Natalie Allan

Just a quick note to say our corn snake, Python, has just laid the second egg in her first clutch and it looks like there’s more eggs to come – she’s about to lay a 3rd!!!

Both eggs look fertile enough so far and should yeild two baby snakes in about 60 days.

Since Python is still laying – and hey! it’s bound to be taking a lot of her – I’ll post some pics when she’s finished and the eggs have made it to the incubator, and mamma is back in her enclousure and recouperating.

Fingers crossed those babies in those eggs (and the hopeful eggs still yet to come), are fertile and grow nice and big these next two months!

Updates to come as soon as I have more news.

Usually, when I make a “mission” out of something, I do so because that “something” is one of those tasks I really don’t want to do. It’s reverse psychology, the act of turning a task or lengthy project into a mission that I don’t want to do makes it fun, competitive. A challenge that I then want to complete.

This mission, however, is different. It’s a real mission, a 100% bone-fida one, and will probably be one of the most lengthy missions I undertake.

The mission: PUBLISH A BOOK!

“Oh yeah, I knew you’re writing and were like, going to query an agent or something. What’s new about this? Whassup with you telling me stuff I already know?”

Well, this mission is very different from that. These are the objectives:

• Complete content
• Edit content
• Typeset book
• Design cover
• Purchase ISBNs
• Set up my own publishing house
• Approach printer
• Get book printed
• Release book
• Mission Accomplished!

I’ve done absolutely no research into any of this yet, I haven’t looked at print costing because I don’t know how thick my book will be, and I have no idea where I will sell my book. All this comes in time. My first objective is “complete content” because it really is the first step to any kind of book-publishing — whether it be traditional, Print-on-Demand, self-publishing, or setting up your own house.

This is going to be an exciting journey, and I have a lot to learn and a lot of hurdles to jump. I have a good mix of fear and excitement which usually means something is worth doing! All I can tell you 100% right now, is that I’ll keep you updated, and as soon I have my content complete, I hope you’ll join me on my journey to becoming a publisher so I can sell my book!

For some strange reason, ever since the clocks changed and Easter weekend holiday threw out my writing routine, I haven’t written a fat lot of anything — whether it be for the 4th draft of my novel (Village of Vampires), poetry, or short stories. Nothing in my life has actually changed since then, and I haven’t changed my daily routine. My writing life just seems to have blown away in the gentle spring breeze.

Time to change that, me thinks!

On average, and before my routine got thrown to pot, I worked on one-page-per-day of my novel, wrote anything up to four poems, and tinkered with short story ideas every day. That’s right, I did all this each day. Now it’s time to get back at it.

If I don’t, that writing part of my brain will cease up and I’ll end up with a bad case of w-r-i-t-e-r-s b-l-o-c-k, and I don’t want that to happen — in fact, this needs to be avoided at all costs.

So what am I going to do about it?

Force myself to write.

Every day.

No excuses. Whatsoever.

I don’t particularly care about how much I write each day, so long as I do something — it’s quality I’m after, not quantity. And even if I don’t jump back in and write the volumes I was doing before my routine oddly changed, at least I’ll be writing something. Which is a much-improvement on the nothingness I’m achieving at the moment.

I also promise to start blogging more as well. I tend to have stopped writing for everything, so I apologise if it’s been a bit quiet around here lately.

So, all I need to do now, is get off the internet and actually work on something.

Something productive…

Crashing Computers And Screamworks

I’d been waiting for my copy of Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice by my favourite band HIM since the middle of January. When it finally arrived from Amazon after all the trouble I had with the bank cancelling the order from Warner records, I was looking forward to bunging the thing in my computer and just listening to it.

No such luck. When I booted my computer to listen to the damn thing on Saturday after receiving it in the mail, my computer refused to come on. It was dead. As in forever. So I had to go to the trouble of setting up a new PC. I decided not to put Windows back on it and have instead gone back to Ubuntu Linux. I’ve never had a problem with Linux, it just works like it’s meant to.

Recovering my data from said dead PC took all of Saturday and I didn’t get to hear my album until Sunday. It’s absolutely amazing. I love the album and all it’s songs. The bonus CD, Baudelaire in Braille is equally as amazing. I can’t stop listening to it.

I ordered it from Amazon because of the bank rejected the transaction from Warner Records. I received an email today from Warner to say the CD and Saint Scream print has now been shipped and Warner have started to take the money again for the order from the bank. So it looks like I’ll end up with two copies of the CD. I’m giving the CD to a friend of mine in Finland. I love her very much and she deserves to have my copy. So I’ve promised her she can have it for free if and when the damn things arrive!

I’m just glad I get my Saint Scream print

Village of Vampires

I’m back in the saddle of the 4th draft, knocking out about 1000 carefully thought out words a day. I’ve finished my beta reading with only one ongoing manuscript hitting my mailbox so I have ample time now to go about my usual writerly days. I’m still two months behind schedule, but I’ll have to see how I go.

I query agents when I get round to it, when the books complete. No personal pressure…

I Quit Smoking

This post does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak. At midnight last night, we both quit smoking in a bid to save more money for home improvements. Well, that and the added health bonuses, of course.

How has the first day been? Good, actually. I was a bit snappy earlier on, but since I’ve increased the strength of the coffee at about eleven am, all seems to be going well. My husband’s been going through food and snacks like they’re going out of fashion. The thing I’ve missed is standing in that one corner of the kitchen every half hour. By God, how much more time I’ve had today, it’s incredible.

Helsinki Vampires

The syopsis for HelsinkiVampires is well under way and I’ve managed to outline eight chapters so far. All seems good. Village of Vampires is still with my beta reader for the time being. I can’t wait to see her thoughts on it.

So, last night I was happily writing away on the 3rd draft of Chapter 18 of Village of Vampires. I got to the end of the chapter and queried my plot chart for what to write for Chapter 19.

Except there was a problem. There was a dirty great big hole in the plot, which meant Chapter 18 didn’t continue on to 19.

I queried the 2nd draft to see where my chunk of plot had gone. Lo and behold! I’d completely missed it off the plot chart! Duh! I had to pencil it into the chart and began work on it until almost 2am to ensure my nice neat personal deadline wasn’t blown out of the water. Not that it will be. I’m a well oiled writing maching, here me ROAR!

Tonight, I’ll be finishing this elusive monster and continue working on through more re-writes.

Don’t you just love surprises?

Village of Vampires Revisions

Thanks to Christmas, the third draft of Village of Vampires has been mildly pushed back. This is rather annoying as the first half of the third draft currently sits with a beta reader and second half is yet to be written. I’m currently on Chapter thirteen of twenty-two and there’s an epilogue so I’m not that far away from finishing now.

I estimate this draft will be complete on 16th Jan 2010, then one more round of revisions will take me through the final line edits. Overall, the manuscript should be complete on Valentine’s day. The following week will take me through drafting a sparklier version of the synopsis I already have, and then I’ll be drafting a query letter for submission to literary agents.

Here’s some pictures of the manuscript and plotting chart which is 3 feet long (scroll to the bottom of post to see my Christmas presents ):

Village of Vampires, 2nd draft, side view

Village of Vampires, 2nd draft, cover page

Village of Vampires, plot chart, 3ft long

Village of Vampires, 3ft plot chart, all filled out

And, I couldn’t leave you without showing you my new toys!

When my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas, we came across a big problem. Usually he buys me chocolates and candles. For a start, I’m on a diet so I wouldn’t be eating the chocolates, and I have so many candles I could keep the planet warm through the next ice age. My candles are probably the root cause of global warming.

So, this year, I decided it was time to mix things up a bit. I asked for a tattoo (which will last forever unlike chocolate and candles), a new guitar,  a keyboard, and a cd of my favorite band HIM. Santa delivered me all these things along with Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas) poster and a really cool book: “Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter”.

Here’s some pics of my Christmas presents. I was dead excited when Santa delivered all of these and especially so because we had sort-of white Christmas:

My new tattoo

Jack Skellington sits proudly above my writing area

My shiny new Encore Strat-type in Sunburst (also came with a new amp too!)

My shiny new Yamaha full-size keyboard

And because I couldn't resist blessing you with a picture, this is "Wes" my old Westfield Strat-type guitar (and also my first love when it comes to musical instruments). Wes is as much part of the family as is my dog, and will always have a special place in my heart. Although we love to hate each other...

Well, that’s it for this post. I will all my readers  a prosperous 2010! Happy New Year guys!