This is going to be a reasonably short post to update you guys on what’s going on with me and new books. I plan to write more about what’s been happening in the last couple of weeks (and a little longer) soon, but, as the title suggests, I’m jetlagged to Hell and back and I don’t know when I’m going to conk out again.
So, I’ve been having some trouble writing for a while. My concentration’s been shot and I just haven’t been able to keep my head in the game the way I’d like. I decided I needed a holiday, but this is me, so it had to be a holiday where I’d be able to gather useful writing material or do background research, or whatever. I’ve been wanting to go to Japan for a lot longer than I’ve been writing, but the fact that I tend to set stories there and I’ve never been has been getting to me. Plus, I started watching a lot of anime recently…
So, for about the last two weeks, I’ve been living out of a hotel room in Tokyo (Shinjuku to be precise). My holidays tend to be a bit weird these days. I’m sure most people go on holiday with some idea of where they’re planning to go, even if it’s just the beach. I go somewhere and wander around just looking at ordinary stuff. Yes, I did a few museums, gardens, and such, but I mostly just walked out the hotel doors and picked a direction. I was starting to get the hang of the Tokyo subway system by the time I left. I could actually navigate the streets to some extent (apparently, GPS is a godsend even to the locals as Tokyo is notoriously difficult to find your way around). I still managed to get utterly lost in Akihabara, twice.
So, expect more Japanese stuff in the near future. The next Ultrahumans book, Royal Flush, has some scenes in fictional Tokyo (expect big lizards). I’m aiming to have that out toward the end of August. After that, I think I’ll be doing the next Fox Universe book which is set almost entirely in Japan. That means that the next Twilight Empress book will be delayed, but I still hope to have that out before the end of this year.
Better yet, despite the fact that my brain and body still think I’m somewhere between England and Japan, I’ve had the most productive writing day I can think of in weeks (maybe months) today. I can’t afford trips like this too often, but it has taught me that I really do need to take more holidays than I do. Now I just need to get my body clock back on UK time. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of years…
Witches and Ray-Guns 
Glad to hear you had a nice holiday. As a long time anime fan Japan is on my to do list too so definitely looking forward to more books set there.
Spent last weekend watching Neon Genesis Evangelion now that is on Netflix.
I’ve started watching Eva. I know it’s a classic, but it’s not working that well for me. I should probably watch more before giving up, however.
Try the “Vision of Escaflowne” TV series from the late ’90s. Much better IMO. No harem slant. Alternate universe. Dragon-mecha. Excellent score. Virtually no filler material like anime tends to have. Bandai Visual release originally; I’ve no idea who currently has the rights or where it can be streamed.
Glad you had a good holiday. Sounds like the sort of thing I’d enjoy. Just wander around and see where life leads me. Alternately I’ve at least once considered a Thaumatology field trip. My one visit to London was far to brief and I’ve been wanting to go back. Thought it might be amusing to spend a day or two wandering around visiting all the places that feature prominently in Ceri and Lily’s version of the city, even if some of it was only to see where some of them would be.
That and to see Stonehenge and indulge a strange desire to hide out in a cottage in The Cotswolds for a few days.
You’d find I took the odd liberty. Cer & Lily’s London is a slightly darker place than the real one.
Oh I know. Still, I think it’s cool that I can exit the Oval tube stop and walk through the park to St. Agnes Place and look around and imagine where High Towers should be, the tower block where people were spying on them from and the shop where Lily found Ceri’s ad for a housemate. I appreciate the effort you went to give such a level of verisimilitude. I don’t expect to be able to find Demi-miner or the Dubh Linh or the Jade Dragon/Tir ina Nok, but I think it’s great that I can go to a physical place and stand and look at a spot and say “that’s where it would be”. Adds to my enjoyment of the books and makes the map nerd in me very happy.
Demi-monde. Damn autocorrect
I do the same thing on my rare vacations – go somewhere interesting and get lost.
I remember vacations with the family when I was a kid. Mom would always have this overly ambitious schedule, wanting to see everything, and then get stressed when the schedule inevitably got fubared.
Stress on vacation … must be a parent thing.
Looking forward to whatever you come up with next.
Glad to hear having a break stirred up those creative juices.
Damn, two weeks off in a row. That sort of nonsense is frowned upon in the states here. In fact vacation may be outlawed in the U.S.next year.
That’s something of a worldwide phenomenon. However, one of the things about being my own boss is that there’s no one to tell me not to.
So, you have to wonder why it takes me a couple of years without a break to take any holiday at all…