London...

...so, start of this week I was at London with Michelle for a few days.  The main reason was to see the mighty Devin Townsend Project at The Royal Albert Hall but we then decided to make a few days away and do the London rounds: Museums, London Eye, Thames cruise etc.


First off, The Devin Townsend Project was simply stunning!  A night to remember as the first set was the entire Z2 Dark Matters album played in full and turned into a show of sorts which included several big screens moving the story along, a giant ball bag with eyes running around on stage (really!), men firing merchandise from air powered bazookas, Chris Jericho popping up on screen as Captain Spectacular and Devin and the band supported by the gorgeous War Princess herself Dominique Lenore Persi playing a faultless set.  Amazing on its own but then after a 20 minute interlude, out the band come and play a "by request" set of tracks from his entire catalogue and including songs I have never heard live before (this is my 4th time seeing him), some of which blew my face off - Earth Day and The Death Of Music especially!  To say it was special is an understatement.  To say it was a unique one off doesn't even come close.  It will be something that will live with me forever and was 3 hours worth of my life which will remain an absolute highlight.


Then we come to London itself...our capital!  Impressive is a word I would use.  Busy is another word I would use. 


We went to the 2 main museums...History and British.  For me, the History museum is the better...full of dinosaur bones and displays of us and our place on this planet, it really blew me away.  We went on the London Eye which was a lot higher than I expected and I spent the majority of the 30-40 minute trip pretty much shitting myself...but the view was absolutely worth it (the skies were cloud free) as you could see for miles.  Similarly worth it was the Thames boat trip which meant we could see, and pass, all the main attractions of London.


Our Hotel was literally just outside Kensington Gardens which was stunning.  The Underground was easy and not as hellish as I had been led to believe.  The food we had was spot on...room service, eating pizza after midnight is always amazing!!  All in all, I couldn't find fault and overall, for the time we were away, we crammed in so much and enjoyed every moment of it.

Writing update...

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This heat...its hell closing in on me...

....is the title for my first proper novel.  I finished my 'two zero one four' writing project on the 31st December last year and am pleased with the outcome.  More than anything, it forced me to write every day.  Anyway, moving forward to 2015, I have given myself a whole year to write my first proper novel.  It is basically a culmination of everything I have been through with a view of finally putting a lid on it all and starting a fresh in 2016.


What I am trying to do though is push the boundaries of what a novel should be.  Using inspiration from films like Birdman and Interstelllar through to TV shows like American Horror Story and The Walking Dead to music from the likes of Devin Townsend and Aphex Twin...my intention is to create something that is visceral and real but also fantastic and out there.  So far, it is going well and I am following a natural story and feel.


Other exciting things happening is my continued success from my erotic/naughty writings - a current short story accepted by The Erotic Woman and available for your reading pleasure by the end of the month.  I have already been to 2 amazing concerts this year...Queen with Adam Lambert and Slipknot supported by Korn.  Both were bloody awesome but Slipknot just killed it...visually and sonically!  I have also finally re-joined the gym and my absolute intention is to lose weight and add some more years to my life through fitness and good eating (I am now meat free as well).  I went to see Fantasia live with an orchestra, watched Whiplash and Birdman in the cinema (both bloody awesome films), continue to be fascinated with Twitter and have just joined Goodreads.  All in all, a good start to 2015.  Anyway, I will leave you all with an excerpt from my new novel 'This heat...its hell closing in on me'.

'A lone saxophone draws me awake and eases me into the land of the living.  A soft whispering wall of background noise caresses my tired eyes allowing light to creep in.  I begin to stretch my bones and muscles and feel my heart beat to the sound of rhythm bass; steady and strong.  My breathing is calm and regular which just a very slight skip to it, accompanied by a foghorn of music that combines into one glorious chorus.

My soul is becoming bright and warm with every passing second, a rainbow of joy and complication with its own specific dance and sway; a click of the fingers, a shift of the hips.  I stand tall and stiff reaching up to the very stars that adorn my surroundings and reach for one that is engulfed by flame and pulsating with energy; is this Eden?  I jump high, I jump higher, I jump as high as I have ever done and I am off, floating towards this possibility of peace and desire. 

I drift past the lost ones, the ones who need someone to live by; the rockers and the rollers.  I see the young…no!  I see the ‘far too young to be here’ with their painful expressions and forced smiles clawing their way upwards.  I see them as they see themselves and it breaks my heart.  I see the marks on their arms and the trail of tears they leave behind.  Their soundtrack is one of string and organ, melancholy and sad but with a sharp bite that hits hard.  Whatever led them here in life begins to peel away the skin they cling onto and a new one forms; divine and beautiful.  And they sore with a purpose once missing, now reclaimed; god speed'.

  

Indeed...

...it has been a while again.  Concentrating on my current writing project, holding down a full time job and getting through the everyday trials of life has meant I have neglected my blog unfortunately. 


As my current project /two zero one four' is now coming to an end, I thought I would reflect on it.  I began it as a way of pushing myself to have to write every day...the nature of the project was basically a diary but in poetry form.  With this respects, it has succeeded and I believe I have written some of my best work and have improved my writing and really thought about what I am attempting to get across with my words.  But...I have found that I repeat myself a fair bit.  I think the reason for this is just the mundane nature of life sometimes...get up, go to work, come home, have tea, go to bed and then do it all again.


I am still very proud of what I have done so far and with a matter of weeks till it is complete, look forward to reading it as a whole.


It is what comes next that is really getting my excitement boiling though!!!  My first proper novel!!!  A project I began last year as a rough outline and a project which is not only the sequel to my self published book 'Love Or Suicide and the Life In between' but also an honest and open outpouring of the darkest period of my life so far.


Anyway, a few treats below from 'two zero one four' - see you soon!!

31^st October

all you need is six lines

part 31

so did I emphasise the detail?

did I bring all the sins of emotion?

do you need more than six lines

to dig through the piss and shit,

six lines bleeding with hurt and pain,

six lines breathing with life and death…did I?

1^st November

Questions

Don’t dare question what you are not willing to change,

your thin honour wants to be part of this world

but it isn’t willing to help it; a stab in the back.

 

Ignoring the suffering,

complaining about the lack of luxury

in your world of comfort,

not even realising the strings…

 

…black, infinite, unbreakable.

 

The endless cycle of hushed tones,

guessing this and that,

putting too much faith in stories,

putting too much faith in words,

putting too much faith in men.

 

And so you end up running away from you

instead of facing the piss and shit.

You end up accepting the strings dangling

with swaying menace and control.

Watching innocence pay the price,

listening to the wrong answers

and mourning the wrong people…

…universal hope is never too far away.

 

Can you set yourself free?

Can you cut the strings?

Can you?