I’m pretty sure my wife thought there was nothing quite as boring as hearing me ramble on about my writing, until I started rambling on about promoting my writing.

It was a week ago today that I finished The Talisman, both the book and the series, and it is still a bit surreal. All that time working on the books, even when I started getting close to the end, the idea that I would one day finish it never occurred to me. And now, the Series Spreadsheet, that I lived by for the past decade, is closed and filed away, the top item on my daily ToDo list no longer reads “The Book!!!!” and I keep sitting down at my laptop only to discover I have nothing to do.

It took me less time to adjust to retirement.

During this week, however, I have not been slacking off. I visited the local library, and the town’s bookshop, and received encouraging feedback from both, though that was all I received, and I do wonder if they were simply trying to get rid of me.

But there remain many opportunities to explore, and I need to keep reminding myself that the series has not been officially released. There are still a few beta readers I am waiting to hear from, and I don’t even have a copy of the final instalment yet. So, really, it’s time to sit back and explore other activities.

Speaking of:

You may recall that I piped in the New Year a few weeks back. Well, having played for a street full of revellers, word got out that there was a piper lurking about, and a pub (The Star in Roffey) contacted me to ask if I would pipe in the haggis for their Burns Night.

Naturally, I jumped at the chance, and the evening went well, even though I was attacked by a dog who, apparently, was no fan of the pipes.

Anyway, while there, I managed to mention that I (ahem) also did a bit of singing, so they booked me for the 16^th of March—St. Pat’s Day Eve (this was just a coincidence; it was the first open date)—which makes things easy for me as I know a lot of Irish drinking songs.

I did warn them that I hadn’t played in a pub in forty years and when I did play, I was known for doing “Oldies” and I haven’t updated my repertoire since. The list I compiled for my debut includes numerous songs from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, two “modern” songs from the 1990s—songs I am sure most of the punters will consider to be “Oldies.”—and not a single song from this century.

Fortunately, I have two choirs I can canvass for support. If I can pack the audience with people unlikely to throw stuff at me, it should be fine. As long as no one releases the dog.