~~ Please note: this blog is on hiatus from 2023, and this site will not be updated regularly. If you do need to contact me, please do so at editor [at] writingandcoe [dot] co [dot] uk. ~~
So 2022 involved moving house, getting a new (unexpectedly stressful!) job, saying goodbye to two feline friends and hello to a new one, and generally coping with… well, everything *looks around at the world* which frankly is something of an achievement for everyone, I feel.
My burnout has reduced down to manageable levels, and thanks to some wonderful anti-depressants, I’m mostly functioning. But I can’t face getting back into the SFF world; I have been struggling to read much of the genre, and I don’t want to deal with conventions, or talking to people, or trying to figure out where I fit in a space that I once loved. I’m not seeing much progress on getting my writing back either, which frankly sucks – I miss it! And I haven’t been able to find much joy in life to share; I’ve been doing a bit of crafting and travelling and reading, and the house has been fun to work on, and the cats are cute, but I just can’t find the energy to talk about it all.
I’m semi-officially shelving the GreenSky series, at least until I figure out what I want to do with it. Books 1-6 are available; Books 7, 8 & 9 are finished and ready to print, but after waiting five years for covers, I’ve reached zero fucks on that front. And Book 10 has got a plan in place for finishing it, but I don’t have the words; so that will most likely stay half-finished. So – series shelved, for now. And I can’t face trying to get the Ghost stories published; the protagonist is trans* and I’m not and I just can’t face the scrutiny and hate that would come with the book not being own-voices. Plus the idea of trying to query agents, or figure out self-publishing and marketing, is just too much to handle. So, again, shelved.
Therefore: a hiatus here, until (if? when?) my writing and crafting and actual ability to Do Stuff And Then Write About It comes back. I’m leaving everything up, though, so please do feel free to read the short stories and buy whatever books are available and generally poke through the resources.
Thank you to everyone for reading, and if you do need to contact me, please do so at editor [at] writingandcoe [dot] co [dot] uk.
Trips-wise, we managed to get out to the Great Dorset Steam Fair this year; it was VERY HOT but we had a good morning wandering around, poking through the jumble and watching the steam engine playground. We’ve also managed to see some family, watch the powerboat races on the Solent, visit friends in Oxford and enjoy our garden – which still feels like a day out in itself! We saw a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth (so quick! so pretty!) and we’ve got loads of bees on the lavender and it still feels like a holiday cottage… if you excuse the piles of boxes.
Beyond that; no writing yet, and very little reading – my brain seems to be mostly consumed with logistics. I’m still grey, albeit with more energy; but I just can’t get excited about much. I’m still hoping that if I stay on the anti-depressants (which are working the best out of all the ones I’ve tried) then things will start coming back? And if there’s a bit of normality and chill in the new house, and the job settles down, then that will help. It’s something to aim towards anyway.
What else? I’ve been reading again – THERE’S A NEW BOOK FROM VICTORIA GODDARD AND IT IS FANTASTIC. 
In other news; the cat is still Grumpy (as always) but has been practising his solar panel positions for maximum heat-absorption, and filling up on biscuits when not heating his fluff. He’s been enjoying yelling, eating all the biscuits, more yelling, and napping. In short, he is still thoroughly enjoying his retirement!
In games news, I have just finished 
New job (as of almost two weeks) at Elsevier, doing journals admin; it doesn’t require me pouring my heart&soul into anything, but does require boatloads of organisation and being left alone to do said organisation, and is therefore AMAZING. I am very much picking everything up, and will be for the next year, but it’s been good so far and they’re all lovely. I am also still doing freelance work, which has been good & steady, and I’m enjoying all the random books I get to format.
CAT! Grumpy. Cute. Fixated on biscuits. Managed to tread perfectly in his own poop, which… is actually quite impressive for a creature that’s supposed to be an apex predator. (Thankfully he cleaned his own paw off from said poop incident, although I won’t share the method. Safe to say I’m not going to be going with the Cat Method of Cleaning anytime soon.)
Friends & family! In the last month or so I’ve seen an old friend (after three years!!) and we got welcomed by a blackbird family too, which was adorable. I have also been enjoying the sunshine with a neighbour, met another friend and had a very long and excellent grumble at The State Of The World, trundled over to see a good friend in Swindon (we had distanced pizza, which rocked) and I also got to see my family, which was great. It feels like I’ve used a lot of spoons but it has also been lovely. (Yes, suitable precautions were taken for all of these instances.)