I’ve just finished the copyedit on book 5, The Shadowed Throne. I can now reveal that once it’s in print it will be about 410 pages long – not a bad length overall. Now I can get on with book 11. That one has giant dogs in it. Really. If someone asks, I’d be happy to elaborate.
It is now just before the stroke of midnight, and I have just finished writing book 9, The Cursed Guard. It’s a tad on the short side, but it’ll be a long time before that becomes an issue. For now, all that matters is that I’ve told the story as I wanted to tell it, and that it’s finished.
Now it’s time to get on with the copyedit on book 5. Once I’ve had a good night’s sleep, that is; I’m not as crazy as I sometimes make out.
Good night, everybody!
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Today I finished book ten in the griffin series. It’s the first instalment of the fourth trilogy, which I’ve retitled The Eastern Horizon (trilogy number four was originally going to be called The Open Sky) . The book itself is called The Serpent’s Skull (this title may of course be changed later on, but for now that’s what it’s called), and it finished up at 266 pages and over 140,000 words – a new record for a first instalment to a trilogy for me.
With this one, I took the time to record the exact time and date that I started writing it, and then noted down the time and date that I finished it, so I can say that it took me exactly two months to write. I started it on the fourteenth of September, and finished it on the fourteenth of November. So I guess that’s a fair indication of about how long it takes me to write a book. A few people have asked, and there’s your answer.
I was going to say something more about the book itself, but I’m too exhausted right now, so I’ll just leave it here.
I’ve also just handed in my final assignment for university so, assuming all goes well, by the end of the year I’ll have my Master’s degree at last. Woo!
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I have a problem.
Okay, I have several problems, but one of them is this: I love making toys. I design them and sew them, and I’m always getting new ideas for what to make next. But then I never know what to do with them afterwards. Sometimes I give them away or sell them privately (some of them have fetched as much as $50 apiece), but never systematically enough to avoid ending up with a good number of them lying about my room, taking up space and not bringing delight to children anywhere.
But now I’ve come up with a solution, and so it gives me great pleasure to announce the opening of my very own Etsy shop – Quirky Toys. Feel free to go and check it out at your leisure. Only one toy is listed right now, but I’ll be adding more periodically, and I take special orders. All my toys are unique and original, and I put a lot of time, effort and care into making them.
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Despite being a naturally opinionated person, I don’t have strong political opinions of any kind, and generally try and stay out of that kind of discussion. But even I’m not completely oblivious, so I do at least know that the American presidential election took place today.
Last night I had a dream that I met Obama. I was on a street somewhere and he came by, surrounded by excited people. I saw him and called out “hey, Obama – you’re awesome!”. He smiled and waved back and said “thanks!” before going on his way. By my standards, it was a very realistic dream – I did exactly what I would do (or want to do) if I did actually see him in real life, and he most likely did what he would do in the same situation.
That being so, I’m very happy to hear the news that he’ll be getting a second term. Good for him. And, hopefully, good for America.
Back on the topic of news relevant to myself, I’m pleased to announce that I will be an official guest at the Oz ComicCon in Adelaide next year. I will be doing a signing as I did at the Melbourne Oz ComicCon this year, as well as a reading and two Q&A sessions, so I’ll be very busy! And hopefully there’ll be a green room as there was in Melbourne, so I’ll get to meet William Shatner during my lunch break. Which would be awesome.
I’ve also applied to be a guest at Supanova in Sydney next year, and will let you know how it turns out. I love going to conventions.
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The American edition of The Shadow’s Heir is now available for preorder on Amazon, which also says that the book is due for release in December – earlier than I thought. So go ahead and order away if you’re keen – the American cover is particularly nice!
I have also now updated the Short Stories page, which now hosts all the short prequel stories I have written, including one that has never been published online before. So if you’re after some free reading material, feel free!
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