Good morning/afternoon/evening one and all, from a self isolating Salisbury, UK.
A big thank you to those that have signed up to my newsletter in the last month – it’s great to meet you, so to speak. I hope you’re enjoying your free copy of ‘Frozen To The Core’. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think when you get the chance.
Friendship
Stuck in isolation due to this dreadful coronavirus with my wife and two girls, I’ve tried to continue as normal, writing as much as I can, but truth be told it’s been hard as I’ve felt really unwell, with big time flu-like symptoms (not man flu……we all know how dreadful that is…..LOL!) making it difficult to concentrate and write any real amount of words. We have regular games of Monopoly with me so far being the winner…..it all gets a little serious, much to my amusement, but is forgotten pretty quickly. That’s just one of the things that we’re trying to amuse ourselves with.
Over the past couple of days my thoughts have turned to friendship, not only because of the isolation I find myself in, but in part due to the writing. If I had to describe my books briefly, it would go something like: ‘Three friends. One diabolical plot. And by the way, they’re all dragons disguised as humans’. And that’s very much how it started in book one, all that time ago, the three best friends’ bond unbreakable, each willing to lay down their lives for the others in the blink of an eye. But very quickly the three become more than that, adding strangers both human and dragon alike into their close knit bond, becoming comrades in arms and in some cases so much more, almost illegally so. (No spoilers….I absolutely hate them. You’ll have to read the books.)
Up to my eyes in book five of the series, currently all the fictional characters are fighting against an insidious evil against staggering odds in a winner-takes-all battle that will have global consequences. So part of me started thinking how very much it mirrors the fight our society has today against this cursed pandemic. Every day the odds change, not in everyone’s favour, with the pesky little blighter indiscriminately targeting anyone and everyone, no matter what their race, religion, age or standing. As someone who’s a little older (I don’t really like to talk about my age, but since it’s you…..I’m 51) I do find everything I hear and read in the news quite terrifying. Not only for me, but especially for my wife and kids. And of course for everyone else on the planet. Nobody deserves what is happening now, at least that’s my opinion. Worrying, as well, is that ever since my teenage years when I learned to play hockey, the vast majority of my friends were older than me, and very much still are. Again, that’s something that scares the hell out of me, just thinking of the risk they and their families are in.
Stuck at home, I am at least grateful that in this day and age I can work, my wife is currently working from home and that my kids can do the homework assigned to them over the internet, as well as talk to their friends across facetime, skype and text. As I keep telling both girls, twenty years ago we would have been ‘borked’ (a little more Han Solo there) and would have had to stay inside with virtually nothing to do. They aren’t bothered and don’t really care about something long before they were born, and I suppose rightly so. But my point to them is just how fast things have changed, particularly technology and the way we interact with out friends, family and those that we love. I can’t imagine what the world will be like in another twenty years, no matter how hard I try. And of course with the internet comes social media, something I spend a great deal of my time using. Sometimes I find it a burden and a distraction from my writing, putting myself under pressure to share other peoples work just as they share mine. But it’s a double edged sword you see, because over the course of the many years that I’ve been using it, I’ve made lots of friends whom I have a great deal of love for, and now I worry about them with what’s going on.
It’s amazing how friendships can change over time for various reasons. Sometimes you lose touch with those who seemed indispensable, whilst at others you become reacquainted with friends you’d lost touch with, wondering how that ever happened in the first place. Oh if I could go back, the changes I would have made. Somebody I once loved like a brother, someone I could have a conversation across a crowded room with barely a look, and somebody I would have laid down my life for, has long since become lost to me, for reasons that I won’t go into. I often wonder how they are, what they’re doing and even if our relationship in some way, shape or form could be salvaged (it can’t!).
How friendships change over the course of time is an utter mystery to me, and this week I’ve been wondering if I should represent that more in my books with all of the characters. There is a change, but it’s subtle and I guess representative of just the matter of years the books cover. If it were over a longer period of time, then maybe the change would be more substantive and obvious. What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on friendships, particularly given everything that’s going on. Drop me a line if you get the chance or if you’re just bored of staying indoors and away from the lurgy.
A Fiery Farewell, the fifth book in my series is coming along, although not as nicely as I’d like, mainly due to being in isolation which is odd, with over 105,000 words written. It’s all I seem to do at the moment and takes as much discipline as I have to sit down every day and write. Hard work but enjoyable, that is until I get to my least favourite part……the editing. I HATE EDITING! Just in case you weren’t sure. I do at least appreciate how important it is to get right though.
Although there’s been lots of writing going on, with world book day having come and gone, I did make two school visits during that week. One to Pembroke Park in Salisbury, which involved a little history for me in that I used to go there as a pupil, many decades ago when it was a middle school and the place where I learned to play hockey. Also I worked there as a teaching assistant in the not so distant past. It was a pleasure to meet the pupils from years 5 and 6. Check out my set up in the picture below.
On world book day itself, I found myself at Western Downland Primary in the village of Rockbourne only 15 minutes or so away from where I live. It was great to see all of the year 5 and 6 pupils dressed up and for once I actually made an effort, dressing as one of my favourite fictional book characters…..Han Solo. Picture of my costume below. Oh and by the way, did I mention I hate dressing up and being photographed?
More of an update on the writing next time.
There’s a great new independent children’s bookshop that’s opened in Salisbury. If you come to the city, try and check it out. It’s called The Rocketship Bookshop on Fisherton Street and has a fantastic selection and very friendly staff, run by Jo Boyles. If you could give them all the support you can, including a follow on social media, that would be great. On twitter, they can be found at @joboyley and @rshipbshop Picked up Aurora Rising on my first visit. Looks great and I can’t wait to get my teeth into it. Might be some time before I get the chance though due to all the writing I’m doing at the moment. Will drop a review once I’m done.
As always you can find more about my books from my website. I’ve also added the option for people in the UK to purchase signed copies of my books directly from me. www.paulcude.com
As a family we’re still watching Blue Bloods to the detriment of everything else, apart from our weekly viewing of Picard which is still intriguing, although could do with a more familiar faces sticking around for longer if you ask me. What about an appearance by the current captain of the Enterprise and the ship itself, just in passing? How cool would that be? Loving Blue Bloods, and although only on season four, will be gutted once we’ve caught up to season ten and there’s nowhere else to go with it. Any suggestions for similar series to watch?
Some pictures below…. My Han Solo blaster, belt and holster that was part of my costume for my school visit on World Book Day. More music accolades for my eldest daughter, featuring in the local paper as well as performing at another open mic night. Her version of ‘Ironic’ is fabulous and always has me singing along. The picture of the waves is from the start of March from Hengistbury Head on the Dorset coast looking out towards the Needles on the Isle of Wight…..windy didn’t begin to cover it. Boy am I glad we made the effort to get out that day, despite the poor weather. I absolutely love the sea and I have no idea just when I’m going to get to see it again.
Finally, here are a few things that have caught my eye on the internet and made me smile.
Might be a bit too much Star Wars this month, probably because I’ve constantly had to dress up as Han Solo, so that’s where my mind has been. Might have to dig out some of my Expanded Universe books to keep me company. I wish all of you and your families a safe time during the worst of all of this coronavirus nonsense. May you all stay free from contamination and pass the days happily. And thanks to all of the medical and emergency service staff who dedicate their time to looking after others. My admiration for the work you do knows no bounds. If you get bored with isolation, feel free to drop me a line. I always try and respond promptly, but it might take me a day or two to get back to you.