¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦
08:30 GMT, Wednesday 12th September... after a couple weeks of lovely sunshine, the sky is low and thick with grey cloud. I quite like it; atmospheric. I went to see "Run Fat Boy Run " last night with Jo. Funny, although nowhere near as good as the usual Simon Pegg & Nick Frost double-act "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz", very much a 'feel good' flick. Jo and I had arrived by seperate cars; leaving the cinema she started walking quickly ahead of me, I increased my pace and walked alongside and then pushed ahead, she quickened her pace and then both of us were running and laughing to our cars: it was a race.
She won. Of course she won. She drives a modern car. I'm driving swampy.
So I'm enjoying my last few days of absolute freedom. I'm starting work next Monday. Not the kind of job I'd normally go after but somebody I know needs a body to fill a space and I need to start pulling in money, and I believe in the school of thought that says it's easier to find work when you're in work. Mind, it's going to be long hours for not-so-great pay.
The past three months I've been living on my credit card, a tax-rebate and royalties from God Seed. Can't believe it's been that long since I finished writing Yellow Dawn. Mind you, I had 6 weeks chillout in Newcastle, then a week in the South of France, another week in Newcastle and a week occupied by friends from far flung places around my birthday. I can see how time has flown by.
I really appreciate the fact I've been able to spend the past 22 months working on my creative projects. It feels like a lifetime, and it has been such a positive experience. Yes there have been dark times; uncertainty about the gamble I was taking with my life; my dad's prolonged illness and death; tough choices about heart and home. And sure, I've burned up all my savings, but I certainly made them last and got much from every penny, and it's been an interesting experience shifting from a lifestyle where for so many years money was never really a concern, where I was earning more than double what I needed to live on every month... to a lifestyle where I'm conscious of the value of everything I pay for. But my savings have produced three novels, a film script, an illustrated childrens story, and a game-system/fictional platform for writing new novels within...brought them into living paper and printing ink. They exist and people are buying them.
I've been getting regular updates from Floyd, my publicist in New York. He's really fighting my corner for me over there. What a hero. Everything is still within the quantum level of potentiality, but the opportunity exists to make great things happen.
New things are on the horizon. A seam of golden sunshine opening up ahead of me. When you strip away all the bullshit of modern-living, you can wake up in the morning, take your first conscious breath and smile into the new dawn. It's great to be alive and life is very much, what you make it.
Djr