Karl Relf

I also had periods of unemployment in my late teens & 20s (made redundant twice before I turned 21). One of them was over a year long. It's a crushing experience & it stays with you. I wanted so much better for those yet to come.
Sorry, youngsters, & the very best of luck.

One of your own for a bit of free promotion. 🙂

Surprised Pikachu GIF Alt: Surprised Pikachu GIF

It's always good to make the younglings do this:

That'd be Crazy.

Not been to Chester in...well, decades. It's a lovely place to visit, though.

I'm thinking of building an ark...

Picture of a man in his mid-twenties wearing a blue checked shirt

Me in 1998.

Yeah, I won't be doing Harrogate & I do have books that *need* signing...

I've never been to Stirling. 🤔

Fancy a couple of new books on your Kindle for less than two quid? Of course you do. Links below.

To the barricades!

Guess it's in line with a lot of other stuff: "[This thing] isn't for you anymore, plebs."

Other than that, how are you?

BUT! You do need outside voices/opinions. For that I use 3 beta readers & 'minority report' stuff. It's rare for all 3 to say everything's fine or find fault with the same thing. Then, depending on the point made, its strength, & my own opinion once I've a thing through again, I make a choice.

As an indie...& much as it pains me as an editor...no. Some people/services, much as I'd like to use them, I simply can't afford esp. once I factor in likely ROI. I'll take breaking even or even a slight loss, but when it's basically throwing 100s away...no can do. (My other half would kill me. 😅)

"May have". FWIW I don't think there's any doubt.

RIP John Virgo.

Yeah, it's an annoying lingering one.

Same here. Three weeks so far. 🫤

Hope the year gets better for you - starting right now.

I only rewatched this ep a couple of weeks ago. She was so good (as in everything).

Some things just have to be done.

Luke! Are you 'properly' back or just visiting?

Five jobs I've had:

Factory labourer
Data entry clerk
Accounts administrator
Order picker
Writer/Editor (current-ish)

I'm not going to be alone in this, but I've found that reading a good book fires my imagination & prompts new/different ideas. With 'slog' books I try to look at *why* I'm struggling with it. Is it pacing, lexical density, plot, theme, or something else.
What I don't do (but should) is quit.

My other half told me the IT bods at her place sent a mail round on behalf of the higher-ups telling people NOT to use Co-pilot.

"an MS" rather than 'a ms'. FFS. 🤦🏻‍♂️

kermit the frog is sitting in the driver 's seat of a car and saying whaaaat . Alt: kermit the frog is sitting in the driver 's seat of a car and saying whaaaat .

Editing an MS after a few months.

True. Some men, too. But ultimately it's not going to be a happy union or a fulfilling/satisfying life - for either party.

a man with a ring on his finger looks at the camera Alt: a lonely man leaves town, hitchhiking and looking for a new place to be

When a publisher or agent says they're open to submissions, only to be closed again by the time you've got everything together.