Share the magic of Christmas again.

This year has brought home to me that Christmas no longer holds the magic that it once did. Without children, there is no focus to Christmas, and I have to be honest and say it sucks just a little. So spare just a little thought at this time of year for those people who don't have children, and maybe let some of your relatives in this position spend a little time with your children if you have children so that they can share a little in the real magic of Christmas again. 

This post made sense in my head. Honest.

Long summer of war - I hadn't forgotten.

The day job got unexpectedly cancelled today at short notice. Apparently they had too many people allotted for too few vehicles after the icy weather earlier this week managed to write off a vehicle and damage several others. I got caught up in all that, on the M6 between junction 44 and junction 45. However, I escaped without a scratch, thankfully. I was piloting my wacky 44 ton house of fun to Falkirk in frosty weather and it had been raining all the way through Cumbria, much to my surprise. Usually when conditions are freezing rain falls as snow, but on Monday it didn't. 

I knew something was up when the vehicles in front of me slowed unexpectedly and swerved. I too had to react quickly to miss the BMW that sat in lane one of the motorway facing sideways and surrounded by broken metal and glass. It had slid at speed along the barrier. In lane three a Nissan pick up came to grief as I watched, slewing sideways and disappearing in a haze of shattered glass and tyre smoke. There isn't much you can do when you are travelling at over 50mph on what turned out to be black ice, and as the rig began to crab, I resisted the urge to apply the brakes - you can't on ice, unless you want to get to the scene of your accident a whole lot quicker. Another couple of vehicles flashed by sideways having their own little accidents and I thought I was going to hit one, but didn't. When I came to a stop I was at an angle across lane one and the hard shoulder with a wrecked car a few yards in front facing the wrong way with its hazard lights on. The driver of that came to see if I was okay, and I was. In the distance a hundred yards back down the motorway there were vehicles strewn everywhere, and nothing else was coming past. 

It took him three attempts to light his cigarette as he was shaking so much. The tarmac was really slippery, but I carefully went around my rig with a torch checking for damage. Given the amount of broken car parts I had crunched over, I was amazed that none of the tyres (there were fourteen on my rig) had popped. Bidding the man with the cigarette the best of luck, I headed carefully on my way as flashing blue lights appeared in the distance. As I cleared junction 45 and headed on into Scotland on the M74 I was conscious that there were no vehicles following; I later learnt that the motorway had been shut and I was the last vehicle through. The lorry that had been following me from the same company about half a mile behind took two hours to get through, and met me at Falkirk as I was leaving for home. 

Somewhere else in the country another company driver wasn't so lucky and his rig was written off (he was okay) numerous other slippery accidents ensured that several other rigs were off the road for repairs. I was told afterwards that I should consider one of my nine lives to have been well and truly used up, as black ice at motorway speeds rarely leaves vehicles involved in a motorway pile up, especially a 44 ton truck, without even a scratch. I shall use my remaining eight wisely. 

So instead of being at work, I'm here at the computer. We went Christmas food shopping at 4am, and I was surprised partly that there were quite a few other people making use of the supermarket not being too full of last minute grocery shoppers, and partly that there weren't more people with such forethought, as it is only two shopping days to go to Christmas. Zoë went to bed when we got back, but I went to bed last night at 6pm ready for a day's work that isn't, so I'm up for the day. I haven't had much chance to do any writing over the last couple of months between working 60-70 hour weeks and doing book signings, so I thought I would use the surprise time well. I've been meaning to take another look at 'Long summer of war' for a long time. I edited it a while ago - over a year as it turns out - and I wanted to come back to it with a fresh set of eyes detached from its creative writing process. The book was actually written between the first two of the stars trilogy, so is of a similar writing style. I've read to page 23 so far, and needed to make only a couple of small changes, so I'm really happy that it's better than I remember. There's still a long way to go to do a full read through and edit, but a part of me is wondering whether this would be a better book to release in 2012 rather than reissuing 'Orb of Arawaan'. That would then give me a little extra time to reread Orb just to be sure it is polished. I'll have a speak with the publisher later in the day and see what they say; I've emailed them a copy of the manuscript too. I have a suspicion that they will whinge "We do sci-fi and fantasy books, and this one isn't". Still, don't ask - don't get. 

class 04 shunting

A little something from my work last week that took me to Cheddleton station at the Churnet Valley Railway.

A choice

I have been working so hard recently that I have hardly seen the inside of my own house for what feels like months. The fire burns brightly in the new wood-burning stove but the most I often see is the smoke rising from the chimney as I go past, busy working all the hours possible in the run up to Christmas.

Which is why I am so grateful to have the next few days to myself. I am thinking about the next novel but it is not certain what I will be writing. I have several ideas brewing, which is a nice position for a writer to be in, but at the same time it means I have to make a decision that I am not used to.

Do I write the second novel in the 'Orb of Arawaan' series? Do I complete the 'Stars' saga with 'Alone in the Stars'? Do I write one of the other science-fiction or horror stories I have been mulling over for the last year or so? Oh it's a lovely feeling to have so many options but my goodness, this is not a decision that can be taken lightly. Whichever I choose, I will be working on the story for months into the future. Will I like what I produce and want to continue with it? Will the story turn out to be a monster that I just cannot wrestle into something readable? Only time will tell.

In the mean time, here is another short visit to my train shed for you to enjoy. :)

A funny old saying

Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. That's the old saying, not a commentary on the current bird obesity epidemic that is sweeping the nation. Is there really a problem with geese getting fat? It's winter, shouldn't they be flying south to sunnier climates? I don't know.

In the run-up to Christmas, I have some time off from the hectic signing schedule. I'm thinking about how best to start the next novel but I've yet to put finger to keyboard and start tapping it out. When I do, you will all be the first to know how it is going. Well, you'll be first if you don't count Zoë, who I bounce ideas off every now and again. We use one-another as a sounding board. It's incredibly useful when you're writing to have someone you can do that with. Anyway, when I start writing, I will let you know how it is going.

Since there is no writing or signing news for the moment, I'll leave you with a look at my lovely hobby. Here's another visit to the train room. Enjoy!

Derby signing today

Today is the Derby Waterstones signing. I'm just about to set off.

Be there or be neither trianguler nor pentangular, but the thingy between them!

Ooops

Bad things to find in a mouthful of cornflakes number 34: your own filling.

Please treat me gently at tomorrow's signing in Derby Waterstones, as I have bad toothache now; especially whenever I eat anything hot or cold.

Jenny on trains - and on video!

For the last couple of months, I have been a busy, busy bee but that does not mean I have no time to spend on my hobbies. As you may already be aware, I am a massive model railway enthusiast with a particular interest in the 1970s and 1980s British Rail era.

For many years I spent my writing time surrounded by a small model railway because the sound of the trains running is very relaxing. I wanted to recreate that experience in my new home, so I have begun building a new, and somewhat more ambitious, model railway in my new office.

Zoë is helping me to chronicle my endeavours on my YouTube channel in the form of short videos about model railways and the building thereof. The first episode went live on 13 October and you can see it below.



In other news, I have spoken to my publisher and they have agreed to extend the November special offer on my books into December, so the time has never been better to pick up a copy of my latest novels. You can get both for just £10 direct from the All Mouse Media website.