This past weekend I've been working on the first round of edits for TANNER'S WAR. Edits are always an exciting part of the writing process, because they mean I'm one step closer to getting a release date and some gorgeous cover art. It's also a nerve-wracking part of the process, because part of me is always convinced I've actually written an atrociously bad story, and I'm going to open the manuscript to a sea of red marks and "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???" comments from the editor.
Fortunately this is yet to actually happen outside of my imagination, but I still like to prepare myself for that possibility by having a few home comforts on hand to see me through.
1. Tea.
I admit it: I'm a tea snob. Loose leaf only, please, and brewed to my exact specification and served with full fat milk (or cream, if there's cream on hand). None of this semi-skimmed nonsense. I scour the internet far and wide for unusual, one-of-a-kind teas, and right now I'm on a Beastly Beverages kick.
Fortunately this is yet to actually happen outside of my imagination, but I still like to prepare myself for that possibility by having a few home comforts on hand to see me through.
1. Tea.
I admit it: I'm a tea snob. Loose leaf only, please, and brewed to my exact specification and served with full fat milk (or cream, if there's cream on hand). None of this semi-skimmed nonsense. I scour the internet far and wide for unusual, one-of-a-kind teas, and right now I'm on a Beastly Beverages kick.
This is "Better The Devil You Know" from their Hannibal-inspired selection. Black tea, calandula petals, sunflower petals, and rum flavouring. I'm unashamedly drinking it with cream and it's delicious. The perfect comfort drink, and I imagine it would be just as good (or possibly better) with a glug of actual rum in it.
2. Chocolate.
I'm an unrepentant chocoholic and I don't want to be cured. I'll eat anything even vaguely chocolatey, but I do try to stick to darker chocolate (in possibly a misguided belief that it's better for me). Recently we've been sticking as closely as possibly to a paleo eating plan, and I've discovered the simple beauty of making my own chocolate bark. Melt up loads of really dark chocolate, stir in your choice of dried fruit and nuts (I love walnut and banana chip!), freeze it, smash it, and enjoy. The nice thing about chocolate bark as a snack is that if you use really good quality dark chocolate, it's almost impossible to binge on. Really, I've tried. One batch of bark will last me for days, thus seeing me nicely though the entire editing process. And hey, there's fruit in it. Healthy, right?
3. Music.
I've probably said before that I rarely write to music. When you live with a gamer, you get used to your background noise being Grand Theft Auto 5 or Arma 3, and you learn to tune it out and work regardless. But on those rare occasions where I'm alone in the house, I do love to browse 8tracks for playlists to write/edit to. My current favourites are Girls of Satin, Girls of Stone, Blood on the Bluegrass, and The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. All very different, but all beautiful.
I've also been listening obsessively to Florence and the Machine's new album, particularly this track:
2. Chocolate.
I'm an unrepentant chocoholic and I don't want to be cured. I'll eat anything even vaguely chocolatey, but I do try to stick to darker chocolate (in possibly a misguided belief that it's better for me). Recently we've been sticking as closely as possibly to a paleo eating plan, and I've discovered the simple beauty of making my own chocolate bark. Melt up loads of really dark chocolate, stir in your choice of dried fruit and nuts (I love walnut and banana chip!), freeze it, smash it, and enjoy. The nice thing about chocolate bark as a snack is that if you use really good quality dark chocolate, it's almost impossible to binge on. Really, I've tried. One batch of bark will last me for days, thus seeing me nicely though the entire editing process. And hey, there's fruit in it. Healthy, right?
3. Music.
I've probably said before that I rarely write to music. When you live with a gamer, you get used to your background noise being Grand Theft Auto 5 or Arma 3, and you learn to tune it out and work regardless. But on those rare occasions where I'm alone in the house, I do love to browse 8tracks for playlists to write/edit to. My current favourites are Girls of Satin, Girls of Stone, Blood on the Bluegrass, and The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. All very different, but all beautiful.
I've also been listening obsessively to Florence and the Machine's new album, particularly this track:
And of course, most important of all is the tireless support of my beautiful assistant, Fergus:
