Odds and bods

Several updates today, before I get back to my NanoWrimo work. (I'm a whole day behind, but not for long.)

First, thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was the big 40 for me, and we had a nice BBQ in the hot Western Australian weather. (That means I cooked the BBQ outside in the heat while everyone else lounged around in the pool or sat under the aircon.) A very nice evening, and my steaks marinaded in whisky for 8 hours went down a treat. (After first going UP when I put them on the flames.)

Second, Nano progress: Lousy word count over the weekend, but 500 words here and there kept the thing moving. This morning I spent an hour plotting ahead, and another hour re-plotting some of the bits I'd already written. This after I discovered my 16,000 words to date have raced through the first half of the plot in about three chapters. Need to pace myself and develop things properly.

Third, Stephen Wrighton of No Krakana has posted an in-depth review of Hal 1. I'm not going to spoil the review by summarising it, but it's worth reading if you still don't know what Hal Spacejock is all about. Okay, perhaps one brief snip which I really liked: "It shows a grim understanding of both current culture in regards to software and how we interact with in on our PCs and the Internet, as well as an even grimmer understanding that companies will try to utilize such things whenever possible."

Yes, the books are funny ha-ha and Hal is a klutz, but I was pleased to see a mention of the satire which bubbles through the series.

Stephen's based in the US, and as with many of these reviews and comments, he includes the usual desire to see a US publisher take on the books ASAP. (Recently I've been getting a lot of those demanding that a British publisher take the books on, so I guess that's a nice change.)

All up, a busy weekend. Now for an even busier week...

Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock and Hal Junior series (Amazon / Smashwords / other formats)