heARTlines Festival

Dion Hamill's original paintings for all three Hal book covers (below) have been shipped over for the heARTlines Festival, which is taking place here in Perth, Western Australia from the 1st of June to the 1st of July.

Update: just got an email letting me know the ABC featured the festival on the news tonight, and they even showed the Hal covers ;-) Thanks Ted!




That's not the only attraction of course. The program features any number of authors and illustrators ... for more details and a PDF copy of the program check the Mundaring Arts Centre website.

heARTlines is curated by author Louise Schofield and proudly presented by ArtsWA Department of Culture and the Arts and Healthway Drug Aware.

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

Social networking for books

I'm already on LibraryThing, but Good Reads looks like an interesting site too. I wonder which will come out on top?



Edit. Just thought I'd add this. It's a Technorati search on all the people kind enough to join Hal Spacejock's Support Crew:

hal spacejock support crew

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

10 things

Spotted on Buzz, Balls & Hype ... 10 things an author shouldn't do

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

Hal 3 appears on the 'Page 99 Test'

An interesting blogging concept: Authors are invited to submit the full text of page 99 from their current novel, and to follow it up with a brief essay on the snippet. In their own words:

For the Page 99 Test, I hope to have authors comment on whether Page 99 reveals "the quality of the whole" about their books. We'll try the test on new books, contemporary classics, and a few time-honored books, with recognized experts applying the test to the text.

My effort is here.

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

Competition Winners

A big thanks to all who entered the wonderful sets competition, and I really wish I could send everyone a book.

However, there can only be one winner and Rob in Denver was first out of the virtual hat. The prize includes all three Hal books and airmail postage - you'll just have to supply the reading part of it.

Update: I couldn't leave it at that, and so I've picked a second-place winner for a copy of Hal Spacejock: Matt B

To claim your prizes just email me here: spacejock at gmail dt com

Again, thanks to all who entered and please keep an eye out for more chances to win Hal. For example, this one and this one.

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

Wonderful sets

This competition is now closed, but there's another right here

If you've followed my blog for a reasonable amount of time (say, two or three days), you'll know that I occasionally give away copies of my books.

Today is a bit different, because instead of giving away copies to multiple winners, I'm drawing ONE set of Hal Spacejock books 1, 2 and 3.




Yes, that's what three books look like.


The winner will take the lot, and I'll post them anywhere in the world. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me why the whole Hal Spacejock thing appeals to you.

I'll give it a couple of weeks, then draw one winner at random. Good luck!

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

Death of a character

No, not that kind of death. Nobody gets killed in Hal Spacejock books. They just disappear in a mysterious fashion.

When I submitted the Hal 4 outline to my editor, one of the minor characters was a gruff desk sergeant, semi-retired. You know the type - worldly wise, unflappable, full of useful information and a father figure and guiding light to one of the major characters. He was Roger Murtaugh to Martin Riggs, William of Baskerville to Adso of Melk, and any one of those countless wise older hands which populate books and movies.

In other words, the perfect example of a cliche character.

So there I was last night, writing the scene where my major character returns to HQ and encounters good old Ted, sergeant cliche of the movie tropes squad. And I didn't want to write him in. I just couldn't do it. So, I gave up and played NFS Underground 2 against my kids until the game crashed. (For that I have to thank EA, Intel Dual Core, Microsoft Windows XP and Nvidia.)

Anyway, around 1am I found myself mulling over the Ted problem. The lights were off, the house was quiet and I was supposed to be going to sleep, but I never let minor challenges like oncoming unconsciousness distract me. Instead of coming up with a replacement for Ted I decided I'd introduce a third character, an original one which would be great fun to write. I ran a few conversations in my head, and my new creation held up just fine. A few minutes later I realised this new character had already supplanted staid old Ted: everything Ted could possibly bring to the plot this new character could do better, and with laughs to boot.

So long Ted, and may you live on in Hollywood buddy movies.

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

7000 down

... 73,000 to go.

Actually, I'm feeling quite good. I mean, apart from having had chronic back pain for the past two weeks AND a sharp pain in my abdomen for which I'm having an ultrasound next week AND a nasty intermittent ear-ache which I only experience when I wake up suddenly in the middle of the night.

But I've still managed to write my 1,000 words a day, which is the important thing. The first two chapters are done, the words are flowing and my writing muscles are getting used to unfamiliar work. As time goes by I'll up the daily count to 2,000, and I still have a load of pre-written scenes which will have to be shoe-horned into the right places and then pounded into shape. Looking good for a first draft by the end of May. (I think I gave myself until the end of June, but time is tight for this book.)

One of the characters has undergone three complete transformations since I first came up with her. Her age and her position have both changed, so all the scenes I wrote with her slightly cynical take on things now have to be rewritten from a younger viewpoint, with a lot less cynicism. Dialogue, thoughts, actions .. it's like changing actors halfway through a film shoot, then having to redo the screenplay because the new person's personality and presence are so different. And in an earlier version she was definitely on the opposite side to Hal, whereas now ...

Of course, some time in the future I'm sure I'll need a cynical older female character, so I can't just delete bits or write over the top of them. First I have to store away every scene, adding to the 700,000 word pile sitting in my 'for future use' folder.

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

Happy International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day!

Today, writers all over the planet are giving away a piece of their work completely free, as a protest against an ill-conceived article claiming that ALL writers who put their work online for free are some kind of techo-scabs reducing the earning power of legitimate authors.

My contribution is the first chapter of a YA-oriented novel I started on between Hal Spacejock 1 and 2, way back in 2001. The novel is called the Golden Lyre, it's a space opera, and you can download and read chapter one from here

You may share the chapter with friends, family and others as long as there's no commercial gain, but you can't post the contents or the file online. Please refer people to my blog post instead.

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

Hal 4 - Plot Done

Okay, I've just finished combining all my plot junk into a brand new yWriter project. (In the end I wrote an importer which took my text file full of paragraphs and created a fresh scene from each one, using the whole para as the long description and the first sentence of the same para for the short scene title.)

I decided to program the importer for 3 scenes per chapter, then ran it. Imagine my surprise when the finished chapter count ended up at 33. All three Hal Spacejock books to date have had exactly 32 chapters, and the funny thing about this one is that 3 scenes (1 chapter) are just markers for the start, middle and end points. I removed those and my plot outline came out at exactly 32 chapters. It's a sign, I tell you.

Now, bear in mind I still have two folders on my hard drive - one is Hal 4 2005 and the other, Hal 4 2006. Each contains a substantial, but unfinished, draft of the book with very different plots and totally different characters. My job now is to start writing Hal 4 2007 and only take bits from those earlier efforts which fit this one. Everything else will be thrown into my spare parts folder.

So, do I like the new plot? Yes I do. My only concern is that the event which drives the major plot story doesn't occur until several chapters have passed. But hey, I've never claimed to be part of the SMS generation. I even enjoyed the first hour of Peter Jackson's King Kong.

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

Freelance editing

The editor who worked with me on the first three Hal books, Janet Blagg, has started a new freelance business. Anyone requiring editorial assistance should head over to her website for more information.

Actually, you should have a peek for another reason: I designed and implemented the site as a big thank-you to Janet for her work on Hal Spacejock. I reckon it came together quite nicely, and the site ain't too bad either. (Boom boom.)

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

Plotting

Back when writing was just a bit of fun (that'd be before I got a publishing gig) plotting was something I'd tried and discarded as a devious kind of torture. I tried writing a novel to a plot a couple of times, and it was like memorising the screenplay of a movie before sitting down to watch it for the first time. Every twist, every turn laid out like the guts of an expertly dissected frog.

Where's the fun in that?

Well, one thing plot-haters soon learn is that their carefree and wasteful writing methods don't fit the commercial publishing model. If you have a deadline to meet, you can't spend eighteen months writing fun scenes just because they caught your fancy.

But how many second, third or fourth books have you read which didn't capture the fun and excitement of an earlier title by the same author? Ever feel a book was rushed out to meet a particular timeslot? Or that the plot was agreed to early on, and subsequently served as a strait jacket for the author?

I'm stitching my own strait jacket right now - I have an eight-page outline for Hal 4 which I've been revising and tweaking for some weeks. The idea is to have this comprehensive document I can discuss with my editor. (That's 'discuss' in the way that the English and French discussed Agincourt.)

I only hope that when I start writing I discover my dissected frog has a second heart, nine limbs and an electronic brain.

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

Andromeda Spaceways issue 28 available

Issue 28 has (finally) left the launch pad.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine issue 28, edited by Zara Baxter, is now available.

Why finally? Issue 28 has changed places in the publication schedule TWICE. Originally slated to be released as issue 26, then 27, this glorious issue was munched up by the space/time continuum and has only now been spat out! At last you can read the wonderful works filling this issue, which include:

Fiction
Grace . . . Ian McHugh
Sweet Potato Woman . . . Chris Barnes
Polish . . . Kaaron Warren
Rest Stop . . . Marissa K Lingen
The Dark and What It Said . . . Rick Kennett
The Eradicator . . . Ben Cook
The Bluebell Vengeance . . . Tansy Rayner Roberts
House In Love . . . Gail Kavanagh

Special Features
This is How the World Ends — Not with a Bang but with a Rip . . . David Clements
The Art of Balance — Interview with Trudi Canavan . . . Gillian Polack
Retro-Review . . . Ben Cook

With cover art by Daryl Lindquist, issue 28 is available in Print or PDF from www.andromedaspaceways.com NOW. Don’t miss out, remember PDF availability is strictly limited!

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

Swancon SF Convention - coming up

The latest (last?) Swancon progress report is online, including the current version of the program.

Some time back Russell Farr asked me whether I'd be interested in doing a panel on professional promotion. Now, I don't do a lot of panels at cons, mainly because you could pick almost any topic and there'll be someone at the con with more knowledge and/or experience of that topic than myself. Or at least, someone more willing to talk about it. (I don't mind public speaking - I regularly talk about writing, my books and myself to gatherings of schoolkids, and if you ever want to find a tough audience ...)

Anyway, I said yes, and I was pleased to see the panel listed in the program.

Time: Friday 3pm
About: Professional Promotion
Panelists: Russell Farr, Matthew Reilly, Angela Challis and myself.

By the way, "Professional promotion" is the kind where you don't need a thick skin and lots of very forgiving friends.

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

Nostalgia

I was born in the UK in 1967, and at the time my parents lived above a shop in the West Wickham high street. After I turned two we moved to a detached two-storey house in a quiet street near the station. It had an enormous garden, gurgly radiators powered by a boiler, and was the site of my first Goodies and Doctor Who experiences way back in 1971 or 72.

When I was eight we shifted to Spain, but my parents kept the UK house and rented it out. In 1983 we moved back in for six months, before selling up and shifting to Australia.

Anyway, ten minutes ago I happened to be browsing UK real estate - something I do perhaps once every couple of years, purely for nostalgic reasons - when I spotted our old house on the market:




An interesting fact: Before my parents bought this house it belonged to an english actress who - I believe - appeared in one of the early Bond movies. I remember my dad mentioning it in the 70's, so I'll have to ask him who it was next time I see him.

My dad laid that curved driveway, and there used to be neat box hedges below the ground floor windows. I distinctly remember water-bombing my best mate's sister through those windows above the entrance, and I also remember sitting at the window top-right at around 5AM in December 1981. We'd just arrived in England after a 3-day drive from Spain, via France and Andorra, and I was listening to english voices on my brand new walkman clone - in stereo, no less - whilst the smell of hot paint wafted up from the radiator burning my knees. Outside, yellow streetlight glistened off the rain-speckled windscreens of cars parked in the road below. Everything was different and yet familiar: I was used to the heat of Spain, spanish radio, marble floors instead of carpets, single storey whitewashed houses with thick walls, sun-warped wooden window frames and elaborate metal grilles instead of mock-tudor and small panes of glass in steel frames. And yet, I'd grown up in the UK, in that house, and so I was home.

If you think those two conflicting lives were confusing enough, throw in 20+ years living in Australia. It's hot, but we have carpets. Window frames are aluminium. Winter is in July, Summer in December. They speak English but the architecture and weather is mediterranean.

I only hope my kids are storing their own special memories of our current house.

Back to West Wickham: at UKP679,000 (Approx A$1.6m or US$1.26m), the old house is selling for almost ten times the price we sold it for in '83, and exactly 68 times what my parents paid for it in 1969/70.

Update: Found some old pics my parents took in the early 70's:





This one is July 1971, 12 months after moving in.




Same day, right hand side of the house. That's me in the white jumper and Paul Mycroft in blue. I was almost four years old in that shot.




My dad's Mustang out the front (no driveway, see?)




12 months earlier - 1970, same house as purchased.

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

My first TV appearance

Last week I was interviewed about Hal Spacejock for the local TV show, 'The Couch'. It was an interesting experience - my degree is in Film & Television, but that only prepares you for life behind the camera, not sitting in front of it whilst trying to give semi-intelligent answers to the interviewer's questions.



What can I wear that doesn't clash with lime or pink?


Anyway, it came out okay and the station ran a promo giving away five copies of Hal Spacejock Just Desserts. The funny thing was, sitting in the hot seat the interview seemed to last 20 seconds, and I thought the host, Fred Mafrica, wound it up really fast because I'd made a mess of it.



It was only when I watched the interview today for the first time that I realised I sat there and answered questions for at least five or six minutes. Most of them semi-intelligently, too!

(The show repeats this coming Wednesday on Access31 TV in Perth, and I believe The Couch may also be shown in Melbourne.)

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

Westbooks 'Night with our Stars'

Last night (March 1st) was the Westbooks 'night with our stars' event. Twenty Western Australian authors and illustrators were invited to address the 150-strong crowd of teachers, school librarians and publishing industry professionals, with each presenter given a few minutes to discuss their latest work.

It was a fun evening, although I managed to smash a wine glass, drop my own book (twice), crumple the cardboard podium by leaning on it and finished up by accidently throwing my bottled water across the stage. No, I wasn't under the influence — I don't drink — but I was animated and somehow kept the audience laughing throughout my brief melee. Sorry, speech. (As usual, I carefully prepared something to read and then ad-libbed wildly instead.)

There was a photo session at the start, lots of food and drink, and a couple of signing tables set up for authors to do the business. Apologies in advance to anyone who bought my books for their school thinking Hal Spacejock was uplifting literature with a strong moral message. You should have listened to my speech a little more closely ;-)

So, thanks to Westbooks and congratulations to all the authors present. It was a fun evening, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Complete list of authors in order of appearance: Raewyn Caisley*, Simon Haynes, Kirri Somerville, Julia Lawrinson, Broome Public Library, Andrew Lansdown, Guundie Kuchling, Anne Morgan, Kate McCaffrey, Diana Chase, Joy & Mike Lefroy, Steve Hawke, Louise Schofield, Aleisha Zappia, Sally Murphy*, Liliana Stafford & Sophia Zielinski, Katy Watson-Kell, Dianne Wolfer and Ken Spillman.

* Sent apologies.

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

Hal Spacejock in the Amazon Jungle

No, it's not a catchy book title, it's just a reminder that the Hal Spacejock books are listed on Amazon US. So far each of the three books has an average rating of five stars, and that's without my talking friends and family into posting fake reviews - who'd have thought?

Hal Spacejock

Hal Spacejock Second Course

Hal Spacejock Just Desserts (Showing 1 copy left)

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

Upcoming Publicity and Author Events

I've just been going over the Spacejock publicity stuff with Scott at Fremantle Arts Centre Press, which would be my publisher. (Actually, they're about to become simply 'Fremantle Press' - and I'd like to think publishing Hal Spacejock knocked the Arts right out of them.)

Anyway, here's the current list:

This Sunday I'm doing a TV interview with Access 31 here in Perth. The program is 'on the couch' and I'm supposed to discuss publishing. Hopefully not arts, because that's something I have no experience with.

Monday I'm being interviewed, photographed and suchlike by the Freo Herald. For their arts section, no doubt.

1st March I'll be appearing at the Westbooks 'Night with our stars', which is a do for school librarians and teachers. Each author has three minutes to discuss their upcoming/recent book, which should be interesting. I'm thinking of a talk on the subject of 'Hal Spacejock - It's Not Art!'

Apparently I'll also be doing an interview with Grant Stone for Faster Than Light, and they put podcasts online so I'll link to that. They're also going to play the interview during the morning segment on RTR.

Scoop Magazine is apparently running a review of Hal 3 in the upcoming March issue. This is a classy tourist mag which you find in hotel rooms across Western Australia, and they usually feature a lot of items of interest to the discerning tourist ... including Art. Not this time! Snerk.

Scott tells me Swan magazine is going to be reviewing Hal 3. Alas, I don't know what SF has to do with the Swans. I mean, they didn't even win the Grand Final. Maybe they need cheering up.

Non-Hal news - the Sun Herald and The Age both featured my share market software in their Sunday supplement last weekend. Programming is SO an art.

Back to Hal news: I've been invited along to the WA society of Editors AGM to (I think) read from Hal or discuss editing or something. Either that, or I'm the Elephant Man to Janet Blagg's Treves.

Then there's the appearances at the All Saints' Kids' Lit festival for my second year running. All those school kids just waiting to hear about Writing True Art, and they get me.

I'll also be pootling around Swancon as usual - probably with a T-shirt decrying the sad state of Art in Western Australia.

More to come - this is just off the top of my head.

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

Hal 3 now available

Just Desserts

Hal Spacejock Just Desserts is now available from bookstores across Australia and New Zealand. (E.g. Dymocks, A&R, Collins, Newslink, most independents.)

Copies are also available in the US from the North American distributor, ISBS, from Powell's Books, and from Amazon.

Everyone else can mail order from Fantastic Planet or the Australian Online Bookstore

Related News:
      First Hal 3 review
      Hal Spacejock Interviewed
      Clunk Interviewed

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

Launched

The Hal 3 launch was on last night, and we're all recovering nicely. Full details here.

We came, we saw, we launched. Now my focus turns to Hal 4.

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

Grumpy Old Bookman

Michael Allen runs an entertaining blog about UK publishing called Grumpy Old Bookman, and the third item on today's post is a neat little piece about the recent Hal Spacejock and Clunk interviews.

And about those interviews: feedback on both has been great, and Hal's is currently the third most popular item on the Specusphere. Clunk is not happy.

So, be sure to click Clunk's and shun Hal's.

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

Hal 2 - it's on for young and old

Hal Spacejock Second Course has been nominated in the West Australian Young Readers Book Award. According to my publisher, this is a great indication that kids love the book.

The West Australian Young Readers Book Award is a readers' choice award, organised on a statewide basis for young readers. As such, it pioneered a new concept in Australia, allowing children the major say in their prize winning literature.

To find out more about the awards go to the WAYRBA website

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

Your invitation to a book launch

Dymocks would like to invite you to a Book Launch for Simon Haynes's new book “Hal Spacejock Just Desserts”, book 3 in the Hal Spacejock series.

Simon Haynes is the author of three Hal Spacejock novels, a number of articles on writing and publishing, and several short stories, one of which collected an Aurealis Award in 2001.

“Hal Spacejock Just Desserts”

A mysterious sealed crate, a pair of shady mercenaries with more guns than brain cells and the amnesiac robot which may or may not be on a secret mission ... Only interstellar ignoramus Hal Spacejock and the unflappable Clunk could turn a straightforward cargo delivery into space opera with clowns.

Three simmering planets, two cocky spacemen and one huge mess: Just Desserts, for your pleasure.


Author Signing

DATES: February 9th, 2007 (This Friday)
VENUE: Dymocks Carousel, Cannington
TIME: 7.00pm
TICKET PRICE: Free
RSVP: Please call 08 9356 8888 or email carousel (at) dymocks.com.au

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

Clunk interviewed!

The Specusphere just interviewed Clunk as part of the 'Hey, let's talk to Hal and Clunk instead of the author' series.

You can read the result here

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

Hal Spacejock Interviewed!

Specusphere has put the Hal Spacejock interview online, and you can enjoy Hal's thoughts on money, the future, and the nature of fictional characters right here.

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

Hal 3 a bestseller

January's bestsellers at Fantastic Planet bookstore

1...Hal Spacejock: Just Desserts...Simon Haynes
2...Peace and War...Joe Haldeman
3...The Arrival...Shaun Tan
4...Galactic North...Alastair Reynolds
5...Pushing Ice...Alastair Reynolds
6...Running from the Deity...Alan Dean Foster
7...Red Phoenix...Kylie Chan
8...Red Spikes...Margo Lanagan
9...Thud!...Terry Pratchett
10..Temeraire...Naomi Novik

So, a big thank-you to all the staff at Fantastic Planet. Nice going ;-)

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

Working with an editor part 2

Last July I posted about working with my editor, in an attempt to illustrate the amount of work that goes into a book once it's picked up by a publisher.

Around the same time I expanded the article for Writers' World, and yesterday I discovered the article went into issue 3 late last year.

Writers' World is an online mag, and as luck would have it issue 3 can be read online here

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

Australia day photos

Australia Day 2007


Very hot weather, but beautiful skies for the evening fireworks display. One of the launch barges had a 'wardrobe malfunction', with raging flames and fireworks still going off long after the display had ended. Maybe it was the SS Guy?

Here's one pic of the event ... I've put the rest on my website




Fireworks Display

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

Canning Times Article

I just spotted my ugly mug in the Canning Times alongside an article about the Hal Spacejock series. Then I saw it again on the masthead - cool.





(The article has a couple of factual errors, but who cares when they got the time, date and location of the book launch correct?)

Anyway, if you live in Perth and happen to glance at this week's Community News (other than the Canning Times), please let me know if you see the same article repeated. It was in the Arts section in mine.

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

Comet pics

I've been out taking pics of the comet most nights, and these two have come out pretty well:





(No digital manipulation - these are straight out of the camera.)

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

To get published, you just have to know the right people ...

... and other fallacies.

This one irks me more than most, to be honest. I've seen it in blog comments, feedback, whiny 'I am SO a writer' posts on forums and more.

Does anyone seriously believe that books only make the grade because the author was buddy-buddy with the publisher? I mean, sleeping your way to the top might work in some industries, but have you looked at a bunch of author pics lately? (I think you'll agree most authors are built for writing and thinking, not for striking poses.)

Seriously ... to get published you have to write a manuscript which is better than 95-97% of the slush pile, and then you need some luck, which usually means an editor happens to be looking for something in your genre when your manuscript crosses their desk.

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

Comet pics

I added a few pics of the comet to my flickr page, then submitted one of them to the Sunday Times. Imagine my surprise when I saw it on their front page slideshow barely 30 mins later. (It's number 2 of 9 pics at the moment.)

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

Aus Spec Fic Carnival

Gillian Polack just sent me a big list of links to knock into shape for the Aus Spec Fic Carnival. This is a monthly roundup of doings in the Aussie SF/F/H scene with links to the relevant blog posts so you can go and join the discussions. (Most of the links are hers, all the typos and factual errors are mine.)


You're also welcome to post your own Aussie specfic links in the comments trail below.


Let's start this month's joyride with the publishing announcements:

Karen Miller reports that she's handed in Empress of Mijak to her publisher.

AShR reviews two new Brimstone Press titles.

News from Agog Press: Two further anthologies of Daikaiju stories and a secret project, all to be released in 2007.

Ticonderoga issue 10 is out and includes three pieces of original fiction, a Sean Williams reprint, a couple of interviews (Paul Haines and myself, Simon Haynes) a bunch of reviews and a competition.

Ben Peek's new book is out. Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth.

Glenda Larke has several pieces of good news at once.

Coeur de lion publishing is proud to announce the publication of Rynemonn, a new Terry Dowling collection.

And if I may be so crass, Hal Spacejock Just Desserts was released this month and you're all invited to the book launch


Okay, we're stepping off the publishing merry-go-round to visit the funhouse.

Yes, it's the 2007 Aurealis Award Shortlist as seen from London.


One quick stagger around the spinning cylinder thing and it's off to the coconut shy.

No more Magic Casements, it seems.

Larbalestier/Westerfeld and the Norton Awards

There's a new HarperCollins Voyager author: details here

The Australian Speculative Fiction Project published the latest edition of their newsletter

Fantastic Planet published two bestseller lists: Their 2006 bestselling authors AND their 2006 bestselling books (Wish more indies did this.)

NZ comment on Chris Lawson’s Written in Blood.

Russell Farr posts on accounts, small press and sales right here

Writer/editor/reader interfaces – variations: Russell Farr and Gillian Polack


Now it's off to the house of horrors. Yes, the topic of REVIEWS ...
Glenda Larke and Shane Jiraiya Cummings


Brrr. Spooked out, time for the rollercoaster:

The all-user guide to year's best lists (well, one bunch of them) can be found here

About writing (including some 'what I did this year' posts):
On paragraphs (Justine)
On perspective/POV (Kaaron)
On the writer at fault (Alisa)

So, what do authors owe their readers?


While you're up there in the sky, about to plummet into 2007, why not take a look back? All these people did ...

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine


Off the rollercoaster and into the water slide:

Justine Larbalestier writes about things that it is useful for a writer to do at some point in their life.

Jenny Fallon writes about world building


Dripping wet, it's off to the dodgem cars. Bzzzzt!

Clarion South blogging: A-one, two three


Finally this month, the grand firework display with complimentary feast and cartoon character puppet of your choice: Gillian Polack once again on the strange side effects of Regency Gothic banquet testing. You can also read the continuing saga of testing for the banquet at www.foodpast.com

That's it for this month - as I said above, if you have aus spec fic news feel free to add it below. To allow everyone a chance to comment, I'm pasting this to three different blogs:

Blogger (halspacejock.blogspot.com)
LJ (halspacejock.livejournal.com)
Myspace (blog.myspace.com/halspacejock)


E&OE. If you do spot an E just let me know and I'll fix it. You'll have to post your own O.

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

Interesting

"ACTING Premier Eric Ripper has listened to PerthNow readers - and backed down from his push for Sunday trading and extended shopping hours."

Ripper abandons Sunday trading

I don't mean Sunday trading in Perth (or the lack of it) is interesting, I mean it's interesting that a senior government minister changed his mind after reading the feedback comments on a news story posted to the internet.

Obviously there were other factors: "Mr Ripper said he had 'listened to radio talkback, read letters to the editor and the hundreds of emails posted on the PerthNow website and spoken to the community, caucus colleagues and the relevant union and business'."

When the average citizen is ushered into the presence of a government minister they're usually awe-struck. But you just know that people will say things on the net which they'd never say in person. Not only that, unlike the immediacy of talkback radio opinions posted to news stories are visible after the fact, and as many a blog owner has discovered, more and more people pile in to have their say, tempers fray, fights break out and so on.

Anyway, I'm in no way a political animal but this did seem to be a case of everyday people telling government what they wanted, and getting it.

PerthNow is the online site for our Sunday newspaper. Comments are a relatively recent innovation, even if they're common elsewhere. In fact, I once left a comment on Perthnow about housing, only to have a journalist from the paper email to ask whether she could get a photo & interview. It didn't happen, probably because she realised I'd be wearing a Hal Spacejock T-shirt, cap, keyring, forehead banner tattoo and anything else I could print up in time ...

Anyway, now people know they can chime in on a story and maybe even influence government policy, this could get really interesting. Instead of moaning down the pub, you can moan online where Big Brother (not the TM version) is listening.

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

Hal 3 is out!

It's official - Hal Spacejock Just Desserts, book 3 in the series, hits shops across Australia and New Zealand from this week.




Click for full size


I've also seen sales figures for all three books in the series so far, and Hal's rockin' ;-)

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

Second chance draw - winner

Just before Christmas I drew four winners in the Hal Spacejock draw, but because it was the season of giving I set up a second chance where everyone who commented on the relevant post was included.

Well, the second-chance winner of a signed copy of Hal Spacejock (2nd Ed.) is ...

Paul Eisenberg

Just contact me at spacejock at gmail dot com and I'll sort out the book sending.

Commiserations to everyone else who entered, but I will be drawing more winners. Just make sure you're in the draw!

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

Sings ... 21 again, 21 again

I turned 21 in 1988, and I just discovered I was also 21 in 2006:

All is revealed here

I also snuck into the top 50 authors here. Erk, "Not 44 yet, not 44 yet!"

In other Hal-related news (you thought this post was about anything else?) I'll have an announcement about the Hal Spacejock 3: Just Desserts launch shortly.

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

Hal Spacejock's diary updated

It's been a while, but Hal and Clunk have posted a new entry

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

Birthday competition

Win cake! (No, it's not my birthday and it's not my cake.)

If you have a little creative talent - or even a big chunk of the stuff - why not zip over to Julia Buckley's blog and join in the design-a-birthday-invite competition? Julia's hitting 30 and she wants an invitation which will ensure she's not partying alone.



Of course, living in Australia means draconian quarantine laws, so no cake for any aussie winners (and your piece would probably have added arsenic after the upcoming Ashes whitewash) but it's all just a bit of fun.

You only have a couple of days so drag out Publisher, Corel or Illustrator and start hacking away.

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

New Year's Resolutions

Prompted by a post over on JA Konrath's blog.

I will submit a story to F&SF
I will complete the first draft of Hal Spacejock 4

As ol' JA says, don't set goals where others determine the outcome. Good advice.

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

LibraryThing

I signed up with LibraryThing recently, after seeing it mentioned around the place. If you don't know what LT is, it's a site where you can catalog(ue) your books. Free accounts are limited to 200 books, or you can get an annual or lifetime account with unlimited entries.

Most popular titles already have an entry, and the site also offers a bulk ISBN import feature which gathers data from up to three different sources.

Unfortunately, of the 3000 or so books in my house I'd only catalogued about 1300 in my own BookDB software, and of those I'd only bothered to enter ISBNs for about 300. So, it's search-add-search-add for me.

The quickest way I've found is to gather all the books I have by a given author (thank goodness my collection is alphabetical!) and then I search for that author in LT under 'Search works' on this page (NOT 'Search authors' or you just get the author name...) When the list of works comes up you can sort by title and ctrl+click all the ones you have to open their pages in new windows, where you can then click Add to library.

The people running the site are open to suggestions - in fact, they've already made one change I requested and I've only been there a few days. They'll go far with that attitude - or else they'll get purchased by your local mega media conglomerate.

Signup is really quick and easy, with no personal details required, and the site is certainly worth a look if you've ever considered making a list of your books. It's fascinating to see how many other people have copies of the books you own, and you can also leave reviews and scores out of five for any title.

As for backing up, LT offers a CSV export, and naturally I'll be adding an importer to BookDB which will read their file format.

Final thing: If you have Hal Spacejock 1, 2 or 3 you can add them to your LT from their pages below:

Hal Spacejock LT page
Hal Spacejock Second Course LT page
Hal Spacejock Just Desserts LT page

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

Draw Results

Every few weeks I draw a batch of names from a digital hat and send those lucky folk a signed copy of my novel. (If you're not in the draw you can enter here)

This particular draw is for a copy of Hal Spacejock with the funky new Dion Hamill cover.



Every person in the draw has received (or will receive) a unique number via email, and if your number appears below you've won a copy! Just reply to the notification email with your mailing address and you'll receive a signed copy of Hal Spacejock.


The winning numbers for draw 1221:

12305
12359
12698
12702



If you missed out, relax! There's a second chance! All you have to do is post a comment below, and in a few days time I'll pick a name at random and they'll also win a copy of Hal. (The second chance draw is one extra book for each of my Blogger, LJ and Myspace blogs. Keen Spacejock fans will no doubt seek out and comment on all three ...)

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

Upcoming draw

I'm going to draw three or four copies of Hal Spacejock in a couple of days time - this is just an advance warning in case you want to publicise the drawing amongst other fans of science fiction. Friends, family, worst enemies ... send them all here:

http://www.spacejock.com.au/HalNotify.html

(Remember, if THEY win a copy you can always borrow it .. then forget to hand it back.)

In a new twist, these copies will be from the second printing of Hal Spacejock book 1, with the NEW Dion Hamill cover.





And rest assured I'll be drawing copies of Hal 3 as soon as I get my hands on some ...

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

Toast part 2

I'm sure you've heard of the Madonna toast and the Elvis toast, but this morning I ended up with Happy toast:



(The mouth is natural but I confess to adding the jam.)

Anyway, my kids thought it was neat, and is there anything greater in life than hearing your own kids laugh? (They're not at the eyeroll age yet.)

Now, I'm a practical sort, and rather than listing this @rare@ and exclusive item on eBay or preserving it in a temperature controlled cabinet for future generations, I decided to put it to good use.

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

Yoyogod meets Hal Spacejock ...

... and Hal wins ;-)

Read the review here

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

Post for nature lovers

A few snaps from around my garden, taken just five minutes ago with a Fuji Finepix S9500 and severely downsized from the original 3488 x 2616 pixels

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

Ticonderoga Interview

Russell Farr interviewed me recently for Ticonderoga Online, an Aussie mag which describes itself as "a ticonderogapalooza of gonzo and quality sf in the tradition of Bester, Waldrop and Womack. Fiction, non-fiction, reviews and interviews. Australia's best sf for free!"

If you'd like to read the interview, or indeed, the rest of the issue, or even JUST the rest of the issue, you can do so right here

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

Hal Spacejock amazon.com update

Amazon has finally added an order button to their listing for Hal Spacejock (book one in the series).

They don't have copies in stock yet, but at least it's the right price AND sold & shipped by Amazon.com instead of the 3rd party merchants who were charging double the sticker price or more. (And wouldn't Hal be proud of that little dodge?)

Book two has been listed on Amazon for a while here. Book three is still pre-release, and not available to order yet.


By the way, I'm not trying to get anyone to order the books, but I keep fielding questions from US and Canadian residents asking when they can get hold of them. So, consider this a heads-up ;-)


Update


Well, I bet you saw this coming. The minute I declare Hal 3 isn't available for pre-order, Amazon adds a pre-order button to their Hal 3 listing. They're obviously spying on my blogs.

"When can I order Hal 3?" is the OTHER question people keep asking me. Click here and you can do so right now ;-)

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

Daylight Saving in Western Australia

If you live in WA this Microsoft patch for Windows XP, 2003 and Vista will automatically adjust your PC's clock for Daylight Savings over the next three years.

Better than setting them all by hand ...

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

Nano progress III

Done it, and it all but done me:

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

Draw Results

Every few weeks I draw a couple of names from a digital hat and send those lucky folk a signed copy of my novel. (If you're not in the draw - why not? - you can enter here)

Every person in the draw gets a lucky number, and for this draw I've changed things around and put the winning numbers in this blog post.

Before I get to the winners I'd just like to mention that it's only five weeks until the launch of Hal Spacejock Just Desserts, which will be hitting bookstores across Australia and New Zealand right after Christmas.

I do have ONE copy of the book in my possession, and you can see pretty pictures of that rare beast right here. Unfortunately that's a pre-release advance copy, and I can't let it go.

By the way, if you're looking to score a copy of Hal 3 via more conventional means, I'd drop hints about book vouchers when the subject of xmas presents comes up.

In other news, I'm currently the guest author on the ASif forums, and you're more than welcome to drop by and ask questions.

I'm also up to my neck in NanoWrimo, and am 40,000 words or more into Hal 4.

Okay, enough spam and onto the lucky winning numbers. If your number appears below, just reply to the email you received and include your postal address. You'll receive a signed copy of Hal 1 or 2 (mention which you want) and a set of six Hal Spacejock bookmarks:


The winning numbers for draw 1126:

5286
5672



If you missed out, relax! There will be other draws in future. If I get my author copies of Hal 3 before Xmas I'll be sure to give some of those away too, and that means you could be one of the very first to read the book.

If you know you're in the draw but haven't received your email, check your spam folder. Words like 'Free' and 'Winner' are red flags to most ISPs. If you're not sure, just enter again. My software filters duplicates anyway.

By the way, the Hal Spacejock Support Crew could score you a nice little collection of Spacejock swag in exchange for a blog post.

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

Nanowrimo interview

Sean Lindsay just posted an interview he did with me on the subject of NaNoWriMo. You'll find it here.

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

Milestones

There are several special moments in a writer's life: your first story sale, finishing a first draft, getting an agent or securing a publishing contract, handing in a final manuscript and many others.

One of them is receiving an advance copy of your novel in the mail.

Today I opened the door and found a small parcel on the mat. Inside I found not just an advance copy of Hal 3, but also the reprinted edition of Hal 1. Two new books! Bargain!

So, off to the scanner I went:



Hal 3 front and back


Hal 3 spine




Hal 3 reviews pages




Hal 3 dedication



Now, onto Hal Spacejock:

Hal 1 front and back


Hal 1 spine




Hal 1 reviews pages




Can I just say that Fremantle Arts Centre Press have done a stunning job? They're an amazing, dedicated bunch of people and I'd love the Hal Spacejock books to do really well just to reward them for taking a risk on me. They deserve no less than a worldwide bestselling series followed by a string of blockbuster movies.

Edit: I just checked the last few pages of Hal 1 and the publisher has inserted ads for Hal 2 and 3. The Hal 2 page starts with 'But wait, there's more ...' and Hal 3 says 'And that's not all ...' Lovely ;-)

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

Flyby

I shot this with my digital camera too:




And this one:

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

Red Bull Air Race pics

As promised ...



Click here for a lot more.

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

See me on Google Earth

Well, my car anyway. The white sedan in the green circle (bottom right) is my car parked outside my old work place. I'm 95% certain the white vehicle in the red circle (top left) is my wife's station wagon turning into the road.





The image is 3 or 4 years old, and I found it when Google Earth first came out. Didn't really think anyone else would be interested, but hey, people are scrambling to look at huge KFC logo so who am I to judge?

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

Nanowrimo day 16

Wrote 2150 words today for a progressive total of 28839. I'm 1639 ahead of target, but one missed day and I'll be back to level pegging.

The good news is that instead of having to write 1677 words per day for the rest of November I only need to do 1512. If I stick to my daily 1800-2000 I'll knock this thing off in 10-12 more days.

Very busy weekend coming up, so I might not be crowing by next Tuesday ...

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

Guest author on the ASIF forum

Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm the guest author on the ASIF* forums over the next fortnight. Please make your way over to the following link to participate:

ASIF forum - Simon Haynes

The discussion will most likely include publicising your work without alienating readers, the care and feeding of literary agents, surviving the editing process with all limbs intact, why self publishing is a good idea - sometimes, the ups and downs of small press, invisible short fiction markets and a whole range of other topics, so feel free to jump in. The more people participate, the more useful the result will be.

I'm your typical internet junky and will therefore be visiting regularly. My goal is to leave no question unanswered - your goal should be to ask the questions ;-)

* ASIF is Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus, a site which aims to review every piece of Aussie specfic - twice.

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

Nanowrimo motivation

This is my reward for hitting 20k words during Nanowrimo. (Okay, so it's actually my birthday present. I can still use it as motivation.)



Fuji Finepix S9500


This is my reward if I finish Nanowrimo:



Microsoft Flight Simulator X


You probably think they're the wrong way round, given the camera is worth ten times the Flight Sim, but I need the camera for the Red Bull air race this coming weekend. Organisers have laid out a grass strip on Langley Park (Perth, Western Australia), and this is the exact view I'll be enjoying:





That's a wide angle shot - it's even closer live.

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

Interviewed on Novel Journey

Novel Journey just posted an interview they did with me recently. I promised to stick around and defend some of my outrageous theories, so feel free to go post virtual raspberries.

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

Nanowrimo Progress - day 11

Yesterday (the 11th) was my birthday, but I still managed 2000 words for the day. The graphic above is one of the handy little Nano widgets, and it should keep updating without me having to do anything. Just as well, because I've written 1100 words today and it's nearly 3pm.

Still, that's just over 20,000 words in 12 days, and if I kept this up year-round I'd be able to bash out seven or eight first draft Hal novels a year.

A truly frightening thought.

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

yWriter nominated for an award

yWriter has been nominated for the PricelessWare best free software award. Anyone with a Google login can vote here

If you've never heard of my yWriter software, see here for details.

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

Nano progress II

Reached 12,123 words tonight, with 1714 for the day. It's a bit of a struggle and some of the writing is a bit forced, but the occasional funny gag makes it worthwhile.

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

The Golden Hype award

I think Amazon should institute a new prize: The Golden Hype, awarded for "The highest number of positive reviews for a book which we still don't have in stock."

First place, Hal Spacejock with 7: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/192073189X/

Second prize, Hal Spacejock Second Course with 3:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1921064668/

(Okay, so 3 reviews isn't really hype. Work with me on this one.)

They're not fake reviews, and I like the way some reviewers mention how they got their copies - ordered from Australia, sent over by a relative, picked up on a trip to Antartica ... in fact, every which way except via Amazon, who still don't have the books in stock.

Hal 3 comes out in January, and I'm betting it'll be available before the other two. If not, there's another Golden Hype award in the wings.

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

Nanowrimo progress

It's been a rough start to the month, writing wise, but the whole point of NanoWrimo is that you churn out the daily words whether you feel like it or not.

For the past couple of weeks I've been building an ambitious shelving unit for DVDs, although that's just something I do in rare moments of spare time. (I design and build my own bookcases, each more elaborate than the last. I start with lengths of pine from the local timber supplier and and up with exactly what I want, most of the time. I've been doing this for years, and most of the accessible walls in our house are now covered with bookcases.)

Apart from tinkering with the DVD shelf I also squeeze in 42 minutes on the exercise bike every day. Why so exact? Because I built a laptop shelf for the bike, and 42 mins is the length of most TV shows once they hit DVD. Yes, that's 18 minutes less than watching them on TV, which is the subject of one of my very first blog posts. I can cycle 11km in 42 mins, which is plenty when you're doing it every day.

Anyway, enough of the ancilliary stuff and back to the writing. Last Thursday night I was up until 1:40am and had to get up at 7 the next day, which left me zombie-like from lack of sleep for the whole of Friday. I can scrape by with 7 hours for a couple of nights running, but 4 1/2 is nowhere near enough. I still managed 1500 words on that day, but I daren't re-read them. You need to be fresh to write well, which is rule #1.

On Saturday we took the kids to a local agricultural fair at 11am, got home at 2:30pm zonked out after rides, sideshows and various sugary treats, and then had to rush the eldest daughter to a birthday party for 3pm. Picked her up again at 6pm, and rushed her home just before the inlaws arrived for dinner. Had a good meal and chatted & played games until 10:30pm or so. Kids to bed, and I managed about 1000 words afterwards. It was a good family day and the kids had an absolute riot but it's not one you'd highlight as an example of getting words on paper. Got to bed around 12:30. You need to be single and living in a monastery to write lots, which is rule #2.

Today I pulled out all the stops and wrote 2239 words, which got me back on track. My running total is 8317 words and that's just 183 behind my self-imposed target of 8500. Sometimes you just have to shut the door and get to work, which is rule #3.

Apart from the writing I also applied the last coat of varnish to my DVD shelves and scavenged a full length mirror the neighbours threw out, took it apart, stripped the old paint and helped my eldest daughter apply three coats of navy blue acrylic to the bare timber. It was dry in no time so I gave the glass a good cleaning before putting the whole thing back together. I fitted it to her cupboard door, and while she's not the fairy princess type, is she happy with that mirror or what? Sure, we could have gone out and bought one but it was a whole lot more satisfying to do the job ourselves - and that's rule #4.

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