Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Speculative Horizons

Thought I'd leave a note on my sadly defunct blog here that I have now started a fresh, shiny speculative fiction blog here: http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/

I'll be posting book reviews, hopefully some author interviews and various other snippets of interest. There's only a small amount of material up so far, but I will be adding to it on a regular basis.

Enjoy!

Posted by James L 2008-01-08 17:57:49

Saturday, July 29, 2006
Cynical self-promotion

Oh, blog where art thou? Thou seems sorely neglected...

Well yeah, that would be because I have a new, shiny blog at this address:

In this new blog I'll be talking about the trials and tribulations of writing my fantasy novel and discussing fantasy writing in general. I'll also discuss the genre as a whole and hopefully make some insightful observations. There will also be book reviews and recommendations, as well as the usual rantings and ravings about anything and everything. Nice.

So, feel free to nip over and check it out. It's worth it just for the sexy pic of me you'll see near the top. Warning - the sexy bit was a joke.

Posted by James L 2006-07-29 19:32:22

Saturday, January 21, 2006
Engaged

On Friday 20th January I got engaged to my wonderful girlfriend. I proposed to her in the beautiful, historic city of Chester, on the ancient Roman walls that still surround the city.

We stood on a tower that, on 24th September 1645, King Charles had also stood, as he watched his army of Royalists routed by the Parlimentarians. It was here amongst the ghosts and living history of the Roman wall that I popped the question. It was nice really, as I felt that we had added our own piece of history to the wall. Not history that will be remembered by anyone else apart from us, but maybe that is what it makes it special.

Anyway, I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that I am both the luckiest and happiest man in the world at the same time. :)

Posted by James L 2006-01-21 18:26:11

Friday, January 13, 2006
Man kills everything

Sometimes I feel ashamed to be a member of the Human race. I've been following a recent series of programmes about chimps and gorillas and the threat of extinction that faces them, due to mankind.

It's pretty sickening that the governments of African nations let the loggers get their way without putting up much resistance. I don't deny that the respective governments have their people's interests at heart (this is the main reason for slash and burn - to keep the economy going) but there must be ways of sustaining the economies of these nations without posing a threat to chimps and other animals. How hard would it really be to set up a sustainable logging industry?

We cannot allow these wonderful creatures to become extinct simply because it is easier to let the loggers burn the forests.

Posted by James L 2006-01-13 10:55:42

Thursday, January 12, 2006
The bubble

Shiver me timbers, it's been too long.

Now that the balmy, lazy days of student life have receded and have been replaced by the sobering, chilly days of "grown-up" life, I finally find myself with time to write an entry.

Much has happened in the last few months - I finished my MA (I can now call myself 'Master of Arts' :) ) and I moved into a house with my better half. I spent 10 weeks as a free man, before deciding that I ought to get a temporary job while I looked for a 'proper' one. So I worked for 7 weeks for a housing association, which was...interesting... To be fair the job was ok and the people were great, but it was the travelling to and from work that I hated. You see, in the British Isles at this time of year, it is dark until about 8.20 a.m and then gets dark again at about 4.30 p.m. Millions of people therefore, like me, go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. It's like living in a bubble.

Anyway, that job has ended now, and I once more have a bit of free time, which is why I've found the time to write this. I've been thinking about my current project recently and am hopefully going to press on with it. Since I started work I completely failed to get any writing done. Must do better...

I sold a second short story to Nocturne magazine, which is appearing in issue 3.5, and has a rather nice cover. I've also sent off one of my older stories that is still looking for a home.

Other than that, not much to report. My interest in poker has evolved and I'm now playing with real money. I made a deposit of $20 and raised it to $105 before cashing it. Now I'm doing it again. :) Who knows, maybe I'll go pro lol.

Anyways, keep on trucking and here's to a good 2006.

Posted by James L 2006-01-12 20:15:56