Busy weeks, but that’s a good thing…

My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends –  It gives a  lovely light!

“First Fig” by Edna  St. Vincent Millay

 

Things have indeed been very busy the last few days. For one thing, I have started a new day job, one I hope will give me eight time to actually pursue my own interests. I’m back tour guiding again, this time in Edinburgh. Guiding there has always been a bit of a dream, the ultimate city to work in, really, for me, as I grew up visiting Edinburgh and love the place. The job does, however, involve having to learn more or less everything about the city’s past, present and future, so I’ve had to prioritise that a little, not to mention the five weeks training I’m now doing, going around on the bus tours and learning the routes. Luckily, however, I’ve written a few short stories and plotted two separate (still unfinished) novels based on the city’s history so I have had a bit of a head start.

I’m also hoping that, once I’ve got through my current list of projects, the new job will give me the kick to get back into those two other novels, one of which is a kind of supernatural mystery and the other is alternative-reality-fantasy (think Lyra’s Oxford in His Dark Materials sort of thing).

At present though I’m still trying to be disciplined and work on my other stuff. I’m still waiting for feedback from the CWA on my Prague thriller. I think that should come back next week or the week after. I have, though, gone through and edited what’s there so far. Now I just need to rewrite the ending. The book is mostly based around the story of a Czech family who ran a puppet theatre during the Nazi Occupation of the country and recently I found a photo in my archives of the sign above one of the many puppet theatres in Prague, and the one I’d based the look of my fictional theatre around. It inspired me to do a quick acrylic sketch, which I was quite pleased with…

Other than that, I’m still waiting for a yay or nay on a long-short-story / short-novella that’s out on submission and supposedly with the editor-in-chief of the anthology. I’ve started preparing for the eventuality that it comes back with a rejection, because it was actually part of a series of shorts I wrote around the theme of ghosts, horror and music, back when I was living in Prague. I’ve decided that when or if ‘Anatomy of a Violin’ comes back, I’m going to bundle those stories together, along with a few that I have that are also around the theme of horror meets art in one form or another, and actually try my hand at self-publishing. That was why I was raking through photos in my hard drive, looking for material to use for cover art and illustrations. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about fiddling with this project is being able to plot out my own illustrations and use my own artwork. It’s a bit of an ego trip, I have to admit.

It’s also been a bit of a confidence boost as well, as most of the stories I’ve dusted off for this anthology are ones that were submitted and rejected, most with little more than a form email. At the time I’d just assumed they were rubbish and set them aside. But now, re-reading them with a fresh eye, I’ve spotted the odd bit here and there where they could be tightened up, but overall, I’m pleased with the quality. I think it’s been more a case of there not really being the right place for them in the sort of magazines and such available at the time. Which is not to say I think they’re brilliant. But I don’t think they’re terrible any more.

So in the end I found the photo I was looking for, of a set of sculptures in Prague called the ‘Dancing Fountain’, on Senovážňe Náměstí by Anna Chromy, which I’d always kind of had in my head as the image to go with ‘Anatomy of a Violin’. So for now, this is my idea.

It may change, especially if this anthology decides they actually want ‘Anatomy’, but I don’t think they will. It never gets past the last stage with these things because of the length. But I love it and I want it out there.

So that is that for now. I’m now back to try and remember my Assembly Rooms from my Assembly Hall, and learn the stop number for Edinburgh Castle…!