This week has been a bit of a nightmare. I have spent a lot of the time I should have been working trying to sort out a mortgage after the offer in principle Jenny and I had from NatWest was withdrawn, apparently due to the time Jenny was unable to work due to a disability. I’m not talking about something strange and esoteric here however, the disability she has is quite common. There really is no excuse for it and I am very annoyed. Suffice to say we are taking steps to deal with this problem and that’s all I can really say about it.

Nevertheless I am determined to hit my weekly earnings target even if it means sacrificing yet another weekend to do it. I should have been on course to have my comics running Monday to Friday, the Webcomics Builder running Monday to Friday and everything else ticking over nicely. Should have, but no. I’ve had to spend hour after hour sorting out the mortgage. Still, it looks like we may be on track again now so fingers crossed for that.

Now I just have to get my writing work done and my law studies done too. I’m falling behind on the law course and that’s not a good thing because there is an assignment due on the 6th of April and I really need to get that dealt with. Still, I’m pretty good when it comes to speed reading and I pick things up very quickly so I’m not worried at this point; just annoyed that I have to work harder now because of this problem with the mortgage eating into my time.

With luck and a trailing wind, I’ll have the comics, the blogs and my freelance writing career back on track by Monday.

This is me in Second Life, where I go by the name April Kohl.

In other news, I have been venturing into Second Life again. It is the first time in about three months because I just haven’t been able to give it the time it needs. I can usually be found hanging out with the Milk Wood group of writers, most notably Virtual Writers Inc. These guys are incredibly creative writers who come together in Second Life to discuss writing, share their latest works in book and poetry readings and generally be awesome together. If you are in Second Life, or even if you are just visiting, then be sure to check them out.

Also, if you are in Second Life, be sure to stop by my house. It’s where I tend to hang out when I’m not at a writer’s meeting or exploring the virtual world in my TARDIS (yes I am a colossal Doctor Who nerd. The TARDIS has a Tom Baker era console room but I’m using a Matt Smith era outer shell – I love to mix things up and keep people guessing). If I’m not there, feel free to have a look around or even leave me a note in the post box.

Why am I back in Second Life after three months, you may ask? Well it’s simple. Fesworks mentioned possibly putting together a new podcast for Second Life as part of his expansion of The Webcomic Beacon into a podcast network and that got me thinking. I’ve sent him a message saying I’d be interested in getting involved with a podcast like that if it goes ahead. In fact, if it doesn’t go ahead I may put together a podcast of my own because it seems like something that would be fun to do.

Anyway, time’s up here right now. I have lots of writing to get on with and time is relatively short if I want to get back on schedule. See you later!

So a lot of today has been taken up by writing. I’m about 1/3 of the way through what I need to get done and I have plenty of time to get it all done in, so I’m not worried. If I was worried, would I be writing this blog post instead of getting on with work? Well yes, I probably would because procrastination has been a problem this week (hence why I’m working on the weekend instead of drawing comics) but that’s beside the point.

This is my podcasting microphone. I use it to cast pods across the Internet.

One thing I’ve been doing today that doesn’t involve writing is podcasting. I love to get together with a few like minded individuals to record our conversations as a way of making light entertainment for the world.

Today I was joined by Luke Healy, Luke Surl and Matt Dyson for The Webcomics Company podcast. Normally we would have James Spence on the line but he had to drop out this week and will be back next time we record. Matt took his place and did a very good job, so all is good.

As I said, I really enjoy these podcasts. They are a chance to talk about comics with other people who have shared in the triumphs and heartaches that come from making entertaining art. We’ve got a small but loyal following for the podcast and it seems to be growing each week, so that’s great too. I really love it when people appreciate the things I’m doing – it helps me to keep going for a start!

Speaking of keeping going, I am being somewhat thwarted right now by a bugbear of my own creation. As many of you will probably already know from past entries in this very journal, I neither drink nor smoke but I do have a sweet tooth. That sweet tooth has developed into what became worryingly close to a sugar addiction and as a result I have felt the need to go cold turkey on the sweeties that have been keeping me going when I write.

The results have not been a nice experience.

Even as I type, I am craving wine gums with something close to what I think a drug addict must feel when they go without a fix for a while. I say close because I remember what it was like to stop smoking and the craving now is not as strong as the craving for cigarettes was. I want sweets but I don’t feel like I need them, if you know what I mean? The urge to go out and buy sweets has been with me all day. It eats into everything I’m doing and it is slowing me down something rotten because I’m not just working, I’m also fighting myself.

I will have to work this feeling into one of my novels at some point. If I can get past today’s workload that is.

Speaking of workloads, I suppose I should get back to it. See you later!

A fellow webcomic creator and podcaster, who goes by the name Fesworks, asked on Twitter for pictures to accompany his podcast, The Webcomic Beacon. I listen to that podcast every week while I’m drawing my comics so I was happy to provide a couple of pictures for him.

Because he won’t be using the original size images (if he chooses to use the images at all), I thought I’d link to them here. As always, I’m happy to hear from you if you have any comments.

'Bunny Becky', or 'The Recursive Rabbit and Hat'

Cubist Becky

Enjoy!