under another sun

April fool's day. Another beautiful day, and a much better night's sleep. Nothing too foolish going on (if you discount world politics) and I am trying to be cheerful. Having sprawled around so much, my back has stiffened up and I managed to twinge it while pulling my socks on, so now my back hurst too. I was supposed to interview a Faber poet, but I bumped this and so his publicity people got in touch again. Spent a good deal of time reading my book of Gothic Tales, including re-reading The Fall of the House of Usher , by Poe. I find myself laughing lots reading these stories.  I received my copy of Supernatural Tales, with my story in it, the third ST has used. I read it through again, and felt quite pleased with myself as I think it is tight, unusual, well-written and quite scary. I usually just fixate on the typos. But this one almost error free. Some years ago Beth told me in some detail what it was like to wear a rabbit suit in one of her jobs working on a hop farm. I wan...

Printed out a full first draft of the long poem Gordon Road now. Some of it still a bit sketchy and prosaic, but the overall shape is there. Now it is just a case of buffing away at the clunkily prosaic bits. Saw the cover of Supernatural Tales for the Spring issue.  What's Inside  is the first story in the issue, and so my name was top of the list. I felt rather smug about this.  I was also contacted by Chris from Seahaven poets wanting a photo etc. for promoting my reading in Seaford in April. Imposter syndrome unusually low today.  Meanwhile Lorraine got one of the gardeners back to deal with a few bits that were missed the other day.   She is so good at dealing with people.  Lorraine spent some time with Pat and Maureen. Then sent my blood pressure readings off to the surgery (being a wuss I have outsourced this to her). Next she and Beth and James drove off to Basingstoke, to stay overnight before Glenice's funeral tomorrow. Shortly after she left, B...

Hot, close night. Brian miaowing with great volume, being deaf, outside the bedroom door. He is banished from the bedroom. Then me waking me up hearing Calliope yowling with another cat outside as my windows were open. I went down and stood outside at 3am. The sky was flashing with distant thunder beyond Seaford Head, and while I was there a few spots of rain started but soon stopped. Couldn't get back to sleep, and Lorraine wasn't there.  A nice day for me, however. An early breakfast, and working slowly on a few bits and pieces, and in the afternoon organising my other website, and I went to the gym again.   Best news of the day came as I was cooking a curry for when Lorraine got home. I received an email from David Longhorn at Supernatural Tales, who said he'd greatly enjoyed my story What's Inside and will publish it next spring.  I'm absolutely delighted by this. Texted Betty this evening to tell her, as it was her summer job some time when she wore a rabbit s...

A day of being wanted. Begun with reading the stories Tess Jolly had proofed for me. She had done such an amazing job on them. Not only made them all consistent, and corrected my aberrant punctuation and so on, but also the few micro-level tweaks were a bit of a writing masterclass. Wonderful. Wrote a paragraph or two to get Lorraine started on her Parish Church article. Lorraine working from School today as she had to allow in men to do scaffolding. A quick walk about the park before work started. Prepped for the recording I then did with Robin for the podcast. Quite fun talking to her as usual about poems. Spoke to Anton, who wanted to talk about boules among other things. Then to Mum, who the solicitor had spoken to. Late in the day I got a lengthy letter from him. Messages from Toby about another, but cheerful, matter entirely. While recording with Robin I received a call from Val in Paris, with a tiny job that needed to be done quickly. Good to talk to her.  I took a briefing ...

Lorraine working at home this morning, although of course everyone else being told to run for the bunkers does not apply to teachers so back to work as normal come 11:30. So the first day of what they are calling the second lockdown (a watery seeming lockdown to me) was a writerly day for me. I thanked David the editor of Supernatural Tales for the acceptance of   The Grieving  and resent a version with fewer typos. Also finished another edit of my latest story, called Doctor Spotlight . In the afternoon uploaded the second Planet Poetry episode, and did a bit of social media trumpeting. The bit I like most is seeing it slide into the podcast on my iPhone just like the ones I listen to.  My walk transformed by the fact that the golf course now has no golfers again, so all the glorious space up there is free to saunter around in and absent of eighteen hole troublers -- and there were lots of people doing so. Gorgeous. Made the mistake of walking near two schools at chuck ...

Various bits of admin and preparing for the meeting with Robin this afternoon. Otherwise the US election seems in the balance, with the Blue Wave not really happening. The fact is that there are millions of Americans happy to vote for this maniac.   Beth came around in the afternoon after working at L's school for a bath and to visit for the last time before lockdown 2. Had toasties and a chat... She and James are planning to move in together for the new year.  Jumped on a train for the 14 mins ride to Lewes. The train very sparsely populated and the windows open. Watched with something like admiration as a bloke of about 50 who got on just after me, and sat a couple of rows away, had a big bag of beers and chugged two of them by the time we arrived at Lewes.  Met Robin outside the station, and we walked to two pubs, and sat in a pub garden but the ambient noise was too great, and then we sat on a big upstairs terrace of a pub called The Rights of Man. We were the only pe...

I got up bright and early today, and got to work, completing the 13th chapter of Skelton Yawngrave. I sent off a story to David Longhorn of Supernatural Tales too, just to keep my hand in. Lorraine up and, with a steely glint to her eye, started going through drawers in the bedroom, and together we had a cull of old shoes, and reorganised everything. Behind Lorraine's shoes there was a dried frog, which made L shudder as the vacuum sucked it up. In the afternoon chilled out out with Lorraine in the back garden.  She is finishing a cross stitch based on a Van Gough painting. Beth caught the bug and cleared her room for a bit too, then assembled a coat stand she had ordered in the back garden with Lorraine's help. I had one of my yellow pads, which I use to put daily to do lists, and track my various projects, a list I update on a new sheet every couple of days. I hadn't done it since the 23rd March, which was a little sign to me of how disrupted I have felt. Quite ofte...

Working like a dawg today, getting Amazing Grace uploaded onto Amazon, and so on. Didn't quite get it all right, and more to do. Reading Supernatural Tales, some really good work in there by other people. I look at my story, and see so many things I would like to tweak. I am beginning to realise that the stories that end up being published are not too rigorously edited. The only changes made in my story by the editors was to change all the speech marks to old school double ones, and remove italicisation. Supernatural tales is available on amazon here . A happy evening. Lorraine returned in one piece from the Isle of Wight. I had missed her. It was weird to wake up in the night being outnumbered by cats. And speaking of cats, Calliope now limping badly, so I made an appointment at Top Cats tomorrow. Worried about her.  however with my glass people. Went off to new friends Sally and Marek's apartment on the seafront in Kemptown, there we met Adele and Patrick, Yvonne and...

The thud this morning of my copy of Supernatural Tales coming through the letter flap, with my story The Inheritors in. Takes up 14 pages. Not taken up 14 pages of any meatspace publication before, and it was a very good feeling. Feeling cheerful, and far less queasy today. Working on some work for the French agency first thing, which was then cancelled as their client had decided to design the whole thing himself. Slightly despairing note from Val but I was able to support her a bit. Then able to do work on my own bits and pieces, and then I was sent with some stuff to do tomorrow. In the evening slipped off the desk manacles and walked off to see Anton for a cheeky drink at eight. We met outside the Shakespeare's Head, but there was a quiz night on so we went to a couple of other places, and ended up in The Evening Star, drinking beer similar to the kind he was drinking in Dresden recently. Anton liked the beer,  but didn't love the clientele of beardy and sandal-sportin...