Daynote - Tue 17 Jun
Seeking fika.

A somewhat unusual image at the top of today's daynote, because we're on our first holiday away for a couple of years (turns out launching a book uses up a lot of holiday time?) and we've come to Sweden, specifically to the 30,000 plus islands of the Stockholm Archipelago.
We're in a very nice hotel that was a bit cheaper than it normally is as it's being extensively refurbished, but so far the evidence of that is very polite and quiet hammers tapping occasionally in the distance. So it's a bit of a bargain so far. We're not planning a whole lot except day trips into Stockholm, reading, sleeping and wandering about on these beautiful wooded islands.
ON DECK: Nothing - I'm on holiday. I've not been a 'write every day' guy for many years (I try to write only on weekdays unless a deadline is looming) but I'm definitely not a 'write on holiday' guy. One of the advantages of being quite regimented in my writing routine is that I no longer get a sinking panicked feeling when I haven't written for a week or two; I know I'll pick it up again quite happily when I get back. And breaks are very important to me, because I've seen how quickly my word count, mood, drafting quality and routines suffer when I don't take them (like last year).
Today is an exception, since we just arrived and we're getting settled in for the first day or two, I took the chance to write some posts about the Bloody Scotland programme launch last Thursday and my weekend at Capital Crime.
But, after this very daynote, the laptop is going back in my bag and will only be used for interviews for the McDermid Debut Award and finding the best places to have fika. My cinnamon roll consumption is about to skyrocket.
LISTENING: Trains and flights over the past few days helped me make a solid dent in my podcast backlog. I enjoyed this interview with Mel Pennant on The Conversation with Nadine Matheson. I also really liked this episode of the Bloody Scotland podcast with Shari Lapena and (fellow Debut Prize shortlister) Claire Wilson. Claire and I are both represented by DHH Literary, both live in central Scotland and had our debut novels published a month apart, so we've got to know each other quite well. This interview was a great insight into the amazing journey she's had to where she is now.
Finally, I loved the first episode of Cailean Steed's new podcast 'Balancing the Books', which is a fascinating look at all the things that writers have to deal with in their own lives and the publishing world. The first episode is an interview with barrister, screenwriter and crime writer Imran Mahmood and it's very worth your time.
WATCHING: Watched the RACE ACROSS THE WORLD finale before we got on the plane. Great stuff, though I wanted them all to win.
READING: I finished THE HIROSHIMA MEN right before we left for the airport, and it's a superb read. I'm really looking forward to talking to the author Iain MacGregor about it.
On the plane I started on PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke and it is just as wonderful and compelling as everyone says it is. I'll finish it this afternoon, sitting on a balcony looking out over the Baltic. Which seems like a very good place to do so.
LINK: Loved this post from Jennie Godfrey about how she wrote her second novel after 'letting go' of as much as possible - fears, expectations and assumptions. Worth a read for any author struggling with their sophomore effort.
UP NEXT: No more daynotes for a while, unless something exciting happens (don't rule it out). But a few more days out here in the Archipelago, then we'll be heading into Stockholm and then back to Scotland. But I'm so, so glad we were able to get this holiday booked in and that we'll be here in Sweden for midsummer - it's going to be a long, hot, busy summer back home and I think after a few days here I'll be much better prepared for it.
Onward!