Inside Ed's Head: Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
Status Report 2022-10-24
Hey!
I’ve been watching Justin Hawkins Rides Again on YouTube, where the singer off of the Darkness breaks down music in a really interesting way. It’s ridiculously compulsive:
https://www.youtube.com/c/justinhawkinsridesagain
Anyway, this week’s title comes from their debut single (I think, can’t be bothered to check), I Believe In A Thing Called Love. That line has a particular resonance to me, as you can imagine…
Last week
Well, Fenchurch 9 is off to John, my copy editor. Massive relief on that score, finishing the last big piece of work for the year and the only book that’s on preorder now. Rattled through it much faster than I anticipated, so editing as I went saved me a ton of time no matter how painful it was to do. A few bits I needed to tweak, but it was just tweaking. No major re-sequencing of a whole act, for instance. Not even much of a rejigging of a chapter. I added a bit to one to explain something a bit better, or rather to avoid having to explain it. A slight change that meant everything was a bit easier for me, but tougher for a character. Anyway, it’s done. Just about!
Also spent a bit of time working through Die On Mars edits and realising it’s... okay. At best. But also realising that making it better than it is will mean junking the whole thing and writing something different, with maybe using some of the previous chapters. And I just can’t be bothered with it. I’ll have a think about it over the next few months while I work on other stuff, but I’ll possibly just chuck it out on KDP as is and see what happens with it. I hate having stuff unfinished and unreleased. One of the things I struggle with when I don’t do a police procedural is it’s a very different way of thinking and my instincts are all weird. Anyway. Food for thought – not like I don’t have a ton of stuff to be going on with.
I proofed FALSE START and I’m aiming for a release on the 1st November. Which is next Tuesday. SHOCK EMOJI. I’ve got a load of things I need to do to get in place to sort out before that.
Next week
First, I’ve secured Angus King again to narrate THE TURNING OF OUR BONES and hopefully the sequels, so my focus this week is going through the edits on that book and doing another read-edit, out loud so I trap stupid language mess ups. This was the first one I did that new process on, so hopefully it’ll be a swift and enjoyable one. Halfway through the edits today, though I think there’s at least a couple of big ones in there that I’ll need to spend some time tidying.
I wrote this earlier this morning and am fleshing it out just now. We’ve got a new Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak. I’d say it’s good that this country has a leader who’s a person of colour. But that’s about it. He’s the least-worst option, a way to stabilise the financial markets (rather than the pork markets in China) with a view to minimising the losses the Tories will incur at the next general election. But he’s the husband of an almost-billionaire and has lived a life completely out of touch with the people who will suffer at the policies he will inflict on the country. He has no mandate. It’s time for a General Election now.
Anyway. Rant over. Have a great week!
Cheers,
Ed