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The good morning, good night thread

Started by Ed, October 22, 2007, 03:49:05 AM

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Geoff_N

 Went to the sci fi con in Northampton at the weekend. We were warned the fishmarket building isn't heated so to wear our warmest clobber. Aaarrrggh - perspiration ran down my legs - at least I hope that what it was. I had nice chats with scifi folk such as Iain Banks, Ken Macleod, literary agent John Jarrold, and dozens of others I normally meet on the web. I hadnt realized that Jon P here knows Toby Frost with whom I can count as a friend.

More in my blog http://geoffnelder.wordpress.com/ along with pics of me with Northampton's Jester

Geoff

JonP

Quote from: Geoff_N on October 13, 2008, 11:52:04 AM
Went to the sci fi con in Northampton at the weekend. We were warned the fishmarket building isn't heated so to wear our warmest clobber. Aaarrrggh - perspiration ran down my legs - at least I hope that what it was. I had nice chats with scifi folk such as Iain Banks, Ken Macleod, literary agent John Jarrold, and dozens of others I normally meet on the web. I hadnt realized that Jon P here knows Toby Frost with whom I can count as a friend.

More in my blog http://geoffnelder.wordpress.com/ along with pics of me with Northampton's Jester

Geoff

Yup, Toby's a good mate of mine, and I've watched his progress with interest and ac ertain amount of envy! I think I'm right in saying that I was there when he read out some of Space Captain Smith the first time (cue Hovis music).

Geoff_N

Jon - watch out for Toby. At the end of yesterday we were chatted to by best selling YA fantasy author Mark Hobson.  He was urging Toby to modify his stories so they would be appropriate for secondary age pupils. By doing so he could sell far more books, he said, and gave examples where he is on a register of authors that visit schools. Advance notes go to parents along with order forms. He sells hundreds that way to each school he visits, plus around £250 a visit fee plus expenses. With the royalties he reckons he makes up to £600 per school visit. This isn't possible with sexual or violent content for obvious reasons. Toby nodded more strongly with each argument! I think he is seeing an end to his day job...

To clinch it Mark told us of his largest audience. 1,000 elderly listeners, venue - a Bradford church and Mark did his reading from the pulpit! He sold hundreds of books that day. He must drive around in an articulated lorry.

I've done a bit of school visits speaking to small writers circles and sold a handful at a time. To step it up to Mark Hobson's level isn't my scene. I know a former dentist who writes kids story books and he does it all over Wales, Derbyshire and Cheshire. It's tiring and he only sells between 20 to 50 copies at each school.

Another aspect that worries me about the Mark Hobson formula for making it rich is how many schools would take on more than one fantasy author as a speaker that they have to pay so much for? However, if Toby goes that route, good luck to him.

Geoff

Geoff_N

I'm in a bit of a panic today. I'm to do a reading at the Chester Literary Festival tonight. Not rubbing shoulders with the celebs that infest such events these days, but to an open-to-the-public meeting of the Chester Writers group. I'm taking a few copies of Exit, Pursued by a Bee just in case some are inspired to purchase a copy. TBH I don't feel that well - not fear of public speaking. I've been a teacher too long to take any notice of the audience! Hah. But my dentist has put me on antibiotics for a tooth root / abcess infection. Hence I'm technically ill. I laugh at ill people cos I don't do being ill - not had a cold for over 10 years. Now I can't have a pre-event drink either! Aaarrrgggh.

Geoff

Ed

Good luck, Geoff - I hope all goes well and that you're soon feeling better.

I've just got back from Truro, after a long day that started at five-thirty this morning. I was there doing a manufacturer's course on ground source heat pumps. How to size them and install them, plus the various advantages and weaknesses associated with the recovery of low grade heat. Very interesting. I hadn't realised before that a poorly sized installation could result in literally freezing parts, or the whole of your garden :grin: "Frosty out there today, luv... but why's our's the only one? And why, after a whole day of sunshine, hasn't it thawed?" :scratch: Weird.

Awful journey home. Heavy rain and gusts of wind strong enough to push us around on the road. Nasty.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

That's a tough journey, Ed. I only had a short two miles walk home in drizzle last night from the book reading. It went reasonably well but there was a raucous party in the room below - grrrr. Details in my blog
http://geoffnelder.wordpress.com/

Back to driving conditions. I worry about my wife. She drives all over the Midlands and Merseyside visiting schools as part of her Institute of Physics job. More and more she is held up for hours in congestion. That bad accident on the M6 recently for instance. Now our car is showing that orange engine fault sign on the dashboard. Last time the garage rebooted the car's computer and the warning sign went away. But it is a Rover 25 bought a week before the company went bust 4 years ago! Hah. Time for a new one. I know as much about buying cars as I do about knitting. I can detect the car dealers rubbing their hands already!

Geoff

Ed

I hate buying and selling cars. Doesn't matter who you go to, you might as well just drop your pants and grab your ankles, because you know full well you're going to get reamed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

Good news this morning.  Liz Williams, best selling author of fantasy such as Bloodmind, Darkland and Banner of Souls, runs a witchcraft shop in Glastonbury. My Exit, Pursued by a Bee starts and finishes on Glastonbury Tor as does the cover art. Liz has asked for a small stock for her shop!

Geoff

Ed

#638
Well done, Geoff - that's a good sale :afro:

Don't forget to put your clocks back this morning, everybody - there was me telling everybody the clocks were going to go back this weekend, all week, and guess who forgot? ::)

Edit: And another reminder for those of you who haven't managed it yet - don't forget you've only got four more days to enter the Cafe Doom 2008 competition :afro:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

3 miles out of Mold and near the top of a snow-covered hill, I had a front wheel cycle puncture. It was the most picturesque place I'd had my hands frozen while in puncture repair mode for years.

Brrrr Geoff, warming up with whisky and tea

delboy

Reminds me I must get another Crank Brothers tyre removal tool. The tyres are so tight on my rims that it's the only lever I've found that can do the job, but even that lever has disintegrated after several removals.

Put my lights back on ready for tomorrow's commute in the dark. Oh the joys...

Derek
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Geoff_N

Del, I had a hell of a problem both getting the tyre off, and worse putting it back on. I'd not had need to remove the tyre since new - 32C x 700 Schwalbe Marathon. I've had a bit of forearm tendonitis lately and what with the cold...

The hawthorn had gone through a thick part of the tread too. I'm changing the tyres for Armadillos and slime inners - that's my birthday money spent!

Hey don't we sound like biker nerds! :)

Geoff

Ed

Dunno. With the Armadillos and slime inners you sound more like roadkill experts, though I can't imagine you get very many armadillos around Chester, Geoff :scratch:

I spent all day yesterday fitting a solar thermal store and hitching it up to my wood burner. I reckon it'll take at least another two day's work to get all the pipe runs finished, probably more like three. I've got roofers here at the moment, too. They've stripped off the five year old Redbank Duchess slates (which had bent like bananas) and are replacing them with proper decent natural slate. Next they'll start on the back roof and I'll have to hurry up and fit the solar panels before they drop the scaffold.

Went into Maplins to buy a thermostat kit for a differential control on the woodburner. It only operated in a range from 5C to 40C or so, which isn't any good for what I want. I still managed to come home with a new multimeter and a remote controlled plane, though ::) As you do....
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

delboy

Quote32C x 700 Schwalbe Marathon

I'm going to try wider tyres next time out. I have 23s on there at the moment and I feel every single grain of sand I cycle over. I don't have the ability to warrant such narrow tyres.

Del
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Geoff_N

I've packed my panniers, including laptop (battery removed - I once found it very hot when I left it in and in all the jiggling the laptop became switched on!). I'm  off tomorrow to Alt-Fiction residential writers course in the Dove Valley, Derbyshire. It is run by Alex Davies (lit development officer for Derbyshire) and the focus is on horror / noir fantasy or scifi. The two tutors are William Conrad and Kim Lakin-Smith. They are both literary - the former writes gutsy horror and Kim has a poetic elegant style. I'm looking forward to both the 70 miles bike ride to get there and the course.

Geoff