C. M. Harald

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September Review 2019

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The September review is already here. The month has passed quickly. To be honest, September is a month during which I am totally consumed with my day job. Being a new academic year and seeing how I have several responsibilities at work, I either find the time slipping away with workload or exhaust myself, so I am of little use in the evenings. The photo shows one of my more engaging lessons at this time of year, a modern adaptation of the classic Mark Pullen Schools History Project lesson.  Nevertheless, I still got a reasonable number of things done, mainly due to the space given by the morning commute.
September Review – word counts

Unlike July and August, I’ve not had a prolific month in terms of word counts. Instead, I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the editing process. For the first couple of weeks, I wrote at about half the daily pace of the previous months. For the second half of the month, I concentrated on editing. This means I fell short of my optimistic target of 1,000 words a day, and also my realistic target of 500 words a day. In total, I wrote 5,967 words, leaving me just 165 words short of my goal of 110,000 words for the year. However, it has been worth the distraction as my back catalogue needs tidying up.
September Review – works in progress

A short story set in the Royal Zombie Corps series. The title is provisionally ‘On discovering a zombie’. I’ve now finished a thorough edit of this, but have to proof-read it yet.  Once it is released, it will only be available for people signing up to my mailing list
Book 5 of the  Royal Zombie Corps series, titled ‘Outbreak London’ has had a thorough edit. I’m now halfway through proof-reading this. The cover brief was submitted on the last day of the month, and I’m looking forward to working to seeing the first drafts during October
Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is awaiting my attention.  It needs editing and proof-reading
Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral series is also awaiting an edit and proof-read
Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is the current writing project. This has been put on hold so I can meet my upcoming deadlines

September Review – other projects

My first zombie book, Blood, Mud and Corpses, has now been wholly reedited and proof-read. It was uploaded to most channels early in September.
Publishing schedule

This remains unchanged, due to a reallocation of my time.

November 2019 – Outbreak London, book 5 of the Royal Zombie Corps series
December 2019 – book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series
January 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two
February 2020 – book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series

Plans for October

I am going to aim for a low average of 2-300 words a day of new writing. I have limited time at the moment and need to focus on the editing process
Publish a short story on the blog. This has been on the list for a while. I wrote the story a couple of years ago. I really need to get it done.  An edit has been completed, but I still need to give it another proof-read. Realistically, this will not happen in October
Release the new Royal Zombie Corps short story to the mailing list and advertise it on Facebook. The editing was completed in September.
Finish the proof-reading of Outbreak London and work with the cover artist on the finalisation of the cover
Continue to learn about publishing and writing, specifically working through one of the Mark Dawson SPF courses

August Review 2019

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So here is the August review.  Why is there a picture of Nutella biscuits, you ask?  I first came across these scrummy biscuits in Malta last October.  I am not usually a Nutella fan, but these biscuits are confectionary cocaine.  I scoffed the lot and then found out only a limited supply had been made available.  They are not available in the UK, and the Malta supply was some sort of stunt or market research.  My children have never forgiven me for not saving them any.  During August, on a day trip to Bruges, we stopped in the supermarket on the edge of Calais and found box after box of these biscuits.  The shelves were also packed with them.  They have been available in France for a few months now.  Needless to say, I stocked up on these addictive biscuits and finally gave some to my children.  We were probably the only British people in the supermarket without a trolley full of wine and beer.  We had biscuits instead.

August is the best time of year for me to write.  As a teacher, it is the month when I have the least schoolwork to do.  That doesn’t mean there’s no schoolwork, but less than normal.  As usual, this August has been better than all the other months so far this year.  However, this August has also been the best August I have had since I started writing.

August Review – word counts

So, July was my previous best-ever month for new words of fiction.  August beat it.  Aiming at is just over 9000 words, I managed to write 27,707 words.

Freed from the daily commute, I was quickly able to put in time most mornings to get some writing done.  The pushed up my daily average from 718 words a day in July, to 894 words a day in August.  I have also been experimenting with using Dragon Anywhere, a piece of dictation software. By dictating the text, I can write quite a bit quicker, although it does mean I have spent quite a bit more time correcting the manuscript.  This gives me a chance to review and improve the story.  It also makes it is quicker to get down key ideas, so I do not rush my typing when I want to get to a critical point.

The other key milestone in August was that I cleared 100,000 words written so far this year.  As I started the year aiming only to write 110,000 words, I am pleased that I should achieve my annual goal at some point in September.

August Review – works in progress

  • A short story set in the Royal Zombie Corps series.  I am yet to decide a title for this but have written the first draft of this short story.  It is a prequel, set just before the first book, telling the story of Dr Hudson’s early involvement in zombie research
  • Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, titled either Duel or Dead Handler.  As expected, I finished this at the start of August
  • Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, as yet unnamed.  I started this during the second half of August and am now 9000 words in.

August Review – other projects

The two main thrusts of my work in August have been in marketing and re-editing.  I have continued to re-edit and format Blood, Mud and Corpses, and am nearly finished on this.  I have also completed a relatively significant redesign of the blog site while revamping the mailing list.  A top cover artist has been commissioned for several new covers, some of which will be to replace the old covers of already published books.

During August, I incorporated the publishing process as Harvey and Harvey Publishing Ltd.  There was a fair bit of paperwork around this, but it should help organise my writing moving forward.

Publishing schedule

Plans for September

  • Maintain an average daily word count of 1000 new words – this will be quite a challenge as it is hard to find the time each day to maintain this level alongside my full-time job.  500 words would probably be a more appropriate target and may become the default
  • Publish a short story on the blog. This is almost ready but needs an edit. I had planned to do this during August, but it didn’t happen
  • Edit through the new Royal Zombie Corps short story and then make available via at the mailing list and advertise on Facebook
  • Complete the re-edit of Blood, Mud and Corpses and publish this new edition
  • Edit Outbreak London, something that was on my August list, but was not started
  • Continue to learn about publishing and writing

July Review 2019

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The reason for a July review is that writing takes time, and I’m not blessed with lots to spare.  So while I already keep track of where I’m at, and what I’m doing, I think I should publicly share this as a form of accountability.  Accountability motivates me and keeps me focused, especially when there are other demands upon my time.

July Review Word Counts

July 2019 has been my best ever month for new words.  I was aiming to hit 9,453 words, a daily average of 305.  This would enable me to stay on track for my goal of 110,000 words this year.  However, I hit 22,268 words during the month, a daily average of 718.

Why did I smash my target?  One reason was that I was more disciplined during my daily commute.  I can usually manage 500 words on the way to work in the morning.  I’ve found the sweet spot on the train, where I can park my bike, get on, and still not be crowded out by all the other commuters.  I’ve also been a little more disciplined in the evenings, making sure that on average, I manage a few more words.  The last week and a half of July is also holiday time for me.  I managed to maintain my word totals when I was often clearing 1,000 words a day but did not overall increase during the holiday.

July Review Works in progress

  • Outbreak London – book 5 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.  I came up with the name this month.  I’m currently sitting on the book until I get an opportunity to edit it.  This will likely be my next release.
  • Butcher’s Funeral book 2.  Still currently unnamed, although I’m playing with titles at the moment.  This book is next on my editing list.
  • Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.  It may be called Duel, or Dead Handler.  Most of my writing during July was focused on this book, and I have one more chapter to write.  This it will join the editing list.

July Review Other projects

I’ve spent a lot of time this month looking at marketing, especially Mark Dawson and the Self-Publishing Formula.  Getting some of the ideas from these sources into place has taken quite a bit of my holiday time so far, hence no significant holiday boost in writing.  I have also redesigned the blog, a work in progress.  Finally, I have been re-editing and formatting Blood, Mud and Zombies as part of my efforts to improve my back catalogue.

Plans for August

  • Maintain an average daily word count of 1,000 new words – I’m currently working at this level, but need to cut down the low word count days that bring the average down
  • Publish a short story on the blog.  I’m making the finishing touches to this as it’s an unpublished short I wrote a couple of years ago
  • Edit as much of the back catalogue as possible
  • Edit Outbreak London
  • Rearrange the whole publishing process via incorporation
  • Continue to learn and apply as much as I can about publishing
  • Commission the artwork for Outbreak London, with plans to recover all the back catalogue where possible
  • Complete changes to the blog

The Lehman Trilogy – a night at the theatre

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I make no pretence to being a theatre reviewer.  I simply have the good fortune to live on the edge of London.  This gives me the opportunity to visit the theatre every few months.  To be fair, I am far more inclined towards musicals than plays, but in recent years I’ve seen a number of excellent plays.  The standout play, I have seen this decade, was Red Velvet, starring Adrian Lester.  The Lehman Trilogy is equally good, possibly having the edge.

The Lehman Trilogy – a haunted office

The first act of The Lehman Trilogy starts in the modern day offices of Lehman’s, as the radio announces the failure of the bank.  What proceeds is an excellently acted story by a trio of actors, their characters seemingly haunting the modern setting of the deserted bank.  The set itself is excellent, rotating and cleverly used by the cast.  Despite being sat in the Grand Circle of the Picadilly Theatre, we could clearly see what was going on.

The three actors, Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles bring alive the history of the Lehman family from their arrival in the USA.  The story flows incredibly well, each actor swapping roles, even genders, to cleverly bring the story to life.  A combination of excellent timing and perfect delivery of the funnier lines means that you are completely sucked into the story.

At three and a half hours, including two short intervals, I expected the story to drag.  If anything, by the final act, the story is getting a little too light, rushing to the conclusion.  However, it still works brilliantly.  That the tiny cast can maintain the pace and variety, is a testament to their ability as actors.

The history of Lehman Brothers

From a historical point of view, the story was easy to plot against the rise of King Cotton; the US Civil War; the railroad boom; Great War; Great Depression; World War; Cold War through to the final collapse of the bank.  A handy timeline was included in the programme, allowing you to refresh your mind, although the clever story-telling led the audience through each period.  

It was interesting listening to a group of people behind me fitting these pieces together in the second interval, helping them to recognise how the inter-war economy failed – it’s not GCSE History, but it plays true to the narrative students would know.  If anything, the play neatly shows the rise of capitalism in the USA and how this specific company fell foul of modern financing and the lack of effective regulation.  To be fair, the play does gloss lightly over the more recent parts of the story.  It is still very successful at getting across the cut-throat ethos of modern trading.  Yet, it would be much harder to engagingly show the audience how Lehman’s manipulated the figures to hide their fatal weaknesses.

With Sam Mendes directing, as well as an excellent cast, superb writing and a cleverly linked musical accompaniment on the piano, this is a play that is worth your time and money.

The signs of getting old

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The signs of getting old

Well, it’s finally happening, one of the critical signs of getting old.  I can ignore all the grey hair.  The expanding waistline is apparently too much food and not enough exercise.  The creaking joints can even be explained away by being overweight, or too much standing on my feet at work.  However, what couldn’t be ignored was my left eye struggling to focus on books when they’re close to my face.

Of course, the Kindle has managed to hide this for a while.  Most of my leisure reading is on the Kindle or in magazines.  My reading for work is usually relatively large print or sizeable handwriting.  With the Kindle, just making the text a little bigger and the problem goes away.  However, the tiny print in Harry Turtledove’s ‘Bomb’s Away’ really made it clear that I needed to get an eye test done.

Off for the inevitable eye test

To be fair, I’d been considering an eye test this summer holiday.  I’ve been aware that getting old, specifically anyone over 40, can lead to presbyopia.  It’s been a while since I had an eye test and I’ve been putting it off for a while.  I’ve always been proud of my 20/20 vision, happy to tease the nearsighted by standing on the beach and spotting the ships travelling the English Channel on, and slightly beyond, the horizon.  So I steeled myself for a visit to Specsavers, ready for evidence (more) that I’m getting old.

Fortunately, the consultant was much subtle than ‘you’re old now’.  I pretty much said, going in, that I’d be needing reading glasses and that’s exactly what was prescribed.  Nothing too strong, but enough to make the difference.  However, this led to the new dilemma of working out what frames to order.  Nearly an hour later, I’d settled on a couple of pairs having tried everything from bright ‘extraverted’ glasses to ones that made me look like I was in the Stazi in a dodgy 1970s spy movie.

Making a difference

A week later and I’d picked up the new glasses.  What a difference.  My eyes are now getting quicker at combining the two images – one eye is weaker than the other, but both have got old.  The constant fingerprints are getting tedious though.

So, yes, I’m getting old.  It’s official.  I’m at the age when our eyes begin to fail us.  I’m not actually writing this with glasses on right now as I’m touch typing while watching the Channel 4 news.  I’ll be wearing them when I proof-read this blog.  Perhaps I’ll spot, and correct, a few more mistakes than I’d usually pick up?  I won’t be checking them until after I’ve planned some vegetables in my garden while wearing my comfy slippers, smoking an old pipe.  Ah, I feel the need for a mug of Horlicks and an early night.

Horlicks to that!  It’s just middle age.  Getting old doesn’t happen until your 80’s these days.

Time Machine – flash fiction

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I’m not the best person at maintaining routine, especially for writing blogs. Probably the biggest reason for this is that there are so many demands upon my time. Not only do I try to spend my spare time writing, but I also have a job that can easily become all-consuming. This is, of course, forgetting all the demands of everyday life. Unfortunately, I do not have a time machine.  So to help me come up with some ideas for blogs, I recently came across an excellent little book in Waterstones. “642 tiny things to write about” is an excellent little book full of writing ideas and prompts for writing and flash fiction. So for this blog post I’m going to choose one of them and write about it.

Task: “the passenger safety instructions card for a time travel machine”

Welcome to your Acme Time travel machine.

Important operating instructions

Failure to follow the instructions results in no liability for the manufacturer or inventor of this Time Machine. Please read the following instructions carefully and follow them to the letter.

1. Ensure that heads or limbs are entirely in the time machine before operating.

2. Ensure that all important documents, such as sports almanacs, have been left outside of the time machine and do not travel back in time.

3. Do not claim any titles or heraldry that you are not entitled to.

4. Under no circumstances should you interfere with your conception. See Futurama or Red Dwarf for further details.

5. Jean-Claude Van Damme will not come to the rescue if you mess up the timeline.

6. People in the past, or the future, may have trouble understanding your language, habits, mode of dress, or even your intentions. Investigate thoroughly before travelling.

7. Customisation of time machines to look like DeLorean’s or police boxes will void warranty.

8. Do not waste your time trying to assassinate Hitler. All the assassinations failed. Do you really want to put someone more competent in charge?

9. Avoid key historical events. It may get a little crowded with other time travellers.  The people of the time may notice your time machine, or your fellow travellers.

10. All time travel to late-20th century Wales, especially Cardiff, is off-limits.  No, you may not kidnap Captain Harkness.

11. The transportation of animals, plants, and food, is prohibited. Dinosaurs are not appropriate pets for your nephew’s children.

13. Do not upset the apes.

14. A paradox cannot be created, because that would be a paradox. Stop trying to change things.

15. Do not step on any butterflies.

16. The Federation will never exist.

17. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.” The clue is in “far far away”.

17. Please do not tell anybody “I’ll be back.” It is mildly irritating, intimidating, and cliched.

19. Joyriding with H.G.Wells or George Orwell, is strictly prohibited.

20. Get a life and stop interfering in the past, or the future. Live in the now.