Crossover...

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 09 December 2004 09:16:09

Was my birthday yesterday.. Hit the ripe old age of 34 and with it a sense of relief at not being 33 years old.. Whether or not it shouldn't be (it shouldn't be I admit) 33 is an auspicious year for a Christian. Funnily enough my ministry (such as it is) seems to have taken a new direction in the past year and hopefully this year will see it move on into new areas again.. We'll see...

Anyhow, thats sort of associated with todays post in a way. One of the things I recieved yesterday was a sketchpad. An unassuming one, given the prettiness of some sketchpad covers nowadays this was simply a flat slab of paper, covered with a dull square of cover. I didn't think much of it (in as much as it didn't neccesarily interest me, rather than I disliked it).

Anyhoo this morning I felt drawn to the pad (ba BOOM!) and started to write a list of the ideas in my mind that I want to pursue over the next four years.. without wanting to give anything away I sort of kind of have a plan for the next ten books I'd like to do, all covering varying elements of teen and older life... So while I know what happens in the Dr Sylver trilogy (and .. oooh... possibly a couple of books following. Hadn't thought beyond three, but on the list theres two more...) there are some ideas I want to pursue in my mind and on paper which wouldnt fit into Jamie and Dr Sylver's world...

Anyhow this led to an image that I fully intend to oil paint at some point in the future, which is also a slight departure for me, although the covers of one of the projects I dearly want to see released next year have oil painted covers. Anyhow the reason the image interests me so much is that in my mind it relies on written description... The slowness of the dreams following an arc above my head, the weight of them, like fragile tissue-paper bags full of visible heavy gas, the fact that I'm at turns smiling and panicking.. The feel of the dream as it moulds around my hand and some small parts escape though the gaps in my fingers... The slow, blurry dreaminess of the hands moving to catch similarly paced dreams... Each of the dreams will contain the cover to each of the corresponding book/projects in my mind. The image captures my state of mind perfectly, the excitement of knowing where a book I want to write between 2007 -2008 will end and knowing that it leads perfectly to a follow up... Can't wait, but also knowing that I have ideas in the here and now that need to be put onto paper because they are dated for this year and the next.. Still exciting... I need to clone myself and set the other me's to work.. But they'd be as distractible and tangental as I am. Each would come up with ten new ideas and they'd be cloning away. Soon the population explosion of me would be unsustainable.

ANYHOW: I present the sketched image, took half an hour of playing about and loved every second of it, oil painting to follow. It's on the list. Expect it about 2008.

Currently listening to: Alison Moyet: Almost Blue/Alfie single... Only £1.99 in the shops NOW and a cracking song to please your ears with. Currently playing: Metal Slug 3 (Xbox). Tough as nails, occasionally lovely graphics. Too bloody by far for my subtle taste which is a shame.