HNY2021
Happy New Year! So it's 2021, and the world is still lacking hover cars, bacofoil onesies, and domed cities. Pity that. But what it has got... Well, a very mixed bag.
Personally, we've been lucky with Covid, and I feel for those who've lost loved ones and struggled financially. The vaccines are providing some hope that we'll see a way to live with the virus, and while I'm no expert, its mutation into a more transmissible form is probably just par for the course. It feels a little selfish to say it when there's been so much misery around, but as someone who tends to the introvert end of the scale, I hope we don't return to Life As Normal when the pandemic is over. We've seen clearly the distress caused for millions of people by the isolation of lockdowns, and I sincerely wish them all well. Life under lockdown has clearly shown me how much my own mental health suffers from the everyday 'normal' need to mix with people, causing similar levels of underlying angst every single day, so I also hope that we'll see wider acceptance of the fact that we may all be equal, but we're not all the same. Other benefits have been improvements in air quality and birdsong changing to become quieter and more complex, so it's not been all bad. There is always a silver lining, and life is better if you look for it.
In the UK we face a particular challenge with the start of a new post-EU chapter in our history. As one of the 48% Remainers, I hope we won't be forgotten or silenced by the taunts of traitor or 'Remoaner': for more than 40 years I had to listen to the gripes of the Brexit brigade, and so now is payback time. I really hope that the promised prosperity won't come at the expense of employees' rights and environmental protection, but I am not banking on it.
One thing I am looking forward to is The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie. As usual I turned up late to this party, but in the last year I've read everything by Lord Grimdark and I've become a fan; I even bagged a seat at a live 'Zoominar' when The Trouble with Peace was released, and it was a pleasure to listen to the insights provided by author and reader (the incomparable Steven Pacey). On his blog, Joe Abercrombie says he has already started the next project, so that's something else to look forward to.
My own writing has not been so prolific, slowed down by homeschooling and the effects of lockdown, and ongoing struggles with my post-post-concussion syndrome. I'm mostly OK now, but migrainey symptoms have become a regular part of life and I have to be careful to avoid the kind of 11 day stretch I suffered in October. That's had an impact, but Thalassa Fire and Flood continues to grind towards completion (or is it grinding me to completion; not sure) and I feel like I'm learning lots from the process of finishing a trilogy. Beyond that, when writing won't work, I'm nibbling away at thinking through and planning other things. I'm never sure what will reach critical mass and take off and what won't, but there at least are plenty of options there.
Wherever you are, whoever you are with, I wish you all the best for 2021; you know who you are.
Personally, we've been lucky with Covid, and I feel for those who've lost loved ones and struggled financially. The vaccines are providing some hope that we'll see a way to live with the virus, and while I'm no expert, its mutation into a more transmissible form is probably just par for the course. It feels a little selfish to say it when there's been so much misery around, but as someone who tends to the introvert end of the scale, I hope we don't return to Life As Normal when the pandemic is over. We've seen clearly the distress caused for millions of people by the isolation of lockdowns, and I sincerely wish them all well. Life under lockdown has clearly shown me how much my own mental health suffers from the everyday 'normal' need to mix with people, causing similar levels of underlying angst every single day, so I also hope that we'll see wider acceptance of the fact that we may all be equal, but we're not all the same. Other benefits have been improvements in air quality and birdsong changing to become quieter and more complex, so it's not been all bad. There is always a silver lining, and life is better if you look for it.
In the UK we face a particular challenge with the start of a new post-EU chapter in our history. As one of the 48% Remainers, I hope we won't be forgotten or silenced by the taunts of traitor or 'Remoaner': for more than 40 years I had to listen to the gripes of the Brexit brigade, and so now is payback time. I really hope that the promised prosperity won't come at the expense of employees' rights and environmental protection, but I am not banking on it.
One thing I am looking forward to is The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie. As usual I turned up late to this party, but in the last year I've read everything by Lord Grimdark and I've become a fan; I even bagged a seat at a live 'Zoominar' when The Trouble with Peace was released, and it was a pleasure to listen to the insights provided by author and reader (the incomparable Steven Pacey). On his blog, Joe Abercrombie says he has already started the next project, so that's something else to look forward to.
My own writing has not been so prolific, slowed down by homeschooling and the effects of lockdown, and ongoing struggles with my post-post-concussion syndrome. I'm mostly OK now, but migrainey symptoms have become a regular part of life and I have to be careful to avoid the kind of 11 day stretch I suffered in October. That's had an impact, but Thalassa Fire and Flood continues to grind towards completion (or is it grinding me to completion; not sure) and I feel like I'm learning lots from the process of finishing a trilogy. Beyond that, when writing won't work, I'm nibbling away at thinking through and planning other things. I'm never sure what will reach critical mass and take off and what won't, but there at least are plenty of options there.
Wherever you are, whoever you are with, I wish you all the best for 2021; you know who you are.
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