This book is GREAT & you should read it!
11.03.2026 12:53
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This book is GREAT & you should read it!
Writing progress today: the nearly-finished urban fantasy novel is now 7K less overwritten; the re-outlined enemies-to-lovers fantasy-with-romance contains 1K of Actual Words (at the cost of quite a lot of staring out of the window; first scenes are Hard).
Cover of Wiz Duo Book 2. Art by Roz Clarke. The images are of a shield superimposed on a flying dragon, and a girl with a hole through her belly.
Love novellas? How about two in one book? In Wiz Duo 2, Juliet Kemp sends a reluctant knight on a quest, while E M Faulds gives her heroine a superpower that totally sucks.
wizardstowerpress.co...
Toilet wall graffiti “Never Stop Raving” with a heart drawn under it
Poster saying Nothing Lasts Forever on the wall at Corsica Studios, over a piano with lots of record label stickers on it.
Wall plaque saying 2002-2026, lit with dim blue light.
RIP Corsica Studios
My Friday evening: 2h running a very wholesome Scout meeting about urban biodiversity where we planted wildflowers in yoghurt pots; 3.5h dancing to banging acid techno in a sweaty concrete box underneath Elephant.
The teenager got this after we played a friend’s copy on holiday & I am enjoying it. Strategic enough to be interesting, fast enough that I don’t get fed up ;)
Went to see Into the Woods last night at the Bridge and it was GREAT. Seriously considering going again and taking L & @doop.bsky.social before it closes.
Having thoughts about stories now…
Teika Marija Smits' short story The Art of Time Travel, in the One Million Times anthology, is shortlisted for a BSFA Shorter Fiction Award. If you haven't read it yet, you can read it for free during the voting period at
elsewhen.press/wp/wp-conten...
If you're eligible to vote, please do!
White cherry blossom against a yellow brick converted warehouse wall & blue sky.
Spring!
It is EDITING TIME AGAIN. Hopefully nearly at the final round on this book (urban fantasy ish). Currently I am fixing all the parts where I was circling the point slightly too slowly. #amwriting
To be fair to HMRC, while I don’t understand why I couldn’t do this through self assessment this year, phoning up to sort voluntary NIC payments was surprisingly straightforward and only took 10 min. Admittedly I do have an accent that plays nicely with the robot call parser.
Observationally, even before the big fees came in (which as you say was a bit later), people who didn't pay at all are more likely to eg own a house now than those who did pay. (aka: even smaller amounts of early-career debt have long-term knock-on effects)
I'm not going to pretend that is a universal vision of who we are but fundamentally I was brought up to believe in a multicultural Britain that was looking forward into the new millennium as many peoples together, not backwards into an imagined past greatness, and I refuse to give up on that.
Got to SIT OUTSIDE in the GARDEN in the SUNSHINE earlier today! And then take my new-to-me Brompton (oops n+1 error -- but I've been trying to justify one for about 20 years, so) for a test ride around the park also in the sunshine. Highly delightful all round.
A pot with a small but healthy sprig of thyme, in the sunshine.
The tiny thyme sprout has made it through the winter! (It was only about 3 leaf pairs big in October and I thought it had no chance.)
Going through the bsky.app/profile/east... programme participation form and there is SO MUCH good stuff on there!
I just wish I could skip the uncomfortable empty-brain half hour, but APPARENTLY that's an essential part of the process.
Reminder to self: whenever I think "oh, I have no ideas about how to solve this book problem / piece of worldbuilding / etc", if I am willing to sit and stare into space for half an hour, something always shows up.
The cover of Wiz Duo book 3 with stories by Ruthanna Emrys and Andrew Knighton. The images are an old, wooden house seen against a mountainous background for Ruthanna's story; and a hiker walking towards the sunset in Andrew's.
"Ruthanna Emrys has done what she does best and most brilliantly: she has crafted a new twist on something that feels effortlessly familiar, compelling and intriguing, with a magic system like I've never seen before. I want so much more of this universe!" -- Seanan McGuire
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Grey sky and sand/stones, with a thin layer of seawater over the sand. No sign of the actual sea!
The sea is somewhere out there. As is Skegness. Though I walked out for about 5 min and found only a large puddle.
I got £25 recently! I think I also got a payout once before.
NO NO NO NO NO
Sea, blue sky, sand dunes.
The sea!
Cover of Wiz Duo Book 2. Art by Roz Clarke. The images are of a shield superimposed on a flying dragon, and a girl with a hole through her belly.
Love novellas? How about two in one book? In Wiz Duo 2, Juliet Kemp sends a reluctant knight on a quest, while E M Faulds gives her heroine a superpower that totally sucks.
wizardstowerpress.co...
This week: working on an outline for the 3rd iteration of... well, the Scriv document is called 'quest' but that's definitely not the right name any more.
I still adore the characters; hoping that third time's the charm for a story that works properly for them.
I do like the naval strategy bit. (The drinking ashes less so...)
I asked the two 13yos gaming in my living room right now how often you can launch a rocket to mars and they said "about every 2 years" without even looking up
L has played KSP!