Whoosh!

This year seems to be rushing past. It's already late August, and it shouldn't be!

I suppose in reflection, I can see a lot that I have achieved so far in 2022, and yet there was so much more I wanted to do.  Work has been busy, but then when isn't it? Projects around the house, renovating and maintenance. They never seem to end. At least there is great satisfaction when we see the finished product, something we've both worked hard to achieve.

I have a few things in my planner to look forward to in the latter part of this year. There are trips, visits, and even a convention in there. I'm rather excited about all of these.

A new story dues for publication early next year has lifted my spirits no end. I was also privileged to have the editor not only tell me how good the story was, but also that he was making it the featured story for that issue.  Always nice to have a cover. 

So there is more writing to be done. I must write more stories, but beyond that I am currently involved in four other secret writing projects. Lovely things which will bring me great joy. Two are quite labour intensive, but the rewards will be intense.

Winter is coming, and already the mornings are darker and evenings are drawing in. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as I quite enjoy the seasons. But it does mean there is more time suitable to not be sitting outside but inside and writing.
 

Sometimes we need to take the motivation where we can find it.

Another Story On Its Way.

Way back in March, I submitted a story to a magazine - my first in a year or more.

And on the weekend it sold. The Leviathan Awakens will be publish in early 2023.

I'm pretty excited about this one. It's a story I really, really like, and it's going to a good home. The Martian Wave (Hiraeth Publications) is a new market for me, and I'm thrilled to have this story under their banner.

The Leviathan Awakens has its roots in a painting a friend did way back in the 80s. When he showed me the painting I had a tiny idea. I wasn't a writer then so nothing came of it. But that idea never went away, and kept niggling
and niggling. And then, a few years ago, I was at a writing workshop and I had to write an opening paragraph in a particular style. That opening paragraph became the opening to this story which started to develop in my mind.

The paragraph I wrote at that workshop was well received, but is now gone. In the context of the story, it confused things too much and so was completely rewritten. It's a shame, as that was a paragraph I really liked, and I thought worked really well. The readers, not so much.

And so, of course, I need to dive back in and get another story happening. Which is good, as I just had this little idea on the weekend.