PICTURE TOUR

I've been posting big essay-style posts over at Charlie Stross's blog. Whew. I do go on, don't I?

Anyway, here on more homely matters, my broken rib is healing nicely. Day off training yesterday, previous day was 60 mins on the exercise bike, 10 mins calisthenics, 10 min shadow kickboxing, 10 mins stretching. Getting there. More importantly, I've slept in bed for the last three nights, instead of upright in the armchair. And no painkillers for a few days, either.

A propos of absolutely bugger all, here's a photo tour of my writing study, where the action is. Here's the shelf with the books I've specifically highlighted in the bibliography at the back of Transmission. My research homework, in other words:

Desk, complete with NASA coffee mug (made in China). This is my writing laptop, and it's the oldest and smallest of my computers. Suits me.

Cluttered bookcases. Clutter generally...

And my attempts at keeping track of a trilogy with a plethora of storylines:

And more...

Plus there's a few other bookcases including this one...

It's the smallest room in the house, too. Literally. (Although not counting the actual brick outhouse, which is luckily a backup feature...)

BRUTE FORCE

So I've got some world-building/weird physics/neuropsychology-of-writing posts ready for Charlie's Diary (being the blog of the redoubtable Charlie Stross).

In contrast, I had considered writing another John's Workout Week type of thing here. Unfortunately, the week so far looks like this...

MONDAY: Hindu push-ups x 100; Hindu squats x 200; Neck bridge x 2 mins; Ab crunch x 100; DB Squat 5 x 5 then 5 x 20; DB Bench press 10 x 10; DB One-arm row 10 x 10/arm; 4 x triset(DB Military press x 10; DB Alternating hammer curl x 20; triceps pushdown x 10); stretch.

TUESDAY: dojo

TUESDAY NIGHT: 3 hours sleep on couch while nursing broken rib*, 3 hours sleep much later on, sitting at a dining table, with forehead on table.

WEDNESDAY: whimpering

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: slept in armchair. Strange to wake up from.

THURSDAY: walking on treadmill x 60 minutes, slow karate basics x 20 mins

Oh, well...

* Entirely my fault for upping the ante, going in hard.

GIRDING UP

The renowned and redoubtable Charlie Stross is off on his travels - therefore offline. I'm honoured to be guest blogger, along with Karl Schroeder et al, at the fabulous Charlie's Diary. Join me there!

Here's how I'm going to be introduced, I think...


John Meaney is the author of ten SF novels - Paradox, Bone Song and Absorption among them - including one of the Daily Telegraph Books of the Year, and an Independent Publishers Novel of the Year. He has been shortlisted three times for the British Science Fiction Award.

In order to write full time, he lives in exile in a Welsh valley, surrounded by sheep.

His first degree was in physics and computer science, and he is belatedly completing graduate work at Oxford on a (very) part-time basis. His long IT career culminated in working as a trainer, often abroad, combining hard tech with applied psychology and stand-up comedy... making use of his training in hypnosis.

A black belt in shotokan karate and graduate of a world-famous dojo, Meaney has been training in martial arts for nearly four decades, and considers "thug" a compliment.

His heart melts at the sight of a cat, and for a bar of dark chocolate, he is anybody's.

THE EMPIRE'S SCIENCE

Just back from 2 days at Imperial College - a little science conference for writers organized by physicist/writer Dave Clements. Nice to hang with Molly Brown (really, despite all the things we say to each other), Pat Cadigan and Chris Fowler, Liz Counihan, Al, Rosanne, and my buddy Jaine Fenn. The lecturers were nice folk too, and much fun was had by all.

I spent the first night running around Hyde Park while the others were boozing, which of course is my idea of fun; the rest of the time it was nice to hang around with friends old, ancient and new...

After last year's event, it is no coincidence that certain pivotal events in Transmission (Ragnarok 2) take place in Imperial... but not until the year 2033.