Daynote - Tue 21 Jan

A bit chilly this morning, but I did get to say hello to Flash and Poppy the labradors at the beach, and that's always a nice start to the day. A few deer in the fields this morning too.

I take a voice recorder with me every morning, but I only use it about once a week for a wee check-in with my writing brain, unless an idea occurs to me as I walk. So most mornings it's just me, walking in silence, without a phone (aside from a basic PAYG Nokia for emergencies). It's very, very nice.

ON DECK: Excellent progress this morning, with 1,806 new words and the best part of two new scenes done. One dialogue-heavy, the other not at all, but both of them came pretty fast and easy.

TOOLS AND PROCESS: My Supernote Manta arrived and mostly I've been marvelling at what an incredible bit of technology it is - it's as close to writing on paper as I've ever seen on any digital device, but it's infinite and has a days-long battery life. Pretty amazing. I haven't yet got it properly set up and syncing, because I don't want to rush that and end up with a bunch of folders and files I'm not actually going to use, but I've been watching a lot of video reviews and guides on different ways to use it. More soon.

LISTENING: Fellow DHH Literary client Tom Hindle was on The Conversation with Nadine Matheson this morning talking about DEATH IN THE ARCTIC, his latest, as well as his career so far. Fantastic episode.

WATCHING: We fancied something daft last night and the first episode of GLADIATORS fit the bill perfectly. Very glad to see the reappearance of the giant metal hamster balls. That was always my favourite event as a young 'un.

READING: A lot of beta reading at the moment, reading the first few chapters of one friend's book while continuing to read MK Hardy's boat book. Plus my usual critique group reading load (which is substantial, 15-20k words a week, sometimes higher). I'm very lucky though, that it's all bloody good.

LINK: Really enjoyed this interview with Anna Sharpe (AKA Anna Mazzola) about her new contemporary thriller NOTES ON A DROWNING.

UP NEXT: I've notched up 40k on PROJECT SCARLET now, so I think I'll comfortably get over the 45k mark by the end of the week, with any luck. I've got a podcast recording I'm excited about tomorrow, plus exciting book-related things happening at the weekend I can't talk about yet. Then next week I'm going to not one, not two but THREE book launches (they're like buses, none for ages then they all come at once) on consecutive evenings. I may regret booking three in a row, we'll see.