Dream on

A month rushes by and I slink back in here knowing blogging acquaintances who have racked up thirty or more entries since my last one. So what have I been doing? What excitement has kept me from the keyboard? What delights have distracted me?

Nothing. Not a sausage.

I’m drifting. True, I am working on a set of four shorts stories. True, I’m waiting on a submission. True, I have been busy packing up signed copies of Thin Reflections to send out to my adoring fans. (That sound you can hear, that’s Barbara rolling on the floor laughing after reading that last bit). But I have been sending out signed copies. And brushing up on my poker. And reading. And contemplating the silicone in the bathroom that needs stripping out and replacing with fresh. And reading.

It is a difficult state for a writer to be in. As hardships in the world go, it is, I am the first to admit, way down there at the minor end of the scale. But it is vexing, nonetheless. My head is full of images and voices (which makes me sound a candidate for those nice young in their clean white coats and their coming to take me away, ha ha). As yet they are formless, and I know with a bit of patience the two novels swirling in the chaos will begin to accrete. They will form a binary, twin novels one of which tells of Charlie’s next set of adventures whilst the other picks up the story of one of Charlie’s avatars – Jeniche of Antar.

I have to be patient and let these things take their course. Watch the debris form short stories. Enjoy the rest to be ready for the approaching ride.

So if I don’t turn up for another month, you’ll know I’ve got my feet up, headphones on, coffee and notebook close at hand… Working, in other words. Essential research. And wondering just how much fun it’s going to be when the Council finally turn up and install their anti-damp devices. Perhaps they can be persuaded to renew the silicone in the bathroom. Perhaps.

Dream on.