Daynote - Mon 9 Jun

Well, back to the routine and the quiet of the woods (briefly) after a heck of a weekend at Cymera Festival, which is always an absolute hoot. I wasn't on the programme this year, which was actually quite nice - it was great to just turn up when I wanted, go to some panels, chat with friends and enjoy the (fleeting) sun in the courtyard. Given I wasn't actually doing anything except hanging out, it was still quite exhausting. Three days on the trot is a challenge, and even then I still felt like I barely spoke to lots of people.

I also went to a fantastic 'Writing for Games' workshop with the author and games writer Stark Holborn, which I missed when they did it at Worldcon last year. Really glad I signed up for it. I'm not actively pursuing games writing, but I would absolutely not say no if a games company ever came calling...

On the Friday, I notched up about 14,000 steps and an even half dozen bus rides hitting bookshops all over Edinburgh to sign paperback copies of A RELUCTANT SPY. Highlight reel of the day here:

It was great fun and I really enjoyed meeting some new booksellers and getting to use my new, very official looking 'Declassified' Legends Programme stamp.

ON DECK: It's been a busy few days, so I'm not moving very fast on the outlining front, but this is kind of a preparatory/fallow time while I deal with the (wonderful) fallout of being shortlisted for two debut awards, get ready for Capital Crime and the Bloody Scotland programme launch this week and then, finally, go on holiday next week, so I'm not too worried. I got 334 words of outline drafted for PROJECT DRIFT today, as well as completing a bunch of press and media requests over the weekend. Very exciting stuff!

LISTENING: Really enjoyed the latest episode of Print Run, covering the Unbound saga, AI and a whole bunch of other stuff. Great stuff, as always.

WATCHING: A bit of THE HANDMAID'S TALE last night, where the end zone escalation has begun to creep in. It's getting pretty tense.

I also saw this trailer for a new game based on The Expanse, with Mass Effect-like gameplay. Sign me up.

READING: Still reading THE HIROSHIMA MEN. I've got some long train journeys coming up this week, so I suspect I'll finish it over the next few days.

LINK: A great and very unflinching post from Chapters and Chaos on the realities of making publishing money work - how much is it, when do you get it, can you live off it?

UP NEXT: More outlining, prep for Capital Crime, then I need to figure out what books I'm taking on holiday. I'm normally a huge planner when it comes to time off, but I've done almost nothing for this trip because I've, uh, been quite busy. It's quite freeing, not to have the whole thing planned out already. But also I feel somewhat discombobulated and certain I'm going to forget something critical. Ah well, I'll figure it out.

Onward!