I admit it. I suck. I've been way too immersed in trying to get my book finished to write anything here - but hell, seeing mates/having a life has gone out of the window too, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much for neglecting my blog. So, to summarise the last month or so:
- I've stepped down as editor of Scarlet because they need someone full time in the office and I can't do that and my boooks/freelance articles as well. Plus, much as I love the mag, I'm not entirely convinced I'd be able to do office life 9/5 for anyone nowadays. On the plus side, it's not all that traumatic 'cos my boss went with my recommendation of putting my second in command, Sarah, in charge, and she rocks - and can do mornings (bitch. I reckon she sold her soul to satan) Plus, I'm now her second in command, so I'm still utterly involved with the mag - and a month in, she's just as lovely as I thought she'd be and is stamping her own mark on the mag without stamping on my (metaphorical) bollocks as previous editor, which is ace. It's been hard giving my 'baby' up but passing it on to Sarah is like giving it to my sister, which makes it way easier.
- I'm very near to finishing my latest book (well, 6,500 words to go but I've got another 9 days so I'm still ahead of schedule, and am hoping some semblance of life will return once it's done)
- I've been to a tonne of media events that sound dead posh (some were) but were all about work. Highlights of the last few weeks were the Orange Prize for Fiction - scarily classy canapes, for which read 'small amount of food but the kind of stuff that all those trashy novels tend to mention, like chocolate dipped fruit, caviar (well, lumpfish) and miniature salads on tiny plates with salad forks - an implement I never realised existed until about two months ago - along with copious amounts of free champage, and a bird called Leonard winning the prize; the Television X birthday party (I took a male friend. He got to look at breasts. He got asked to feel large 22 year old breasts to establish whether they were better than another pair of breasts in his sightline. He was happy); the Tattinger Design Awards (much ligging of more free champagne, with Sarah and I both 'working the bar' to ensure maximum alcohol consumption - and disturbingly managing to leave without offending anyone. Must be getting old) and the Audible.co.uk press launch - probably the best of the lot because a) I got a free iPod Shuffle and £50 vouchers for free audio books and b) I got to spend 20 minutes chatting to the MD of the company. When his opening line was 'So, you want to know about the sex stuff on the site? We have Susie Bright doing stuff from us. She really impressed me by talking for an hour about vaginal fisting' I knew we'd get on and I wasn't dealing with a normal corporate MD. Needless to say, I'm now blathering to them about all manner of things.
- I've got involved with a film festival - horror, sci-fi and fantasy stuff - through a meandering daze of contacts/pub meetings/thinking 'what the fuck'. I'm helping them get stuff for goodie bags, sponsorship and all that kind of thing (so if you know anyone who wants to get involved with a film festival offering 19 premieres/first screenings of cool geeky films over the August Bank Holiday, let me know) Not that I'm involved because it entails 8,000 bright blokes in an enclosed area for a weekend or anything...
- As a result of contacts made through the above, going to see Derren Brown's live show, which rocked except that I spent the entire time panicking that I'd get dragged from the audience and so never really relaxed.
I'd like to say that I'd been doing more than just work but Punk Rock Karaoke aside (no, I don't sing) that's about it, other than writing a few proposals (writing, not marriage). I've currently been approached to write four new books, and have another five proposals out there, so if all goes to plan, I may yet get to feel ike a proper writer. Although I'm convinced that will never happen until the point I have a fiction book published, because non-fiction somehow seems like cheating.
Christ, that's a boring and 'worky' post. I'm sorry. I fully intend to go out and have amusing experiences that I can relate once I get the latest book done - and who knows, maybe there'll be some smut in there too. But until then, sorry.