It's snow joke

Snow in Fiji?

Oh OK, it's GRP dust! Below the new keel

Just one minor problem, it won't quite slide underneath the keel. This is because on the other (Port) hull, more of the hull was torn away when that keel came off, so John put on X layers of GRP before offering up the keel. He added the same number of layers to the Starboard hull with the result that the keel just won't slide under the hull. The solution is probably to grind off a couple of layers (more snow?), put the new keel on then add more layers inside the hull to keep the same strength. still, it means that the keels will be even, handy when I next beach the boat to clean off the hulls.
Tomorrow will be a writing day.

Interesting or worrying?

Having written about writers block, there now appears an ad for a computer programme to 'unblock' the block. The Internet may be a wonderful thing but THEY are watching you!
Anyway, the block has unblocked itself. I've now finished editing/ reviewing/ proof- reading the first ten chapters of Eliezer2. There are about another three 'out of sequence' chapters written, they're next then it's onwards ( and hopefully upwards). One advantage of walking everywhere is you get ideas popping up all the time. It's a pity that the little audio recorder I had got 'deep- sixed' because I'm not sure that I'll remember all the ideas.
This weekend I intend to write another couple of chapters, but for today the boat has priority, I didn't go down to the club yesterday due to 'pressure of work' ( i.e. editing). More pictures of workin progress, I suspect, this weekend.

Some Pictures

As promised, a couple of shots of 'John the GRP' hard at it, grinding away.

Now, this may be the way my mind works, but I can see the association, can you?

Right, enough of this tomfoolery, back to the keyboard Blogs and start editing!

The Cure

For writers' block ( or sheer idleness, come to that) is obviously to write about it. I've now, since we last 'spoke', revised/ proof- read the first four chapters of Eliezer 2, and had a couple of new ideas for the middle section of the book.
I have the final chapter committed to bytes, although as always that'll be subject to change, depending on how the middle section pans out. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have finished the proof- reading so far and will be in full creative mode. In the meantime, I've taken a couple of photos of 'John the GRP' hard at work fitting the starboard keel to the boat, he was busy grinding (the GRP), fully suited and booted, complete with hazmat mask! As soon as I've uploaded the photos, I'll put one on here. At the moment, I have no way of uploading from the camera to the IPad, I didn't buy the necessary lead so I have to upload to a laptop then transfer the photos.
Right now I'm down at the Yacht Club, waiting news on the Apple laptop, which I really miss....funny how you get attached to an inanimate object, isn't it? I usually buy a 1.25 litre bottle of coke to drink over the course of a couple of hours when I'm down here, but today, feeling a little 'frisky', I added a shot of rum to the jug....ooh, you little devil, you (lol).

Writer's block or sheer idleness?

So having sent Augustus on his way to Emma the Agent, I thought that I'd crack on with Eliezer 2. Well, that's what I thought, but nothing has happened! I don't have the excuse that I'm working hard on the boat because I'm not, 'John the GRP' is doing all that at the moment and doesn't need ( or want?) me getting under foot, so for the next week/ ten days I have plenty of time, so why am I sitting in a coffee shop right now? Ah well, the coffee shop is near the Apple Reseller and I thought that I'd check and see if Apple has agreed to replace the video chip foc, then I remembered that in large parts of the USA it's still Sunday, so they probably won't hear anything until tomorrow! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Notwithstanding all the above, Eliezer 2 has been backed up on my PC, so I could write/ edit, and the fact that the PC doesn't have a serviceable battery doesn't matter because I can still power it from the mains.
So, writers block or sheer idleness? Your comments on a 'comment form' to 'Slobbing in Suva'.

As I was saying

Did I say 'Augustus' would be finished sometime this week? I'm sorry, I
lied to you ( shame, shame!) , I finished it this afternoon and sent it on
its merry way. Emma the Agent has acknowledged receipt and apparently
Eliezer is doing the rounds as we speak. She remains confident of success,
so I hope that she's right.

--

Cruising: Boat maintenance in exotic locations
HTTP:/blog.mailasail.com/troutbridge
Fiji: +6799212518

Editing we will go!

Work on 'Augustus' is going well, just over half way through now, so I
should be in a position to send the manuscript to 'Emma the Agent' by the
end of this week. I'm glad to say that there are fewer mistakes in this
manuscript, so much of the time I'm just tidying up punctuation and
rewriting the odd paragraph. Actually, dare I say that I'm enjoying
reading the book? OK, I dare say it!
Other news, met up with the 'Calypsonians', Maureen and Paul yesterday,
and a modest amount of beer was drunk! They'll be in Fiji for a few more
weeks, then they'll be off south to NZ. John the GRP is saying that he
should finish the repairs by the end of this month, so I reckon that I
should be ready to 'splash' Trouters by the end of January. It will seem
strange to be back on board after so long. A pity that it'll be in the
middle of the cyclone season, otherwise I'd do a little 'local cruising'.
I suppose I'd better start thinking about thinking about what I'm going to
do next season. A little early to start looking for crew, but that will be
on 'the list'.
Excitement in the sailing club today, it's the Melbourne Cup, which has
quite a following here. The equivalent of the UK's Grand National, so
everybody (apart from me, seemingly) has had 'a bit of a flutter'.

--

Cruising: Boat maintenance in exotic locations
HTTP:/blog.mailasail.com/troutbridge
Fiji: +6799212518

Women say that Men.......

Can't multitask, but I'm going to have to! I really must make a start on
editing/ proof- reading Augustus and I should knock off a few more
chapters of Eliezer book two. My excuse for not having already made a
start is jet- lag and a touch of Bubonic plague (OK, Man- Flu, but it was
a really, really bad dose). Oh, that and the fact that my faithful
'lapdancer' has been in the Apple repair shop. All the news about that is
on Facebook, but suffice it to say the issue has not yet been resolved, I
await a reply as to whether or not it will be fixed FOC with baited breath
and nervous wallet.
Other news, John the GRP reckons that the hull/ keel/ rudder repairs will
be completed before December. He wanted to finish by the end of this month
but we're awaiting a shipment from Oz. Now he says he can source the
material locally, so after I've assaulted the piggy bank work will
recommence.
There was a traditional Fijian wedding in the house the other day, one of
Rosemary's brothers. Apparently the local custom is to have a civil
ceremony then at a later date a traditional one. Very colourful, but I
didn't want to intrude by wandering around with a camera. If I can get
hold of some of the photos that Alice took, I'll post them if the family
are happy for that to happen. I spent part of the time drinking Kava. I
still can't claim to actually like the taste of it ( the custom is to 'yam
sing' the bowl, i.e. drain it in one go) but I did have a good nights
sleep. Obviously Kava suppresses the symptoms of Bubonic plague, not a lot
of doctors know that!
Now to chase up Emma the Agent and find out where she's sent the Eliezer
manuscript to. I see that her website has been updated to gshow the new
title ( Eliezer's Journey) and a plot synopsis. She remains enthusiastic
so I remain optimistic of finding a different publisher.

Cruising: Boat maintenance in exotic locations
HTTP:/blog.mailasail.com/troutbridge
Fiji: +6799212518

Lunch with a film producer

Well OK, let's be totally honest here, I went up to London for a couple of days to stay with my daughter, who is pursuing a career in the media industry, but hey! One day, I'm sure she'll be producing ads if not films. We went to Simpsons on the Strand for a very expensive lunch, well I hadn't seen her for two years and may not see her again for another two. Simpsons figures in my 'Doctor Augustus Pierre LeMesurier' novel, which is about to be edited them marketed. speaking of novels and one step forward and a shuffle back, Vamptasy (who published 'A Man out of Time) have run into some financial difficulties, which means that they are no longer handling me as an author (amongst others, I'm not alone in having my contract broken). Emma the Agent is reviewing the editing that I've sent her and will be frantically proof reading, prior to submitting the revised manuscript to other publishing houses by the end of this month. I should get my royalties from Vamptasy by January, but true to slightly disorganized form they neglected to tell me how many copies had actually been sold. As Emma said, never mind these things happen for a reason! I'm jetting off back to Fiji next week. Back to reality, i.e. boat repairs. Apparently things are progressing well. A pity that spares have proven so expensive in this country AND very few companies will actually ship stuff, they all want to use couriers. A bit pricey when you want a new stove and hob! I've also found that even going to see companies face to face doesn't guarantee better service. Hey ho. One last party on Sunday, then I'll start work on editing firstly the Tim stories, then 'Augustus'.

The long silence

I can't believe it's nearly a month since I posted anything, such a lot has happened. I'm writing this in the UK, where I've been for the last two weeks. Going through the galleys for the paperback, it became obvious that there were a horrific number of typos which had slipped through the net. To make a short story of it, the person tasked with proof-reading the manuscript has been 'dispensed with', and after a false start with an editor hired-in by the publishers, Emma the Agent and I are madly proof-reading/editing the original manuscript, trying to get it finished ASAP. The publisher has temporarily withdrawn the book from the various e platforms, but hopefully I will have finished 'my bit' by the middle of next week. After Emma has approved my changes and I've approved any changes she makes to my changes, THEN the publisher has a look at it in more depth than the first time she got it, it's likely to be the middle of November before the book is available again. Hopefully the paperback version will be out before Christmas! All this meant that I didn't get up to Aberdeen, I was too busy! Oh well, never mind. Other news is that Emma the Agent thinks that she might have found an illustrator for the 'Tim' stories, so based on this experience, once I've finished the current round of editing, I'll draw breath and take a close look at the 'Tim' manuscript. OH yes, I've heard from 'Latitudes and Attitudes' magazine that they have accepted my article and photos about the 'reef encounter'. No word as to when the publication date is, but I'll let you know as soon as I know.