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I've Broken my Book!

¦ dialling in from workstation ¦

 

13:41 GMT, Wednesday 7^th May 2008. *coughing, spluttering, nose oozing septic green slime* You’ve got to admire the predictable nature of man-flu. A well designed piece of viral engineering: for what purpose though, I have no idea. I flew back from Newcastle yesterday morning.  A good weekend despite mum’s condition, despite my man-flu.  Sitting at the desk in my old bedroom yesterday morning, watching the sun rise over the dense canopy of the forest behind the house, waiting for the taxi that was going to take me to the airport, I was acutely aware that I was entering a new and possibly final phase…with mum, with this house, and all the memories and feelings surrounding them.  I can’t believe I’m here again, so soon after everything that happened with Dad.

 

EDGE, the new novel, is in pieces.  I’ve discovered the plot as I mapped it out back in 2005 is not good enough.  It needs a total rebuild.  I’ve printed out the timeline and been reading through it over the past couple of days, trying to nail down the key points and the order in which they should occur. It’s not catastrophic, not even irritating, I’ll still be able to use everything I’ve written up to now, it’s just become more of a challenge. I think this is a result of me getting cocky, thinking the rip-roaring speed and success of Iron Man Project was a new paradigm for my ability as a writer. Not so. So onwards I slog. *rueful grin*

 

Djr

Carcinogen Continued...

¦ dialing in from Jesus Mound ¦

 

19:24 GMT, Sunday 4th May 2008. Sitting at the barely used dinning table, next to the bay window at the front of the house. Large open plan lounge spreads away to my right. Through two archways I can see Jo in the new extension, reclined in a rocking chair, and I can see mum chopping up vegetables in the kitchen. A sort of diffuse light is seeping in through the abundance of windows, tinged green by the dense canopy of the trees and foliage surrounding the house. I've not done any writing today. I'm on pause, on the first page of chapter 40... 65,000 words in. I've picked up my sister's lurgy. Nostrils and sinuses feel like they're leaking acid, nasty fluorescent green stuff keeps spitting out when I blow my nose; my head is pounding; I'm tired yet restless. Man flu.

 

Worse things to consider. Mum had results of further tests on Wednesday. Bad news. The doctor stopped the endoscopies into her lungs because he found another tumor on the way...in her gullet. The big question now is: is it a separate primary tumor (best result) or is it indicative that the first tumor has spread (worst result).

 

My sister and I have to sit down tomorrow and thrash out what we want from the house.  Weird times.

 

Djr

Progress: 61,000 words

¦ dialling in from the Sky Bunker ¦

03:35 GMT, Tuesday 29th April. Kneeling on my ergonomic stool, darkness pressing down against the glass of the canopy above my head, deep red glow from the lava lamp. Gary Numan - HAUNTED - is playing through the big speakers mounted either corner of my desk, via the laptop.

I'm back into the vein. After struggling with Edge last week - I took a much slower pace over the weekend - and now I feel like I'm back into a positive, broad stride. Currently ploughing into chapter 38, and starting to really chew on the thriller fibres of the main plot.  It's been difficult up to now because I want to create a sense of the existence of a large group of snowboarders - a group of 7 friends - that creates a social backdrop for one of the main characters...however, making these non-essential characters seem interesting, keeping them alive without drowning the reader in lots of character descriptions...that is a challenge.

Also this weekend: Matthias, my soul-brother tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend. An excellent ceremony. Not a single bloody hymn. Just lots of heartfelt and meaningful vows... although Jo and I were sitting at the back of the setting, next to a pool full of carp...and a surging torrent of minature waterfalls... so we sat watching Matthias and Tanya smiling, gazing at each other with true love and deep respect, their mouths openening and closing as they made personal vows, but I couldn't hear a word of it... I watched thier mouths opening and closing and listened to the gurgle of water from the pool beside me, then I glanced into the pool and saw two carp hovering just below the surface, facing each other at 45 degree angle... both their mouths were opening and closing... I glanced back at Matt and Tanya...and had a surreal almost comic moment.

I stayed up last night to watch a TV documentary by Chris Terril, about Chris being the oldest man to participate in the Royal Marines Green Beret challenge. It was nice to see the old bugger again - and striking how much he seems to have aged in the 8 years since I last saw him in London. I had to smile at the use of the hamster-cam to film part of the ordeal from his POV. I recall that scenario vividly. I was also pleased to see him complete the one week challenge. So well done, Chris.

Right, just sank the last of my first mug of tea of the day. Time to get down to chapter 38.

Djr

Absence of thought. Who said writing was easy.

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

 

08:23 GMT, Friday 25^th April. Barely awake. Finding it hard to get out of bed past few mornings. Not sure if it’s the weather…temperature and humidity rising…or the fact I’m starting to struggle with the book. I’m into chapter 36 (59,000 words in) and I feel like I’m wading through jelly. Last night I felt as though I had forgotten how to write and I climbed into the bath with a novel written by one of my favourite authors, intending to remind myself what it is I should be doing. I gave up after 5 minutes; his stuff was no different to mine and I realised I hadn’t forgotten or lost anything.  I’m just tired.

 

Somebody bought me a book on a whim yesterday, “What Mad Universe” by Fredric Brown. It’s got a godawful trashy cover and the strapline reads: “The SF classic of a man trapped in a hilarious alternate reality”. I’m looking forward to reading it, and I’m flattered somebody took time out to go get it.

 

Yesterday also witnessed a conversation between myself and a film-producer. He’s read my short script SALO IV and is keen to punt it out to his contacts; so we’ll see what (if anything) comes back. All positive stuff though eh?

 

Djr

Welcome to the White Room

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

01:05 GMT, Wednesday 23rd April. So here I am again. Back in the saddle at silly-o'clock. My brain snapped awake awhile ago and I lay in the darkness and silence of the bedroom thinking: christ, what time is it? My brain is churning ideas so I sat up, swung my legs over the side of the bed, pushed myself up onto my barefeet and padded out of the bedroom, downstairs, through the dinning room into the kitchen...brewed a mug of tea whilst balancing on tip-toes because the tiled floor is so fekking cold, then climbed all the way up here. LIfe support is on. Lava lamp is on. I'm set. I think I'm in for the long haul this morning. So I'll be doing the DaVinci thing every 30 minutes to keep fresh. 

Currently 56,000 words into Edge. I've hit that scary zone where you're so far into the book that you know you can't give up, and yet you've got sooooo fekking far left to go you just feel crushed by the idea of it. So I'm doing like my ex-army mate told me to do on my last tab in the Scottish highlands... "just keep your eyes on your feet and keep walking... trick your mind by counting to a 100...just another 100 and you'll stop for rest you tell yourself, but you reset to zero every time you get close to the final figure." 

I saw George Clooney's "Leatherheads" last night. A very sweet film. Didn't take itself too seriously. Well made. Very well acted. Worth the price of the ticket.

I saw "In Bruges" on Sunday night. An even better film. Almost 10/10 I'd say.

Then at lunchtime today, a random facebook moment with a cool new personality I've encountered, brought back an ancient memory... the KLF and their film "White Room". This is in the days before public internet.  Back then I'd desperately wanted to see the thing...but for various reasons never managed to get hold of a copy. So I took a look on You Tube. And Hey Presto. As of last year some utter dude had posted-up the darn thing. I spent my lunchbreak nailed to my seat, headphones on, jaw-droppingly spellbound by a journey back into the late '80s and the emerging dance scene, and renegade cyberpunk attitude of Drummond and Cauty.  It was fantastic.  I spent the rest of the afternoon with a surreal temporal overlap with the 19-20 year old me.

Right...01:25...time to post this up and then crack on with Edge. Bloody thing. ;o)

Djr

Sample of new novel Edge by David J Rodger

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

08:32 GMT, Saturday 19th April 2008. Kneeling on my ergonomic stool with grey light filtering in through the canopy above my head. Life support is on...humming away to my right blowing warm air on my bare legs. I'm wrapped in Starsky. Soft red glow from the lava lamp on the desk. Laptop currently playing some old school Enigma on random selection. It's a perfect day for Game. The lads are due round at noon today to pick up the 3rd session playing Shadows of the Quantinex (within world of YELLOW DAWN). I managed to get a lie-in this morning; I've been up for an hour now, tweaking the front cover of Edge, and creating this free sample of Edge. It's the first 5 chapters and is entirely unproofed, so I'm making no apologies for typos etc.

I'm currently onto chapter 34 (53,000 words in), hoping to get that finished this morning, then chill out before the lads come round.

You can get the free sample here

Edge - Cover Art Preview

¦ dialling in from the Sky Bunker ¦ 20:50 GMT, Tuesday 15th April 2008. I'm wrapping up for the night. Been at the novel since finishing work, with a couple hours before work in the morning too. Now into Chapter 32, and 50,000 words in. Had a final design through from Guy Willson for the front cover.

I'm very pleased. So much so I'll think about having him redesign the cover art for Dante's Fool and Iron Man Project. See what he comes up with. Met up with Zee West (Ms B) today for lunch. Another bonus of working in Bath. It's only been a couple of months instead of the usual year-or-so. She's pushing on with her mammoth project, seeking venture capital for an fantastic tech idea... good to see people fighting for their dreams. Cornwall was awesome. A couple of days felt more like a week. Great photos too. Right, time to pour a large glass of vino and flob out on the sofa for a bit...then kick Jo's ass at Backgammon. *razor smile* Over & Out. Djr

Progress: 47,000 words

¦ dialling in from SKy Bunker ¦

21:44 GMT, Friday 11th April 2008. Breaking my golden rule not to work on the computer after 9Pm but fek it, I've been on a roll. JUst finished Chapter 29. I'm 47,000 words in. Not bad for three and a half weeks of effort. Am heading to Cornwall tomorrow with the lady to celebrate 6 years together. Good excuse for a break from the current intensity of work and writing. Had a random and delightful surprise friend request on Facebook today - the editor of a magazine who gave me my first non-ficion commision back in 1999. He's now in London... so I'm looking forward to a catch up with him at some point this year.

Over & Out.

Djr
 

Manifestation of the Power of Eight Group.

¦ dialling in from the SKy Bunker ¦

04:01 GMT, Wednesday 9th April 2008. Black outside. Very nearly black inside... just a wee lamp in the corner of the room throwing out a studious light the colour of dried parchment, and of course, the deep red infernal glow of my lava lamp.

Got my first mug of tea next to me. I'm pleased and surprised to be up this early today; yesterday I woke up at 01:49 Hrs. I didn't realise until I'd padded downstairs to put on a brew. Hey-ho, I'm not complaining and I'm getting loads done.

An envelope arrived in yesterday's post. Handwritten address. From New York. I opened it up, hand-written letter and a row of old-fashioned lapel badges sellotaped to the paper. Fiction continues to precede reality. This is the first tangible evidence of my Power of Eight group seeping into existence. The badge contains an iconic symbol of a group that has aligned itself with the fictional philosophy and creed of my Power of Eight.

I speared the front of my satchel with one badge pin, and handed another to Jo...who looked rather mystified but accepted my explanation and motives. Mwahahahaahaaa! *fake evil laugh*

Progress with Edge continues at a pleasing pace. Just about to wrap up Chapter 27. 41,000 words in.

I've noticed a spike in sales of Yellow Dawn. I'm curious to know what's happened out there to draw such interest. All good stuff.

I'm running a mid-week session of Yellow Dawn tonight with the guys: play-testing Shadows of the Quantinex. Tres exciting.

Over & Out.

Djr

Got my proof of Shadows of the Quantinex

¦ dialling in from workstation ¦

 

12:34 GMT, Monday 7^th April 2008. Lunch break. Sitting at my workstation with a mug of tea, following a delish spicy chicken pasty.

 

A stressful morning was interrupted by a beam of sunlight. A brown package from LULU…“Shadows of the Quantinex”.

 

This is my proof copy and the first time I’ve seen it in print. It looks great, although I’m so excited about having it in my hands I can’t focus long enough to give it a proper read-through. That’ll  be an on-going task to slip into periods between writing EDGE over the next few weeks. I’ve already spotted a couple of typos – this is to be expected as it is a Beta-version - which I'll fix, along with any other issues I might find, hopefully including feedback from the people who have already found / bought copies.

 

Meanwhile, the weekend was very good and very long. I’m now ploughing through Chapter 25 and up to 38,500 words on Edge.

 

I woke up Sunday morning to see the city and rolling hills of the surrounding countryside covered in snow. Took a break in the afternoon, dug out my old mini-disc player, had to sellotape the battery compartment shut; drove to the edge of the river and did some of the walk that follows the river along to Bath, or back into the city.

 

Djr

35,000

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

09:24 GMT, Saturday 5th April, 2008. Just returned home from a lovely little night out. Came home from work last night a little weary and saddle-sore. I cooked up some dinner, then dutifully climbed up into the Sky BUnker, sat down at my laptop and finished off Chapter 22. It had been a glorious sunny evening. Jo was away. I felt like I was missing out. So I packed up, jumped into Swampy and drove across the city to GBH's. Bottle of wine, low lights, big comfy sofa... I ease into a relaxed mood. We call DocToc and he's only a few streets away, on foot... It's the fourth or fifth time I've met DocToc, and the first time we've hooked up outside of Yellow Dawn. He's good company. Interesting revelation from him: about 6 months ago he'd been browsing the Net for Bristol game groups, having only relocated from Bostson, MA... and stumbled upon the part of my site with all the photos and write-up about my life... and read much of it, totally unaware that he would ever meet me or my friends.

He described the surreal situation of sitting in GBH's place, listening to our stories, not really knowing us but knowing the deep backgrounds, and the people we were talking about who he'd never met...

I smiled, and said, "Well your photo's on there now, so you're now part of that world."

We watch The Mist. Bloody hell, what an excellent film. Very Cthulhu Mythos. Very Yellow Dawn - or what Yellow Dawn could become with the new bolt-ons I've been mapping out (plan to write these up after finishing Edge, this Summer).

I woke up on the sofa at some point this morning, grey mist pressing up against the windows...fantastic, I smiled, at the eerie weather, at the fact my head didn't hurt...it was a good night, a great unwind. I left GBH to his deep sleep somewhere upstairs and departed.... the mist burned away to reveal glorious sunny day. Beautiful early morning drive back to Cosy Castle - dropping into Simon P's residence for a very brief HELLO.

So I'm looking forward to cracking on with Edge today and tomorrow, and spending some quality time with my lady when she gets back.

Djr

31,000

 

¦ Dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

 

I’ve just finished chapter 20. That’s 31,000 words since 18^th March. I had to go through a complex expansion of the underlying structure, creating four new chapters off-the-cuff that I’d not planned for, and then drop them into the existing structure. Painful few days but it’s done now.

Chapter 21 is the next target...

 

Djr

Edge - and - Shadows

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

 

07:01 GMT, Monday 31^st March 2008.  Kneeling on my ergonomic stool, sunbeams the colour of pale honey streaming in through the canopy above my head. Excellent weekend, not much progress with Edge but then I’m so far ahead of my schedule I feel comfortable spending a couple days on other things, although I was up at 6am on Saturday morning and wrapping up the latest chapter (16) and mapping out a complex change to the existing structure… (Halo’s background story dropped in between earlier chapters). I’ve done 25,000 words since 18^th March.

 

The guys came round Saturday lunchtime, bringing a collection of PIEMINSTER pies (yum-city) and we settled down to wrapping up lose threads from the last campaign and then starting “Shadows of the Quantinex”. I was so excited… after so many years of writing it, and now being able to actually play it. The game was like a session from the Old Days. We played through until midnight. It was fantastic. Chris picked up on the homage to Masks of Nyarlathotep, the way the campaign begins with a body in a hotel room and an orgy of evidence, which pleased me immensely… and I was delighted watching the players putting all the clues together to create ideas about the plot, and possible plot direction(s).

 

I’ve still not actually seen the proof copy of Shadows…. yet, which is slightly freaky because already a number of people have either gone looking for it or stumbled onto it, and purchased copies….  thanks go out to those people for taking the gamble on my work, especially when I’ve not even seen the final result yet. I welcome their feedback, particularly advising me of any errors they spot in this Beta version.

 

Djr

13,000

¦ dialling in from Jesus Mound ¦

06:55 GMT, Easter Monday, 24th March 2008. Sitting at my parents old dinning table, tucked away in a corner at the front of the house. Nick Drake is playing on random selection through laptop & earphones. To my left is a bow window, wooden latticed panes, a garden in shade...frost covered greenery, and beyond that the street bathed in bright early morning sunshine. To my right, the expanse of the house, an open plan view through the 1st lounge into the 2nd lounge and further, into the kitchen and breakfast area, all illuminated gently by light refracting through dense foliage of trees in the backgarden: shards of green and yellow light.

A half drunk mug of tea is sitting on a coaster.

Nobody else in the house is awake; not even the cats.

This has to be my favourite time of any day.

It's been a good holiday weekend. Drove up on Friday morning with Jo and her twin sister Sarah. It was Sarah's first time this far North, and she got to meet my mum for the very first time. My sister is up from London. Fredddy, the Dutch lodger has his wife over from Italy. The house has been wonderfully busy with people.

The weather has been slightly insane. Sunshine one moment, but temperatures hovering around zero degrees, then abrupt darkenings of the sky, heavy hail showers or big fat snow dumps. Then sunshine again. It feels slightly more like Christmas than Easter.

I started the new novel, Edge last Tuesday, 18th March, with a thumbnail plan of completing one chapter every 3 days: so I'm expecting to finish around mid-July. However, in the past 6 days I've finished off 8 chapters (13,000 words ¦ un-reviewed) so I'm pretty darn pleased with progress. This is thanks to several weeks of planning, prepping, plotting and character dev I did...starting back in 2000, then picking up and completing in 2005. So I'm praying that I did a good job of note making all the way through otherwise I'm going to get so far in and hit some blank section, where I didn't bother fleshing out the twisted plot threads...

Regardless, it's great to be writing a novel again after 3 years dominated by Yellow Dawn.

**Edit 17:17 GMT, just finished chapter 13, that's 22,000 words. Yay!

 

 

0,000

I started the new novel, EDGE today.