Daynote - Wed 25 Feb 2026
Typing, typing, always typing.
I'm recovering from a slight foot injury and keeping my weight off it, so no walking pics this morning (which is aggravating, because I miss my walks when I don't take them). But thankfully Unsplash has a near-infinite supply of pictures of mechanical keyboards, so I'm sorted for daynote images.
ON DECK: A solid 1,084 this morning, with a tense bit of tradecraft going down in the story. I think it went pretty well, though it's always hard to tell in the moment of composition. I'm closing in rapidly on 60,000 words in this draft, which is definitely 'oh, this is an actual book' territory, not just a loose assemblage of ideas and scenes. So far, so good.
LISTENING: Loved hearing Nadine Matheson (on the interviewee side of the mic for once!) appearing on CrimeTime FM, talking about her latest book and her experience of chairing the Crime Writer's Association. People often accuse me of being incredibly productive and busy, but have you seen Nadine? No idea how she does it all.
WATCHING: I was recording a podcast last night, so no telly. But I did enjoy watching this interview with SF writer Jeremy Szal over on SFFAddicts:
READING: A bit more of THE INFINITE STATE (Bookshop.org, Waterstones, Amazon) by Richard Swan yesterday. It definitely does the creeping dread of authoritarianism (in SPAAAAACE) very well.
LINK: Thieved from Julian Simpson's excellent Wednesday Wonders post is this bonkers high-level rail, bus and ferry route map for the entire world. A fascinating global information layer. I'd love to see this as a display option on the major online mapping sites.
UP NEXT: I recorded with the Binge Reading Book Club last night and, in a truly Herculean editing feat, the producer Hugo is aiming to put the episode out tomorrow! Looking forward to how much sense he's made out of our ramblings, but it was terrific fun to record.
And the day after that is my first proper Writing Friday at home. I cannot wait. It's going to be a very interesting level set for me to give me an idea of what I can actually get done with a full dedicated day. We shall see.
Onward!