Recharging batteries

I’m spending the morning recharging batteries. Not my own, for once. I feel well and truly recharged after my Nordic tour, though as usual it’s anybody’s guess how long that feeling will last.

I’m just preparing to go away for approximately 36 hours so I thought I’d better make sure my Kindle(s) and phone were fully charged beforehand so that I can use them on the train. Anyone who has seen my Finland photo collection will be glad I’m not also recharging my camera on this occasion. Perhaps unfairly I don’t expect to find anything worth photographing in Swindon, although I can always use my phone in any photographic emergency.

This past week I’ve spent almost every spare minute in my task of pulling apart the first draft of ‘The Coronation Quest’, a task that is much more rewarding – and quicker – than I thought it might be. If I succeed in not making it any worse by doing this, I am hoping to have it really finished in another couple of weeks. It’s quite annoying having to go to Swindon just now, but on the other hand it means I have an excuse to read a book about Germany after the Second World War on the train. Unfortunately, finding this has reminded me of a short story or novella I first thought of ages ago which might fill in a sort of black hole in the continuing story of Oliver and Flora from the ‘Quest’ series. I say ‘unfortunately’ because I already have enough writing ideas to last me well into next year, if not longer.

Anyway, the reason I mention it is because I downloaded it from Scribd (www.scribd.com) the other day along with some Lonely Planet guides. In case anyone hasn’t heard of Scribd, which I hadn’t until quite recently, it’s a subscription service for books. If you pay a monthly fee you can download as many books from it as you like. It may be good value for people who read a lot / read very fast. I have to admit, though, I have only started to use it because my novels have gone on to the site via Smashwords and at the moment I have a free year’s subscription because of that. In fact, I have only been able to use this at all since I got my Kindle Fire, as it works through an app and the books don’t go into the usual library. I’m still not sure about reading on the Kindle Fire as the glossiness of the screen seems to cause a lot of reflections, but certainly books with pictures such as the travel guides look better on it than on the other Kindle. There are apps for other tablets and phones too. I think there is a free introductory month or something for Scribd if anyone reading this is interested.