Sue Bridgwater's Blog: News from Skorn

A pretty kettle of fish!

Or possibly a basket of rotten Apples:

Not a good year for me so far. First there was flu, then there was covid, and now there is a mess-up with AppleBooks! Now, Alexander Pope was right in saying that 'A little learning is a dangerous thing.' In terms of expertise in IT matters, I confess that I have little learning and can make huge mistakes that take ages to sort out - or for someone else to sort out. But you have to bear in mind that I learned to write on a slate with a chunk of chalk. Then on paper with a pencil. Then on paper with a dip-pen and inkpot..... you get the picture. And those who have great learning and expertise in IT can, sadly, not realise how little the person who is requesting help from a helpdesk may actually understand.

What happened? I downloaded from the Apple Bookstore one of those huge 'Complete works of....' for only £1.99. I have bought a lot of these with no trouble, but the latest one could not, would not open and prevented me opening anything else from my library. This led to a sequence of 80 messages between me and Apple. I tried hard to do everything they told me I should do, like updates and backing up, but at the close of an exhausting day I ended up having lost Apple Books completely from my iPad, and also on IPad swathes of Goodreads data had gone. No doubt this is a shared responsibility, I must have blundered on through actions I did not understand, but then I did not understand very much.
It's not the end of the world. I have now found that my missing Author Page on Goodreads is here on my PC, and I am creating this post in it now. So that's OK. I assume also that my 'Currently Reading' books will be availale here on the dinosaur too. But can anyone out there tell me how to restore these losses from my iPad, short of buying a new iPad and starting again, with the help of someone patent and much, much younger, in setting it up. Apple Books is still on my iPhone but that's not an ideal reading size for oldies. Thankfully I have already found that downloads to Kindle, especially ePub, seem to function much better than they used to. Nil Desperandum!

Covid

Just what you don't want - 5-6 weeks of flu, about 7-10 days off, then Covid. Still active after 2weeks and two positive tests,

Dammit.

Brain can't so sentences.

Post-viral progress

Finally beginning to feel I still have a brain. Forging forward with Chapter 4, and hoping the brain is keeping up with me.
That was a nasty virus, I suspect it might have been flu that simply ignored my vaccination, then went off chuckling evily as I sank into stupor.
It's nice that it's gone.

Ben Batten: Old Gold

This latest book of Ben's verse broadens and deepens themes familar to me from all his earlier ones: home, family, love and loss; the changes in the world since our long ago youth; belief and hope; and the joys and rewards of writing.

The book includes a goodly number of sonnets, beautifully shaped and written, which I particularly enjoyed. I note Sonnet 15:

'The tide is slowly going out. Not just
The sea's, mine too. It may take quite some time,
But I am sure it won't come in again.'

Like Ben, I grew up beside the Westcountry sea, and I love the last image in this poem:

'.................I stand upon the verge
looking out to where sky and ocean merge.'

Thanks Ben, for another excellent book.

Not been well - wish Spring would come

Have been stuck indoors with a lot of nasty respiratory trouble and it's messed up a lot of things, including work on Chapter 4 of Elissa.

This is annoying. There's a clump of fairly coherent notes that I put together near the beginning of the chapter before my head became bunged up and my voice went away for a week's holiday somewhere.

But I'm still struggling to turn it into writing.

If the sun would shine into my study window, that would be a great help!

State of Skorn today, 03/01/24

Look for my author page on Amazon to see that on Kindle:

Perian's Journey is only £2.80
Shadows of the Trees is only £2.80
The Dry Well is only £1.60!

and Dreamless Roads is free on Kindle unlimited!! (this includes 'Legends of Skorn)

No need to wait any longer to read them :)

Possibly too long

Just reached the end - well, an end that works for now - of chapter three of Elissa in the Forest Lands. Oh, and she's just turned into a deer, as you do.

Not sure whether people really prefer all the chapters to be much the same length or not? Any advice on that welcome.

Shall need some reflection time now as all the chapter drafts succeeding to Chapter 3 are much briefer and I don't want to start arcing off too far from Alistair's overall plan.

Pity the weather is far too bad for a little light gardening, I always find that helpful; but for now some light, and probably also heavy, reading will have to do.

Chapter 3!

Yes, it's growing, and war seems to be on the horizon - change coming and separations and voyages and magic. Ooh!

Ended in blood

Reached the end of Chapter 2 today, which feels good. Good but sad, another turning point but I suppose the shift from one chapter to another is bound to be that.

Onward to3!

STILL Chapter 2.

I had hoped to finish Chapter 2 today, but no such luck. Elissa's fall has caused more kerfuffle than I expected, with more to come before I can wind up the chapter.

And this week is full of appointments so it looks like an enforced break before I get back to it again.

Trees!