Keith's May Newsletter

Hi Folks

My apologies for the late newsletter. I’ve been doing a lot of night shifts recently and they always mess things up. When I’m in the middle of them there’s nothing I can do but eat, sleep, and shhhhh-ower (what did you think I was going to say?). It’s not conducive to a good working environment, or a good life. I’m going to have to do something about that real soon.

Out And About

As mentioned, there hasn’t been much going on over here besides work and writing, although I was able to do one or two things in May to keep life interesting.

I went to see Austentatious at The Lowry. They’re an improv comedy group who come up with a new Jane Austen play based on a title suggested by the audience. The one I saw was called Four Engagements and a Funeral, and whilst the plot was very loosey-goosey the play itself was a good laugh. I’m glad I went, although I did realise how much I need a new pair of glasses after going. Everything on stage was a little bit misshapen and blurry. It seems as well as needing glasses for close up I’m going to need them for far away as well.

I also took the odd stroll into town when the sun was out, which is nice.

It’s all too easy to sit around at home all day, especially when writing, so I’m glad I could enjoy the weather and a walk along the canal now and then. I want to do more walks this summer, there are plenty around Manchester to be had, I just need to organise myself a bit more. That or I need to stop making excuses and just go. It’s tough being spontaneous without a car, but with a little bit of research it can be done.

News From The Steam Factory

Several updates for you this week. One of the good things about never going anywhere is you do get a lot of writing done.

I’ve finished and submitted my solarpunk short, Weather Station 451. Just waiting to hear back now whether it has been accepted or not.

I’ve also finished (today!) Odds Bodkin and the Night Mayor of London. It came out at 63k words in the end, which is a respectable number to be getting on with. I managed to beef up the bits that needed beefing, and I rewrote a number of sections that were just plain boring. In a world where AI slop is going to become ever more prevalent it is our unique voice that will become our selling point and make us stand out from the crowd. It needs to be emphasised as much as possible.

I keep sharing quotes like this over on Bluesky. If that’s something you’re interested in you can follow me over there. I like to show off when I’ve done something clever, and so far my Sky Friends have resisted the temptation to tell me everything I’m doing is wrong, which was always the risk over on the Bad Place.

This bit I was especially pleased with. Took a lot of research to figure out. I now have a list of mayors of Night London since its inception, all of them famous authors (more or less). It’s fun when you get to do a bit of world building and it works out really well. Makes you feel like you’re on the right path.

Odds Bodkin is on its way to readers now, to get some feedback. Time for me to put it out of my mind and move on to other things. I still haven’t decided if I want to approach small presses with In The Valley Of The Wind yet, I haven’t done any work on my Santa story, and my third steampunk novel Attack Mars!! isn’t going to write itself. I have lots to be getting on with and so little time. It’s hard to know where to start. Memento mori; remember that you will die. Find the thing that matters most and work on that. That’s what I keep telling myself, but then I get distracted and before you know it— Hey look! A squirrel!!

When I’m Not Writing

Finally did a bit of reading this month. I finished The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, which I enjoyed very much. Looking forward to reading the rest in the series. And I got further into Mistborn, which I’m also enjoying but not as much. I can see that the writing is good, and the plot and characters interesting, but it hasn’t quite grabbed me yet. Still, there’s a long way to go so I’m sure by the end I’ll be well into it.

What I’m enjoying more is The Finery, by Rachel Grosvenor. The story of an old woman in a city run by a totalitarian police regime, the Finery, it’s well written and surprisngly compelling. The story moves at a decent pace and it feels like its going somewhere which is always good (I’m easily distracted when it comes to reading) and it has short chapters which helps as well.

I was hoping for more fantasy/magic as the main character has a wolf companion who helps her out around the house but it doesn’t seem to be that kind of book. The wolf is justa clever wolf. And there are a few too many eye rolls, a particular bugbear of mine (no one ever rolls their eyes!). One per chapter in the first three chapters alone, but so far I’ve been able to forgive them because I’m enjoying the words.

It’s also a challenging read at times because I don’t like bullies, and the Finery are as big a bunch of bullies as there’s ever been, so reading about them pushing people around is hard for me. But I guess it’s a testament to the writing that it’s so triggering, so I can’t really fault the author for that can I? Her portrayal of such things is highly accurate.

Anyway it’s a good book. Well worth a look if you’re into that kind of thing.

And there you have it, a productive but slightly boring month for me. Now that I’ve finished Odds Bodkin I should look at going away for a few days, a present to myself for getting the book finished. I’ve booked a night in Ironbridge for The Town That Never Was next month but I need something more. I’m thinking Oslo. I just need to find a few days when I’m free then I’m good to go.

I hope you’re all doing well. Thanks for stopping by once more. Have a good July and I’ll see you at the other end.

Toodle-pip for now.

Keith