our summer kills the sun

Autumn is my favourite season. Sure, it's getting colder and the weather's turning rubbish, and we'll probably not see the sun again until May, but look at all the wonderful things that are on the way. Halloween! Nanowrimo! Bonfire night! The pre-Christmas run up! My birthday! Autumn leaves! Manx Litfest! The start of Bake Off! THE START OF BAKE OFF!

Honestly, I can see why this season overwhelms people. There's a whole bunch of stuff arriving all at once, most of which either costs money or uses up time or both, and it's easy to look at the last four months of the year with dread. (Kendra at The Lazy Genius talks about how to approach this season without being crushed by it; it's definitely worth a listen. I thoroughly recommend Kendra's podcasts, listening to her is like someone putting a blanket round your shoulders and telling you you're doing great.)

ANYWAY. The Great British Bake Off 2018 has started. Let the festival of cakeage begin! This year we're doing a fantasy league at home and a bake-along at work. The bake-along is something I wish I'd heard of sooner - everyone puts £2 in, you draw out a baker, if that baker wins the series you get £24. But, if and when your baker is eliminated, you have to bring in cakes to the office. Why did we never think of this before?? Everyone's a winner, because everyone gets cake.

Manx Litfest is right around the corner and, as usual, I'm super-excited and also super-terrified in fairly equal measures, because there's so much going on and I don't feel the least bit prepared.

And after Litfest we're in the run up to Nanowrimo. I've recently made some RL friends (I know, shocking) who are hopefully organising some meet-ups and write-ins and all sorts of other proper Nano type things, which I'm all enthused about. As usual, however, I'm totally without an idea to write in November. Should maybe think about that over the next month or so.

BOOKS I'VE READ THIS SUMMER:

FOLK - Zoe Gilbert Love, love, love, love. Admittedly, I'm hardly unbiased, since this collection of short stories draws influence from Manx folklore, it's set on an island that looks suspiciously familiar, the author name-checks the Isle of Man in the acknowledgements, and she's attending our festival later this month. I am super-biased. But regardless, honestly, this is a fab book. Myth and legend and fable intertwine through the different stories, weaving a whole atmosphere and sense of place, giving it a dreamlike feel, reminiscent of childhood fairytales that you'd read or tell over and over again. It's the sort of book that'll stay with me for a long time, and which I plan to reread and recommend to everyone I know.

SUNBURN - Laura Lippman This one has been hyped to all get-out, but that's probably because it's smart and twisty and very well written. I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else in my Twitter feed did, but it's still an excellent read.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE - Margaret Atwood Such a slim-line book for the amount of societal weight and gravitas it holds. I wish I'd read it earlier in life, not least because it feels uncomfortably like non-fiction these days.

MIDDLEMARCH - George Eliot I FINALLY FINISHED MIDDLEMARCH, goddamn that was one hefty tome.

THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL ANGRY PLANET - Becky Chambers A space romp! I've previously overlooked this book because the title made me think it was something else (curse my insistence on judging books by their cover) but I'm glad I picked it up eventually. Not a lot of actual plot happens, so if you're looking for high-octane thrills you might be disappointed, but if you like your space operas to be full of character moments and world building, this is just lovely. It's also the first book in ages that made me want to draw fan art.

regaining focus

This blog has somewhat lost focus over the last couple of years. To be honest, I think this is a wider problem with the internet in general - blogs used to be the best-only place for people to air their random opinions and suchlike. Now, if I've got something I want to show to everyone, I'll shout about it informally on Twitter rather than type it all up as a blog post. I've noticed a few other blogs that I follow have had the same sort of issue.

But anyway, I'd like to keep this blog going as a central place for all my information (since I'm waaaaay too disorganised to run an actual factual website) so imma attempt something different. For a while, I'll post about all the things I've fallen in love with that week. Because the internet has plenty of my opinions already, but can always use more positivity.

BOOKS

This month I've been making headway on my Manx authors to-read list:

THE GOOD THIEF'S GUIDE TO AMSTERDAM - Chris Ewan
Now, I've definitely read this before, which I'd forgotten until I was about halfway through and I remembered how it ended. Thanks, brain. Anyway, Chris Ewan is always a delight to read, and this novel (first in a series) is a slightly lighter and more easy-going book than some of his later, stand-alone books. Also it's only like 99p on kindle right now, and you can't even get an ice cream for that price.

ON MANNANAN'S ISLE - Usha Kishore
This small-but-perfectly-formed book of poetry has been sitting on my shelf for a while now, which makes me feel bad because when I finally settled down with it, I loved it. It's a charming look at the mix of Manx and Indian culture. Like most poetry collections, it's best consumed in small sections, one poem at a time, like Thornton's chocolates.

AN UNCONVENTIONAL OFFICER - Lynn Bryant
An epic wodge of historical military fiction with plenty of gory fighting and swooning romance. Not my usual reading fare, and I gave myself a headache from rolling my eyes at the womanising main character, but if you're a fan of this genre you'll have fun with this book.

And I'm looking forward to:

CALL OF THE CURLEW - Elizabeth Brooks
Oh my gosh. We are all super-proud of Elizabeth Brooks. She's been such a supporter of Manx Litfest, local writing groups, and our writing retreats. She's also (as it happens) an AMAZING writer, which everyone's going to find out when CALL OF THE CURLEW is released next month. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy (which I've had to give back to its rightful owner, boo), but I've got my own copy on pre-order. I predict this one will be a favourite of many, many reading groups.

GUILTY LITTLE SECRETS - Rona Halsall
Due for release in August 2018. Another Manx author, another wonderful supporter of Manx Litfest, another amazing writer. I'm rather in awe of the talent pool we've got on this island right now.

TV

Honestly, I don't watch much TV, so don't expect any revolutionary opinions here. Mostly I've been revisiting THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF because Netflix have added all the old episodes, and you can never binge-watch too much cake. BAKE OFF: THE PROFESSIONALS (which I'm sure used to be BAKE OFF: CRÈME DE LA CRÈME before it moved to Channel 4) has snuck back to stress-up my Sunday nights. Sugarwork structures? Soooo stressful.

And if you're not watching Season 10 of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE then honestly what're you doing with your life. I'm currently living for Eureka and Kameron, although I swear they need to stop being up for elimination because my heart can't take it.

Podcasts and Music

I discovered The Lazy Genius some time last year but have just started trawling through the podcasts. Now, I'm not much for self-help and life-hacks, but these podcasts are wonderful in their gentle, reassuring, non-judgemental tone. I'm especially enjoying the episodes about how to clean your house without, y'know, stressing so much that you end up sobbing over the gangrenous state of your fridge. Yes, I know. Me, cleaning the house. That's how revolutionary this podcast has been for me. It's one-half practical, simple solutions, and one-half soft reassurance that you're doing absolutely great and you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I'm a big fan.

It's been 20 years since the release of Therapy?'s LONELY, CRYIN' ONLY, my favourite ever song by my favourite ever band. Twenty years, man.

EVENTS

It's the first few days of TT Week here on the Isle of Man. Ride safe, citizens, and don't be this guy.

And things are gearing up for Litfest 2018 - so far we've confirmed Chris Riddell (squee!), Ben Haggarty (double-squee!), and the aforesaid Elizabeth Brooks (*passes out from over-squeement*).

books I really liked in 2016

It was rather a good year for books, don't you think? For starters, three of my top five favourite authors had new books out in 2016 (apparently in an effort to make me spend more money I haven't got), and I also discovered two new authors to add to my top ten. So here, in no particular order, are the best books I read last year:

FUTURISTIC VIOLENCE AND FANCY SUITS - David Wong
This came out in 2015, but I didn't read it till after new year, so it counts as 2016 for me. Anyway, it's brilliant - everything you'd expect from the fella who brought you JOHN DIES AT THE END and THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SPIDERS, and features my favourite female protagonist in ages.

MISTLETOE AND MURDER (and its prequels) - Robin Stevens
The fifth in a series of very English, cosy murder mysteries, which have earned a place on my best-of list because I read all five in quick succession. They're like being wrapped in a huge softy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate - comforting and delicious.

FANGIRL / CARRY ON - Rainbow Rowell
FANGIRL is an absolute delight. It's the story of a college girl who writes fanfiction about Simon Snow, who is definitely not Harry Potter. It gets right everything I love about fanfiction and the community that surrounds it. And CARRY ON is the logical conclusion - a novel-length Simon Snow fic, which I didn't enjoy as much as FANGIRL, but which does have Baz in it. *swoons a bit*

THE LIE TREE - Frances Hardinge
Oh my gosh, this was good, wasn't it? Thoroughly deserves every superlative thing everyone's said about it.

SIX OF CROWS / CROOKED KINGDOM - Leigh Bardugo
I don't think I've lost my shit so badly over a fictional work since Firefly. This duology is legitimately beautiful, with its world-building (familiar to anyone who's read Ms Bardugo's Grisha books), its cunning twisty-turny plotting, its characters... oh man, the characters. I have a girl-crush on at least three of them. It made me laugh out loud and cry like a baby. I honestly thought I was too old to have a new favourite book, but this has proven me wrong.

LONG TIME LOST - Chris Ewan
No one will be surprised by the inclusion of Chris Ewan on this list. That man could write a shopping itinerary that'd have you biting your nails in suspense. LONG TIME LOST is a great story about what can go awry with the witness protection programme. Tense, smart, super-well-paced, and set partially on the Isle of Man, wonderful.

THE FIREMAN - Joe Hill
Oh, this was great too. I've not read any of Mr Hill's other books (I'm such a slacker), but this has really turned me into a fan. It managed to be full-on apocalyptic fiction without falling into the constant doom-cycle that afflicts so many similar books.

ZEROES - Chuck Wendig
This year I discovered audiobooks. I'm still not wholly convinced, but I'll admit they are useful - I spent a long weekend painting and decorating while listening to ZEROES, which made the task a lot less horrendous. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed this smart tech-thriller. Mr Wendig looks likely to become one of my favourite authors.

EX-ISLE - Peter Clines
Speaking of favourite authors (and audiobooks). EX-ISLE is the fifth addition to the EX-HEROES saga, and Mr Clines is still on top form. Zombies and superheroes AND characters you care about so much you draft angry emails to the author when he inevitably does something unforgivable to them, hashtag angryface.

BREAKING CAT NEWS - Georgia Dunn
BCN is quite possibly the most beautiful comic strip available on the internet at present time. It's funny, it's smart, it's so true to life, and the artwork is gorgeous. I'm in awe of this lady's talents. And now it's available as a book!

EMBED WITH GAMES - Cara Ellison
Woo, new girl-crush alert! Ms Ellison writes games and writes about games and is generally everything I aspire to in life. For this book she travelled around the world, visiting independent game developers and crashing on their sofas. A wonderful blend of travel writing and game theory.

IF WOMEN ROSE ROOTED - Sharon Blackie
I picked this up because Dr Blackie was a visiting author at Manx Litfest this year, and I'm very glad I did. A fascinating account of Celtic myths and stories, told from a feminist perspective. I'd recommend this to everyone.

FORSAKEN SKIES - D Nolan Clarke
Annnnd last but most definitely not least, David Wellington is back yet again with a new pseudonym and a new genre, proving (again) that he's a terribly talented bastard who can spin story-gold out of everything he turns his hand to. I loved this epic sci-fi space-battle tale and can't wait for the next instalment.

I think that covers most of the very best books I read last year, although I'm sure I missed a couple. Next time you're in your favourite independent bookshop, please do check out some of these recommendations. At best you'll discover something wonderful; at worst... well, you can always shout at me, I suppose.

writers (never) retreat

This weekend, ten of us got together to work on our respective projects for the first inaugural Manx Litfest Writing Retreat.

*pauses*

*Googles*

*confirms first and inaugural do mean the same thing*

Damn, I knew it. But, see, the difficulty is I promised myself I wouldn't edit during the Retreat. I would just write, splurge, obtain the vomit-draft, and worry about editing later. And there's the difficulty - it's hard to just write, without going back to fix things, even when (especially when) you can see there's something obviously wrong with what you've just typed.

And it's hard to find time to write, as well. I've complained before that we're all too busy. We have kids and jobs and social lives and pets and Fallout 4 and bottles of wine that won't drink themselves (delete as applicable) and a million other drains on our time. So this Retreat was designed as time set aside for just writing. No housework, no kids, no spouses, no interruptions (some wine).

I've started a new project, with no plan, only the most general idea ("write something in space," my husband says) and the determination to plough forward without looking back. And it was fun. Even during Nanowrimo I never set aside long periods of time to write. It's just never feasible. My Nano stats are (usually) a steady slope of approximately 1,666 words per day building up in increments. Sprints and all-nighters are not part of my usual repertoire.

I've no idea if what I wrote over the weekend is any good, because I've not read it back yet. I've got my momentum and I'm pushing forward with the draft... and I'm hoping we get to do another Retreat at some point in the future because it'd be super-helpful if I could write nearly ten thousand words every weekend...

HOME GROUND available FREE on Kindle this weekend

Wow, there're a lot of capital letters in that title.

To coincide with Manx Litfest 2015, my ebook HOME GROUND will be available to download for free between Thursday 24th September and Sunday 27th September 2015 inclusive:

On Amazon.co.uk

On Amazon.com

If you like zombies, history, horror, and getting something for free, please do check it out.

countdown to Manx Litfest 2015

This has really snuck up on me. Seriously, I thought we had a couple of months left to get ready, but suddenly it's next week. o_O

Anyway... WOOOOO the fourth annual Manx Litfest is almost upon us!!

Details of stuff are available on the official website. If you're on the Island and you like books, it's the place you'll want to be. Also if you like poetry, science, whiskey, zombies, and shrieking in fan-girl joy.

Last year I discovered that you really should come prepared to events like this, so here is my unofficial guide to essential Litfest gear:

If y'all are attending, come find me at the bar and I'll get a round in. :)

Manx Litfest 2014

This year's Manx Litfest took place last weekend and was a huge honking success. We had so many wonderful events and visiting authors, and everyone was so delightful, it's difficult to even pick a top three moments from the festival.

Having said that: Driving around with the Mobile Library and Neil Spring (when I grow up, I want to drive a bus full of books). Heckling the Poetry Slam so hard I lost my voice for a week (it's only just come back now). Shoe-envy with the gorgeous Sarah McIntyre. Berating Mark Grist for using the word "rat" in a poem, resulting in him changing the line for the following performance, even though "longtail" didn't scan properly. Hot chocolate and ghost stories in Castle Rushen. Persuading Mark Billingham to hug-tackle my shy friend. Samantha Shannon and my sister fangirling about Harry Potter. Coming home with a car full of signed books, empty Monster cans, and a CD of rap-poetry.

So, yeah, it was amazing fun. I am so happy there's something like this on the Island, and that it's continuing to be a success, and that I got to be a part of it this year. Hugs!

(And check out the brilliant photos at Steve Babb's website.)