Hope fanzine part 1

Hope is a new multi-part fanzine raising money for bushfire relief in the Australian state of Victoria. Issue #1 is now available in a PDF edition in return for donations.

Hope #1 contains contributions from Mo Ali, Sophie Ambrose, R.J. Astruc, Lyn Battersby, K.K. Bishop, Matthew Chrulew, Stephen Dedman, Mark S. Deniz, d.n.l, Paul Haines, Simon Haynes, Kathleen Jennings, Ju Landeesse, Damian Magee, David A. McIntee, Simon Petrie, Andrew Phillips, Gillian Polack, Robert Shearman and Daniel Smith. The cover is by Rebecca Handcock.

This is going to a really good cause, which is why I sent in a previously unpublished short story of mine. It's the first short I've submitted anywhere for 7 or 8 years.

Please consider making a donation to the appeal so you can pick up a copy of this fanzine. The suggested minimum is only A$5 (around US$3.50), and I'd really appreciate it if you can help out.

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

Hal 5 progress (really)

Still picking out floor tiles, still programming under contract, but yesterday I managed to write a little Hal 5 as well.

It seems to me I forget my working process with every book. For two weeks I've been reluctant to touch the messy, confusing draft because every scene in my project needed a ton of rewrites to match the outline. Yesterday I remembered what I did for Hal 4 (and 3, and 2, and 1) ... instead of taking 2000 words and editing them to match the new outline, just write the 2000 words again from scratch. It's probably two hours work either way, and writing them fresh is so much easier.

Anyway, this time I'm jotting down notes for a how-to manual, and for the next novel I hope to have a simple guide which will get me through the toughest part. (That would be turning 30,000-40,000 words of mismatched, disjointed scenes into a 100,000 word first draft. Last month the toughest part was plotting, and next month the toughest part will be turning a rough draft into a first edit. It never ends, I tell you ...)

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

Hal 5 progress

Words written in the past two weeks: 0
Tiled floors jackhammered up: 2
Contract programming jobs completed: 2

I'm currently contemplating the laying of 60 sq/m of tiles. Kitchen, PC area, entrance and two hallways. I've also taken on another programming job.

Re the tiles, we'd just about decided on a 450x450 marble-look tile, layed square, which is the easiest way to go. However, all along I've had a hankering for a picture-frame effect. This is where you lay one row of half-tiles all around the edge of the room, then put down a thin decorative strip (optional), and then lay all the tiles in the middle of this frame on the diagonal.

It's at least double the amount of work, the decorative border will add about 30% to the cost of the job, but it looks very special when done right. On the plus side, I'm saving over $2000 by doing all the work myself, and I've successfully laid a large area of tiles before now so I'm happy I can handle it.

Anyway, if you don't see many writing updates, that's the reason ..

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

More on the decorating

First thing my daughter said when see saw me like this?



"Are you my mummy?"

Warmed my SF-centered heart, that did.

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

Progress

Words written today: 0
Tile floors jackhammered up: 1/2

Sometimes it's not about the writing.

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

C.C. Finlay's Patriot Witch - Free download

Now this sounds like a good idea ... promote a series by giving away the first book as a free download ;-)

Yes, author and his publisher, Del Rey, are offering the first book in the Traitor to the Crown series as a freebie:



The year is 1775. On the surface, Proctor Brown appears to be an ordinary young man working the family farm in New England. He is a minuteman, a member of the local militia, determined to defend the rights of the colonies. Yet Proctor is so much more. Magic is in his blood, a dark secret passed down from generation to generation. But Proctor’s mother has taught him to hide his talents, lest he be labeled a witch and find himself dangling at the end of a rope.

Click and download - no registration rqd.

Feel free to repost, twitter, sms or shout the news.

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

Getting closer and closer ...

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