, that everyone is polite, and all the other superficial stereotypes we're all know. 

What puzzled me were the shopping outlets.

These ranged from multi floor stores, to what I would describe as 1960s style covered markets, and corner shops. Both seemed to defy economic sense. In Britain, these sort of shops have gone out of business, or exist in niche places. 

An example would be Brixton Market, and the more tourist driven Camden Market.

But, while there were a bunch of tourist from all around Asia, some of the places we visited were off the beaten track,because we weren't just there for tourist spots, even if we did go see the tourist sights.

But, enough for now. I took 300 pictures, and I have to process them before I can write more on our itinerary. Catch you all later.

Merry Xmas 2025

Merry Xmas. I once wrote Xmas in an email to an American friend, which confused him greatly. Now Kylie Minogue has this number one Christmas song, I should be able to use the abbreviation Xmas without fear.

So, Merry Christmas to one and all.

Now, indulge me while I recap the state of the year's writing.

Back in May I reported I was sending out my completed draft of The Bureau. I have had both of my trusted Beta readers report back on the story. One totally loved it, with caveats that the ending might upset people in the current political crisis. The other struggled with the story until it became clear what year the story was set in.

The former reader was British and inferred the setting and time period from the text. My American reader was lost at sea with all the British cultural call outs that set the story in time and space.

It is what it is.

So, I'm going to re-edit the order of the narrative, which will make the time and place more obvious, and add a couple of things to clarify some descriptions, and make things clear to those who haven't been brought up in Britain as to what is what.

That just leaves me to wish everyone a good holiday break, and here's to a prosperous and happy New Year.

Here's to the New Year

Resolutions, I've had a few, cues song, but nowadays it's more like guidelines for goals I'd like to achieve, because hope ever springs eternal.

I have one goal. Bring one novel to market. It's written, but needs a damn good thrashing – I mean a solid copy/developmental edit – to be ready.

That's it. My only goal.

Oh, and read a few more books. Go shoot some arrows. Paint some miniatures. The usual suspects. The things I know I can do, and keep doing because they're fun things I enjoy doing.

So, Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas 2023

Happy Hols, and or another appropriate greeting that suits.

My beloved took this picture of our tree, who is the most wonderful woman in the whole wide world.

Everyone have a lovely day and catch you later.

Snappy Title...

The month has passed me by. I thought of a snappy title, but didn't want to give the wrong impression. So the long and the short of the month is that I've been reading a lot. It takes me away from problems that are outside of my control. It is what it is.

Failure Mode the last book in the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Allanson

The finale. Sort of figured out the shape of the ending, as in there is a story that is set up in a certain way and the ending has to deliver on the promise. So while the details of said ending were well played, there was nothing unexpected. No twist that might have made me go, I didn't think of that! Fun read.

Leviathan Falls last book in The Expanse series by by James S. Corey

The conclusion to the Holden and proto-molecule shenanigans that was the basis of six seasons of TV space show awesomeness. The books are subtlety different to the show, which is neither good nor bad. Arguably the books do some things better than the show, and the show does some things better than the books. For example Cara Gee as Drummer, and Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala

Again, the promise of the story and the title pretty much gives away the plot of the book. The epilogue was a welcome, if slightly predictable from projecting the consequences of the plot, meant again that the basic shape of the ending was obvious; it was just the order of the details.

That might be me being a bit harsh.

Shards of Earth & Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The first two books of the Final Architecture series, which I think is going to be a trilogy. Has the whole Expanse vibe going for it, except the setting is farther into the future.

Really enjoyed both. They kept me thinking, and surprised me too. So highly recommended.

War Dogs Trilogy by Greg Bear

War Dogs, Killing Titan, and Take Back the Sky read as a result of his passing, which was not your typical MilSF story. Felt like I was reading a fever dream, or someone recounting a their trauma.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamysin Muir

Another fever dream of a read, is this gay romp; think Rocky Horror Picture show, featuring lesbian necromancers, which I understand is now a thing.  We met the author at a convention several years ago, before the dark times, and she was a scream to hang out with. Not a book for everyone, but a book that a lot of people will enjoy.

I've managed to read a bunch of other books too, but I'll talk about them next time.

However, I will say that I've started reading Mick Herron's Slow Horses series, as research for Anderson's character development in my current draft of Two Moons. 

Also, I've managed to get about half way through the editing of my Cthulhu novel, The Bureau, which is good.

Things are looking up. That's all for now.

New Year: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Time to look back over what I've read this year, and I've read a lot more this year, exceeding any expectations I might have set (I read about 25 to 30 books each year), which is good.

I'm going to start with a metaphor that may or may not work, gentrification.

The SF genre started out as slums. No self respecting writer would write science fiction, think of those who said things like my story is about the future not just squids in space.

Yes, Verne and Wells wrote what we would call SF, but they didn't think of themselves as SF authors. The foundations of the genre were built on their work, but it was Hugo Gernsback who coined the word scientifiction, his preferred term for the genre of science fiction.

Stories that were to be built on science.

His magazine Amazing Stories being the mechanism for bringing this new genre to the market. To say he was a bit of a wheeler-dealer who played fast and loose in business is just an illustration of the human condition where everybody is struggling to make money.

So from these humble beginning the genre evolved, weighed down by aspirations of respectability.

Some writers wanting to be seen as more than purveyors of squids in space. That in a nutshell is what drove the writers in the genre, which can be seen in the New Wave and Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions.

Hence my metaphor of gentrification.

Arguably, which is what I'm doing here, is that it is the gentrification of the genre that has led to the current divide in SF between the traditional published authors of the last 40 years and the independent authors that have risen out of Amazon's KDP.

Nailing my colours to the mast, I see the political shenanigans of the genre as more indicative of the divide between high and low brow culture than anything else. I hate snobbery, so colour me as ambivalent towards the intellectual rarefaction from high brow pontification (yes, that's an ironic sentence).

So, here's my opinions on what I've read this year.

SF Series

Expeditionary Force series by Craig Allanson (14 books)

With all of the above in mind, otherwise why would I write it, Allanson is the E. E. Doc Smith of the 21st Century. This will probably replace the Lensman series that young readers will find that introduce them to SF.

So, not great literature, but fabulous story telling, which some older readers of a more refined mindset may find repetitious, but remember other people have simpler tastes, and that is a good thing.

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (2 books: Skin Game & Peace Talks)

Hopefully I don't have to extol the virtues of this series? In a fair world where snobbery wasn't rampant these would've won the Hugo, and be considered good gateway books to the SF&F genre. But we don't live in a fair world, and it's worth remembering that if it were fair then everything bad would've happened because we deserved it.

Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd aka Mike Moscoe (19 books)

Think Hornblower, or Honor Harrington, and you'll have a good grasp of what this series is about. Could also be a contender of the next  E. E. Doc Smith or perhaps David Webber?

I don't know. All I can say is that I consumed them as fast as I could read.

Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells (6 books)

And just to be contrary, not really contrary, just detached from all the emotional turmoil that subsume the genre since 2009 or thereabouts, here is a series by a traditional published author who has had a along career before these breakout books (breakout being the term for best sellers that used to be the hallmark of publishing, back in the day, before the event).

Again, I consumed them with a passion only tempered by the cost of them.

Centers of Gravity by Marko Kloos (Book 8 of the Frontlines series)

An ending of the story for the characters, but hopefully not an end of the stories in this universe. There is much left unresolved about the Lankies and the fate of humanity in a hostile universe.

I've just read that there is a spin-off series coming out, which is good news. I'm now looking forward to reading it.

SF&F Singletons

Clowns by Peter Cawdron

My Sweet Satan by Peter Cawdron

Peter's stick is writing first contact novels. He plays with different scenarios for each of his stories. He's written a whole bunch of these And both of these were great. Cerebral SF that make you think. I like the attention he pays to the psychology of first contact.

I shall be reading more.

The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu

The Fall of Io by Wesley Chu (sequel that's really the second half of the story)

My beloved bought these, and I read them so we could discuss what we thought. They were fine, but truth be told I could barely remember reading them.

I don't regret reading them, but they weren't memorable. Read so that I have an understanding of what is happening in the genre, and not look like a complete fool.

Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster

Read this oldie that remains a goldie. Foster is what I would consider a pedestrian writer, his prose doesn't set the world alight, but it is workmanlike, all the joints fit, the finish is smooth. Again, in a fairer world he would be talked about more, because if he'd written these in the 50s and 60s he would've been considered a successor to the greats.

And, I should add, this is a delightful story.

Re-Reads

Alien by Alan Dean Foster

Aliens by Alan Dean Foster

After describing Foster as pedestrian, you may wonder why I read and re-read his work? They answer is complicated, but can be boiled down to the fact that I'm drawn in by the unpretentious stories. The deliver what they promise, and he ends them well enough.

Workmanlike (courting controversy with gendered language) they show people as just people (even aliens are people), and that is good enough for me.

A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt

McDevitt is one of those authors I buy in hardback. He's much maligned by the glitterati of SF for his settings being the 1950s transposed into space. Not a failing in my mind, because psychologically I doubt that the evolution of humankind into some future transhumanist vision of mankind will ever be realized.

Not that it can't happen, but if it does then writing about it will be as comparable to the visions of traveling to the Moon in a chariot pulled by Swans.

A Talent for War is one of those books that blew me away, and still stands up when re-read. Arguably, he's never written anything quite as good since, but I still buy his books in hardback, and that should tell you all you need to know.

Odds & Ends

38 North Yankee by Ed Ruggero

Very much the oddity here, but I'm a wargamer, and this is one of those books that any wargamer interested in what if scenarios will likely read. It is dated (doh, you don't say, Ashley!), and the writing is in what is called omniscient 3rd point of view, which is out of fashion.

But only snobs care about fashion, all I care about is story. And the story here deals with the North Koreans invading the the Republic of Korea. Given how much Korean drama this year on Netflix I suspect this drove me to read this book now.

Non-Fiction

Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder

I read science fiction, I write science fiction, and I'm all too aware that I'm not a scientist. So this is me keeping up with what a scientist thinks about science, and Dr. Hossenfelder has a delightful wit that makes her discussions even more interesting for those of us who sit on the sidelines of the advance in science.

So, I make that 52 books I've read this year, which is a record during the time I've kept a blog recording such fripperies. It is good.

I finish this by wishing you all a Happy New Year.

It's Christmas Time

The weather outside is frightful...

Been hunkered down, keeping warm, and doing hobby stuff. No point in going out in the cold. It has been a while since the last post, and this year not a lot of post on this blog. So the thought of shuttering the blog had passed my mind.

Probably won't because I do seem driven to write. Even if what I'm driven to write about is trivial stuff like my hobbies and the weather.

It is what it is. I'm of an age where I look back over my life knowing that the time ahead of me is less than the time behind me.

Science suggests that the past is not really gone, just inaccessible after the collapse of the wave function. The future predictable but unknowable, or should I say unpredictable because we can't calculate what will happen faster than the progress of time in the universe.

One would have to be outside of our space-time continuum to be able to calculate the outcomes of all the particles in our universe.

In a non-Euclidian space-time. Though arguably space-time may be mostly an illusion we construct to explain reality.

That's all for now. Next time, what I've been reading and watching over this year.

So, those are my thoughts for what they are.

Staycation

Holiday memories: another time, another place.

We're having a staycation.  Susan took some time off so we can stay at home and chillax, as the kids use to say, because I'm sure that if I know the word, the kids have moved on to another. That's what the young do.

Hey, even old fogeys like me can learn new words, though I no longer feel the need to differentiate myself from the older generation.

That must be what it means to be mature. Acceptance of who you are. I don't know.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I was born, I've paid taxes, and one day I will die. That, and I know there's a lot of stuff I don't know. Stuff that everybody else thinks they know, but they don't really know as much as they think.

So, I'm painting, which has become my therapy in these troubled time. My time to put aside thoughts and be mindful.

As a result, my mood is lighter. It helps that the treatment for my rheumatoid arthritis is working and I can now hold a paint brush without pain. The simple things in life bring joy. Especially so when the pain stops.

Normal service will be resumed soon.*

NB: for definitions of soon that remain undefined at this point in time.

Merry Christmas 2019

And I sit here typing these words, wondering where the heck did December go?

But they have flown by, so it must be time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

See you all on the bounce.

Merry Christmas 2018

The above picture was taken by my wife as per the technical information listed above. A remarkable piece of photography given that we live in London and one cannot see that many stars with the naked eye.

We've done all the essential food shopping. Anyone would think we were laying in for a siege, and of course the tree is up with presents to be opened.

Anyway, I hope you all will enjoy the break and so I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Quick Update: It's Hot Outside

Stating the bleeding obvious, but Britain is having a bit of a heat wave. Something to do with the sun being in the sky and all. Fortunately, we have aircon, but I do find the noise of it running a bit distracting. However, this is a First World problem, and one I'm glad to have.

The picture above is from Provence. Here because it reminds me of the ending in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. What's that got to do with anything? Well, not a lot I suppose, apart from the metaphor of the world adjusting to what is happening on it I suppose.

Bit of a stretch.

Anyway, I've been a bit distracted by health issues, so I'm behind on my work. However, while I may not be typing words like there's no tomorrow, I am back writing. I've got three projects on the go, so that when I'm blocked on one I start writing on another.

The words must flow.

Anyway, enough of me whinging, got work to do. Keep cool, drink plenty of water, and I'll catch you all on the bounce.

Back From Provence

Enjoying the day.

I've been away from my computer. We went to Provence to stay with very generous friends of ours, who spoilt us both rotten. Had a great time doing absolutely nothing.

Well, we got up late, ate breakfast, then went for a swim, ate some more, read books, and had long conversations with our friends and their other house guests: John and Chung.

Went to La Coste, a village mostly owned by Pierre Cardin, and the site of the Marquis de Sade's castle. All the villages in this area were subject to raids in historical times and are designed to hinder any attackers by funneling them through narrow streets.

Very defensible.

We also went to Goult and Bonnieux sightseeing and for fabulous meals. The French and cooking are synonymous for a reason.

Recommended.

Happy New Year: Reflecting Back on 2017

A planet with two moons is the setting for my next novel, Strike Dog.

Before I start, let me wish everyone the best for the new year ahead.

At this time I find myself reflecting on work, life, the universe, and everything. I can report that my NHS job has come to an end, which as one may imagine has caused a certain amount of emotional turmoil. After all, jobs are often linked to one's feeling of self worth.

So, I'm taking a long hard look at what I've actually written.

My productivity has not been helped by having the day job, but the worse thing is that I haven't focused on writing new words. Because only by writing new words does one improve. I could make a reasonable argument that all the re-writing I've done, to get my first three novels knocked into shape, was practice.

But, if this is true, then the time has come to move on with what I've learnt.

Totting everything up this is what I managed, while holding down what was effectively a full time job, this year.

Non-fiction:

Galactic Journey, twelve articles, which came to 11,839 words.
Paint it Pink blog, 56 pieces that came to 11,260 words.
This writing blog, 43 articles, which came to 12,598 words.
Two short reviews for Miniature Wargames magazine, 438 words.
Total: 36,310 words.

Looking Back:

2013; ARP 18,519; PiP 9,465; Five reviews 12,735; Total: 40,719 words.
2014; ARP 23,201; PiP 12,259; Four articles 11,166; Total: 46,626 words.
2015; ARP 30,638; PiP 14,113; Total: 44,751 words.
2016; ARP 18,155; PiP 12,682; GJ 8,230; Total: 39,067 words.

Over the last two years I have written less but, what I choose take away from all this noodling is that I write a bunch of non-fiction regardless of the demands on my life. It's not a large number of words, but I do consistently write.

However, while content will remain free to read, I've added a donate to support this blog PayPal button to the sidebar. I need income streams if I'm to continue writing, and the odd dollar here & there will help.

Fiction:

Aggregated that includes new scenes, and two short stories, 21,537 words.

Grand total:

57,407 words.

Which is just not enough to sustain any forward momentum to develop a writing career.

Looking at the editing come re-writing this year, then I know I did a draft of Strike Dog, which came to 101,638 words that has now come back from copy-editing. I've also did  a draft of Ghost Dog, which came to 96,518 words, and I'm currently re-writing it because, well just because I want it to be as good as I can make it, and my Beta reader pointed out some problems I agreed with.

So, bottom line here is, I averaged 1,103 new words per week, and re-wrote 198,156 words during the course of the year. This means 3,810 words each week that could have gone towards new novels, didn't. Add together that would've made 219,693 words, which is at least two novels. That's two novels worth of writing I will not get back.

New Year resolutions are generally pointless.

But, my first novel, Bad Dog, is out as an eBook, and by the end of the month I hope to have a paperback and hardcover versions for sale. Furthermore, the sequel, Strike Dog, is nearly ready to be published, all I've got to do is commission a cover, typeset it, and then I'll be good to go. And before the end of the year I will bring Ghost Dog to market

So my goal in 2018 is to have published my three novels, and I will write three new novels.

This year is new words. It just is.

NB: Links to my Galactic Journey pieces.

Vegetating at the Movies (Day of the Triffids)
A Galaxy of Choices (British TV: The Andromeda Breakthrough)
Out of this World (the British Summer SF hit!)
Yes, please! (The first James Bond movie, Dr. No)
Great Balls of Fire!  (Gerry Anderson’s new series, Fireball XL5)
That Was the Month that Was (Christmas Cheer from a UK fan

Christmas 2017

It's that time of the year when, depending on your predilections, when one says, bah humbug, or a joyous time to celebrate.  The joy comes from the idea of Christmas as the time of the year for gifts.  Arguably an invention by one of the greatest writers who has ever lived.  No not Shakespeare, because he didn't write a Christmas Carol, Dickens did.  And I thank him for that.  Otherwise Christmas would be a rather joyless event.

So, here I sit, writing about Christmas thinking of the good things, for example, the books I've read this year, and the new authors I've discovered, and of course, all the work I've been doing to get my book ready to put up on Amazon.

In the mean time, the parcels are wrapped, the tree has been put up, and there's a ton of other fun stuff to look forward to.  So, let me wish all my readers a Merry Christmas, or if you prefer a Happy Holiday, or Solstice break.  Whatever works for you.

Happy New Year & Reflections on 2016

With my new quiver I have the whole the whole badass archer thing down pat.

Time for me to look back and sum up my thoughts after four years of writing.

Work wise, it has been a complex year for me, what with starting the day job.  Two days a week, may not sound like much, but I run a clinic at a major London NHS Trust, and the work demands a lot of me.  Regardless, it's something I thought I'd never do again after my illness, and at the end of January I will have been working for a year.  And there's archery... a sport, come hobby, come martial art I've taken up, with the aim being to get me out of the flat and doing more exercise, which is good but takes time.  However, all good, all things considered.

Other things that have consumed time this year, besides getting a new camera–that took several weeks to get used to using–was having to change my internet service provider and buying a new computer.  Both of these took up more valuable spare time that I could have been using for writing.  So much for my excuses.

Less good was having my first novel turned down, and now I have to decide what to do next?

Realistically, given I don't have an agent, sending it out around the publishing houses is a waste of time, and given that good agents are as rare as rocking horse pooh I think I shall avoid going down that path.  I have a plan, but you'll need to be a little bit patient with me as I put things into place before announcing what I intend to do next.  I need to get several other things in place.

One of those things is my second novel, which is stuck in the editing and polishing stage, with minor re-writes of stuff and additional scenes being worked on.  That may actually add a lot of words to the novel, as in twenty thousand or so, depending on what I decide to do.  At this moment  Strike Dog is currently running at 101,724 words, so we shall see how this goes, but whatever happens it means it's going to take me longer to finish than I expected it to.

My third novel Ghost Dog, running at 97,475 words, is also still being worked on after my Alpha reader pointed out I had planted a sub-plot at the beginning of the story and singularly failed to capitalize upon it.  Doh!  Tracking my words written this year is therefore a bit difficult, but I guess it ranges from 199,000 to 398,000 words edited, given I've done two drafts of each novel.

But then there is the writing for the blogs: nine pieces for Galactic Journey that came to 8,230 words, 51 pieces on here that came to 18,155 words, and 52 pieces for my other blog adding 12,682 words, plus a few odds and ends.  This comes a total of 39,067 words.

Adding everything up I make this a minimum of 238,266 words up to 437,465 words written.

This is way down on last years totals, but there again I had the day job, which only goes to show how much time that actually takes.  Still, it sounds like excuses to me and I'm not one who likes excuses.

Reading wise, the number of books read this year felt low, but after compiling my list I see I managed to read 21 novels, which is only five less than last year.  I've also read five non-fiction books, which when again rather surprised me as I hadn't thought I'd read that much either.  So I seem, despite what I felt, to have made good on intentions and managed to almost equal last years total of books read with less spare time.

This only goes to show that feelings are not facts.  Useful to hold onto when things feel like they're getting on top of one.

NB: Told by my beloved that I should show the groups I was getting.

My group of three top centre, Susan's bottom centre.

Xmas Salutations

A tumultuous year, with lots of things happening, both good and bad.  So it will be interesting to look back at things in a year's time and see what has happened.  Until then, enjoy the holiday.

En Provence

We've been to Provence, courtesy of my friend Holly's parents, who so generously invited us to come over and stay with them for a week.  They spoilt us rotten with good food, excellent wine and took us out for a dinner in Gourd.

To help us digest the feast we wandered around the fortified town.  Exploring the path attackers would have to take to force their way into the town in the Middle-ages.

We also went to Lacoste.

Lacoste is where the infamous Marquis de Sade had his castle.  We walked down from the ruins through a labyrinth of stone passageways, exploring the nooks and crannies in the hot sunshine.

The map shows the ruined castle, where we started, and we went right through the town to the bottom left and back around to visit the church too.

Then Holly bought us lunch at the Café de France, which was delightful.  Afterwards Susan was fair tuckered out by all the walking.

You can read about the Medieval Faire we went to in Venasque here.

During the rest of our holiday we managed to swim almost every day, with Susan taking delight in wearing her favourite pink bikini.

Also, while relaxing, and being away from the internet I was able to sit and read some books, which I shall review in passing in due course.  But of course all holidays have to end.  Too soon it was time to travel back on the superfast Eurostar for our return home.

Dark Matter

I mentioned that we heard Michelle Paver speak at this years PicoCon and I had bought the hardback of her book Dark Matter.

Though this is not the sort of story I would normally pick up, it's a ghost story, the research that Michelle puts into her novels made me want to read it.  It is beautifully written and disturbingly atmospheric, reminding me of H. P. Lovecraft but without the baggage he can bring to a story.  Up until the end the narrative can be read one of two ways: madness or the supernatural.  And to some extent even by the end the interpretation is that the narrator believes he experienced a supernatural horror but the evidence is based on the narrator telling us what others said and saw.  As such, given that he clearly has a nervous breakdown and the whole over wrought emotional milieu one is left to decide for oneself.

The scenes and the description of the landscape are stunning and while I'm undecided about reading any other of her books, I need to go away and look them up, I can recommend this to anyone who wants to read something different for a change.  It's certainly inspired me to have a go at writing my alien Arctic waste novel.

Yesterday we went into town.  Town being what people who live in London call the West End.

The trip involved my partner buying a new pair of shoes, popping into Selfridges, the halls of Mammon, and having a coffee – marveling at the extravagance of everything (feeling like proles from District 12 visiting the Capital of Panem – you can tell we have recently watched the Hunger Games series), and then we went on window shopping before having lunch in a small family owned Italian restaurant called Rossodisera.

After that it was time to go to Forbidden Planet, check out the books and then off to Orcs Nest to pick up this month's issues of Miniature Wargames & Battlegames, a bottle of paint and a Y-Wing to complete my Gold Squadron.  After that it was time to come home and put my feet up and have a nice cup of tea.  In short, we had a lovely day out together, which is after all what nice memories are made of.

Happy New Year & Reflections on Year 3

The first grey day of 2016 but leaves on the tree – go figure.  Growler, my truck, confirms it's dry.

I enter year the third of writing with what I hope is the light at the end of the tunnel, namely sending Bad Dog out to do the rounds once the final edits are done.  It's been a long hard slog, far harder than I imagined when I started.  While I went into writing full-time with my eyes wide open, I hadn't foreseen the impact the process would have on me.  This all sounds remarkably self-centered, but it's more a comment about the impact of working alone and processing critical feedback from third parties.

With regard to word counts: I've written 64 posts for this blog that comes to 30,638 words, up from last years 23,201; then there's the 45 post for my wargaming blog which amounts to 14,113 words, up from 12,559, which is especially surprising considering that I feel I've been neglecting model making and painting; I revised Bad Dog twice this year for 174,320 words; I'm on my third revision of Strike Dog which makes 245,197 words; and I've started work on Ghost Dog and have gotten about halfway through the second revision for 149,615 words; grand total 622,701 words or not depending on how one accounts generating new words versus editing old ones (see last years post where I discuss whether to count high or low).

Either way I've written about double what I managed last year.

That doesn't mean that any of the writing I did was any good but quantity does have a quality all of its own.  I really wanted to start writing a new story in 2015 but, until I finish what I've started, I have to be disciplined and just knuckle down and get my work out into the market.

However, one consequence of all the work I've been putting into my military SF trilogy this year is that my Call of Cthulhu novel has suffered from a severe case of neglect.

Also, I'm currently in the special kind of hell reserved for writers when faced with editorial changes for my finished novel Bad Dog that's distracting me from thinking about the structural changes I need to make from the beta reader feedback for Strike Dog (like last time, Brian McCue has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and without his sterling work I wouldn't have the tools I need to write the story I want to tell), while trying to complete the second draft of my third novel Ghost Dog.  Cue violins.

So, now it's the time to reflect a bit on what I've read last year.

Totting up my list, I see I've managed to read 26 novels, two of which were non-SF: Team Yankee by Harold Coyle and Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. I wanted to get around to Cauldron by Larry Bond but failed, maybe next year. These are all part of my research into what are considered successful military novels for my idea of turning my short story Territory into a sprawling military SF novel about AIs in a future war.  Inspired by the Bolo series by Keith Laumer.  On the basis if one is going to steal ideas one steals from the best.

As I only managed to read 16 novels in 2013, and the same again in 2014, reading 26 this year is a big improvement.  However, in 2013 I read eight non-fiction books but only one in 2014, and two in 2015.  So while I'm up on the previous year I'm down overall.  What I take away from this is that I need to be a bit more disciplined about taking time to read things other than news articles and journals.

The point being that reading helps one become a better writer.  Perhaps not as much as writing more but, for example, reading Cherie Priest books made me look at how I structure my stories by manipulating sentence length.  A learning process that I'm still assimilating and making my own.

Let me finish by wishing you all a Happy New Year and thank you again for reading my blog.

Xmas Awakens

This is my third Xmas blog written on the day before Xmas and I've seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  No spoilers from me.  All I'll say is that I enjoyed the film for what it was and reveled in the nostalgia of seeing old friends having adventures again.

Work wise I've been distracted from working on Ghost Dog by Xmas, Beta reader feedback on Strike Dog, and editorial questions about Bad Dog.  The latter being the quite discombobulating as my mind is currently focused on the necessary revisions to Strike Dog.

But as I said it's the Xmas thing that has taken most of my time.

That and reading up all the Star Wars: The Force Awakens threads on the internet.  Called me Miss No Mates, I know that's sad.  Currently Susan is slaving in the kitchen, I've helped by preparing the Brussels Sprouts, and I'm about to pop into the bath to soak away the pains from last minute Xmas shopping: Taylor's 10 year old Tawny port, and a bottle of Penfold's Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet, along with chestnuts and dried apricots for making stuffing.

So, all is right here at home as I listen to John Williams music from Star Wars.  Tomorrow we'll unwrap our presents and watch the Dr Who Xmas special.  That just leaves me to say thank you all for reading my blog, and I wish you all a Very Merry Xmas – and may the Port or drink of choice be with you.