What's your time management like?

Afternoon gang, Generally mine is ace. But lately, because of work, the dog etc, it's been bloody awful. Which got me to thinking about my fellow authors. Between work, kids, pets, family etc, how on earth does anyone find time to write? And how much time do you actually find? Because I might well have a spare hour tonight but it won't be productive because I'll be knackered from work and walking the dog etc. That said, things are progessing. The wife has finished the draft of the new book. Devoured it to be fair. Feedback was very positive. There's a few bits to work on which I'll attack ASAP depending on mood and then it'll be available to buy. Wooo! Apologies for the lack of paragraphs etc, I'm on a browser that doesn't support Blogger so I'm doing this via HTML which isnt one of my strengths. Other news? Final Breaking Bad tonight. Can't wait for that. Liverpool second in the league! Madness. Won't last. Sales a little slow this month after a flurry a couple of weeks ago so any last minute September sales much appreciated. Spread the word. Until next time...

There's a draft!

Afternoon gang, It's done! What's done? I hear you cry as one. An edited draft of my new book, the sequel to the 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. I know, it's all very exciting. And it's only taken 12 months. Perils of having a well paid full time job. Anyway, you're doubtless wonderign what this all means. Or not. Well, essntially I've been through the first draft i.e. the very rough but typed up version of the novel and I've tweaked, rewritten, deleted etc until I got to the end. What's left is a tighter, shinier version of the book. The plan now is to lob this on the wife's table so she can read it, hopefully she will highlight lots of areas for improvement (I'm by no means convinced by the book yet) and then I'll do another draft. Generally that will be it. I'll start work on the front cover and blurb any day now while the wife's reading. Then after the next draft I'll format it for release. Given the time of year I might well hang on and dive into the Christmas market with some advertising, heavy promo, press release etc. As ever the book will be available in all digital formats and paperback. I also suspect, as with all my other books, it'll sell quite well on Kindle and next to nothing everywhere else. I also haven't settled on a title yet! Other news? Nowt much. Dog's ace. Work's uncertain. House purchase is progressing slowly. Currently drinking a mug of tea. Oh yeah, upcoming new fantasy author Frion Farrell has just read The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe and loved it so much she's on with The Trust now. Her debut novel will be out shortly. Fingers crossed I manage to blag an advance freebie copy. Until next time.

Man down! Man down!

Evening gang, First off let me welcome a new member of the gang. Cora has added this blog to her Google circles so hopefully she'll be a reader of my books before long.

So, if we were in any doubt about the weather today has set things straight. Wild, windy, raining, grim. It was superb on the beach with the dog, he loved it. Until tragedy struck! He was hurtling along with a Border Collie when he fell over a rock and pulled up short, holding his paw up. Needless to say the wife pounced like a ninja, rushing to his aid. He seemed fine and we carried on and although he was limping slightly it didn't slow him down.

Anyway we got home and cleaned him up to find two cuts, one on a front leg, a deeper one at the back so the wife, being a nurse, swung into action with the first aid kit. The dog, ever one for a bit of theatre, began to tremble pathetically and sloped into his bed where he remains, fast asleep and wrapped in a towel. The wife steadfastly refuses to leave his side. And that pretty sums up our little team. Nobody gets left behind and we make sure everyone is okay. It works very well.

I'd like to think the world would be a better place if more folk were like this and I believe the majority are. Certainly all the folk I associate with online are all like minded and very supportive of each other, and me, when it comes to my writing. Which neatly brings me round to my latest novel. I've had the weekend off. I've literally done nothing except have a nice time. Lost a few quid (more than a few quid) on dodgy football bets, been out for tea, had the kids over to stay, played with the dog, watched films, eaten burritos, it's been super. So tomorrow I'll hit the novel hard. It's nearly there but this one has been a slog.

Other news? Regular readers will know I'm quite the home cinema buff. I've got a nifty 9 foot electric screen, full HD 3D projector and 7.1 surround. So it was with some sadness that I learned of the death of Ray Dolby. You might not know his first name, but everyone should know his surname. If you've ever owned a DVD, Blu Ray or been the cinema, you've heard his work in action. He's Mr Surround Sound, the guy who took away the hiss. A pioneer who quite literally impacted on the lives of millions. Not a bad legacy. I've chucked in a couple of links so you can read more about him.

I also not that JK Rowling is to pen a screenplay. Apparently an of shoot of the Potter world, no shock there, it should be out in 2015 or thereabouts. I've no doubt it will be a vast success, full marks to her. Again someone who has impacted on the lives of millions and will leave an impressive legacy.

So that's it. Ideally, in decades to come, my name will be talked about in the same way as those above. If not, I hope I've made enough cash to at least be able to do everything I wanted to do. Regrets don't suit me and I've got a long list of stuff I want to do. Tonight's thing is easy enough. Slump on the couch, watch Iron Man 3, drink ale and try not to think about work tomorrow.

The benefits of positive thinking

Morning Gang, If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you'll know in recent days - indeed most of last week - I've been moaning about slow sales this month while not actually doing anything about it. Typical me. But there's good news. Overnight I've shifted quite a few copies of my awesome fact based crime thriller The Trust. So much so that as of this morning I'm hovering on the edges of the top 10,000 on the Amazon ficton charts. While this doesn't make me the next Stephen King, it does mean that there are nearly a million people selling less than me who would gladly change places. All positive. I've also had nearly 9000 views of this blog. It's pretty impressive given that I started it nearly 2 years ago as an experiment. I still enjoy writing on it, folk clearly keep checking back to see what rubbish I'm saying, so long may it continue. I've also picked up pace with the editing again and will hopefully have a draft by the weekend. I know, I know, I've said this many times this year. But eventually it will be true. Promise. In other news, my house investment sideline is progressing well and the house should be mine in the next week of so. I've also lined up an interested tenant so there's no downside at all. Now if I could just find myself a permanent job...

When is it time to stop?

Morning gang.

Regular readers will know I'm quite the fan of Roger Federer but this year has seen a dramatic decline in the powers of the great man. Since winning Wimbledon last year and then getting silver in the Olympics, he's been roundly thrashed by all manner of folk who generally aren't fit to share a court with him. This weeks US Open defeat was hard to watch. The only positive being that he didn't have to face Nadal in the next round which, I suspect, would have been humiliating.

He's the greatest tennins player ever, certainly in most peoples eyes, certainly in terms of trophies won. He's just 32 and is now sliding down the rankings. This is the nature of sport. It happens to them all. Sampras in tennis, Ali in boxing, it will happen to Woods in golf.

But how does anyone know when it's time to call it a day? How do any of us know? I ponder quitting my job at least once a week but so far I havent done it (not for nearly ten years anyway). Because no matter how much I earn, or what I do, I'd rather be at home with the dog writing fiction. That niggling frustration is literally there each and every day and shows no sign of fading the older I get. The question is, as my career develops, do I take abreak from writing to focus on the day job? Or do I finally back myself to be a writer and quit the day job just as the salary is getting interesting? Hard to know.

Editing of the new book is going well. I should pass the 300 page mark today so I'll be well into the home stretch then. Tonight I plan to reward myself by watchign Oblivion on Blu Ray with the dog. The wife's out so we can crank up the volume. The neighbour's enjoy the full 7.1 effect.

Other news? House investment prject almost complete, dog growing very fast but being no real bother, I've done no promo this week which has reflected in my sales. I'll be addressing that shortly and the new Xbox is due out at the end of November. £429? Good lord. There will plenty of parents struggling to find that this Christmas. That's a vast sum of cash for a non essential item. God knows which genius came up with that, especially when the new Playstation is £80 cheaper. It had best be very, very good!

Anyway, promo time. If you haven't boght any of my books, shart with The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. It's going to be series so you might as well get in at the ground floor. Plus, it's really good, so the reviews tell me.

Until next time...

Do you like to gamble?

Evening gang,

The short answer to the above is no, not as a rule. I imagine most folk would say the same. Keep it safe and simple.

Except that we gamble all the time. Crossing the road, kebab from the ropey take-away etc etc.

I've been merrily editing the new novel for some time now, gambling on it being any good and that folk will buy it and enjoy it. I've got about 120 pages to go. At my current rate God knows how long that will take.

My dog, Ralph, gambled this evening on the beach. It was his first time on the beach and he loved it. Hurtling round at pace, ears back, daft grin on his face. He didn't know about the holes and trenches left by the sea so he suddenly had to try and jump over one at the last second. He made it too but he had to dig all four paws in to stop himself falling back into the hole. Hurt his back leg doing it to, but he's okay.

I'm also entering the Harvill Secker crime competition which is a gamble in that I hope to win because the judges prefer my story to all the others.

I'm buying a house as an investment, gambling that I can continue to afford it based on me getting a permanent job at work when my current secondment expires at the end of the year. Big gamble that one, best not to think too much about it. Also best not to dwell on the interview looming on Thursday which I have yet to do any prep for. Safe to say I'm not expecting to triumph there. Rather I'm gambling that my current boss and her chums will somehow magic up a job for me that pays what I need to support my daft lifestyle. Fingers crossed.

Which brings me to this weekend. A few mates and I went into town on Saturday night. We had a good time, got drunk, bought pizza, stayed out late. But there's so many clowns for such a small town. Blokes older than us squaring up in the pizza shop for goodness sake. A group of young chaps knocking lumps off each other outside McDonalds. Get a grip, it's beer, it makes things better. If you want to scrap stop in.

Anyway, I spent a few quid, we felt rough this morning and I decided to put a few quid on Liverpool to beat Man Utd. Blow me, gamble paid off and my winnings covered what I spent last night. Free night out! Kaboom.

So, the lesson. Life's a gamble. Best not to plan too much or try too hard, cos it'll just upset you.

Right, I'd best let the dog out for a slash before bed. Then I can ponder my interview tomorrow. I keep hoping the wife is going to step in and offer some advice but she's been slow on the uptake so far.

Last thing, I've yet to sell any books so far this month. I know it's only the 1st of the month but I like to get off the mark. So if you could spread the word. Paperback, Amazon, Smashwords, all digital formats. Just search Jamie Sinclair in your ereader of choice. Ace reviews, low price, ticks every box.