Daynote - Tue 23 Jun

Properly back into the home routine today, including a very, very nice (if a little warm) walk this morning. It was up to 20°C already by the time I got home, but it was cooler under the trees, including this deer who watched me pass from the shaded grass at the edge of a field. At first I thought she was a sun-dappled log, but then her head came up and she watched me through the salt-tinged heat haze. I love it here in the summer, even if I don't actually do that well in the heat.

I was due to go back to London tonight for my day job (and sneaking in an evening signing at Goldsboro Books and Waterstones tomorrow) but the red heat warning for London means the event has been cancelled. It's a bit of a shame, but I'm also quietly relieved - it was touching 30°C and very humid this past weekend in London, so a full ten degrees hotter (and even more humid) would have been pretty rough. Here in Scotland it looks like we'll top out at 25-30°C, which I can just about manage. My thoughts are with my southern colleagues.

ON DECK: A nice 1,014 words this morning, though I noticed after finishing that I was only 75 words off hitting 40k words on the draft of DRIFT. Ah well, I'll hit it tomorrow. The story is rolling again, which feels very good. I'm still feeling my way forward with a very partial outline on this book, so at some point I need to really get my full thoughts down so I've got a bit more of a skeleton to hang the book on. I know from experience I will tend to write in circles, otherwise.

LISTENING: I really enjoyed this Cortex 'State Of The Workflow' interview with poet, illustrator and author Loryn Brantz. It's a fascinating conversation about how creative work actually gets done and how what matters about your work (to you, to other people) can shift over time. I was unfamiliar with Loryn's work before this interview but she's definitely worth a follow.

WATCHING: More of WIDOW'S BAY last night, which is perfectly balancing genuinely creepy horror vibes with laugh-out-loud character work. Smashing show.

READING: Over the halfway point with DECEPTION by Alan Parks (Bookshop, Waterstones, Amazon) last night and I suspect I'll finish it over the next couple of lunchbreaks. Some Nazis just got punched, which was immensely satisfying.

LINK: Very pleased to see the news is now public that my science fiction publisher, Solaris Books, has been bought by Profile Books. I've known about this for a few weeks and got a very nice email from the CEO of Profile. They've got an excellent reputation and I'm excited about the possibilities this unlocks for Solaris. Great stuff.

UP NEXT: I'm not packing my bag again to go to London, which is a relief. I am going to try and get as much of this book written as I can before edits land. And go to at least one (possibly two, energy dependent) book launches this week. Then I'm going to take stop, take a breath and have a few weeks mostly event-free until mid-July, except for a brief trip to Kirkcaldy on July 3rd. Then it'll be Harrogate time! Woooo!

But first, rest, writing and ensuring the house remains well-ventilated.

Onward!