This week at the loch - 13/06/2025
I had a brilliant time at Cymera last weekend, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. It felt really strange to be at an event where I wasn’t running anything, part of programming, or taking care of a BFS table, but I really enjoyed the time to just connect with people.
The panels that I saw were thoughtful and interesting. I especially enjoyed the discussion between Gareth L Powell, E. M. Faulds and Stark Holborn as well as the one between Emma Newman, T.L. Huchu and J.J. Marr. As usual, I enjoyed buying books and browsing the Creator’s Hall, and I’m looking forward to catching up with some of the panels I missed with the playbacks.
Monday and Tuesday were largely spent recovering - for those of you who don’t know, I live with a couple of chronic illnesses, so events like this take a lot out of me and I have to factor in recovery time when deciding whether or not I can attend something.
The rest of the week has been spent on family stuff and editing work. I haven't managed to fit in any writing at all, a fact that is causing me to get twitchy. But I did get to spend some time watching a deer grazing the open land just behind my house.
I’ve also been hard at work on various BFS projects. Planning for Fantasycon 2026 is already well underway, we have a couple of workshops coming up this month, the next issue of the Journal is with the printers, there’s a World Fantasy Convention take-over with an online event day on 21st June and so very much more. Keep an eye on the website for details: www.britishfantasysociety.org
What I’m working on - All editing, all the time. I go on holiday 3 weeks today and between now and then I have a copyedit to complete, a full developmental edit to do, and a reconciliation pass on a manuscript I did the first developmental edit on last month. I’m hoping to find enough time to finish the two short stories I’m working on before I come home.
What I’m reading - This is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter, who is my favourite non-SFFH author. Her work is incredible, though not always easy reading. Thoroughly enjoying this darker version of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery.
What I’m watching - Still Charmed. I only watch one or two episodes of TV each day, if any, so it takes me a while to get through series. Normally we watch a movie every Saturday, but last week I was away, and this week I’m meeting a friend for dinner on Saturday, so it’ll be movie night tonight. I’m thinking about Heretic, which I’ve heard some good things about.
What I’m listening to - I came across this cover of Stand By Me this week and found it very moving.
Something Interesting - One of the people I had the joy of spending time with last weekend was CL Hellisen, a person whose work I always find great joy (and awe and a teensy bit of jealousy) in reading. And they have a new story out this week! Saltcove is free to read and well worth your time.
Coming Up - The next few weeks see the end of the school term for my kids (and the end of primary school for the middle one) so it’ll be hectic and emotional around here. I’ll mainly be focused on supporting them through the last two weeks at school and getting as much work done as I can before I go away.
