Three days of sunshine make all the difference to the prevailing mood. Despite the ongoing lockdown, despite the repeated bungling of the vaccine roll-out (in Germany at least), despite the expectation that no cultural, sporting or recreational facilities will be open until May or June, I saw light at the end of the tunnel this month when the temperature reached 14 degrees and grey was superseded by blue and gold. I suppose, when we do finally emerge blinking on the other side, it will be a long time before we start taking simple everyday pleasures for granted again, and even longer before we complain of boredom or dissatisfaction at all the various hues life has to offer. Or perhaps that’s naïve, After all, we are human beings.
I did an interview with the thriller writer Alex Pearle this month, which can be found here. Nice questions, interesting enough answers. In Reality Testing news, the novel has now shipped 900 copies and has received several neon-tinted reviews from writers such as William J. Donahue, Bill Halpin and L.S. Popovich, which is gratifying. In non-novel-related-but-still-cyberpunky news, an article I wrote conflating cyberpunk with the climate crisis (what else?) will be published in the brilliantly named magazine The Abstract Elephant in the near future. Finally, I’ve finished work on my fifth novel, The Distance, and will be spending March focusing on short stories and essays. Kind of a palate cleanser.
February music:
Basically just this whole album by Adrian Younge. Along with the album’s content, the original cover (not on Spotify) is a thing of terrifying significance.
there are doors that lock and doors that don't
