Status: 22 Feb 2023

In March, I’m going to be a gust on the Pratchat: The Terry Pratchett Bookclub Podcast hosted by Ben McKenzie and Elizabeth Flux. Here’s some details from their recent announcement:

For our March episode, we’re going where Pratchat has never gone before: into Pratchett’s nonfiction! Author, publisher and roleplayer Peter M. Ball joins us for a collection of Pratchett’s scribblings about genre, fandom and Neil Gaiman. The specific pieces are “Kevins”, “Wyrd Ideas”, “Let There Be Dragons” and “Notes From A Successful Fantasy Author”, plus “Neil Gaiman: Amazing Master Conjuror” and Neil’s foreword to the book in which all of these were collected, 2014’s A Slip of the Keyboard. You’ll find all of those (except the foreword) in the book’s first section, “A Scribbling Intruder”. Send us your questions about them via email to chat@pratchatpodcast.com, or on social media using the hashtag #Pratchat65.

From the announcement for this month’s episode

I have a lot of thoughts about this collection, and these entries in particular, as you might expect from someone who started an entire product line dedicated to preserving the writing about writing generated by Australian speculative fiction authors. I’m really intrigued by writers like Gaiman and Pratchett alike, who rarely get positioned as exquisite craftsmen because that’s not the persona they often present to the world, yet actually leave an astonishing amount of great writing advice out there when you start to filter through for the gems. Plus, of course, Pratchett’s a writer who rose to popularity alongside the internet in many ways, which makes for some fascinating reading when you position his non-fiction in a historical context.

Send your questions through to the details in the quote above if you’ve got something you’d like us to talk about!

ON THE TO DO LIST TODAY

Bit of a Schrodinger’s to-do list today, as there’s a coaching session later this afternoon that I might not have confirmed in time to actually run. Currently proceeding as though it will take place, but if it doesn’t go ahead this afternoon will be all about layouts for freelance gigs.

1. Add 700+ words to my current work in progress
2. Upload Eclectic Projects 002 to the three remaining distributor sites (you can pre-order copies from my store now).
3. Edit the essay for Eclectic Projects 003 (holdover from yesterday).
4. Write up notes for the mentee session this afternoon
5. Deliver a mentee session this afternoon or progress the layouts on a freelance gig.

PETER M. BALL INBOX: 49

BRAIN JAR INBOX: 17

BRAIN JAR SUBMISSION QUEUE: 15

Will cull, but not answer, emails from the personal inbox today because 49 is definitely too many loose threads for my brain to keep track of.