Huck Walker's Blog, page 5
May 15, 2013
I know some things about myself. My emotions are often in...
I know some things about myself. My emotions are often influenced by the opinions of others on my creative work. A positive word can keep me buoyed for hours and a biting criticism can floor me for days. I know how ridiculous this is, and I have gone some way to learn to limit this effect. Still, I persist in being played by the whims of others.
Let me be clear. I don't allow these fluctuations in my mood to stop me from creating, even when a negative mood what I'm doing occasionally looks, or reads like crap.
I was thrilled to read a positive review yesterday. Another kind stranger who has given, what I think, a very accurate review of 'The Griefing'.
Here it is, straight outta Amazon:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait..., May 13, 2013 By sonyamc - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Griefing (The Holocene Extinction) (Kindle Edition) This book is a big read, be warned that it's a slow burner. The first half is quite slow and borders on the self indulgent (avid readers will know what I mean!) Still has enough to keep you interested though. Just when I was ready to give up it took off like a rocket and left me wanting more. The imagery still hangs in my head at night....lol
Persevere with this one, it really is worth the wait.
Can't wait for number two.
Ok. Here is a picture inspired by a snipped of a friend's music that keeps assaulting me at inappropriate times. (The offending sample is the title of the image.)
"I go to the gym, I like to work out. I like to work out..."
Let me be clear. I don't allow these fluctuations in my mood to stop me from creating, even when a negative mood what I'm doing occasionally looks, or reads like crap.
I was thrilled to read a positive review yesterday. Another kind stranger who has given, what I think, a very accurate review of 'The Griefing'.
Here it is, straight outta Amazon:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait..., May 13, 2013 By sonyamc - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Griefing (The Holocene Extinction) (Kindle Edition) This book is a big read, be warned that it's a slow burner. The first half is quite slow and borders on the self indulgent (avid readers will know what I mean!) Still has enough to keep you interested though. Just when I was ready to give up it took off like a rocket and left me wanting more. The imagery still hangs in my head at night....lol
Persevere with this one, it really is worth the wait.
Can't wait for number two.
Ok. Here is a picture inspired by a snipped of a friend's music that keeps assaulting me at inappropriate times. (The offending sample is the title of the image.)
"I go to the gym, I like to work out. I like to work out..."
May 14, 2013
IT HAPPENED! IT REALLY HAPPENED! A beautiful day. Unseaso...
IT HAPPENED! IT REALLY HAPPENED!
A beautiful day. Unseasonably warm.
We had walked down to the river to enjoy a Sunday picnic in the shade of the Liquid Amber. Mid Autumn winds shred the trees, showering us in wide brown leaves. The dog made friends and the carp were untroubled by the furious casting of my young daughter's little fishing rod.
We ate. We laughed. We learned.
A perfect day, one might have thought, as did I, until the unthinkable occurred.
It was after we had packed up our belongings. I was waddling up the footpath, leaving the park and heading for home. Beatrix was dragging the dog by its lead and, having just finished lunch, was interrogating me about her next meal. The ancient blue suitcase that serves as our picnic basket was becoming heavy. My arm swung a little too far as I turned to reply to Bea's inquisition and the corner of the case caught on my thigh.
But the sharp pain was instantly forgotten when I saw the purple patch of colour, sharp against the dull ash-felt. I pounced immediately, lest the Autumn breeze mix my prize with the scudding leaves.
For a moment I couldn't breathe. Had my foot found its mark? Was the vision of wonder now trapped beneath my rubbery sole?
My scrabbling hands lunged, the case abandoned and my dumbfounded daughter retreating before her father's unexpected maneuver. Then, delight. The crowning glory in day of endless bounty! Oh rapturous day!
I FOUND THE FIVE BUX!!!!
A beautiful day. Unseasonably warm.
We had walked down to the river to enjoy a Sunday picnic in the shade of the Liquid Amber. Mid Autumn winds shred the trees, showering us in wide brown leaves. The dog made friends and the carp were untroubled by the furious casting of my young daughter's little fishing rod.
We ate. We laughed. We learned.
A perfect day, one might have thought, as did I, until the unthinkable occurred.
It was after we had packed up our belongings. I was waddling up the footpath, leaving the park and heading for home. Beatrix was dragging the dog by its lead and, having just finished lunch, was interrogating me about her next meal. The ancient blue suitcase that serves as our picnic basket was becoming heavy. My arm swung a little too far as I turned to reply to Bea's inquisition and the corner of the case caught on my thigh.
But the sharp pain was instantly forgotten when I saw the purple patch of colour, sharp against the dull ash-felt. I pounced immediately, lest the Autumn breeze mix my prize with the scudding leaves.
For a moment I couldn't breathe. Had my foot found its mark? Was the vision of wonder now trapped beneath my rubbery sole?
My scrabbling hands lunged, the case abandoned and my dumbfounded daughter retreating before her father's unexpected maneuver. Then, delight. The crowning glory in day of endless bounty! Oh rapturous day!
I FOUND THE FIVE BUX!!!!
May 5, 2013
Alriiiiiiiiiiiighty!I'm still alive. It's true.Here is a ...
Alriiiiiiiiiiiighty!
I'm still alive. It's true.
Here is a dodgy scan of the article that appeared in the Australian Teacher Magazine.
(What a weirdo!)
I've been super busy with work, but I'm also working on several different fronts:
*application to present at the MANSW conference
*application to commence an RHD at Australian National University
*re-structuring my blog
The writing is on hold while I try to balance the above with the demands of werx and family. I am going to post samples from book two when I re-launch the blog. I'm happy with how it's progressing.
ok... moron that laterz. For those who have been waiting, here is a picture:
"FOR SCIENCE"
[A6 sketch, scanned, stuffed about, Laboratory added for context]
I'm still alive. It's true.
Here is a dodgy scan of the article that appeared in the Australian Teacher Magazine.
(What a weirdo!)I've been super busy with work, but I'm also working on several different fronts:
*application to present at the MANSW conference
*application to commence an RHD at Australian National University
*re-structuring my blog
The writing is on hold while I try to balance the above with the demands of werx and family. I am going to post samples from book two when I re-launch the blog. I'm happy with how it's progressing.
ok... moron that laterz. For those who have been waiting, here is a picture:
"FOR SCIENCE"[A6 sketch, scanned, stuffed about, Laboratory added for context]
April 25, 2013
HOME!Ok. I've been reading about how to upgrade the dodgy...
HOME!
Ok. I've been reading about how to upgrade the dodgy nature of my Blog. Apparently I've been going about it in a very haphazard manner. I'm not sure when I'll be getting around to it because there is so much happening at work in the next term. Gotta get me brain back into gear...
Here is a bear. (don't stare into it's eyes...)
TD
[A6 ballpoint sketch, scanned and run through a few filters for fun]
Ok. I've been reading about how to upgrade the dodgy nature of my Blog. Apparently I've been going about it in a very haphazard manner. I'm not sure when I'll be getting around to it because there is so much happening at work in the next term. Gotta get me brain back into gear...
Here is a bear. (don't stare into it's eyes...)
TD [A6 ballpoint sketch, scanned and run through a few filters for fun]
April 17, 2013
Here's my two cents;I'm staying in Sydland at my lovely m...
Here's my two cents;
I'm staying in Sydland at my lovely mother in law's house while my elder daughter studies her three dee digital media stuffage. The blow to my psyche is that there is no interwebs at her house (she doesn't have a computer) so I've had to raid the computer of a near stranger just to get onto the interwebs. I will be able to do more soon, but for now, I'm just letting the faithful know that I'm still alive and that the writing is progressing.
: o
I'm staying in Sydland at my lovely mother in law's house while my elder daughter studies her three dee digital media stuffage. The blow to my psyche is that there is no interwebs at her house (she doesn't have a computer) so I've had to raid the computer of a near stranger just to get onto the interwebs. I will be able to do more soon, but for now, I'm just letting the faithful know that I'm still alive and that the writing is progressing.
: o
April 7, 2013
Crazy week!Had the signing for The Griefing last Saturday...
Crazy week!
Had the signing for The Griefing last Saturday at the Dymocks bookshop in Belconnen. It went ok. There were no hordes of stampeding fans, but a gang turned up and an amount of signing occurred. I also pressed the book on a few people who didn't have a clue who I was. I did a bit of profiling; watched to see who was hanging around the sci-fi or horror sections and just harassed them. I struck about 50% success rate. I'm hoping that some of them get more than mild enjoyment from the novel.
As at the start of this month, my exclusive relationship with KDP (kindle) has expired. So I spent most of yesterday reading the Smashwords style guide and formatting my manuscript. Today I ironed out the bugs and re-uploaded it. The upload passed the 'autovetter' and is awaiting confirmation for acceptance into their 'premium' catalogue (which includes xony, aqqle, chobo etc). All things being equal, it should be a matter of a few days then peoples will be able to download the book onto their iphones, kobo, ipads, ebooks, zboards, mslates and phlgms.... mmmyeah... all that stuff.
In celebration, here is a picture.
"Gah!"
[Sketch, then scanned and coloured and given a lovely backdrop]
Had the signing for The Griefing last Saturday at the Dymocks bookshop in Belconnen. It went ok. There were no hordes of stampeding fans, but a gang turned up and an amount of signing occurred. I also pressed the book on a few people who didn't have a clue who I was. I did a bit of profiling; watched to see who was hanging around the sci-fi or horror sections and just harassed them. I struck about 50% success rate. I'm hoping that some of them get more than mild enjoyment from the novel.
As at the start of this month, my exclusive relationship with KDP (kindle) has expired. So I spent most of yesterday reading the Smashwords style guide and formatting my manuscript. Today I ironed out the bugs and re-uploaded it. The upload passed the 'autovetter' and is awaiting confirmation for acceptance into their 'premium' catalogue (which includes xony, aqqle, chobo etc). All things being equal, it should be a matter of a few days then peoples will be able to download the book onto their iphones, kobo, ipads, ebooks, zboards, mslates and phlgms.... mmmyeah... all that stuff.
In celebration, here is a picture.
"Gah!"[Sketch, then scanned and coloured and given a lovely backdrop]
March 28, 2013
Today I went to a radio station [Artsound] in Canberra an...
Today I went to a radio station [Artsound] in Canberra and was interviewed about The Griefing. I don't know how it went because I tend to second guess my performance after the fact. "Was I spouting crap?" I ask myself, "Was I a pompous, self involved arse or did I give the listener something worth paying attention to?" Perhaps I should write 'listeners', or is that a bit hopeful. Anyhoo, I'll post a copy or a couple of grabs from the interview when it gets sent to me.
I'm a little nervous about this weekend. I rang Dymocks this week and the person I spoke to sounded excited. I'll take that at face value. The banner is up and a bunch of posters too. I don't expect to be doing much sitting and signing, in fact I will probably spend most of my time wandering around the isles and loudly quoting from the book. I'll get any friends, colleagues and acquaintances who are attending to ask each other 'How many times have you read it now?' and randomly feign excited conversations about me and the novel.
:/[hey! whaddarya?]
[A quick sketch from today that isn't quite finished. I don't know if I'll bother with it, cause the pen started pissing me off part-way through: note the waist garment has many an unnecessary fold? Yeah, the pen just wasn't cooperating. I might go back to it, but I doubt it.]
March 23, 2013
Crazy busy at the moment.This week saw me giving two inte...
Crazy busy at the moment.
This week saw me giving two interviews. One to the local newspaper in Yass (where I live) and one in Boorowa/Cowra region (Where I work and such). The Yass article came out yesterday and apparently the Boorowa/Cowra one will come out this week. PHEW!
So, I've got another radio interview on Thursday (6pm on http://artsound.fm/). All systems go for this Saturday's book launch/ signing.
Gotta keep moving... I've got writing to do!
This week saw me giving two interviews. One to the local newspaper in Yass (where I live) and one in Boorowa/Cowra region (Where I work and such). The Yass article came out yesterday and apparently the Boorowa/Cowra one will come out this week. PHEW!
So, I've got another radio interview on Thursday (6pm on http://artsound.fm/). All systems go for this Saturday's book launch/ signing.
Gotta keep moving... I've got writing to do!
March 19, 2013
On Saturday the banner was printed and delivered, with co...
On Saturday the banner was printed and delivered, with copies of the promotional poster, to Dymocks in Belconnen. Yesterday saw me giving an interview to a regional newspaper that covers the area where I work and many surrounding districts. Today I gave an interview to my local newspaper. Both newspapers received a copy of 'The Griefing' as part of a give away promotion.
I spent a couple of hours this evening creating a press release for the book launch and have just sent it off to the Canberra Times in the hope of an interview or editorial or somesuch. Fingers x'd there...
I should probably also target some radio stations, but I'm running out of stamina for today and have to fit in some exercise before I go to bed.
Anyhoo... here's a very old, odd picture from the depths of my diaries:
"Woodhead" - from the 'John Woodhead' series.
[Ballpoint Pen on A5 paper]
I spent a couple of hours this evening creating a press release for the book launch and have just sent it off to the Canberra Times in the hope of an interview or editorial or somesuch. Fingers x'd there...
I should probably also target some radio stations, but I'm running out of stamina for today and have to fit in some exercise before I go to bed.
Anyhoo... here's a very old, odd picture from the depths of my diaries:
"Woodhead" - from the 'John Woodhead' series.
[Ballpoint Pen on A5 paper]
March 14, 2013
I've been away on school camp with the year 12 students t...
I've been away on school camp with the year 12 students that I work with. My human body is fatigued and my humour is reduced. BUT! I will carry on! (probably with a bunch of crap.)
Anyhoo, the signing is a little over two weeks away now and the preparations are becoming more earnest. LOOK! here is a 1.8m banner that I've been working on for to place in front of the shop to confuse and irritate people;
Tuesday will see me heading in to the Yass Tribune (the local newspaper) for a chat/interview and to hand over a copy of the novel for a free giveaway. Funz!
I received confirmation of my ABN (Australian Business Number) today, so I can finally put some hard copies into book shops.
Here is another pic from the vault too:
[ball point on cartridge paper - A5]
Anyhoo, the signing is a little over two weeks away now and the preparations are becoming more earnest. LOOK! here is a 1.8m banner that I've been working on for to place in front of the shop to confuse and irritate people;
Tuesday will see me heading in to the Yass Tribune (the local newspaper) for a chat/interview and to hand over a copy of the novel for a free giveaway. Funz!
I received confirmation of my ABN (Australian Business Number) today, so I can finally put some hard copies into book shops.
Here is another pic from the vault too:
[ball point on cartridge paper - A5]
