After last week's great leap forward, I seemed to get nowhere fast this week. I fixed the problem with the covers for MYTEK THE MIGHTY (I'd added something and not made allowances for how close it was to the trim line) and I'm waiting on a set of final proofs to arrive.
From then on, I seemed to start moving in slow motion, although there were things getting done. I had to spend some time in the garden on this year's War With The Alkenet, an annual saga as I attempt to reclaim more of the lawn from the weeds and return it to grass.
We also got rid of some books to one of the online book buyers (we sell to two: World of Books and We Buy Books). They're the sort of thing I'd take to a Boot Fair, but I haven't had an opportunity for some years and had built up a few boxes that needed to be shifted. I think since Christmas we've dumped four boxes of books and earned maybe £36. They're all modern, non-collectable books that come my way and it pays a bill or two (or one 3XL all over printed t-shirt, in my case).
We took our trip to the seaside on Tuesday, visiting the charity shops of Clacton... oh, and we saw the beach, although I was the only one of the three of us brave enough to walk on the beach... which I instantly regretted as it has small, sharp stones that get under your feet as your sandals sink into the fine but stony sand. I gave up after two minutes.
And my book haul was one book. It's a sequel (The Coming Storm) to another book I found in a local charity shop (The Coming Darkness) by Greg Mosse. They seem to have been liked by reviewers and I like a fast-paced thriller. At the moment I've just finished one of the Mick Herron Slough House books and moved on to a SF/crime noir by Nick Harkaway, Titanium Noir, so it will be a while before I get on to anything else.
The weather on Tuesday was spectacular and we walked for miles, including at least half a mile when I led us all the wrong way and we had to cut back across and ask a couple of times if we were on the right road to get us to the station. We just managed to catch our train.
Wednesday we spent tidying up ahead of a visit from our landlady's rep. I find these things stressful as I don't mind a bit of clutter, and working on the new book has meant piles of old paperwork, letters, photocopies and folders strewn around so that I can just reach down to get what I want. Now some of it is back on shelves and other bits neatly piled and I don't have a clue where anything is.
In between all this I have managed to get an introduction to the book written. The main essay is almost done, and I need to tidy up some of the other pieces. But I'm getting there. I'm hoping to start laying some of the pages out next week or first week of June and coming up with some ideas about what the book should look like. I'm still doing little bits of research, and I think I can now answer the question: what brought about the demise of Air Ace in November 1970 and caused a lot of comics to disappear from the newsagents for a couple of months.
The house check was this (Thursday) morning and while I made what I thought was a good argument to have the patio replaced (the tiles around the doorway are becoming dangerously loose), the only confirmed work that's due to be done is a door handle that needs to be fixed before it becomes a problem. I'm sometimes told off for sharing too much in these columns, but its these little niggles and interruptions that send my concentration spinning and something that could be written quickly takes a week, two weeks longer than it should. And I always used to be so good at hitting tight deadlines!
I'm off to the book fair in London on Sunday. If you want copies of BEYOND THE VOID or DREAMING OF UTOPIA, let me know and I'll bring them along. I'm not planning to bring much up as on the first trip I buggered up my shoulder (which still pains me) and on the second some of the stitching on my big bag split. I'm not sure how safe it would be to fill it up. So do let me know if you want anything bought up (other books, too).
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