Catch-all Catch-up

I never did do one of those introspective end of 2011, start of 2012 blog posts. So this attempt to pull my thoughts together will serve as a belated one. It seems I had a very good year in 2011 when I list out some of the highlights:

- Generally enjoyed marriage and fatherhood
- Got accepted onto the MA for creative writing at QUB
- Took a demotion to allow more time for writing and family
- Saw the publication of my novella, THE POINT
- Warmed to my wife's fluffy puppy and now refer to him as 'our dog'
- Lost an agent and gained a publisher when I signed with Blasted Heath
- Began calling myself a writer

And 2012 is off to a great start with the official release of WEE ROCKETS and a Spinetingler Award nomination for THE POINT. But this writing malarkey is hard work. I finished my MA ssignments a few days ago and now I'm trying to muster up the enthusiasm to rewrite the novel I had hoped to have done before Christmas. It seems like a huge task right now and I'm feeling a little unfit for purpose. Hopefully I'll shake that off soon because self-pity irritates the hell out of me.

Anyway, in an attempt to shake myself up a bit I listened to a great Writing Excuses podcast about the Hollywood Formula and how to apply it to books. And in it, they recommended Ian MCDonald's latest science fiction epic, The Dervish House. And it reminded me of one of my highest points of the year that was enhanced by the attendance of one Ian McDonald. Here's a pic of me and Arlene Hunt at our joint launch at No Alibis, and in the background, to the right, you can see the award-winning science fiction great, Ian McDonald.



Yeah, man. It was a great frickin' year. And I need to work even harder to make this one top it.