Andrew Leon Hudson's Blog
December 31, 2020
Twenty-Twenty Hindsight, mostly
It’s only as I crawl feebly towards the final hours of this stinker of a year that I realise I distanced myself from this blog every bit as effectively as I did so many other parts of my life.
In fact, I got up to a few things in 2020, in spite of (first) Spain’s fairly strict lockdown measures in the middle of March and (second and ever since) my own voluntary, near-total continuing efforts to self-isolate. With only the company of my better half for direct contact in the last ten months, we’ve still been fortunate that neither of our families have been critically impacted by Covid-19, and if the price to pay for that is only seeing friends and loved ones via screens, we’ll accept small blessings.
But my purpose here isn’t to lament 2020, really. Instead, I’d like to share the handful of positives that (in my creative persona) I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing over the last twelve months.
Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long… 
January 1, 2020
Second Chances, Seconds, Chance
In many ways, 2019 was a terrible year — the state of the climate and the state of the politics to name but two — but, I happily confess, on a personal level last year was a pretty good one for me. Let me count the ways:
I moved to a new city, Barcelona, which I like very much. I miss my friends in Madrid a lot but, since Spain plans to make its high-speed rail system considerably cheaper in 2020, I may well impose myself upon them more frequently in future.
I got a new day job. Not only that, but a real job, after faking it as a teacher of Business English and earning a pittence for most of the last decade. I now work as a technical writer, and while I’m hardly raking in the cash, by comparison it feels that way.
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That’s right, real-life changes of circumstance! But I mostly talk about my writing life here, and I had a few moments of note in that context too:
I co-published a novel. The year previously I wrote a serialised fiction project with my collaborators, Charlotte Ashley and Kurt Hunt, resulting in about 150,000 words of historical fantasy on the high seas of the 17th Century. Now available in book form!
My writing appeared in the latest SFFWorld anthology. Co-edited with N.E. White, DYING EARTHS was released a week or so ago and it closes with my story Convertir, in which a young member of a cult confronts what might be the end of the world…
I also sold a short story to TRIANGULATION: DARK SKIES. This was a bit special, partly as it was the first time I was selected for an anthology I had no part in publishing, but also because I think the story, Blow the Stars Away, is one of the best I’ve written.
Not bad, I think you’ll agree! But there’s something I’ve left off that list, something which, although it technically happened in 2019, has only today come to pass.
[image error]I’m very happy to let you know that my reality-hopping short story SECOND CHANCES, SECONDS, CHANCE has just been published in a new speculative fiction magazine named Cossmass Infinities!
Obviously I’m pleased about that generally, but this story also represents my first “professional” fiction sale. For those not in the know, there are various magazines and other markets out there for short scifi, fantasy and horror fiction which are catagorised as “pro”, “semi-pro”, or otherwise according to the rates they pay to contributors. One milestone passed: next stop, the bestseller lists!
To celebrate, magazine editor Paul Campbell has given me permission to run a little competition, winners receiving a copy of Issue One in either EPUB or MOBI format. To take part, all you have to do is send me a sentence of 25 words or less that includes “infinity” or “infinities” (because “Cossmass” would be a bit tricky…). The more interesting the better!
You can post your entry as a reply here, or to Facebook or Twitter, and I’ll pick my five favourites before the end of the week.
It’s a nice feeling to kick off a new year with a new achievement. I happen to know that I’ll be returning with news of a second such thing before too much more time has passed, but I’ll try not to get ahead of myself just yet…
Instead, let me wish you the very best of all things for 2020, and whatever ills befall us, be it individually or as a species, don’t let them drag you down!
August 30, 2019
The Archipelago Has Launched! (Part Two)
Two weeks down the line, and it’s time for the second half of that announcement. And what a two weeks: the ebook edition of ARCHIPELAGO, the historical naval fantasy which I co-wrote with Charlotte Ashley and Kurt Hunt over a year ago, has been quietly selling some copies of itself while I’ve been wrestling with the forces of evil to get a print-on-demand version finalized for publication. And now I have!
At the dawn of the Age of Discovery, three portals break open to a mysterious alien world. Three nations take the first bold voyages through the portals, changing the course of history as we know it. On the other side, thousands of island chains hide ancient ruins, sophisticated artifacts and complex messages from a long-dead civilization, now reclaimed by the land, the sea, and the huge creatures that have come to dominate the ocean planet. This is a world that rewards the brave, the reckless, and the ambitious. Those who cross through the portals and stake their claims on this new world can reach out and claim wealth, fame, and power — if they don’t get killed…
Paperback:
USA | UK | Spain | France | Germany | Italy | Japan
Ebook:
USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Mexico | Brazil | Japan
Spain | France | Germany | Italy | Netherlands | India
The ebook is priced at more or less your regional equivalent of five American dollars, and the paperback is going for $16.50 — but to make up for that (and help you overcome the torturous wait for delivery) anyone who buys the print edition can immediately pick up a digital copy for free! Unlike our pluky adventurers, you only get the best of both worlds…
We hope you give it a try, and if you do it would be simply wonderful of you to leave us a review where you bought it — and maybe on Goodreads as well. Word of mouth makes all the difference, and in any case we’d love to know what people think.
[image error]Now, a brief salute to those who helped us out. A book is nothing without it’s wrapping, and the Archipelago logo (or Archipelogo as it should inevitably be referred to) was designed for us by writer and artist Holly Caelum Heisey, whose beautiful work you can sample here. Our cover illustration is by fantastic/fantasy artist Jorge Jacinto, whose portfolio is well worth a browse – and here’s the complete image that you’re only getting a taste of from our front cover above:
Our thanks to you if you’ve made it this far, double-thanks if you actually pick up a copy of the book! And will there be more from the Archipelago in future, do I hear you ask? Help us to top of the best-seller charts and the chances will only get better…
August 17, 2019
The Archipelago Has Launched! (Part One)
Look at that! Two posts in less than thirty days! See how nice I treat you now? Real special!
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Speaking of all the nice things I do for you, here’s some lovely news: a year after me and my writerly collaborators Charlotte Ashley and Kurt Hunt wrapped up the first season of our alternate history naval fantasy serial, ARCHIPELAGO, we are releasing the epic novel-length version of the same.
Archipelago–the-serial ended up at almost 150,000 words, so it was always going to become a book. But serial magazines and novels are different beasts, so we’ve polished and restructed the original material and added new content from the Kickstarter rewards. The result is a longer, smoother, more richly-flavoured blend that… mmm. Anyone else fancy a coffee all of a sudden?
You can check out our fancy new site at the link above, or skip the middle man and go directly to the ebook from any of the following links, where for a short time it is only 2.99 in your local currency:
USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Mexico | Brazil | Japan
Spain | France | Germany | Italy | Netherlands | India
And expect another post imminently — the glorious paperback version is coming out soon…
July 25, 2019
Blow the Stars Away
Hello blog, long time no see!
Sorry that this is my first post of 2019, but life has been pretty full in recent times. Early last year, I vigorously downsized my life, dividing it between two-and-a-half suitcases and a one-and-a-half square-metre storage locker in south-central Madrid. I had to give up so many books… I’m still coming to terms with the loss…
About six months after that, I washed up in Girona, seeking a new direction in life (and occasionally finding the filming locations of Game of Thrones instead), and then this March I relocated to Barcelona after landing a new day-job just outside the city. Now I get my writing done on the train twice a day, and it is making me productive.
It turns out that I’ll have quite a bit of news to share in the coming months, so it’s time for me to get back into the blogging mode. And, fortunately, I have a reason to do so right now: last month I was delighted to have a short story accepted for inclusion in Parsec Ink’s latest TRIANGULATION anthology, and I’m even more delighted to say that it’s out now:
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Ebook — Paperback
DARK SKIES is a collection of stories celebrating the beauty of the night sky, and you’ll find me and mine somewhere in the middle – Blow the Stars Away is a science fiction drama about loss, regret, rebuilding, and hope. If you get the book, let me know what you think!
December 22, 2018
How to pre-order a Perfect Christmas
A few months ago, the WELCOME TO PACIFIC CITY Kickstarter campaign raced to success, and I’m now very happy to announce that it is soon to be published.
The release date is Christmas day, but the ebook is available for pre-order right now. Also, for the first time, an SFFWorld.com anthology will be available as a paperback too – so even if electronic books aren’t your thing we still have your holiday reading cover-to-covered!
We want to get W2PC in the hands of as many readers as fast as we can, so – in a bid to climb high on the Amazon rankings – we’re releasing both versions at the lowest prices possible to encourage early purchases:
the ebook will be out for $1, £1, €1 (or other roughly equivalent amounts)
the paperback will be out for $6.99, £5.99, €6.99, etc. (plus delivery costs)
However, those numbers will go up! After Boxing Day the ebook price will rise to $2.99, and after New Year’s Day they will hit their regular prices of $4.99 and $9.99 respectively – so now’s the time to get your Xmas bargains bought!
Select your preferred Amazon marketplace here:
Amz.COM | Amz.CA | Amz.MX | Amz.BR | Amz.AU | Amz.JP | Amz.IN
Amz.UK | Amz.ES | Amz.FR | Amz.DE | Amz.IT | Amz.NL
(the Amazon blurb is a giant mess right now - to be simplified as soon as possible!)
I’ll send one more message this year to announce when the paperback is available for purchase – and in the meantime, remember:
Pacific City welcomes visitors!
October 2, 2018
Welcome to Pacific City…
Wow — only my second post of the year, and the last one was about nine months ago!
One reason for my low blogging activity is that I’ve had a pretty chaotic 2018. Since the middle of March I’ve been homeless and flat-surfing, and since the middle of July I’ve been unemployed as well (conventional day-job employment, that is). However, in 2017 I again took on the role of editor for the latest SFFWorld.com anthology, and we’re finally nearing the date of publication.
Welcome to Pacific City is a collection of stories set in a spectacular city inhabited by heroes and villains of every imaginable sort — but, for regular consumers of fantastic fiction, the book won’t hit the digital shelves until the end of the year. If you want to get a copy ahead of time — or to appear in the collection as an actual Pacific Citizen — then now’s your chance!
We’re running a one-month campaign to boost our author fees to semi-pro or (hopefully) professional levels. In return, we’re offering a range of rewards as well as the ebook itself, including copies of the previous SFFWorld anthologies, editing services for budding authors, a selection of cameo roles in our fourteen stories, plus a few secret rewards yet to be revealed…
Our primary goal is just $500, and in the first 30 hours we’re already about two-thirds of the way there! So please check out our campaign page, back us if you love good indie fiction, and spread the word if you’re so inclined!
January 20, 2018
Post-work post
Almost exactly six years ago, I quit my day job to make a go of it as a professional writer. I hoped that my savings would keep me afloat long enough for me to get a toe-hold and start supporting myself through what I wanted to do. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t happen, and I wound up day jobbing again four years later (and four years poorer, too).
Looking back, this wasn’t a regretful experience by any means — but neither is it one I’d casually recommend, or even recommend at all. I had both plenty of free time and my most productive period ever, but output alone doesn’t lead to income, and the increasing sense of money being a issue wasn’t fun. I wrote a novel that was published by a small US press, but it didn’t sell much before the publishers closed their doors (due to financial miscalculations, as it happens), leaving my work in a rights limbo it didn’t really seem worthwhile rescuing it from. I still haven’t.
There was a sweet spot in there where I was working well and enjoying life, but the problems that inevitably arose from not being materially successful meant that, come the end, returning writing to the status of optimistic hobby and myself to regular employment was almost a relief, if a disappointing one. Two years later, I’m basically living hand-to-mouth, doing a job that just about pays enough (well, not really) while allowing me enough time to chase the writing dream.
ANYWAY. Today, I found myself reading Andy Beckett’s long-form article in The Guardian, Post-work: the radical idea of a world without jobs, and I was struck by a point made about how workers reported struggling to make rewarding use of their free time. In the late 70s, a famous experiment that I’d never heard of gave magical electronic devices called “pagers” to roughly eighty workers across various strata of employment, which over the space of a week frequently but randomly interrogated them about their activities and feelings at the time of contact:
The experiment found that people reported “many more positive feelings at work than in leisure”. At work, they were regularly in a state the psychologists called “flow” – “enjoying the moment” by using their knowledge and abilities to the full, while also “learning new skills and increasing self-esteem”. Away from work, “flow” rarely occurred. The employees mainly chose “to watch TV, try to sleep, [and] in general vegetate, even though they [did] not enjoy doing these things”. US workers, the psychologists concluded, had an “inability to organise [their] psychic energy in unstructured free time”.
They quizzed a fairly tiny sample size over a fairly microscopic period of time, so, pinch of salt. Yet my experience of working independence echoed this, to an extent. My first year was basically wasted, at least in terms of creative productivity. Away from the structure that a typical working lifestyle imposed, I wasn’t good at managing myself and my activities. However, I improved: my second year was six times better. Flow. So when I look at that quote, what I think is, “If you give those workers more opportunity to learn how to enjoy independent activities, maybe they will.”
It took me a long time to figure out how to be effective, but once I did, life was great. My output increased and, because I was spending so much time writing, my quality of output did too. The problem, of course, was that I couldn’t manage to create a self-sustaining situation out of what I was doing, and that took its toll. I certainly gained from the overall experience, but by the time I packed it in my productivity had dropped back to the level of that first rough year all over again.
For reasons such as this, the idea of a post-work society (or interim systems like a universal basic income) appeal to me quite strongly. Not because I dream of lying around doing nothing much –that’s often called a holiday, and most people agree that there comes a time when you’re ready for your holidays to end — but because there’s something I’ve become pretty good at doing and I’d like to be able to devote more time to it than I can. The fact this sounds almost criminally selfish even to me shows just how ingrained the “moral” norm of conventional work is, I guess.
One of that article’s well-informed quotees notes that journalists, academics, artists and the like are more easily drawn to the idea of a world without conventional work because their lifestyles would demand much less adaptation than everyone else’s would. Fair point, and there are other issues about UBI that make it sound like nothing but prohibitively expensive wishful thinking.
But there’s a weird imbalance in the assumptions we’re making as a society, especially when many of today’s employment options offer little to no rewards beyond the capacity to maintain a shelter for the things you need, sometimes not even that. Is there no responsibility on the part of employers to help satisfy the other needs of people who spend years of their lives contributing to their project? Is the only possible functioning society one where the majority of jobs have to feel like work, and our interests must be hobbies, if we find time to even conceive of them at all?
Or is that just culturally expensive limited thinking?
January 10, 2018
New year happens, interview follows.
Sorry I’ve not given you any love since September last, but I find I have so little to say these days. As proof of this, here’s a vanishingly short interview I gave to a gent called Igor, with whom I occasionally rub shoulders and short stories in the annual SFFWorld.com anthologies.
You remember, these:
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Anyway, that headline once more: I was just interviewed about such diverse subjects as spending time writing, evading death by starvation as a result of spending time writing, and tantric sex.
Check it out, eh?
September 15, 2017
Joey Freedom and Free Health For All
Recently, someone named Joe Walsh Freedom had a thing to say about basic human rights:
In a way, I agree. I think healthcare is something that people in a position of power or authority should consider it their default ethical duty to provide, rather than something which those who are not must demand, or have protected from loss. So too daily food, so too a roof. I don’t really understand why a social leader wouldn’t actively want to bestow such things on everyone they could, seems to me that people would love them for it. So, obviously, I don’t really agree with Joe Freedom, whoever he is (probably an American and maybe a comedian, judging by the name).
I genuinely don’t think a job is a right, though — but this is all down to something like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If people have the base essentials like health, food and shelter, which only the deliberately short-sighted would consider a bad thing, they have a platform from which to build better lives. When people aren’t forced to compromise to survive, find themselves making bad (or even terrible) decisions to survive, there will inevitably be positive knock-on effects for the society they inhabit. If there are negatives waiting in the wings, I’m not sure what they are.
This is why I think that Basic Income is the way forward: not because it’s freemoney for freeloaders, but because it ensures a survival baseline for all (indirectly including all the commercial providers of those essential resources — see? not a communist right here). Now I recognise that some people in such a system could be satisfied with “merely” surviving, but I don’t think it would be many. If our drive to survive stops being a necessity, we may discover that it was actually just Our Drive — and find it starts pushing us to pursue more valuable activities, things that might benefit more than just our individual lives.
For many people that will mean performing jobs, just like it does now, although suddenly they’d be able to pay for more than medicine, breakfast and rent with their paychecks. For others, well, who knows what they’d do to earn more than the minimum? I guess I should concede the possibility that some might persist in resorting to anti-social measures even in the face of a little unconditional generosity from the state, but I suspect that it won’t be a high percentage.
I think the counter-arguments of people like Joey Freedom boil down to the perspective that these are “Gateway Rights”, and once people have their foot in that door they’ll demand more and more. First it will be Free Netflix, then the right to recreational drugs, a new car every year, and gimme gimme gimme. Eventually we’ll all want to blight the planet or murder with impunity — you know, the kind of perks that only the rich and powerful currently get access to. [/satire]
I don’t think that’s how it would go down. I think Joey Freedom’s perspective is a bit depressing, it doesn’t credit humanity with very much, and isn’t even funny.
He’s not a very good comedian.
