This week, we finally managed to install our new (not new ) item of furniture - a mid-18th Century grandfather clock. It's not bright and shiny like more modern ones, but a dark oak with a warm patina which the beeswax polish is drawing out. In order to set it up, we had to do a certain amount of research - how to hang the pendulum, where the weight went on the endless chain - and it got me thinking... where and when did certain divisions of time come from? The time periods which I have written either had household clocks or didn't, I have not written novels from the time of their invention. Clocks have been around for a long time, and the obsession with measuring time in an ordered fashion dates back to at least the ancient Sumerians. It was they who established a circular reading of time and, I imagine, the sixty seconds/minutes came about as much because it was an easy way to divide a circle as anything else. But it wasn't until much later that the precision of seconds ...
So it's that time of the year again. The time when the internet is flooded with a million and one blog posts about people's crazy new year resolutions. Well, I've got some bad news for you...this is another one of those posts!
This New Year is special. It signals the arrival of a new decade as well, and I find it frightening to consider how much might change before the next decade. A year seems much more manageable to think about.
There are a lot of things I have committed to for the next year. Firstly, my job as a Primary Teacher. I swing from loving my job to the opposite, and I suppose this is quite normal for any paid work.
Another is my Science degree. I have an exam in June - my first exam since I was at High School - so that'll be interesting!!!
Thirdly, Crowvus will take up a huge chunk of my time. It's time consuming, exhausting, it sometimes feels like we're banging our heads against brick walls, but I love it!! As well as publishing other people's books, I also need to keep marketing my own books. Must remember that!
Then there's the John o' Groats Book Festival and the Caithness Music Festival.
On top of this, I continue to be the chairperson of the local Allotment Association. I didn't want this, but really wanted an allotment, and no one else would take on the role. I hope the 20s will see the rise in allotment use in Wick, including me spending more time there.
So, understandably I think, when people say that they haven't done something they should have done and blame on their lack of time, I feel like throwing a bucket of ice over their heads. And then explaining my insane list of commitments.
But on to my New Year's Resolutions. Let's start with Crowvus...
○ Publish 5 books (from different authors)
○ Sign another author
○ Participate in more face-to-face events
○ Complete my final draft of 2/3 books I'm publishing in 2021
○ Grow my Twitter following to 1000
○ Grow my Instagram following to 10. Ok, I'm new!
○ Establish a more reliable YouTube channel
○ Update my website every month
○ Write to schools asking for book reviewers
○ Post a book review every month
○ Post a 'Heaven is Hard Work' blog every Friday
○ Send out a Crowvus newsletter every Saturday
○ Post a youtube video every Tuesday
○ Grow as much of Christmas dinner as possible at the allotment
○ Not buy clothes, but make my own instead.
○ Start a blog about this, posting on Thursdays
I feel certain I have missed some, but can't think of anything more.
What a lot to be going on with! If you feel like helping out, Crowvus is always looking for people who would like to review one of our books, or who want to be part or the book launch team, which includes building buzz around a book, and posting about it when it comes out.
If you're interested, get in touch with me (Clemency) at the_team@crowvus.com
Happy New Year!!
What are your New Year Resolutions?
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