THE 'TA TA' ENTRY

Well my attempts to update more didn't amount to much did they.

This is just a post to say that I've decided to not be an SG member any more. Maybe one day I'll pass this way again as I've had a right laugh while I've been here but now I'm kind of... not (here that is, still laughing).

This has mostly to do with the fact that I don't have time to keep up with this any more which is partly due to my new relationship, which has become a betrothal, and partly because of my self-publishing efforts which are taking up all of my spare net time. Many of you who I know on a personal basis are on my MSN and you can keep up with my ramblings on my self-publishing based website www.leostableford.com.

Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone!

Bye!

So on Friday the 29th there was this huge, huge, huge lightning storm over Rugby. The net effect on the life of yours truly was that a lightning strike took out some piece of telecoms kit (something mysteriously named a "connector" by the engineer who fixed it) and with it my broadband. I could still watch "Deal or No Deal" and phone the help line but no book editing.

So I have now finally published Sorcechanic, once more I have to check a proof copy but then it will be going up to buy. Within the next couple of weeks I want to set up my royalty bank account and I am settling on three charities between which to divide 90% of the profits (30% each). I have two, Scope I believe it's called and I'm going to also find a dyslexia charity. As for a third I'm really not sure. I'm going to have to think on it. Any suggestions comment below.

The shop will be coming in time for this year's National Novel Writing Month and maybe I'll make some sales there. It's quite ridiculous I think I'd have to sell about 5 copies of each book just to be in the zone where I could have even a pound to give to my nominated charities. This book business is costly. See the royalty I receive is something like about 18% of the manufacturing costs (you set your own). Which roughly equates to £1.25 per copy or something. I could boost the price to be making a 50% royalty or some nonsense but obviously this might be a disincentive to buyers.

Well now I have only new projects to worry about, except for a couple of minor changes that the beautiful Suzie suggested I might make to the ever delayed BB1.0leasure's Daughter. Of course this year's NaNoWriMo will be all done by the close of Nov and I have promised once I finished that to crack on with a sequel to Figure of the Sorcechanic (which of course won't be published for another 10 days anyway so I don't know why I'm panicking).

Anyhow, that's where I'm at. Expect me to be somewhat more communicative in upcoming weeks as I've done the grindwork of publishing the old and now I can devote myself wholly to the production of the new.

THE 'AT THE STARTING POST' ENTRY

The games weekends that happen twice a year are without a doubt a lot of bleedin' work, but they are also very rewarding. Of course you don't have to do a lot of work but I'm one of those Game Master types who actually writes games for the edification of others. This Autumn I've got a game featuring LA Cops battling Cosmic Entities and trying to preserve their sanity, a game featuring amnesiac future psychics stranded on a scary ship in the middle of non-space and have just come up with a jokey scenario involving the player characters being TV actors trying to escape a zombified convention, inspired by my recent experiences at a FireFly convention which was reasonable fun but nowhere near the joyful experience of the games weekend.

Even so with all this work to clear certain prevailing circumstances in my life have made it so that I've cleared most of it three weeks ahead of the event. In a way this is great news because it means that when I plan to sling up Figure of the Sorcechanic next week I will not get distracted by the need to just tweak my game plans... hopefully.

Anyway. I hope youse are all well, I'm feeling like I haven't been about for ages because I kind of haven't but also because the amount of free time I have to browse is minimal.

Hope you're all doing good. I'm sure, if not at any other time I'll update loads in November while I'm psyching up to write this year's NaNoWriMo.

THE 'GEARING UP' ENTRY

So as I'm up to my neck in mail merges of rpg cards and thinking about scenarios and novels for november I realise I am gearing up for the busiest part of my year so far. By the time I actually run a role playing game or write a paragraph I will be feeling like the kung fu student who has been through many years of training to reach the peak of physical perfection... or whatever.

Last year's NaNoWriMo entry, The Figure of The Sorcechanic will be available to buy towards the end of this month, anticipated cost will be about £7 (including the shipping) I would recommend were you wishing to buy a copy that you seek out other titles on Lulu.com to go in the basket as this thins out the delivery costs. Luckily there are two other novels by me on there to edify yourself with

Or not. But any how I'll keep you all updated.

THE 'OH HERE COMES THE STUFF' ENTRY

I can feel it coming loads of september/october/november/christmas stuff... This is going to be a bumpy ride.

For those of you used to seeing me on MSN my work has blocked the port and I'm not really hanging about much in the evenings at the moment so I'm not deliberately not being online... I mean, I'm online *now* for a start. Just everything's been a bit up in the air for a bit and it's only just starting to settle down.

Sort of.

My work is still all unorganised and I still don't know whether I have a permanent position in the corporate giant it has become. My health is good. My girlfriend is fantastic. Everything is generally okay.

But I should really start writing RPG Scenarios. October's not really that far off.

Love to all, as ever.

THE 'THANK FUCK FOR RAIN' ENTRY

At last. Coolness.

I fucking hate summers at the moment. I'm sure they didn't used to be so hot and humid.

But further, I think that summer, as a whole is a bit shit really. I mean, I quite enjoy it at the time but they don't call this time of year the silly season for no reason.

It seems that the time between January and May speeds by at 50 billion miles an hour. Then you hit May/June and until September (at which point you hurtle towards Christmas again at 50 billion mph) absolutely fucking nothing happens... extensively. Except heat. And sweating. And more heat.

Of course I haven't just been lying around sweating. No. (Mostly. But not just.)

No. I've only gone and got myself a girlfriend.

So inbetween sorting out the beginning of a relationship and the heat (really mostly the heat, the fan at the back of my computer can blow out quite a bit of humidity if roused) I've been molto slack. Apologies.

But now things are calming down and we're heading for autumn so I expect I'll be a bit more active again. I miss you all and I know that many of you have been missing me too. Thanks for your kind words.

As for the girl in question what can I say?

Not had the easiest life but never let anyone get to her, which is an awesomeness I can only admire and applaud. If I'd had her life I'd be, er, dead by now.

But she's one of those people who takes the bad and manufactures strength. Which is handy when dealing with an awkward bugger like me.

She's intelligent, and mature and creative and has hitherto unexplored geeky tendencies. We shall soon be looking into getting her her first cinema pass. I am so proud. She's also able to provide invaluable assistance in getting my music sorted out. So some of it's not actually too bad now.

I hope that the rain is cooling your world's as it is cooling mine.

Back soon homeslices. And a happy impending autumn to one and all.

THE 'IT'S A SAD THING' ENTRY

I don't like the new interface.

It makes me lethargic when it comes to participating.

You're all in my thoughts. I shall think about what to do about interface lethargy.

EDIT: Hmmm. Fair play though it's got a lot more responsive since they first switched over...

THE 'AND SO IT GOES ON' ENTRY

So I'm in my kitchen on tuesday morning making myself an elevenses snack of peanut butter sandwichesbefore going to work.

It is approximately 8.20am.

The whole sandwich assembly process takes approx 90 secs. By the end of it I am drenched in sweat.

This is not how I want shit to be going down. When will it end? <---- me, hot

THE 'UGH' ENTRY

More fricking heat.

I feel like a warm slab of meat. Which in a sense I guess is what I am.

This sucks.