I've been meaning to post something here for a couple of days now, really I have. Two evenings ago I was ready to do some work, but then I was distracted. Same again last night. I've got loads of work to do, deadlines to meet, books to read for people, so there really is no excuse, no excuse at all .....
Except .....
I have an admission to make. It's a bit personal, so it's difficult for me, but I'm addicted ... to I'M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF HERE!
I had no intention of watching. I watch very little TV, despise most of it (FRIENDS makes me vomit), and this is just another one of those victim-TV series that has become so popular over the past couple of years. But then I heard that John Lydon - Mr Punk himself - was one of the celebrities, and I couldn't help myself.
(As an aside, maybe it should be called I USED TO BE A CELEBRITY, GET ME IN HERE!). I honestly didn't know at least half of the 'celebrities' taking part this year. OK, so I knew of Jordan, and Mike Read, but who the hell was that ex-Atomic Kitten woman with a suspposedly famous husband?
Anyway, I digress. John Lydon. Johnny Rotten. Taking part in a crap TV show. How very punk of him.
It's been interesting watching his progress. Sometimes he exibits something of the old Lydon behaviour, but mostly he's like a big cat (a lion maybe, though tamed for TV). His run-in with the ostriches was one of the funnniest moments on TV in ages. I keep expecting him to smash up the camp, kick in any cameras he can find and storm off into the 'jungle' (where I suspect there's a luxury hotel within a stone's throw). But ... it probably won't happen. In fact, he'll probably win. And in will go the final nail in punk's coffin.
Yes, I'm addicted. But I can give it up at any time. Can't?
***
Thought for the day: when it's really, really windy, why don't all the birds end up blown up against the base of a hill?
I had the pleasure this weekend of being Official Tour Guide of Monmouthshire for Jeremy Lassen (Night Shade) and his lovely wife Liza. We did castles. We did Machen's birthplace. We did more castles. And we did the finest food and ales known to Man on Friday evening. I am suffering for it now, and my proposed diet has been kidnapped, tied down and slaughtered. But it was worth it. If you're reading this Jeremy & Liza ... enjoy your time back in the cult!
I also survived my first lecture as a ... well ...lecturer. Last Thursday was the first night of the writing course I'm running at Cardiff University. I was incredibly nervous, but the 10 people who turned up were all very pleasant and willing to get involved, and I was immediately put at ease. I'm still somewhat perturbed at how easily one of them guessed my day job - I was hoping that one would last out the whole course - but I guess 'The most boring job in the world' is a dead giveaway for a Python fan.
As for Bush's proposed visit to Mars, well ... I hope he's going.
This evening I start teaching Creating Fantastic Fiction at Cardiff University. I'm very, very nervous. Wish me luck!
Back to normal blogging at the weekend, where I will be chatting about my trip to London, and Bush's proposed trip to Mars.
I've just signed contracts with a French publisher for FACE! It's my first foreign language sale, so the plan for total world domination, though off to a slow start, is picking up speed :-)
The BBC are still working on turning FACE into a TV drama, too, so more news on that as and when I hear.
I've figured out why printers are so cheap nowadays. I recently bought a Lexmark x1150 all-in-one for £60. A nifty little machine, it's a colour printer, a scanner, a fax machine and a photo-copier in one! How cool! How useful! And what a bargain! And I bought it and got in running just in time to print three copies of my new 550 page novel, DUSK.
Except that today I had to go and buy a new printer cartridge for £23 and after about 350 pages of manuscript it's almost run out. I must have slipped past the special counter at PC World without noticing ... you know, the one you go to after buying the actual printer cartridge, bend over and let these guys FUCK you!
Bring back my Olivetti Jetwriter 900 dot matrix printer any day ...
...coming soon! Can't say too much yet, but I had a nice bit of news yesterday which I should be able to announce pretty soon. Nice start to the new year1
As for diet ... I've got to the stage where fruit is actually starting to taste good. Not as good as Mars Bars, iced slices, Chelsea buns, Chicken Tikka Bhuna onion fried rice Peshwari nan ... of course, not that good. But acceptable. Of course, it won't last. Especially as I'm out for a curry with my agent on Saturday!
I'v just finished my dark fantasy novel DUSK. Literally 10 minutes ago. Totally finished. ready to print and send out.
But I'm not printing right now, because I have some Scotch to drink.
That's me. The weight's been creeping on and creeping on over the past few months, especially since our son Daniel was born and I've stopped doing so much exercise. I now roll instead of walk, and if I move too quickly I have a detrimental gravitational effect on my surroundings. I cause cars to swerve into lamp posts. I make dogs fall over. Lunatics go even madder around me. You get the drift.
So hear ye this: I'm going to lose weight and get fit. Passing fad, I hear you cry? Resolution that will fail by January 10th? Well two years ago I gave up smoking for New Year, and I haven't touched a ciggie since. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Today is day one. 13st 8lbs.
***
Exciting times for this New Year! Next week I'm off to London for some meetings with film companies - four meetings in one afternoon, no less! I have to find my way around London, keeping my cool and making sure I don't turn up late. That's if my obese mass doesn't tumble buildings in my path.
***
DUSK is days away from completion. Literally days. Self imposed deadline is Saturday - I'm having a meal with Steve my agent then, and I'd rather hand over the manuscript to him then than post it later and incur the postage charge. A good enough reason for a deadline as any.
It'll be nice to finish. And so ... back to it!
I had one of Those Moments a couple of days ago. You know what I'm on about... a brief yet intense rush of happiness that swamps your from out of nowhere, driving away all misgivings and pessimism. You try to hang onto that feeling, because if you could life would never hurt you again. Like deja vu it's only there for a while, but for those few moments everything is going to be alright.
We'd taken my 5 year old daughter Ellie for a horse riding lesson for her birthday. I thought she may be a it cautious about it all, but she took to it really well, even learning to start & stop, and turn left and right in the space of half an hour. Her horse was called Sam, 'just like in Lord of the Rings' she said. At the end the trainer prepared Ellie to trot and then off they went, the little pony Sam trotting along the road with Ellie bouncing around on his back ... and the smile on her face was beautiful, her laugh unforced and honest. That's when it hit me with the force of a shooting star: everything is going to be alright. Whatever the world may throw at us in 2004, there's still my daughter's laughter.
I guess it's a good way to see in a new year. Last year saw the birth of our son Daniel. It hasn't been an easy time - hey, I'm an old 34 now, I haven't got the energy I had when Ellie was a baby! - and inevitably I found less and less time to write. But 2004 should change all that.
Change ... not something I'm used to. I've been in a paid job since I left school at 18 - never been out of work, not even a day. Somehow over the last few years I've found time for this job, family life and writing the odd book or two as well. So come April 1st this year - when my salary is cut in half and I embark on a career as a professional writer - I'm heading into unknown territory. It's exciting and a little bit scary, having to rely on my writing income at last, but I'm still at that stage when I can try it without thinking 'I wish I'd done this sooner'. There are risks, but then life is one big risk. I'm looking upon it as an adventure.
Happy New Year to you (however many of you there are!). I hope 2004 is everything you want, and above all, I hope it's more peaceful for us all.
|
RSS Feed
Archives
February 2001
March 2001
April 2001
May 2001
June 2001
August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
January 2002
February 2002
April 2002
June 2002
August 2002
October 2002
January 2003
March 2003
April 2003
July 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
Links
The Noreela website
|
