One of the things I enjoy reading on Substack are the weekly newsletters from other creatives. It’s good to catch up, celebrate success and compare progress. The posts themselves seem popular. I wondered if maybe I was missing a marketing trick?
I thought that I might try to document my weeks and see if I could attract more readers. I did a roundup at the end of January, which got quite a few views on my Substack.
These posts are usually split into sections, so I will do the same.
Writing.
My aim this year was to complete some of the part-finished novels that I have accumulated over time. After a promising start, I have spent most of my time writing short stories. None of them are connected; they all feature various different characters and genres.
Characters like Captain Starlight, Housewife Superhero or Raf, the Galactic explorer and his AI computer, Cat.
Several of their adventures have appeared on my Substack.
Not only that, I had an urge to expand a magical realism short story called Do You Want to Live that I wrote a couple of years ago. An idea came into my head, and I managed to add another 500 words to it while I was sitting and waiting for a CT scan of my sinus.
More about that medical issue below.
So, instead of decreasing my WIP count, I’ve actually increased it by one!
I’ve also been moving my novels out of Kindle Unlimited as their 90-day enrollment periods end. I’m setting up wide distribution for them all via Draft2Digital. I currently have 14 novels transferred, with 3 pending, which leaves me with 13 more to move.
Reading
I’ve been reading The City and the City by China Miéville. It’s been on my list for a while, after watching the TV adaptation. It’s a fascinating, layered story, and I’m enjoying it.
Next on my reading list is one that my wife recommended to me. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Again, this is one that I’ve been meaning to read for ages.
Watching
The new series of The Night Manager is getting a watch. The first series was great, and I wanted to see how they continued the narrative without any John LeCarré source material. After a couple of episodes, it’s not short on action; we’ll have to see how the rest measures up.
Also worth a look is Patience. It’s a series of crime stories about an autistic girl who uses the beneficial side of her condition to help the police. This is series two. I loved the first one, and I’m not disappointed with these new stories. It’s sympathetically done, as a late-diagnosed autistic, it really resonates with me.
Living
I’ve had sinus trouble ever since I broke my nose playing rugby, way back in 1976 (I played second row for the College of Nautical Studies, Warsash). I had surgery in 1990 after a spate of bad sinus headaches and was OK for a long while, but now I’m continually coughing and sneezing.
I saw a doctor a few days ago. He shoved a camera up my nose (a fun experience) and ordered the above-mentioned CT scan. There’s a two-week wait for results.
Meantime, I’m still taking my daily walk around the cliffs at Sharkham Point. Whatever the weather, it’s a beautiful place to be.
Marcus, our neighbour, a horticulturist by trade, had given our fruit trees and shrubs their annual haircut, so we can now think about getting on with preparing the garden for summer. Once it stops raining. The trees, apple, pear and cherry, were advertised as patio dwarves, but they were mis-sold. Although the fruit is nice, they are now getting on for twenty feet tall and need the annual ministrations of an expert to stop them from taking over the garden.
On Tuesday, because it was a day with no forecast rain, we had a day out in Tavistock, a town about 40 miles away. The highlight of this excursion is the journey across Dartmoor, past Princetown Prison, Hexworthy Bridge and Venford Reservoir. This time, there were sheep and Ponies in the road, forcing us to take care. I don’t think there are many other places in England where grazing animals have the right-of-way on the road.
And that’s about it for this week. If you’ve enjoyed this format, let me know.
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