Wednesday 26th April 2017

I’m going to be so knackered tomorrow.  It’s currently 1:45am as I sit down to start writing up The Climb and I’ve already had a really hectic day!  Although saying that, it was a collection of a number of small, random and relatively insignificant events rather anything I can really get my teeth into within the confines of The Climb
The day job continues to be busy, although today I was waiting on info from other people which meant I was twiddling my thumbs a bit.  Thankfully I’d remembered my headphones and so could listen to an audiobook, but the list I’d been working on got revised and a lot of the work I’d already done is now deemed obsolete… although given that I could connect to the machines in question, I don’t think they are decommissioned.  No-one could understand why – not that it’s a big deal.  I just wish I could have progressed more than I did today.
Had a chat with another author friend on the recent SFF kerfuffles and I’m surprised that there’s a lot of consensus.  I thought I was the only one dissatisfied with events of late, but it appears I’m not alone.   I’m still trying to formulate my thoughts but it’s something along the lines that there’s at least a core of the SFF community doesn’t represent the vast majority of readers any more.  I need to explain this when it’s not so late and I’m not prone to error… but the fact that I have to word things so carefully is part of the problem.
I’m not particularly troubled by it but the real question I have to ask is that, in promoting future books and my ‘brand’, is the traditional hardcore SFF community the place where I should be, especially when there are new and emerging communities?  They say you should be where the attention is… and at the moment it sadly looks that it might no longer be there.
On a much lighter note, another author friend told me that I look like Hugh Jackman.   Well, in an indirect way.  She saw a picture of Hugh Jackman with a baby penguin and wondered what I was doing in the picture.  She’s not the first person who has made the comparison and I can sorta see the likeness.  Being mistaken for Wolverine? I can live with that.
I realised that The Climb #100 is (by my calculation in the car tonight) going to happen on Bank Holiday Monday.  I need to find something to do to celebrate the milestone by doing something.  Perhaps I could finish the draft of book 2 by then?  I guess it would depend on how well the writing goes at the weekend.  Any suggestions for what I should do?  Answers in the comments below!
I was instructing tonight at Swordfighting so never got a chance to work on book 2.  One of the instructors was off and so I was looking after both my group and the beginners.  I arranged a tournament for them all and I’m not sure how well it went.  Some people looked bored, especially if they got knocked out early and I came away feeling a little guilty that I’d not been able to give everyone my full attention.  Still, they’re adults and capable of asking someone to spar.
And then on getting home tonight, I’ve been contacted by my friend Kim in Canada to tell me that the space forecast for when I’m in Winnipeg is looking like it’s going to be Aurora central.  I’ve never seen the Northern Lights and apparently, weather permitting, they are going to be incredible.  I’m so excited about this and as I said to her, I really need to research just how I’m going to film them.  She said they may also be awesome on the plane from Calgary which I hadn’t considered.  Kim and my other friend, Shannon, do some incredible aurora photography so I can’t tell you just how excited I am about this.
In confirming my flight times, I also found out that I have a 6+ hour layover in Calgary.  Any suggestions on what I should do?
And so, it’s now gone 2:15am and I need to get to bed as I have to be up early in the morning.  I apologise that these daily blogs have been a bit random the last couple of days.  It’s a product of limited time at the moment.  There’s some big events coming up in the next couple of weeks with my trip to Canada and the US so I should more than make up for it in May.
If you want to follow more of my journey, then be sure to check me on my social channels.  Likewise, if you’d like me to expand on any point mentioned above, please say so in the comments.

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