About 3 weeks ago I posted a brief piece promising more Albions Children chapters along with extracts from Williams email about his autumn travels through Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with his eventual arrival in Singapore. However we had a difference of opinion about the order of chapters to be published (including some rather erudite details about the editing of those chapters) and how much of his email concerning his epic journey through Southeast Asia we should put up on these posts.
My fragile ego (usually slightly less sensitive but currently rather affected by an ongoing nasty cold/flu virus) did a "well fuck you then William why don't you just do all this editing & virtual publishing yourself you stupid old"......kind of thing. I have now apologised to him for my ridiculous behaviour & we have reached an agreement/compromise around the editing & publishing of texts on the website. Ultimately this is William's work so in the event of artistic/creative disagreements he will have the final say. Assuming if course he is available at the far end of a digital communication network.......which may not always be the case.
So, a few weeks later than planned, here are 2 new chapters of Albions Children. Mithra in Winter (Part 1) & Teenage Incarnation. Extracts from his travel journal/emails will follow early in the New Year.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoy the new chapters. Festive greetings to all our readers, wishing you a bright & joyful new solar year as we pass through the Winter Solstice & the days slowly, oh so slowly, begin to lengthen again.
Just before Xmas I published 2 more chapters on the website. But forgot to tell anyone about it......So if you're landing here it may be in response to emails & Facebook notifications I'm about to send out. If it's your first visit to Albion's Children "Welcome" & I hope you enjoy reading both the novel itself & the various threads of communication between me (the sort of editor & facilitator) & my cousin William (the definitely author). Though it had been a few months now since I last heard from him in Phnom Penh......but see below.
If you've been here before then welcome back.
I'm in the process of editing a very long email from William in Kuala Lumpur detailing his travels through some of Southeast Asia partly by motorbike & on foot. Also by train, taxi & bullock cart. It should be ready to put up here by early February along with more chapters.
Go well as the days here in the northern hemisphere begin to stretch out & Spring is out there somewhere.
After a gap of over 6 weeks I'm returning to my role of facilitator/coordinator/editor for Albion's Children. Here in northeast England it feels like Spring is on the way. Thankfully, as I've been randomly unwell over most of the winter. A combination of colds, coughs & ongoing challenges from the consequences of 2 bouts of major heart surgery over the last 20 years.
So I put this project down for a while. I told William what was happening with me & he, of course, was fine with waiting until I was well enough to continue the virtual publishing process we are engaged in together. While I was unwell I had a chance to read through the mostly hand written pages of chapters, outlines & suggestions he had posted to me in January from Kuala Lumpur.
Though he had tried to get them scanned & sent via Messenger to me it would seem that hadn't worked so a few months ago a package arrived via royal mail including outlines for new chapters, characters & an account of his travels from Bangkok through Thailand, Burma, China, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam. Some of the journey was by motorbike until it was confiscated by Chinese border guards.
I'm now editing some of that new material & it will appear as a long communication sometime soon... As I write this William is in Singapore, writing more & deciding on where to travel next. Probably not back to Australia yet.
Spring is definitely happening here in Warkworth. Snowdrops appeared a while back and we are now enjoying the arrival & blooming of catkins, crocuses, daffodils & even some early hawthorn blossom. While that green haze around many of the still bare branches on ash, aspen, rowan, birch, beech & willow signals the imminent arrival of fresh green leaves.
Wonderful!