Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Closing (for now)
I haven’t posted anything here for a good long time. And to be honest, I’m not likely too in the foreseeable future. Life is too busy at the moment, and posting on my blog comes so far down my list of things to do, it doesn’t even register. Life is not fair will be closing as of today. I’m not going to delete anything, but I’m not going to post anything new. If you want to keep in touch, use facebook. Search for euan.harvey AT gmail.com to find me on there, or send me an email.
Cheers, and God Bless.
Hertsmere council displays a disturbing lack of preparedness for the coming zombie apocalypse.
Our Ref: HBC_FOI_01000179
Dear Euan Harvey
I am writing in response to your request received by Freedom of Information on 10/06/2011.
Your request has now been considered under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act and/or Environmental Information Regulations and we are able to respond as follows.
Your Request:
I note there is a disturbing lack of awareness of the threat the undead or the walking dead pose. Neurogenic and viral synthetic technology progresses at a rate beyond our understanding of neural science and current thinking on bioethics, and such technology if left unchecked may leaved to an outbreak of the walking dead. Although I have no doubt central government has contingency plans in place for just such an outbreak, these plans may not be enough to protect the population against any outbreak. Accordingly, the burden of protection is likely to fall on local government bodies and community organisations. I would like to ask what contingency plans, if any, Hertsmere Borough Council has in place against an outbreak of the walking dead.
Our Response:
Hertsmere Borough Council does not have any specific contingency plans with regard to this particular issue. However our Emergency Plan is generic in nature and is designed to deal with a wide range of challenges.
If you have any queries about the processing of your request then please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information explaining the Council’s process for responding to information requests together with a complaints/appeals procedure is available in our reception or via our website at:
http://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/councildemocracy/accesstoinformation/
The Information Commissioner oversees the application of the Freedom of Information Act. You may contact the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioners Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700 Website: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk Please include the above reference number on all correspondence related to this request. Thank you for your request. Kind regards Margaret Lonergan
Some VHS ‘art’
From Monster Brains (follow the link to see the rest):
I've got three kids, so there's quite a bit of demon wind, let me tell you...
Bizarre Landscapes
From All That Is Interesting.
Review of “By Shackle and Lash”
From Adventures Fantastic:
“By Shackle and Lash” by Euan Harvey: A disgraced soldier is demoted to assistant gaoler and given the task of emptying the slop buckets of the prisoners. It turns out there’s a cell that isn’t always there, and its occupant has been imprisoned a really long time. Those to whom she chooses to appear are changed. The author implies the story takes place in the far future, when oceans are mostly gone and the population has moved into the sea bottoms because the formerly occupied land areas are no longer inhabitable. This, along with “The Sacrifice”, is one of the two longest tales in the issue, and my favorite. It is the closest to sword and sorcery that’s to be found here.
Nice to hear, and glad to see the worldbuilding is catching people’s attention. 
Personally, I think the story is definitely sword and sorcery, but I can see how opinions might vary on that. There’s a fair amount of sorcery, but not a great deal of . . . swordery? Swordplay? Swords? Hm.
GW Fiction
If you know Games Workshop (nerd!), then you probably know about the Black Library, their line of tie-in fiction. There’s an interesting article here about the history and development of GW’s tie-in material. It’s an eye-opener for anyone (like me) thinking of trying to get into writing tie-ins.
Slaine was one of the best parts of 2000AD (better than Judge Dredd). Wouldn’t it be awesome if . . .
Kindle Millionaires. (Or Not.)
Tobias Buckell has an interesting post up about how much money he’s made from selling on the Kindle store. A useful counter-weight to Konrath’s single-mindedness.
8 Misc.
- Running seems to be getting easier. The Nike Air Pegasus are definitely the shoes for me. Providing I don’t lean too far forward and end up pounding my quads, they’re very comfortable. And my joints feel great. I’m also experimenting with cadence and stride length. It seems that quick cadence, short strides, and pushing off toes (kicking up heels) means I’m going faster than I think I am. I find running hard when I start taking strides that are too long, which I’m doing because I want to up my pace. Lots of things to try and balance.
- The novel is progressing slowly, but steadily. 45,000 words now, and coming to the end of Act I (which is actually Act II, as I have a kind of . . . never mind). I’m starting to get the mid-novel blues, but having shortish chapters with varying POVs is helping with that.
- My short story writing fingers are starting to itch. I watched Centurion last night and a story idea sprang into my head. I’ve been working on it and an outline is starting to take shape. The sticking point is the character. The situation is all ready, but I need a character who I can plug into it. There’s no point having a simple survival plot; they’re dull. There needs to be something more than life at stake.
- Why is it impossible to have a rational discussion with Americans about abortion? It’s like gun ownership–otherwise intelligent people just stop thinking.
- Why do so many male SFF writers have beards?
- Is it like dwarves?
- I find myself insanely jealous of writers who get glowing reviews of their novels. Sometimes to the point when I don’t want to read their books because I don’t want to add to their success. I have to force myself to buy the books and start reading. And then I really enjoy those same books. Is this normal?
- If everything is better with zombies, does this include cheeseburgers?
Tangent recommended reading list
Hanuman’s Bridge on the 2010 Tangent Recommended Reading list. Only a one star recommendation (follow the link), but what the hey. I notice that Black Gate had a lot of 1 star recommends as well, and a bunch of the top rated stories were drawn from a single anthology.
As I know that Black Gate’s fiction is great, and a single anthology is not going to contain the bulk of good fiction from 2010, I’m not taking what Tangent has to say too seriously. But then again, I don’t think too many people do. Lois Tilton over at Locus Online seems to me to be both more consistent and more insightful.
