Among several other acronyms, I think I can safely add SAD to my list. Seasonal Affective Disorder. I don't like the drippy, grey, finger-numbing drag of winter. So, what better way to get through the drear months than an obsessive project or two, my focus drawn elsewhere until spring arrives with her daphne, daffs, freesias, blue skies and warmth.
Writing is sedentary and solitary and I can only manage staring at a screen for a limited number of hours, so, when my writing work is done, I give myself playtime, which means getting outside, no matter the weather, and working on a practical project, like a restoration or repair of an old vehicle. This stuff is the antithesis of writing. Though frustrations abound, the positive outcome of mechanical problem-solving and toil can be apparent in hours, days or weeks, unlike the production of a novel, which requires many months or years to reach completion.
I'm a strange bugger and an impatient sod. For someone who rails at impediments and hold-ups in many areas of my life, you'd think that novel-writing would have dropped off the list of worthy pursuits twenty-five odd years ago, when it first made its ghostly appearance as a possibility. But somehow, four novels later, an ineffable psychic override seems to operate against my restive inclinations where writing is concerned. Go figure.
So, with the 3rd Cal Nyx novel, The Freezer, due for publication in Dec this year, I'm in the process of outlining another novel, this time set in Aotearoa NZ, and introducing a new protagonist. The start of a fresh project is exciting, a little scary, and full of promise and revelations. I'm keeping it under wraps for now, more to come as it evolves.
To coincide with this, I have the current restoration campaign involving a 40 yr old van, neglected and rusting, and requiring a fair bit of work. My plan is to have said vehicle roadworthy by early next year so I can go away with Gabby dog, and do some on-the-ground geographical research for the new novel. All this anticipation should keep me going through the final edits of The Freezer.
Meanwhile, the Matariki stars, marking the Maori New Year, hang in the eastern sky. This time for mourning the deceased, celebrating the present, and preparing the ground for the coming year continues. My beloved writing mentor, Renee, who died in late 2023, is always present in images and memories around me, though without her here, I feel well and truly fledged. I miss her.
"Just do the work" she would say. I never argued that, but allow myself a bit of frolic each day as well, a keyboard at my fingertips, and later a spanner in my hand.
So exciting! Good on you! And all those tyres.... Can't wait for the next installment.