Now the mid-terms are over - finally! - I guess it was too much to hope that any kind of normality would take hold. On reflection, that was only ever a naive hope. No matter who won or lost, Trump was always going to:
(a) proclaim victory anyway,
and/or (b) claim conspiracies and witch hunts,
always with a dose of (c) blame someone else,
and (d) mock and insult anyone he doesn’t like.
The only difference would be the relative proportions of the above. So it’s basically business as usual in the kindergarten playground of American politics, and two more years of campaigning to look forward to before the next election.
*Sigh*
What I’ve learned over the past two weeks of unplugging from the online world is how toxic the world has become, and how badly that toxicity affects me. I should probably make a more permanent effort to ignore all news from south of the border, because it’s way too depressing and there’s nothing I can do about it.
So, turning to more positive thoughts ...
Writing is going well - steadily ahead of the target I set myself at the end of July. I’m just at the 50% mark for the first draft. I have a rough outline of the rest of the story, but still murky on some of the plot details. However that is normal for my writing process so it’s not a problem. Yet :)
I took part in a writers’ panel last week on the publishing process, which was a lively 90 minutes of questions and answers.
Several people at work bought The Ashes of Home (the workplace remains my main source of paperback sales) and I’m getting positive comments back.
I plan to reduce the e-book price of both Ghosts and Ashes next month for a Christmas promotion, so if anyone was thinking of picking up a copy it’s worth waiting a little while.
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7 comments:
At least our unemployment rate is the lowest it's ever been in fifty years.
Cool that people at work are buying your books. Most at my work don't even know I'm an author.
Alex, that is very probably true, but if you're ascribing this to Trump please remember that this (and many other economic indicators) is a straight line continuation of a trend that started in 2010, when things started to recover from the crash.
As for books at work, I count myself very fortunate that reading is still a very popular pastime where I work. Whenever I pass the lunchroom, there's almost always someone on a break with a book or e-reader in front of them.
Hi Ian - good to see your friends are buying your books ... the ripple has to start somewhere ... and thank goodness people are still reading books.
It's not really safe to come out today ... it's raining in Europe - and some people don't like the rain ... people!
Cheers - email on its way to you ... Hilary
Hilary, yes, I'm heartened by the number of avid readers I see every day.
I'd love to unplug as well as I know how toxic internet life can be. Ha!
I'd also love to hear a summation of your 90 minutes of lively panelist discussion on publishing! Could you do blog post on that and let me know when it goes live? <3
You think the state of politics is depressing for someone living north of the border to watch? You should live down here. Sheer insanity.
I'm glad your books are selling at work. My sales are in a major slump right now. Most of my royalties come from the pages people read for free on Amazon without buying. And those who do buy rarely write a review. (sigh) Enough whining... Have a super weekend!
Elizabeth, I'll give it some thought :)
Susan, look on the bright side, at least south of the border you actually get a vote in things that fundamentally affect everyone else in the world. The other 95% of us just get carried along for the ride.
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