August seems like it went by in the blink of an eye. We still had some form of lock-down in place in London, nothing too stringent anymore, which might account for the uptick in Covid cases that are being reported. Winter is coming and it could be bleak. Sales were up over July, so I shall not complain about their meager numbers, and much was accomplished on the writing front.
With four months remaining until the end of a gloriously shit 2020, I am still aiming to have five projects released. 10-14. This includes the 7th book in the Earth Saga Series, along with three standalone titles and a standalone novella. It looks like the autumn for me is going to be editing, editing, editing. Speaking of editing, I’ve just had my editor scrub The Gauloi, my lowest ranked book on Kindle, so hopefully that gets a little more love now. I also spent more time having another edit of Remnants of Empire, but that sucker is pretty long, so those efforts continue.
The title I’ve just finished still remains nameless and is going to be a story about how a team of special forces need to solve the mystery of a viral outbreak on a distant planet. Don’t want to give away too many details. Some familiar faces from Standish appear in this story and could be the beginning of a run of books in a possible Standish series.
On the entertainment front, I’ve started watching Longmire. I’ve always been a fan of westerns, and this is a very good take on the modern sheriff in the west. It’s also nice to see Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) from BSG in a good show.
I’ve continued to build on my EDM collection, with a lot of Gareth Emery. He might be my DJ of the month. His work is really exciting.
I’ve also had the chance to cycle into town on a few occasions. When lockdown started, I more or less resigned myself to bicycle-only travel. I’d been into the City a few times to see my tailor, but a mate has started work again in the west end, so I got the chance to cycle past some of the famous London landmarks on the way there and back. As often as I get down on London, it is a magical place. Something interesting around every corner.
Another nice surprise at the end of August was the arrival of a dog to my neighbor, who has included me on their walks. I grew up with dogs, and miss having one around. If I ever get a bigger place, a Border Terrier is on the shortlist of must-haves.
On a tragic note, Chadwick Boseman passed away from cancer. I enjoyed Black Panther, and his work in 42 and Marshall, playing pivotal figures in black history from the late 20th century. His death at 43 from cancer is particularly shocking and should remind all of us that this vicious disease has no mercy and looks like to become even more prevalent in the future.
With our feet now firmly entrenched in September, the focus is now on editing Murder on Valtameri, getting that released, then moving on to the next project. The project that will require the most work is The Battle for Jupiter, the 7th book in the Earth Saga series. Of the five books I need to tackle, I’ll leave that for last.
Time to get on with it.
Stay safe out there.