No video updateo this month unfortunately. I did film one at the weekend, but my internet is complaining so we shall do things the old fashioned way. There is not too much to report this month anyway (trust be though, things are grinding along in a lot of areas there is just nothing being finished so I can tick it off, but at some point a lot of things are going to start coming together).

So, writing stuff first. My first beta reader has got back to me with his edits which I have been through now and made the changes he suggested. Not, absolutely every single one (there are always going to be the odd thing where I think the way I have done things is better or I agree a change needs to be made but just not to what has been suggested) but by and large I agreed with most of it. My friend Rebecca Baird is making her edits chapter by chapter and has sent me the first 6, which I have now been through and made the changes she suggested to my master file as well. And my third editor (my brother) is going to start working on his comments in a couple weeks (more on that in the next section). I have done a little bit of writing on the side project that goes along with this novel, but admittedly not as much as I would like. I can tell you though that it is a book within a book – bookception if you will – and I am enjoying working on it a lot, but I just haven’t quite hit stride with that yet. As things come together on the writing side of things I am hoping to start working on the cover with my friend Stuart MacBean who did a fantastic job on the covers of the first two books in the series and I would really like to get him on board for the third. Fingers crossed.

Project “stuff” with my brother is going really well so far. I am sorry I can’t be much more than that just yet as we want to keep in under-wraps until we are getting close to its release, which will hopefully be towards the end of this year or early 2022, depending on how things go. We are at a bit of an impasse at the moment for how much we can do on it, but my brother is moving back to Scotland in 2 weeks after 15 years in North America, so I am very excited about that in general, but also so we can start rolling along with this project.

At lastly, sadly but realistically, I am coming to the realisation that I will not have time to write a scene play this year. Between getting book 3 to production, writing book 4, working on this project with my brother and a full-time job I just don’t see it happening. I would love to be proven wrong of course, but I think I probably have enough on my plate to be getting on with.

Authoring:

Finish writing book 3

Write the side project that goes with book 3

Edit Book 3

Organise the publication of Book 3

Release book 3

Do at least 5 book events

Do at least 1 blog post every month

Write and finish a first draft for book 4

Joint Business Venture:

Various incredibly highly classified objectives which need to be achieved to get things up and running.

Key: as of writing this, the things in red mean that I have not started this yet, then the things in blue mean that they are underway and green means it has been completed.

Looking forward changed the colour of these as the year progresses and hoping it there keeps me focused on my goals and I can continue to move towards the mountain ahead of me.

I hope you’re having a good 2021 so far internets,

Linden