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I’ve been going over all the previous stories in the Pulse Hospital Radio Chronicles with my cold blooded, ruthless editor’s head on (ready for when I release them all as a collection) and I’m surprised at how much I’ve learnt since that first story. I had no idea that I’d be able to milk the idea over five short stories when I first started, and I pretty much made them up as I went along, so now I’m enjoying the opportunity to insert little subtle details into the earlier stories to make it look like I knew what I was doing all along (at least to newcomers to the series, like my friend Roy).

You’ll be glad to hear that I’ve just completed the first draft of the fifth and final (for now) short story in the Pulse Hospital Radio Chronicles. Now it’s time to leave it to brew for a bit, and then go back to it and despair at the monster I have created. Ha ha! Only joking (hopefully)

I’m quite happy with what I’ve written, and I like the way I’ve tied things up but also opened up a new thread which will continue in a full length novel. There’s a connection to the very first short story (Richmond’s Rarity) as well, via the completely made up song ‘Too Much of a Good Thing is a Bad Thing (Sweet Thing)’ by the (also completely made up) band The Raz Raz Band. I’ve got to work on the cover of the new story now and the cover of the collection of all five stories, so I’ll crack on. I’ll let you know when the new stuff is coming out. Ta ta for now.

Been working on a design for my upcoming compilation of Pulse Hospital Radio Chronicles (5 short stories and a prequel). It never gets any easier to design covers it seems. You’d think being an artist and writer would make it easier, but I suppose it’s the same as the issue of writing my own blurbs: I’m too close to the work to see what the core of the story is, both visually and plot wise. I’ll get there. Sometimes it’s a case of doing a few designs and cherry picking what I like about them, then combining them to make the ideal cover. I quite like the logo for the radio station at the head of the design, so that’s a start, I suppose.

In other news, I got a random sale today of A Fifth Visitor Or How Scrooge Kept Christmas. Maybe sales will pick up as Christmas gets nearer. That’s what usually happens, but I’ve not worked on my Amazon ads for a while. Anyway, hopefully whoever bought it will drop a review when they’ve finished with it. Reviews are the indy author’s bread and butter, after all. Thanks for reading, and as always, I’ll keep you updated with my writing progress.

I’ve got a few ideas rattling around in my head fighting for dominance. Problem is, there’re still so many other tales I’m in the middle of telling. My sequel to Bright Future is very nearly at the end of its first draft and I’m gradually inching closer to the end of my long term (very long term) early teens novel ‘The Badger Helper Watcher: The Misadventures of Sam and Sally Book 1’ (just to give you an idea of how long I’ve been working on it, the main theme of the book is the perils of the internet and getting whatever you want when you want it. What I was worried about when I started writing it has already come to pass, so a bit of a retro rethink/rewrite will be in order). I suppose the key is to concentrate on one project at a time. One good thing I’ve started doing is typing straight away and cutting out the middle man of writing it all down with pen and paper first. Anyway, I’m nearly at the end of the first draft of ‘Richmond’s Roadshow Revelation’ which is the fifth book in my series of shortish stories based around a hospital radio DJ who is loosely based on yours truly. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve been working hard on the fifth Richmond’s Rarity story. As you may have figured out from the title, he’s out on the road this time (sort of). This one gets even more personal and delves into Dave Richmond’s family history. Basically, his long lost dad turns up along with a sister he never knew he had. It’s always difficult to judge how much to tease and potentially give away to entice readers in. That’s why blurbs are the hardest part of writing. Anyway, here’s some of what I’ve got so far. It’s unedited, so don’t judge too harshly.

‘What is it about Belinda Carlisle and the sunshine that feels so right? We’re here in beautiful Fairscough for the annual car fest. I say annual; it’s not been on for a couple of years – for reasons that we don’t need to mention here – but now it’s back, and we’re back. That’s right, Pulse Hospital Radio will be here all day, providing the soundtrack and banter against the backdrop of this momentous occasion in Blanham Park. Your probably wondering where anyone’s supposed to be able to park, what with all these classic motors taking up the space. Don’t worry, there are plenty of spaces in the regular car park to the north of the nature trail. And speaking of classic motors, we’ve got all sorts out on display today. There’s an astin martin, shaken not stirred, just over by Bobby’s burger van. We’ve got (LOOK UP SOME CLASSIC CARS). And perhaps most impressive of all, there’s the delorean which has always been a big draw here, although, if you’re planning on “borrowing” it to go back in time, I wouldn’t bother. With all these other cars around, there’s nowhere near enough room to get up to the required ninety miles per hour. Anyway, I’m going to leave you now in the mostly capable hands of my good friend and colleague Dave “I play music that no one’s ever heard of” Richmond. This one, you will know. Ed Sheeran with “Castles on the Hill”. I’ve been Gaz McConnell. Have a great afternoon, everyone.’

‘Subtle,’ James muttered to Dave.

They were both stood just to the side of the temporary stage that had been set up for the occasion, along with Dave’s girlfriend Laura and her brother Justin.

‘It’s alright,’ Dave said, ‘I’m not going to let him get a rise out of me. I’m not even going to play anything that’ll give him an excuse to kick me off the mic.’

They all looked at him with disbelief, and Laura grabbed his hand, and pretended to check his pulse. ‘Are you sure you’re feeling alright, hun?’ she laughed. ‘I mean, he stole your “Back to the Future” gag as well.’ ‘Yeah, but he got it wrong. Don’t worry, I won’t play anything too mainstream. In fact, the first track only just made it into the top forty and_’ He stopped, because Gary – as everyone called him off air – was coming down off the stage. He still had his headphones on because he thought it made him look down with the kids, although he’d never admit that was why he did it.