Did anyone miss the August newsletter? No? Good, because there wasn’t one. Given how few people are signed up to receive it, I’ve taken the decision to make issues of Scriptorium News quarterly. If readership picks up, then I’ll increase the frequency with which it comes out. Until then, welcome to the Autumn issue.
To continue the reporting on sales figures for The Scriptorium Chronicle, the running total for the number of copies sold as of today remains one. Uno. Ein. In Roman numerals, I. In mathematical notation, 1. That’s right, one. I’ve given away many more copies as gifts and thank-yous, but those numbers don’t count. I’m a little disappointed, but that’s just the way it goes.
Liber Monstrorum, however, is still selling in dribs and drabs despite me doing nothing by way of publicising it. Ah, well. C’est la vie.
Works In Progress
All has been quiet on the writing front of late. Pass The Duchy and All Steamed Up have been entered into a Famous Literary Competition, and it will be sometime late September before I hear if they have made it onto either a long or short list. With this particular competion, you get feedback on each entry, so it’s going to be interesting to see what the judges have to say. For me, that’s been the motivation for entering — not so much for winning anything, but to get an honest critique of what needs to be improved.
I’ve been sharing extracts of The Flipside Of Somewhen on Bluesky as part of the #WIPSnips thread, which seem to be well received. I have to admit to being nervous about sharing this as I’m still in two minds about whether or not it has merit. This is the thing written over 35 years ago, submitted to the guy who turned out to be Terry Pratchett’s agent (although I didn’t know until many years later), who lost the copy I sent him and apologised for being far too busy to take it on anyway. In the letter he said how he was writing his reply well past midnight. The manuscript was then put away in a drawer and forgotten about until I dug it out again, blew the dust off it (literally and metaphorically) and gave it a read. Ouch! I could see where it needed work, and after much humming and ahhing, decided to give it a shot. When I got to the end, I realised that it wasn’t actually the end and needed lots more words to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. This done, I’ve sat on it to get some distance. I have a feeling it might need one last round of editing, but I’m in no great rush. As autumn turns to winter and I’m indoors more, that will be the time.
The Wildflower Meadow & The Kitchen Garden
At the end of summer, One Man Went To Mow the wildflower meadow (formerly the front lawn) and draw #NoMowMay/June/July/August to a conclusion. By then, the flowers were over, the grass brown and parched, and the whole lot looking sorry for itself. The grass will need one last cut before the end of the year, and then I start to plan for next year. My thoughts are that because the soil is so fertile and the grass to vigorous, I’ll turn it into a huge cottage garden border with pollinator-friendly planting.
The kitchen garden has been a challenge with heat and drought of summer. The cucumbers were very late, but have been cropping and luckily haven’t been bitter. The tomatoes have done okay, but suffered a little from splitting and some blossom end rot, which hasn’t happened before. The yield is down on last year. Many crops, such as lettuce and radish, bolted and have been a disappointment, but now that the weather is more like the seasonal average, I’m hoping to get one last lot grown before the first frosts. Frost, eh? Remember that?
What I’ve Been Reading And Watching
With all the warm weather we had, not much watching got done as evenings were spent on the veranda and not in front of the telly. Now that the nights are drawing in, that has changed. The Detectorists has been re-watched and I’m starting out on Fallout again. I need something new that I can get my teeth into, but so much seems bleak and doesn’t really appeal. Suggestions are welcome.
As far as reading goes, I picked up a copy of Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark. I thought I already had this, but it turned out that what I’d got was The Dragons Of Eden.
It’s about scientific skepticism, critical thinking, and the value of science in a world full of superstition and pseudoscience. Even though it was written over 30 years ago, the warnings it gives are still fresh. If anything, it is more pertinent today than ever. I highly recommend it.
And Finally…
Now that we’re entering the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, my thoughts are turning to what I’ll be writing or editing over the next few weeks. Right here, right now, I don’t know what that is. One thing that I am sure of is that it will be done for the joy of the thing, not for any reward or recognition. With my expectations set firmly at zero, the only way is up.
