Category: Writing

1. A Long Overdue Check-In

   Posted on 9:00am Thursday 5th Aug 2021

   Why, hello there.

   It's certainly been a long time since we've spoken, and that's totally on me. As life continued to get in the way of this thing that I love, time has slipped past with abandon and little has been happening in the world of Andy Hill Books (third-person narrative, it doesn't sound right but 'My Books' sounds even worse!)

   Around 18 months ago, I lost all of my ongoing work in a hard drive crash... while in the process of transferring my cloud backup provider. It knocked me back and I essentially gave up for a while. However, I have recently picked up my old notes and begun the arduous process of re-writing everthing that I had previously re-written and then subsequently lost. To that end, work is continuing on the 2nd Edition of Darkness Calls, while Vengeance has had to take a back seat while I catch up.

   I have updated the approximate release times on each of the books listed on the website now, and am almost back to where I was before my data was gobbled up by some nefarious technological insect. As such, things are now moving forward once again and I hope to be able to bring you some brighter news in the very near future.

   Until then dear friends, take care. I'll see you soon, in the darkness.

   Andy.

2. Of Laptops, the Pleasure and the Pain

   Posted on 9:00am Monday 1st Apr 2019

   Oh, the joy of technology, and more specifically: laptops. Providers of entertainment, productivity, and communication; harbingers of destruction and pain. This past month, my trusty 2008 MacBook Pro decided it was time to give up the ghost, exiting this realm with a dispirited whirr and a black screen. Resuscitation measures were taken, but it was to no avail; my trusty companion was declared deceased.

   So, the search commenced for a replacement device. Did I turn to the aisle of my local PC World? The Apple Store? Maybe a local distributer in an attempt to support local businesses? Of course not, I'm a writer. I can't afford the latest all singing and dancing behemoth, as much as I covet their sleek curves and lightweight profiles. Instead, I searched eBay for a pre-owned machine; my only criteria being a solid state drive, 8GB of RAM, and not looking like it had been dragged behind a truck at some point in its life.

   To that end, I am now the proud owner of a mid-2012 MacBook Pro, with only some superficial scuffs and the odd dent. I'm surprised at how much cooler the machine is in use - my 2008 model could feasibly ignite tinder, and wearing shorts while using it resting on my legs was a definite no-go - and it's considerably faster when booting up. The low-profile keys will take a little getting used to after the chunkier variant on my old device; it's also smaller, having a 13" screen compared to my old 15.4" model. But none of that matters, I'm in love all over again. Technology bringing me right back up to date.

   A mere 7 years late.

   *

   In other news, the 2nd edition of Darkness Calls is coming along despite technological setbacks (thanks iCloud), albeit slower than before (thanks iPad). The editing process wasn't giving me the results that I wanted, so I changed tactics in regard to producing the 2nd edition. I'm now rewriting the stories from scratch, using the originals as a framework reference, rather than trying to edit the text in place. This is essentially what I had ended up doing anyway because I wanted to address so many issues; by rewriting from a fresh, blank screen, I'm really just streamlining the process by removing the additional obstacle of navigating around the original pieces.

   Vengeance continues apace as well. The full outline is now complete and I'm expanding on character histories at present. I am besotted with the concept and direction of the story and I hope that people who read it will feel the same.

   For now though, it's back to my shiny new toy.

   Andy.