T.M. Hanson

Hello, everyone! I hope you’ve been enjoying the delights of summer. This time, I’ll be covering the past few months, as I haven’t been posting very regularly. This was mainly due to being busy, as well as having a dip in my fatigue. Since May, I’ve been away twice and another one of those weeks has been getting ready for travelling, so a good month of my absence has been due to that. Because of it, I haven’t been able to do much posting or writing, hence the break in-between.

Writing

Not a lot has been happening on the writing front. I’ve been struggling a lot recently with my chronic fatigue; I’ve had a bit of a flair up, due to all of the travelling. I’ve had quite a bit of bed rest, as well as keeping to the essentials. I’ve been inspired by various ideas (sequels and spin offs), as well as reflecting over certain ways of adapting In Want Of A Wife past its first draft. Up until July, I haven’t been able to do any more than that but these past few weeks, I’ve finished two chapters, another two are being edited, and I’ve almost finished writing another. Altogether, I only have four chapters left until I’m halfway through Vol.7. I was hoping to reach the halfway point by the end of this month but my recent flare up made me extend it to August. However, it’s looking likely that I can finish it by then, which is exciting!

Progress is progress, after all. I’m pleased to have even done that much! I’ve shared a handful of chapters with my partner and she loved it, so I’m really pleased they’ve been received well! Onwards and upwards, even if slowly!

Reading

I’ve read quite a bit since I last wrote. I won’t give too much of a short review this time around, as this section will be too long, but the books I’ve read are Children of Blood and Bone, Scythe, Robinson Crusoe, Gone, Impure Thoughts, Former People, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Forgetting Time, and Prophet Song. I also reread the Spiderwick Chronicles, one of my all-time favourite series as a child, and I’m currently in the midst of Eldest (Eragon). They’re all fiction, bar Impure Thoughts and Former People- the former being a poetry collection and the latter focusing on the dissolution of the Russian aristocracy. And yes, that’s a follow on from The Romanovs, since we’re on the subject of tsarist decline (lmao). It’s the last book I have relating to the Russian Revolution, so I decided to give it a go.

As you may have noticed, fantasy and sci-fi have been a big focus for me. Mainly because they’re books I already own or that my partner has. I did find Children of Blood and Bone disappointing; Scythe, The Forgetting Time, and Prophet Song, okay; whilst I found Gone and Before The Coffee Gets Cold to be quite good. I definitely enjoyed the last two the most. As for Crusoe, I found it helpful as research. I did generally like it but there were parts of it that were very of the time- it being written in the 18^th Century- so I had mixed feelings about it, but I took its main message to heart.

As for Eragon, I read it as a child and I have the film on DVD, though I haven’t rewatched it past childhood. Whilst I was reading the first book, I was a bit like… I don’t remember any of this. So, everything that happened was a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did this time around but I’m actually really enjoying the series. I’ve heard it gets better with each book, which means I’m really excited to get past the second one. It definitely surprised me with how invested I am in The Inheritance Cycle!  

Personal

Some of the highlights of the past three months have been:

• Riding on a motorbike around the Scottish Highlands.
• My birthday weekend that I share with my partner. It was an all-round lovely time!
• Having a quiet, restful time in Spain, enjoying the good weather, the chance to swim, and the good food.
• Spending the weekend in the Lake District.
• I discovered the Camembert dip by President so… a lot of money has been spent on that.
• Getting a surprise day all for me where I got to choose plants, little knick-knacks, and books that I wanted, and my partner paid for it. I was so happy, you don’t even know.
• I’ve been inspired to get back into poetry, so I have a notebook now that’s dedicated to some of my writing.
• Joining a local book club and getting the chance to meet others, as well as to read out in the allotment down the road from us.
• Getting another step closer to figuring out why I have chronic fatigue- I’m on a very long waiting list but blood tests have been done, and they were very positive!
• Finally getting around to having a cleaner to help with household chores and responsibilities, as I struggle a lot, due to my health.
• The anthology I contributed to is now complete and is in the process of being published, so I’m now, technically, a published author!! AHHHHHHHH!!!
• Generally having a good time with my partner and doing little things together.  
• I somehow managed to get my hands on a Blue Diamond Vinyl Figure, as well as the Ori Collectors Edition and AURORA tour merch. My bank account suffered but my heart is full.
• My health is generally on the upswing and I’m slowly recovering.
• I’m one step closer to getting a Steven Universe tattoo.

Lots of other things have happened, most of which I can’t remember- my memory is awful. Even so, I’ve been very lucky to have as good a time as I have, considering my health, and I’m definitely more than happy to be getting back into a regular routine, particularly when it comes to my writing. It’s been developing more and more over the past few months, which I’m really pleased about. I just love being creative, so I’m happy to be back at that point. It’s been a long process but it feels, more and more, that things are getting back to a state of normality and that I have the time and energy for fun and pleasure, as well as creative expression. I hope things are going just as well for everyone else, and that you also find moments of peace and joy during these summer months.

Hopefully, I’ll drop by next month, as well as share some writing that I’ve done. With love always, T.M.