Category: On Life

Things Will Be Quieter Around Here

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This week, I’m heading out for some honest labor. I’m working with a great bunch of people at one of NZ’s cooler government agencies (I’m not sure at what level I can talk about it yet, hence the vaguebooking approach). It’ll be hectic for the first four weeks; after that it’ll calm down some. Expect a lower level of frenzy from this site and other comm channels in the short term. This may fill you with elation or dread, or perhaps both; I have the number of a good therapist, if you need one. If it makes you feel better you can still email me, but I’ll probably delete it by accident while I’m remembering how corporate systems work.

LA Frederick’s Parry Spotlight

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And my, how it shines. You might recall my interview of same! Frederick put a gun to my head last year and extracted answers, but has been sitting on this until now – no doubt as revenge for my recently released copy on him. Please to enjoy. [AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Richard Parry]

Getting the Most Out of Your Available Time: 2019 Edition

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I’m back on deck, editing Tyche Forever. I’m enjoying my own story, which always feels weird, but I guess it’s also a sign I should have written a Kohl+Algernon road trip story ages back. This year’s likely to see changes in my available writing time, which means adjusting priority assigned to things. This is always a fun exercise, as most plans never survive contact with the enemy, but after making a list I’ve got the bit between my teeth. Last year I tried many things to reach fans alongside writing. I’ve measured the impact and ‘success’ of these ventures, which leads me to a wonderful list of most-important things for 2019. I figured sharing those might be of interest – if you’re strapped for time yourself this could provide inspiration. The short version: this year’s all about me. Let’s see Read More …

2018: A Retrospective

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Of the emails I send, I get the most responses from readers on “the author biz.” I initially figured few people would like to hear about the inner clockwork mechanism of indie publishing, but in hindsight it’s not crazy so many readers want to hear about it. I mean, you’re readers, and have a special relationship with writers. 2018 hasn’t been kind to indie authors. I know quite a few friends and colleagues who’ve noped out of the profession, and also a number who’ve made it rain C-notes from the sky. With this kind of duality going on, shit’s confusing. The reasons are, in business parlance, “nuanced.” Let’s dig in, shall we? Hugging it Out Some author friends (…who are actually just friends who also write) and I Skype’d in December. We talked about a lot of things, but the Read More …

You, Me, and the Holiday Break

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FYI, I’ll be entering low-power mode around 12pm Friday 21 December, NZT, and keeping this state until at least Monday, 7 January 2019 (also NZT). If you contact me during that time, responses will be like treacle: slow, and possibly not very tasty. The drives will warm back up early January, with a flurry of activity after two or three weeks of sitting on my hands. Rae and I plan to take a break from everything, and my eyeballs look forward to not staring at a screen for ten hours a day. Have an excellent seasonal break, if that’s your thing, and see you next year 🎊

Using Beat Saber for Fitness

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Three-word review? It’s all right! I got a PSVR during the Black Friday sales. I added Beat Saber to my PSVR, and have enjoyed the game despite the general low-fidelity fuckery of the PSVR/Move controllers. My back’s been screwed for over a month, but no more! I’ve found Beat Saber loosened me up more than any amount of thoughts and prayers, yoga, or alcohol. This last was a surprise to me, too. My rules for using Beat Saber in Richard’s Fitness Mode™: Don’t worry about score, worry about big arm movements. Be flashy. Be large! Be embarrassing. Every time you get an opportunity to squat, do so. It adds a degree of difficulty but also gets your heart working more. Bonus: turn into jump squats, especially for side-to-side lane transitions. Dance, don’t just wiggle yo’ ass. This is fun. Got Read More …