writing – Page 18

Okay, so the ‘shy’ is no longer accurate, but ‘retiring’ will provide me with a renewed freedom. My second career (retail), has now ended and I’m a few days away from my 65th birthday. I’ve worked and paid my dues for fifty years, and I’m ready to chill-out.

What lies ahead?

I’ve listed a handful of projects to get me underway which includes a couple of days revisiting the various items in my garage, shed, and of course the attic. Apart from those small, ongoing jobs I’ve got a couple of major redecorating tasks lined up.

I’ll be continuing to draw and paint, but new hobbies on the horizon are baking and organising a vegetable patch. If the baking idea works out and I’m not totally useless I’m not worried about weight issues because I’ll also be continuing with my cycling. As recently as the weekend past I’ve ordered a new mountain bike to complement my racing bike. There are times when a writer who rides, needs to tangle with tough terrain.

In keeping with the purpose of this blog, this post is about my writing, but I’ve given an introduction to put recent followers in the picture about the person behind the titles.

I will no longer be going out to play my public part in the rat-race, but I believe my writing will be enriched by a more relaxed attitude to each day. When I stepped down from management a couple of years ago I felt a weight lifted, and my creative output rapidly increased in volume and quality.

Where will my writing go in the future?

I began with poetry and moved on to short stories before novels and novellas. My best work has been in the area of Thrillers and Romance, but I’ve also ventured into Sci-Fi and Erotica. Having attempted and realised the difficulties, I’ve left behind the option of writing for children – which is a very specialised craft. I believe we should all be aware of our limitations as well as our abilities.

I’m considering attempts at Horror, Paranormal, or Fantasy, but I’ll be leaving them until early next year, by which time my three present WIPs will be at an advanced stage.

How will I tackle such things as new genre?

Personally, I find an early morning, long, solo cycle ride an ideal environment to let the mind wander. While getting dressed I listen to appropriate classical music, and as I set off on my ride I consider the genre on which I want to focus. I’ll report back as and when I have new ideas developing.

What else is in the pipeline?

I’ve created many of my own covers, but used a designer for the thrillers and romance novels. I’ve been in touch with my cover designer and as we reach the new year I hope to have professional covers to support my fact-based fiction series, A Life of Choice.

What about paperback versions of my books?

This is an idea I’ve toyed with over the past two years, but I’m cautious.

It is a time-consuming task, and from all I’ve heard, the pricing is too high and not competitive. Yes, it would be nice to have my work in a physical format, but I’d prefer to be producing stories.

What’s in the mix for the near future?

To celebrate 48 years since I signed up to serve ‘Queen and Country’, there is a military theme to my final freebies. I will then end the monthly giveaways. As a thank you for all who read this post, there follows a couple of dates for your diary.

November 10th, 11th and 12th will see a double-bill in commemoration of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. A Time for Courage: and other military stories will be available, and so too will Poetry – Volume 4: Military Matters. (80 poems)
December 15th, 16th and 17th are the dates to pick up A Life of Choice: Part One. Part Five of the five-part series will be published in the first week of November. Why is timing important? I signed up on my 17th birthday – 7th November 1969.

What else is cooking?

I’ve no doubt a few of you who have read my work will have smiled at the thought of me baking. At the present time I have no intentions of creating a new blog based on my new hobby, but for amusement I might slip in the odd photo of my efforts – successes and failures, although I hope to have many more of the former.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and intentions. All comments are welcome.

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When the present year became a reality so too did several personal targets. As I tend to do, I had my year planner created, complete with weekends highlighted. A crucial difference to any other year was the month of October, when I’d retire from regular work.

I had considered changing from my PC to a Mac. As with all things I’d heard the positives and negatives for both systems which meant I had a lot of research to do before making such a big leap. Whatever I decided would affect my writing production.

It was my wife, Olive who suggested I should treat myself to a new look for my study. On several occasions after the idea was put to me, while working on a project I’d stop typing and stare at the wall in front of me.

We agreed it was affordable and settled on June as the month to do the makeover. I made a twenty-point plan and gave myself provisional dates for the individual phases. I’d be hoping to keep up with my writing with the exception of perhaps a couple of key days, like when the room was empty for redecoration, and assembling new furniture.

Yes, within the red boxes and behind the white doors is organisation.

Now in the first week of July the main task is completed. In the near future I’ll add a potted plant or two, but I’m now ready to learn how to use my Mac – and I’m eager to be writing again.

I took a few ‘before’ pictures and ‘after’ pictures but I believe it only needs one to demonstrate that the effort to make the changes was worthwhile.

Until I sat here with my Mac at my new, larger desk in the centre of the room I didn’t realise how trapped I must have felt previously.

The stage is set to get back to work, so what lies ahead in my personal targets for the year?
I have the final edits to perform on Highland games – 4 before publication. By the end of this year I propose to publish Highland Games – 5 and A Life of Choice: Part Five, and both books are at an advanced stage.

My next novel is underway and will continue to be developed over the coming months. However automated, updated and organised my desk feels, I enjoy the comfort of a notice board which keeps me in control.

As always, I thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, and for any comments or feedback you may leave.

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