These entries are all, so far, just notes to me really. I don’t think I’ve left on any syndication, but the point is to get me a little more focussed on work and stuff, and hopefully this will nudge me.

Anyway, another Saturday morning. A first cup of coffee. Maybe a mild sore throat, possibly after the second Pfizer shot, so that may connect. Who knows? Today is all about making house decorating decisions, which is cool, and then a lunch with the family. Not pushing to make the day much more packed than that. It’s raining. Stupid cat came running in, as though that’s a surprise in this wettest of July’s,  and is now watching a door, fascinated.  Shrug.

Anyway, read a bit more of The Hood before bed. That’s just a very violent book.  Actually feel in the mood for something a little cozier, so may read another chapter, or drop in a dark, noir crime novel and then come back to it.

Momentous stuff, yes? In other plans, today is Locus column edits, notes on new book proposals, and trying to work out if I have anything useful to say about space opera…

No reading yet. A long-ish feeling day at the day job, aware of other tasks to be settled. Home, tired and underslept, but took the family out for an okay pasta dinner in the nearby Swan Valley. Meniere’s played up mightily, but that’s probably self-inflicted. Made me think of heading for bed early, but instead…

Watched the second episode of season 2 of Ted Lasso, the most relevant TV show of the moment, which was fucking delightful, then a bit of Schmiggadoon, before sitting down to a dram. Opened a new Calvados cask-finished Kilchoman. Young with all that brings with it – a little punchy, very strong on the nose, but you can see how it might mellow down, how the citrus might settle and balance a little, and how a strong, underpinning sweetness might make this smoky beast some very pleasant drinking indeed.

Current plans for this weekend are: a lot. Let’s see how those play out. Editing to do and I do wonder if Thursday’s second Pfizer shot my catch up with me. We’ll see.

ETA. I’m thinking about space opera and how we view it now. Has it changed? That, and who is missing from the Library of America’s science fiction shelf. I have thoughts.

It might seem odd to look back to blogging for a way to focus, but I’m going to try. I used to blog a lot, many years ago, but social media and so on really has broken that down for me. I spend too long on other platforms, and I find them less satisfying.

Since this site has almost exclusively been used for broadcasting new episodes of the podcast, which happily continues, I figure most people have stopped reading it, which is fine. That means I can potter here with little consequence for a while.

This week I got my second Pfizer shot, drank too much whisky, went a little nuts, and did some actual novel reading. Although it’s less “my book” than I think it is for some other readers, I read and ultimately enjoyed Shelley Parker-Chan’s recasting of the story of the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, She Who Became the Sun. A powerful and engaging historical fantasy set in 14th century Mongol China, it recasts the rise of Zhu as the story of a young woman who chooses to take on the destiny of her dead brother in order to fulfil the destiny she believes awaits her. Parker-Chan balances the story between two fascinating characters – Zhu, a woman acting as man to first survive and then to achieve greatness, and General Ouyang, the last surviving member of his family who has made into a eunuch and a slave by the Mongol emperor.  The interaction between them, what the represent, and  what they mean to each other is the heart of the book. I’ll definitely pick up the sequel.

As for now? I’m reading the second of Lavie Tidhar’s Anti-Matter of Britain novels, The Hood. So far it’s violent and dark and about what I’d expect for a retelling of the story of Robin Hood. Will see how it goes, though.

It’s July and I’ve not been blogging. I know why I haven’t been blogging. Mostly because I have Twitter, and because of the semi-shambles that the first half of 2013 has left everything in round here. I’ve not blogged much about all sorts of small, recurring problems – mostly medical ones like hearing and blurry eyes and so on – which haven’t been life-threatening, but have kept me from feeling like blogging or doing much.

What have I been doing? Well, since getting back from Canberra and the Australian Natcon I’ve watched a lot of TV – four seasons of Justified, a season of Nashville, a season of The Americans, two seasons of Switched at Birth, and so on. I’ve read a small handful of novels, most of which I’ve discussed on the Coode Street Podcast with Gary K. Wolfe. I’ve also recorded a couple episodes of the Last Short Story podcast, read some excellent short fiction, started work on The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 8,  bought the first story for Reach for Infinity, seen the cover art for the follow-up to Fearsome Journeys, bought the central story for my special issue of Subterranean Magazine, and outlined a couple of other projects.  I’m pretty sure there was also a 13th birthday party for my daughter in there, a 75th birthday for my mother, and some travel and other planning.

What lies ahead in the second half of 2013? Well, without indulging too much in repeating myself, I have some Locus editing to do, taxes to get submitted, the above-mentioned anthology and editing projects to finish and deliver, and a trip to London and Brighton for World Fantasy Convention to plan. I’m very excited about the latter. I’ll be doing some touristy stuff before WFC with Ellen Klages and Gary Wolfe, as well as trying to pack some UK-focussed podcasting into things, and then down to Brighton. Every year I take a tuxedo with me for my brilliant agent Howard Morhaim’s big annual shindig, but this year I’m hoping to just take a normal suit. See if I can get away with that.  I also have a few birthdays to help celebrate before Christmas, and then my own 50th in January (no idea what to do about/for that). I mega-ton of reading. I really want to finish the best of the year before Brighton as much as possible, and all sorts of other things. And all that on top of a day job.

It should, all in all, be a busy time. I’ll try to record more of it here, but we shall see how that goes. Tonight: Locus editing, business paperwork and day 2 of the 1st Ashes Test.