Trey Stone's Blog, page 19

Life Gets In The Way – But That’s Fine

I’m very good at extremes. Need to review a book for a friend? Fine, I’ll read it right this instant! Should I cut down on my sugar? Sure, I’ll just never consume any of it ever again. Do I need to get more sleep? No problem, I’ll just set a strict bedtime every single day for the rest of my life.

This is a handy ability to have when you need to get things done, like say, write a book – (though also wildly annoying if you ask a certain someone’s wife…) – but it doesn’t always work as intended when you put it into practice.

Because life, schedules, relationship, and randomly occurring and unpredictable events happen. And that annoys the hell out of me! I’ll get into strict habits for varying lengths of time, and I’ll feel really good about stuff. I’ll feel like I’m being efficient, like I’m getting stuff done and like I have purpose… And then it all falls apart when I can’t keep it up anymore.

But lately, I’ve realized that it’s quite useful that my habits break down on themselves. It forces me out of my shell, to do things differently, and to life a little. It makes me take chances, do things in moderation and to think outside the box.

I’ve been busy lately, with two different short story projects and two different novels, keeping up with my social media, working out, and the day job. In between all of that I’m also supposed to be a normally functioning person, living a life. And I’d love to day that I’ve been able to do it all, but I haven’t. I don’t have as much time for writing one day, or I don’t manage to finish the book I’m reading at the moment, and I wish I had more time to practice the guitar.

But that’s okay – because when I don’t lock myself away with a project or adhere to my very strict schedules and regiment, that’s when life happens. That’s when you suddenly bump into old friends, go for a bike ride adventure through a forest you’ve never been to before, or discover a new hobby. And sometimes that’s all you need to keep yourself motivated and inspired to keep going.

I’m not quite sure what the moral of this story is, but I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re like me, a person who’s usually very strict with yourself but finding it hard to stay on track sometimes – don’t worry.

Let life get in the way now and then – it’s good for you!

Where Did The Summer Go? Keeping Up With Writing While Not Getting Any Writing Done

Whoa – it’s really been a while since my last blog post, hasn’t it? According to my calculations it’s been about a month – and I usually really like writing these things, both to update my readers but also for my own sanity – so sorry about that.

When I realized it was suddenly the 10th of August the other day and that autumn is quickly approach (the pouring rain has already started) I began wondering what the hell happened to the summer. Sure, I had some time off (two weeks of hiking in the mountains, biking through the forest, and sunbathing by the beach), but I swore the summer used to last at least a few months back in the day?

Did I get writing done at all this summer, or did it all just pass me by?

Did I do anything at all this summer? Other than camping at the edge of Jotunheimen, I mean?

Not really understanding what happened to the summer months – because I sure as hell felt like I hadn’t done any writing – I decided to go back through my calendar (yeah, I keep a little writing-calendar-log-thingy) to see what had actually happened.

And sure enough, I had done some stuff:

Going back to before the summer even started, at the end of March I submitted a horror novella I’ve been working on for a few years to an indie publisher. I had actually just decided not to send it off to another place – a place I had thought would be good for me, but turned out not to be a good fit – and I wasn’t really sure if I should just self-publish it or what, when I found this other indie publisher. They seemed perfect so I threw myself around, wrote a new synopsis, a new query letter, the whole shebang and submitted it.

Then, at the end of April I was invited to write for a SUPER SECRET PROJECT that I’ve been sworn to secrecy about. (Not really, it’s this podcast called My Father’s Files that Inked In Gray is producing and I’m one of twelve authors who’s contributing.) You can read more about it here. My the middle of June I’d torn my hair out over five different drafts that would eventually make up my first draft for this story, and submitted it. And let me tell you – I’m excited as hell!

By the end of July my short story “They Came From Nowhere” was published in the anthology Contact by Black Hare Press. Black Hare Press produces a lot of different collection and various anthologies, and Contact is in a series of 500-word-fiction, where each anthology is full of stories that are exactly 500 words and centered around the same theme. Contact is – as you might have guessed – a science fiction anthology centered around first contact. You can check that out here!

At the beginning of August I handed in my second revised draft for My Father’s Files. Again – I’m so stoked to be a part of this and I can’t wait to share more about it with all of you. If the production goes along as planned, I hope it won’t be long either.

And then, a few days ago I resubmitted that horror novella I talked about earlier. After submitting it in March I got a rejection a month or so later – but! – I got feedback and was urged to resubmit. Of course I threw myself around, discussed it with my beta readers who know the story almost as well as myself, implemented the changes – because the feedback was great! – and suddenly found myself hitting the send button on my email. Now I’m crossing my fingers and toes, and hoping that it’s as good as I think it is.

And in between all of this I’ve kept on submitting other short stories and flash fiction to various websites and collections – let’s hope they’re accepted!

So there you have it – clearly there’s been some things going on with me this summer. Yet, I still feel like I’ve done nothing? Maybe it’s because I’m used to working on bigger, over-arching projects while I do these shorter stories. Of course I’m still working on the third book in my thriller series (The Columbus Archives) which has been written, revised and edited, but I’ve been waiting for feedback from beta readers this summer so it’s on the back-burner for a little while.

All in all, I’m very excited about the various smaller projects I’m doing, now that I’ve gotten an overview and realize what I’ve actually put my time into. At the same time, I can’t wait to draft another novel… Oh well, I think I’ve just convinced myself to start a new one, now.

What have you been up to this summer? Working on something new and exciting? Going over the 4215th draft of an epic novel? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

An engaging, funny, and comprehensive guide to almost everything you need to know about the world.

I went into this on a few colleague’s recommendation, never having heard about Bill Bryson before. In fact, it’s been years since I read much non-fiction at all – probably since I graduated! I started out reading Bryson’s ‘A Walk Through The Woods’ sometime last year and I loved it, so I’ve been keeping my eye out for more of his titles every since.

I use Audible as my source for audiobooks, which I listen to a lot when I’m working or driving around for work – when I don’t have podcast I’m hooked on. This kind of book is perfect for that kind of listening – it’s never boring, at the same time if I have to concentrate for a minute or two and stop paying attention, it usually doesn’t matter much. So when I got an email saying this book was on offer I grabbed it as fast as I could! I already have a couple of other ones on my list, including one called ‘The Body’ which I’m excited to get started on.

This book does exactly what it promises. It tells you a little bit about everything – and it really feels like it’s everything! Starting off with the universe and planets, we go through physics, chemistry, geology, biology, paleontology and archaeology. And the best part is, it’s all done through a thick lense of history.

That’s the beauty of this book. You learn not only about all of these laws and theories that you’ll most likely remember vaguely from your school years, but you learn a lot about the people around them, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. Many fields of science are sadly often bad at distributing recognition for finds and discoveries, giving much or all of it to one when it should have been divided among the many. So you’ll recognize names like Curie and Einstein, but then there’ll be some unknown person next to them who turns out to have been just as important, and they usually come with very interesting stories attached to them.

And also, you learn so many cool things that you feel like you should have known already. Stuff that makes you excited to learn more, to look up sources and find more articles online, to learn more amazing science. If you like learning, you’ll love this.

Bill Bryson is an excellent author. Apparently he received awards for the way he managed to make science available and relatable with this book, a feat that I can testify to. It’s fun, easy to understand, and very engaging. I’m excited to read more from him and I feel myself gliding away from genre fiction these days to read more fun books like this.

Have you read any good non-fiction books these days? What’s your favorite? I’m definitely interested in adding to my library.

Book Review: Accursed: Monster of Earth #4 by Patrick F. Johnson

The action-packed sci-fi adventure is over!

And what a conclusion it is. Through four books we’ve followed Frank Ford – The Custodian, The Angel, The Monster, and now – The Accursed of Earth. It’s been a wild ride across alien planets, meeting with alien races, forming friendships, romantic ties, and rivalries, but most of all it’s been heaps of fun!

I might have mentioned this in earlier reviews – (and maybe even complained a little) but Frank Ford in his transformation to the Custodian of Earth has become immensely powerful. Which makes for some pretty hefty action scenes. Armed to the teeth with Japanese-inspired weaponry – opting for blades instead of using guns or laser rifles – Frank lays waste to most of his enemies, while being protected from harm by a force shield. It’s fun and action-filled, sure, but sometimes I felt like maybe he got away a bit too easy.

Also – and this might be my general taste for shorter books talking, but I feel like sometimes we lose motivation. As if things just happen for a while, without any real sense of why they’re happening. It’s still an exciting sci-fi adventure, but I found myself longing for more urgency and purpose occasionally.

Johnson’s big strength is his world-building though – (as well as his knack for proof-reading. I was reading a traditionally published book alongside this one which was comparatively riddled with errors). The planets and races he’s created are magnificent and they come off as if it’s been done with relative ease as well. It’s been exciting to follow Frank on his journeys throughout space, and if you’re a fan of epic sci-fi action adventures, I’m sure you’ll love it too!

Back Up Your Things! – Every Writer’s Personal Nightmare Just Happened To Me

Yeah, I was going to write about something else today. About writing something new and loving it and I had a plan to tell you all about how I work with a fresh idea.

Then my laptop died.

Before you ask – yes, I’ve checked everything. Different batteries, different chargers, different batteries and chargers in different laptops. It’s done. Burned out. Broken. Dead.

Of course, this is a major nuisance. All my stuff is on that laptop. Everything is neatly organized in structured folders. I have pictures from holidays that I went on years ago. I have all my games. When I first realized it was well and truly dead, I got really frustrated.

Then I remembered I store all of my stuff in the cloud.

Sure – I’m tech savvy enough to crack the corpse of my laptop open, excavate the hard drives and sift through them for the files I need. Stuff is rarely truly gone (a fact that’s important to remember if you ever decide to throw out an old computer) – but all of that is a massive pain in the butt.

The way I’ve set my stuff up, I could keep writing my stories on my phone only a moment later. Or on my other laptop that I have lying around here somewhere…

Basically, I store all my writing in a cloud service that I sync on 4 different devices, and then I regularly (once a month) copy a static version of that folder on two of the devices.

Here’s why:

In cases like today, I have immediate access to everything in three other places. Doesn’t matter if I break or lose my device, I won’t lose access to any of my stuff – (Unless I somehow haven’t synced it, but I very rarely work completely offline).I always have older versions of things available. Say I accidentally upload/override a file on my main computer, and say I can’t restore an old version. As long as I cut my internet connection, if I turn on one of my other device that haven’t synced yet, I’ll have access to what ever old version was last saved. Sure, it will be very inconvenient and I might have to rewrite things, but it will be there.Since I make regular copies of all the stuff in the cloud that I keep saved locally, I don’t have to worry about the cloud suddenly disappearing (not that I do, but I know some people might). Even if it did, I could also use the solution from the step above, as long as I stop my device from syncing and deleting everything.

So in case you hadn’t been reminded in a while – BACK UP YOUR THINGS! Sure, your nephew who’s good with computers can probably help retrieving your things when he comes home to visit your sister during the summer, but do you really want to risk leaving your files in just one place? Do you?! No, didn’t think so. Also – retrieving files from a hard drive only works if you have access to the hard drive. If you drop that laptop overboard on one of your weekly river cruises with the girls from college, it’s gone.

Anyway – that’s how my day is going. How about you? Do you have any back up related nightmares to share? Ever lose a draft? Delete a finished manuscript?

The Chaos of a Life and Finally Finding Time To Read A Book Again! – Book Review: The Terror by Dan Simmons

It’s been a weird few weeks. Ever since I moved back home from the Arctic at the start of the month, days have been blending together. I feel like I’ve had far too much to do and nothing at all at the same time. Like everything has changed, yet it’s all the same.

I’ve tried to keep up with my writing – I’ve been working on a few cool projects that I’m excited to share with all of you soon, as well editing my third book, and I just received feedback on a manuscript I’m querying a few days ago. The publisher wants me to consider changing a few things, and then they wanted to read it again!

I’m also trying to stay active and get some regular exercise, and on top of everything there’s the day job. Other than that, I feel like days just pass me by and I have nothing to do. At the same time, I have no time to do anything and I’m totally out of sync with my regular habits. It’s a weird feeling.

So I’m happy to say I’ve finally found time to read a book again – The Terror by Dan Simmons!

The Terror is a historical fiction and it’s a retelling of the fateful Franklin expedition which aimed to find the Northwest Passage aboard the two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. A terrifyingly dark and chilling story that made it go cold down my back and simultaneously madee me dream myself back to the Arctic where I lived up until a few weeks ago.

I haven’t read anything by Dan Simmons before, though he’s been on my list for a while (but I think I might have had him confused with Dan Wells? I could have sworn Dan Simmons was the guy who wrote ‘I’m Not A Serial Killer’ and thought that was how I heard of him. Anyway-) His language and the way he writes is captivating and detailed, and the story is incredibly well researched. I spent two years in the Arctic and though I never spent any length of time on a ship stuck out in the ice – (though I was stuck on a ship in a storm once!) – much of this brought me straight back there. From he freezing cold that never seems to relent, to the pressing but somehow soothing darkness, and not at least all the noises that can be heard across the ice.

And the story is terrifyingly good. Simmons paints an excellent picture of the terror that creeps into ones soul once you realize you’re stuck. To begin with, the hardened sailors tough it out – after all, they’re onboard two of the most impressive feats of naval engineering of their time, stocked to the rim with supplies that should last them for years. But once the isolation sets in, and the loneliness of knowing you won’t see anyone but a little more than a hundred seamen for years, you start to wonder what will be the end of you. The cold? A white bear, stalking you while you hunt for food? Disease? Maybe the eventual lack of food? The mate in the cot beside you, driven mad by the darkness? Or that monster out there on the ice.

Because this isn’t entirely historical in nature. There is also an element of horror here, and it’s likely what’s going to divide readers. There’s something else out there, with the seamen. Something the native Inuits have a name for that the English don’t. A creature, perhaps. A white shadow. A monster.

I enjoyed the book, a lot. As with many things I read, I found it to be a bit on the long side. There were passages designed to develop our key characters, chapters that provided backstory and details that though appeared relevant to understand how characters had come into the positions they were in, seemed to me to be entirely out of place. Suddenly we were on the other side of the world, reading a romance subplot that only served to take away from the cold and isolated world we were supposed to be stuck in, in my opinion. (A bit like this paragraph right here…)

It was also slightly confusing with the amount of names, titles, coordinates, dates, and place names that I was supposed to keep track of. Maybe it had been easier if I wasn’t listening to an audiobook, but by the end I wasn’t even trying to pay attention to where things were in relation to each other.

At last, I want to mention the title, because I think it’s a genius one. At first, I assumed it was referring to the name of the ship. I studied archaeology in England years ago and could write a small paper on the meaning and change in practice of naming ships. It can be divided into periods, where the names of naval vessels directly reflect the position or status of the crown. There were times when ships would be named after people, like Mary Rose, and then later you’d see names like HMS Victory and HMS Sovereign, reflecting a simple, but certain message. Then later on, you have the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with entirely darker names. It’s actually a quite fascinating subject to study.

The simple definition of ‘Terror’ is, “extreme fear,” but ‘Erebus’ I actually had to look up. It comes from the Ancient Greek Érebos and means, “deep darkness,” or “shadow.” Both were originally bomb vessels, later converted for polar voyages, and I think the names of both speak volumes about the society that built them. To think they would both end up getting stuck in the dark ice is… poetic.

But back to the title, because it’s also poetic. It could be the name of the one ship. It could reflect the actual terror of the men when they realized they were stuck and the horror the lived through trying to get out of there. It could refer to the cold and dark environment they found themselves in. The hopelessness. The fear they must have felt. Or the dark creature they were there with. I like it – and it made me think.

If you like historical fantasy with a twist of horror – or if you have a particular affinity for the Arctic, like myself, or would just like to know more about what life near the poles is like, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s horrifyingly detailed and really very good. And of course there’s the excellent TV show that you can watch when you’re done!

I look forward to cracking on with another book – these days it seems most likely that I’ll only be able to listen to an audiobook when I drive around for work, but I’ll take whatever I can get. And then I’ll look forward to the summer when I can sit out on my balcony with a paperback in my hands. What about you, what have you been reading lately? Anything you’d recommend?

Book Review: River of Shadows by Robert Redick

We’ve got to talk about Robert Redick’s incredible fantasy world!

I don’t know how long it’s been but I finally managed to finish another book. I was done reading it a few weeks ago (I think) but then life happened and I just fell completely out of my habits. After two years of living in the Arctic I finally moved home to mainland Norway, and though I feel like life hasn’t changed much while I’ve been gone, suddenly I don’t have time for any of the stuff I used to. It takes a while to get acclimatized to a new (well, technically old) place, and the little spare time I’ve had I’ve spent doing a little bit of writing and editing.

So while I should have been sitting on the balcony reading all the books I have lined up, I’m not quite there yet, and so the reviews have had to wait. But now I’m finally done with River of Shadows!

And what an incredible fantasy novel this is. This is the third book – and you can find links to my reviews of book 1 and book 2 here.

The thing that keeps surprising me with Redick’s story and what keeps me absolutely enthralled is his incredible world building. The main plot of the story is that we follow Pazel Pathkendle, a tarboy aboard the Chathrand, one of the largest ships in Redick’s world as it travels across vast seas on a conspiratory quest. It’s incredible, so extremely well designed and researched and there are conspiracies and secret plots interwoven within each other on every other page.

Honestly, I thought I had figured out where this was going after book 1 and 2, but this third book threw me completely. I’m amazed, again and again. And it’s so unique as well. Often when you read fantasy you can find clear inspirations from big names like Tolkien or Lewis, or perhaps more recently, George R. R. Martin, and even though the stories are fresh and exciting, the worlds become familiar.

This, however, is like nothing I’ve ever come across – which of course could just mean that I’m not as well-read as I think – but the world and concepts Redick has created here keeps me wanting to turn the pages again and again. And the plot of course, with its secrets and ever-revolving conspiracies is brilliant as well. Characters I thought I had figured out turn out to be something else entirely, and little nuggets of seemingly random information from way back in book 1 are suddenly world-changing two books later. I love it.

The one big set back with these books – which I’ve whined about once or twice already in my earlier reviews – is that I find them incredibly difficult to read. The writing is often convoluted and complex, in a way that feels very over the top sometimes (at least to me).

It’s not as bad now, after having gone through two books already as it was to begin with, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people stop during book 1, before they’ve had time to be enthralled by the world and the mysterious plot.

It’s difficult to put a finger on, but sometimes it feels like the word choice, the way characters talk to each other, and random tangents jammed in the middle of segments you feel are very important, are all designed to keep you confused. To hinder you grasping the full meaning of the words on the page. And maybe they are, in a way. I’ve mentioned the many conspiracies and secrets people keep in this book, and to keep the reader unaware, we obviously can’t be served all the hidden meanings right away.

It’s rare that I find reading difficult, or like a chore – but when I do, it’s one of the few things that can make me want to put away a book.

I remember a specific example from this third book where two parties are talking to each other, and then suddenly a third party stands up and shouts something random, at which party 1 threatens to kill them before going back to conversing with party 2. I read that passage back and forth a few times, trying to figure out: (1) why the third party suddenly shouted something that seemed random, and (2) why party 1 wanted to kill them. Eventually I just gave up and read on, none the wiser.

So yeah, these books can be very confusing – I wish I knew someone that had read them, so I could discuss them and see if other people experienced them the same way (though online reviews certainly seem to suggest so). But I also wish I could discuss the amazing world building and intricate plot with someone – because it’s absolutely brilliant!

If you can get past the complex writing, you’ll find something incredible here. One of the most unique fantasy worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure of diving into. Book 4 is the last in the series, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

How To Write About The Arctic – What It’s Like To Live In a Dark, Cold, and Terrifying Place

After having lived above the polar circle for two years now, I figured I could use my powers for good – and write a little something about what it’s like to live in an Arctic environment.

First, some background information: Two years ago I took an opportunity that landed me at 78 degrees north – in Svalbard, one of the most northernmost places in the world, in Arctic Norway. What was supposed to be one year became two, and – well, it’s pretty amazing to live up here and I’ve loved every single moment of it. Now it’s time to go back though, and though it is with a heavy heart I turn my nose back toward mainland Norway, I’m looking forward to being reunited with my wife and getting back to the life I had before.

Of course – as soon as I moved up here I knew I would use this a lot in my writing. The beautiful scenery, the wild and majestic (but also terrifying) environment. It was bound to end up in my writing sooner or later, and I already have plans for several projects that will take place in the desolate, terrifying north. (A few smaller pieces are already written).

But it didn’t strike me until recently that others might benefit from my knowledge of what it’s like to live and exist up here, so I figured I could share some of what’s like to experience biting cold, the total darkness of the polar night, the blinding midnight sun, and not at least, the threat of polar bears.

So whether or not your used to winters filled with snow and ice, or if you’ve never ever seen snow in all your life before, here’s a little about what it’s like to live in the Arctic:

This is what it looks like much of the time – jagged mountains covered with snow.

Let’s start with some basics: seasons. Seasons aren’t the same up here, and we usually only speak of two. Winter and summer. Snow and mud. Dry and wet. And they are vastly different.

The winter is cold, dark and dry. A desert of snow – because after the initial snowfall (just when the temperature drops below zero), there’s not that much precipitation – and there are no trees. Everything as far as you can see is white, frozen, and dark. The summer is wet, not because it rains, but because the snow that has accumulated and all glaciers that have been growing large throughout the winter starts melting. Suddenly, every valley, hillside, and slope is full of rivers and streams.

Because of this, the landscape changes drastically from one season to the other. In the winter, traveling along the shores become easier – by land. You can cross frozen rivers or walk on drift ice and suddenly every harbor is easily accessible from land. Walking through the mountains on the other hand is difficult and potentially very dangerous because of the snow and avalanche danger. But then again, with a sled and a pack of dogs you can get far, fast.

In the summer it’s easier to travel inland – if you can find ways to wade through or walk around rivers. But it’s slow going compared to flying over the snow with a sled. And you can easily travel along the coast by boat, getting to places that might have been too far away and inaccessible in the winter – as long as you can find a safe harbor to land in which is often difficult due to steep cliffs.

It’s strange to live in a place that changes so much throughout the year and experience how it forces you to think about the landscape in different ways.

This was taken in the early summer, just when everything melts.

Here’s a weird thing that I’ve missed – there aren’t a lot of smells. Oh how I miss the smell of traffic, trees, flowers, and the country side (read: manure – I grew up on a farm).

There are no trees this far north, and hardly any vegetation at all. Because of that, and the very dry air, there are basically no smells. In the summer you can smell the ocean (barely), and the occasional wildlife (walruses smell absolutely horrendous), but in the winter, nothing.

It doesn’t really affect your way of life up here in any major way, but it makes you realize when you suddenly smell a fire or a meal and remember how you’ve missed it.

Not a single tree in sight.

It’s cold. Of course it’s cold in the Arctic, but maybe not as cold as you’d think. Since it’s surrounded by the ocean and currents bring warm air up here, it can actually be much colder much farther south, if you’re inland between some proper mountains. I think the coldest I ever experienced was -40 (that’s the same in Celcius and Fahrenheit, by the way) and that was even including wind chills.

But that’s the thing, it’s the wind that makes it cold. It’s the wind that numbs you to the bone. Whether it’s -10 or -30 hardly matters if there’s no wind. You wrap up so tight and warm anyway, that you hardly notice. A couple of layers of wool, a good scarf and a big hat, and maybe a set of thin + thick gloves and you’re fine. But once you get a good wind blowing, tearing through your layers and into every crevice in your jacket and hood and gloves, that’s when you start feeling it. I’ve been frozen blue at much warmer temperatures than I’d normally struggle with, just because of the wind.

Frost smoke over the fjord in the early hours.

It’s dark. Around one fourth of the year is pitch black – polar night.

I was very excited to see how I would handle it, but I wasn’t worried, because I enjoy the darkness. A lot of people hear about it though and wonder, “How the hell you cope? How you keep from getting depressed and how you survive in general?”

The thing is, darkness isn’t very dark when there’s nothing to compare it to. Without the promise of light every 12 hours, you kind of just… forget. Actually, I found it incredibly calming and soothing. Constant darkness enveloping you all the time makes you feel safe in a way. I find the constant rotation of night and day (you know, the normal 12-hour kind) to be much more stressful.

Also, with the moon, the snow, and the northern lights, it’s not actually as dark as you think.

This was the most extraordinary northern lights I’ve ever seen.

It’s bright. The midnight sun on the other hand, is super annoying. That’s the fourth of the year at the height of summer, when the sun just revolves in a constant circle around the sky. It NEVER goes away.

I actually moved to the Arctic right after this period had started, and it was exciting for about two days. After that it was just annoying and exhausting. Because no matter how much you try to block it out and stick to your routines, and remind yourself to go to bed, you kind of never get tired. Your body doesn’t understand what’s happening, and to me it felt like I was firing on all pistons all the time. Of course you get exhausted and tired eventually, but I never felt like I managed to adapt.

It does allow you to work around the clock though, to travel day and night, and it can be fun to sit outside and lose track of time. Fun, but exhausting.

If I recall correctly, this would have been taken around 11 pm or so.

It’s dangerous. There’s a lot of things dangerous things up here, and yes, the most obvious thing is the polar bear. I’ve encountered a few, under safe circumstances, and they are absolutely huge and scary though they mostly stick with seal as their main protein source.

Nature and the environment is much more likely to kill you. If the vast distances, a fall or a tumble down a rocky hillside—broken bones included—or the ocean, a lake, or a river doesn’t kill you during the summer, then an avalanche, the cold, or the snow will probably do it in the winter. Because damn, the weather can turn on a dime up here, and if you get caught in a whiteout your chances get real slim real fast.

These days we have navigation systems and devices that can help us if we get lost, but if you don’t, you’re basically trapped. Doesn’t matter if you knew where you were heading, if you had a course, if you could see that nearby mountain top just two minutes ago. When the winds start kicking up the snow, you’ll be walking around blind in a matter of seconds. And then the freezing cold winds, a potential avalanche, an unseen crack in a glacier, or a sneaky bear suddenly become much more dangerous.

Winds suddenly whipped up as I walked through town.

Oh, and another fun one. It’s quite noisy. Sure, there are no smells but there are a lot of sounds. From the constant twittering of birds – with the midnight sun burning constantly they seem to never go to sleep – to the slushing of oceans and rivers, the crunch of gravel or snow, and the cracking and popping of ice and glaciers, everything here seems to be making some noise or other, all the time.

And if you’re not hearing one or all of these noises, it’s probably just because the winds are whipping you about the ears.

All in all, it’s probably the most wonderful place on Earth. Beautiful might be a stretch, because when it’s not covered in snow it’s just heaps of rock and dust everywhere, with basically no vegetation. But then you have the reindeer, the foxes, the whales, the walruses, and the immense amount of birds, and they just make this place magical. I met a guy who’d lived here for a few years, and we stood at this ridge look out over a range of mountains at the height of summer. “No, it’s not beautiful,” he said. “But it’s majestic.”

A lonely reindeer, walking across the tundra.

So if you’re planning a historical fiction set at the height of the Arctic exploration, or if you’re writing a grim fantasy novel set in a cold and desolate northern continent, here’s a brief summary: It’s varied. Bright and dark, wet and dry, cold and… slightly less cold. It’s vast. Distances are huge, and often difficult to traverse. If the snow, ice, and glaciers don’t get in your way, then rocks, rivers, and mountains will.

And it’s dangerous. If the wildlife doesn’t kill you, then the environment will. If even that fails, then disease (scurvy was a widespread problem up here for a while) or starvation might do the trick. If nothing else – people are always the nastiest monsters, especially when there’s new lands and riches to claim.

But it’s a great place – one I am struggling to leave behind, but one which leaves me with loads of amazing memories. If you ever have the chance to experience the north, I highly recommend it.

Book Release: Shock Therapy by Nisar Masoom

I like to do what I can to promote new books and new authors, especially indie authors, so today I’d like to take the opportunity to mention Nisar Masoom’s latest short story collection, Shock Therapy, which was released last week.

The collection contains 5 pieces of what has been described as fast-paced horror inspired James Patterson, and the best part is that the book is free for the next couple of days! I haven’t been able to sit down with it yet, but I’m definitely picking up a copy. I love horror stories, especially in short form, so I’m excited to add this to my ever-increasing to-be-read pile.

If you’re interested, you can pick up a FREE copy for yourself on Amazon!

Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The haunted house that defined a genre.

And one of the best horror stories I’ve read in a while. The premise is simple: Dr. Montague, interested in the paranormal, invites himself and a few guests to a supposedly haunted house, to stay for a while and investigate. With him is Luke, the heir to the family and owner of the building, and Theodora and Eleanor. All with their own reasons to get away from everything for a while, they take the good doctor up on his offer.

This is the first and only thing I’ve read of Shirley Jackson, and in fact (even though I’m supposedly a fan of horror) I hadn’t heard the name until I saw the Haunting of Hill House on Netflix a few years ago. The show is of course based on this book and if you’ve seen it, you’ll be very familiar with the plot (though some of the names and characters are different and they have different relationships). The book is told from Eleanor’s perspective, a timid and careful young girl who seems utterly out of place in the midst of a gang of ghost hunters. She’s not as confident as Theodora, nor as brave as Luke.

Much of our experiences of Hill House are through Eleanor’s perceptions and thought, and this is one of the things that makes this book so frightening. Because yes, it is frightening. As horror goes, its some of the best I’ve read in a while. Some reviews I’ve seen say that this is the book’s downfall – that too much of the plot are Eleanor’s thoughts, which takes away from the terror of the house itself, but that wasn’t my experience.

It is Eleanor’s discomfort within the house and her deteriorating mental state that makes Hill House so horrifying. She begins questioning what is happening inside the house, apparently seeing and hearing things the others are not, and she drags us along for all of it.

Of course the house in and of itself is scary. Doors open and close at their own volition, the temperature drops significantly at night, and noises without a source can be heard through the hallways. Having grown up in a hundred-year-old creaky farmhouse myself, I definitely had chills running down my back more than once.

And other than showing some sign of the time it was written in (late ’50s) – with words like “oftener” which caused a stir when I tweeted about it – I really like Shirley’s writing. It’s concise and to the point, but descriptive and eerily horrible when it needs to be. Just perfect, in my eyes.

The only thing I didn’t like, was the ending – and no – I won’t tell you why.

Often cited as one of the top names in horror – even mentioned by Stephen King as one of his biggest inspirations I think – Shirley Jackson is absolutely someone you should read if you’re a fan of the genre, and the Haunting of Hill House is (probably) a great place to start (he said without having read anything else by the author).

Did you read any good horror stories lately? What’s your favorite?