Sometimes I get so head down in the things I'm trying to achieve in the 'autumn of my life' as my favourite podcast depressingly put it the other day, that I forget to tell people.
Yes, forgetting is what old people do but inside I still feel 19. That is a bit far-fetched, 11 is nearer. My inner child is 11.
But really, I'm not that old. You can work out how old more or less by the lovely pic of me and my Dad at my wedding in 1986.
Whatever I am, it's the new 40.
That picture from June is the real reason I haven't written one of these updates. These last few months, every time I've sat down at the computer, while I've been working on my books and my website and working out how to do mailing lists and newsletters etc etc, I've seen that photo and that's been lovely. Writing this post nudges it down the list.
But it has to be done.
The first thing I forgot to shout about is my girl on the beach book, though she's more a girl on a sea of trouble.
It's a story that started out as an attempt to write a picture book – picture books are hard. My attempt had far too many words.
The setting for both stories is a version of Lulworth Cove in Dorset and the seaside boats trips we used to go on out to Durdle Dor. I'm offering an audio story of the original picture book attempt to lure people into my readers' gang – mailing list.
If you'd like to hear me reading it, you can sign up here.
My plan for this book is to enter it for The Kindle Storyteller Award - I honestly don't think it has much of a chance – it's not a thriller! But if I don't do it, it will have no chance. I'm not a fan of Amazon generally - I haven't bought anything physical off Amazon for ages now. But 'The Autumn of One's Life' is a time for getting stuff done. So, I'm going to put it on Amazon exclusively (a condition of Kindle Storyteller) for £0.99 at first. My ultimate pie in the sky plan, of course, is to shamelessly use the platform to get some traction for the books and then drop the store that sells everything.
The other thing, though I have mentioned it here and there, so I haven't exactly forgotten, is my plan to get the second Wonder Girls book printed to distribute to schools, libraries and all over the place. However the nature of social media is that it's a never ending dam-burst of information and any post about anything is just a drop in that gushing torrent of stuff. So please have patience with me while I bang on about it...
In Part 2.
I am now off to finish the proofread-aloud and start formatting Bert ... so far. I have 6 days – less than that really, as it can take a few days for the book to go live. This is completely the wrong way to launch a book but don't you just love a deadline?
We know Douglas Adams did.
Here he is with a great little story about being British and a packet of biscuits/cookies. You may recognise it.
And for anyone who doesn't know his feelings on deadlines.
Ask a writer.
Thanks ever-so much for reading this rambling little update.
(Readers' Gang/Newsletter/Mailing List sign up here.)