under another sun

Raining and cool again today. The scary winter heatwave seems to be over for now. Another excellent day's writing. I have a target of 80k words for this story, and I was over 22k already. I also went off to get a hair cut, and then went to the gym, and did my usual workout despite not feeling as if I had much gas in the tank. Walking home, I was contacted by my old work pal Pat saying he had some work on a pitch for me next week. I am hoping, what with this offer, and the pencilled in work I have for my friends in Chiswick that at least one of them will materialise. This is good news. Finished reading Under the Skin . In the evening I went to the pig hog poetry reading, where Janet Sutherland was reading from her new book Home Farm. I am a big fan of her work, although have not read the book yet. Catherine Smith and John McCullough both there too, but I had to awkwardly say hello from afar. Had a chat with her in the interval. I was moaning about having lots of rejection...

Ken's funeral up in Leamington today.  I did not go to it. I sent a message to the Goodwin family a few days ago. Otherwise felt buoyant from an excellent day's work. I wrote over four thousand words on my horror story. It is a strange business. It feels like chipping away at a wall, which suddenly gives way into a whole new room into which you step in an effortless way. Rather exhilarating. In the absence of anything else going on, at least this is great fun. I also downloaded a simple app which blocks you when you try to look at facebook. I don't even much like facebook any more, but I find a kind of muscle memory makes me automatically click on it. This app gives you sterling messages about focus and not being distracted. It is brilliant. I found I automatically clicked on Facebook three times today, and was thwarted each time, and simply returned to work. Went to the gym, but had one of those times where I simply did not fancy it, and felt weirdly hot when I start...

Up and working early. Unnaturally hot blue day again, with our weather streaming up from the equator. Worked on the horror project somewhat, also a day of friends getting in touch, messages from Adele and Yvonne, Shaila, Chris Williams, and emailing Trace. After I went to the gym in the afternoon, I bumped into Neil Noon in Sainsbury's and had a half an hour chat about writing. He told me about a podcast that specialises in horror which was useful. Neil had a play on the BBC radio a couple of years ago, which I heard. He referred to his producer several times, which was impressive. After the gym, home in the sunshine to some more writing, then cooking, and chatting to Lorraine. We watched an episode of Endeavour, the TV series which is prequel to Morse, and is set in the sixties. I have a soft spot for this programme, which is completely targeted at people of my age and above which is rather worrying. In this episode, a complex story of murder, a girl's school and the histo...

Another day kicking my heels waiting for a brief. Lorraine took the car in for a service and had to wait hours, but luckily had her computer with her. I wrote more of the horror story, and then went at lunchtime for an hour and a half of a walk and around Hollingbury Hill and the golf course. Unnaturally warm and sunny day, and the  crows looking shiny black. As I walked, I listened to the start of a  Under the Skin , by Michel Faber, of which a good film was made that Lorraine and I saw starring Scarlett Johansson. The book (horror inflected naturally) is different, but interesting. Home and did more work on the horror story. Later in the evening an email saying I would be briefed first thing tomorrow morning, but on a different job. So it goes. Lorraine finally released from an expensive garage visit (new rear brake bits) sat happily on the sofa watching The Great British Sewing Bee. I read another story by Thomas Ligotti. Below sunny vistas, the sea sparkling, and a...

Am within touching distance of finishing the book now. It is in 36 sections and I am working on the 36th. Woke up slightly gingerly ruing vodka at the Northern Lights with Anton, however a good amount of work done. Betty home this afternoon, and we spent some time sipping tea and discussing what happens next in the Betty project. When Mrs Kenny came home, the three of us went off to the Shahi, Dr Rahmen telling Lorraine about his next job offer in biogas technology. Lorraine and I went off, full of curry, to The Duke of York's Picturehouse to see  Under the Skin , was an everyday tale of a gorgeous alien driving about Glasgow picking up men to use them for her alien purposes, which involved them being sucked into a black oily death. A visual feast, and Johansson was splendid as the stranger in a strange world.