Nick Kyme

Not done one of these for a while. That other mistress of mine (Lady Twitter – man, that just sounds wrong…) has been luring me away with 140 character charms. Oooh.

Ahem.

Apologies.

As Stef is at the Cake and Bake show today, work will finally draw to a close for me on Vulkan Lives. It has been a long, tough road as all full length novel projects are (seriously, I find them completely knackering), but the end is in sight. Of the first draft at least. Then I’ll be sending it off to the jaws of the editors to see what they make of the taste.

In other news, I am on the look out for some BETA readers for my next novel (Salamanders #4 or #5 – I can never remember). It’s something I seldom have time to indulge in but that I know a lot of other authors make use of, that first litmus test with the target audience. Any who, the search is on.

Got a lot of Horus Heresy material coming up over the next few months, more than I’ve ever done, which is really just a confluence of the ideas I’ve been developing over the last ear or two coming to fruition. You might have already seen Gates of Terra. That’s on the BL website now and here’s the link if you haven’t:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/horus-heresy/gates-of-terra-ebook.html

I’ve also got an MP3 audio featuring everybody’s favourite Ultramarine, Aeonid Thiel. It’s called Censure and it’s also going to be released as a CD (before all your digital-phobics get all rowdy and up in arms).

Two novellas are on the cards, both Salamander-based (so it’s all coming at once you XVIII Legion fans): Promethean Sun (the stripped down novella version) and Scorched Earth (the brand new, limited edition novella – and please don’t rail against the fact that it’s limited. It’ll be available on the BL site for a week in a few months, so if you want one you can get one).

I return to 40k after that with a new Salamanders novel to keep me out of trouble and a few side projects. There’s going to be an omnibus of the first three Tome of Fire novels too, plus short stories and some extra material I am currently putting together, including a new short story. A return to Damnos is also on the cards and features very heavily in my upcoming writing schedule. Can’t give you any more details on that though, I’m afraid. I’ve probably said too much already but then who knows what gets spoken about at BL Live etc.

Well that’s everything on the cards for me at the moment. Hope you’re enjoying the output and are looking forward to what’s up next.

Toodle-oo.

Having given it a week or so, I figured it was about time I posted some answers to all the questions posed to me as a result of the previous posting. Nosy lot, aren’t you? Ha, ha – just kidding. Thanks for the great response, and I shall do my best to answer everything asked as fully as I can.

Okay then without further ado, here goes:

Q. When does the first book in the Circle of Fire trilogy get released? Does it have a title yet?

It’s still to be confirmed, especially as I’ve been slated to write two novels and a novella beforehand, but I plan to start writing Circle of Fire end of 2013/beginning of 2014 so that could be a late 2014 or early-mid 2015 release. Also yet to be confirmed, but my working title for book one is ‘Rebirth’.

Q. Vulkan Lives. Other than the obvious, what can we expect from this?

Without giving the story away, it’s a two pronged narrative in which a double storyline interweaves with the other. It features several primarchs, most prominently Vulkan and Konrad Kurze, and as such the story examines the relationship between these two characters, chipping away at the psyche of both. There’s the return of some classic characters from the series (not all mine, it has to be said) and very little of the story itself is set on Isstvan V, although the resonance of what happened there does inform e narrative to a large degree. ‘Vulkan Lives’, ‘Scorched Earth’ and ‘Promethean Sun’ all connect. And my final little reveal is that this novel leads in to Dan’s ‘Unremebered Empire’, which directly follows it on the schedule and sets up a major story thread in that book.

Q. Have you given any thought to some sort of a sequel to Fall of Damnos? Any chance of returning to Sicarius and Co?

That’s a definite. Although ‘Fall of Damnos’ was the story I wanted to tell and fulfilled its remit as describing a Space Marine Battle, it always niggled me a bit that there was no time or room to describe the desperate evacuation of the planet and the sacrifices the Second Company had to make when they did so. A return to Damnos is on the cards for the near future.

Q. After The Great Betrayal, what’s your next fantasy project?

That’s an easy one. For my next Warhammer novel, I’ll be returning to the War of Vengeance and following hot on the heels of ‘Master of Dragons’ by Chris Wraight with the third book in the series, currently titled ‘Elfdoom’.

Q. How do you come up with the names for your characters in the Tome of Fire trilogy? As which languages are the source?

I guessed asked this one quite a lot. The simple answer is: I just make them up. Basically, when I was about to write ‘Salamander’ I wanted to find a base I could build the culture around. As the Salamanders and the Nocturneans they live alongside are a tribal culture, I opted for an African naming convention and simply applied my search engine to the task. Knowing the lead characters in advance (I also researched African actors so I could put names to faces and still have their head shots on my old PC to remind me), I went down a massive alphabetical list and selected names that evoked the sense of the character then I 40k’d them up a bit by adding -ON or -EN or -US etc as a suffix to the name. I also plundered Ancient Greek and Roman names, anything from the Classical World, reasoning that the Salamanders Legion originated on Terra and as such they would still have Terran names in some instances. This is where I got characters such as Elysius and Iagon from (although the latter is simply a corruption of the character Iago from ‘Othello’ and was a deliberate homage). Use hard consonants is another technique that gave me some good, strong sounding names like the hard G in Tsu’gan or the hard K in Ba’ken. These characters wouldn’t have had the same resonance, I think, if I’d have opted for lighter consonants or combinations of consonants like TH or S. To my mind, it makes these characters more grounded and earthy, which is precisely what I was going for.

Q. How do you balance between being an editor and a writer? As in when you’re writing does the editor part of you come into the writing process with a greater authority than other writers who are not editors?

It’s that old answer of perfecting the art of wearing two hats. Although, I’d argue that most writers (if not all) have an editor in them, so it’s all part of the same beast. I think the challenge comes when you’re writing that you don’t self edit too soon or too often. I know a lot of writers who get hung up on every little detail, every word and sentence as they are writing and can’t move on to the next one until it’s perfect. This is a good way to drive yourself around the bend and miss deadlines because you’re over obsessing and allowing your internal editor to drive the writer. Best practice for me is to get the words down, the ideas out of my head and committed to the screen and then, when I start the next writing session, read my previous work and do a little editing. I know that I might revisit this passage or chapter several times throughout the writing of the book but that in tackling the edits this way I am still making progress and finessing as I go.

Q. How do you log an idea for yourself? I’m not a writer but often find my mind wondering and get an idea for a cool story, I think about how I should get that down somehow and then quite often I forget and then the idea passes and is lost… I assume this would happen even more for a writer!

Several ways. I have multiple note books of varying degrees of size that I jot ideas, synopses, even entire chapter breakdowns in as sometimes ‘going old skool’ is more conducive to creativity. I also use notes and notepad a lot on my iPad, which has the added advantage that I can email them, and cut and paste my notes directly into Pages or Word to form the basis on a synopsis or pitch etc. My advice: keep a pen and notepad on you at all times!

Q. Are you able to switch off the editor inside and enjoy reading? Are you reading anything for yourself at the moment?

Definitely. I actually don’t find the transition that hard as what I tend to read for pleasure is quite different from what I edit/read for my job (athough that is also a pleasure, just in a different way). Subconsciously, I am always analysing I think. I’m not sure any writer can read without doing this, logging the really nice turns of phrase or trying to figure out what a writer did to create a certain mood or emotional reaction, the way they structured their most memorable and striking characters etc. But, yes, I still enjoy reading. Very much. I’m reading John Connolly’s latest thriller at the moment, ‘Wrath of Angels’, which is excellent (if you scroll down to the bottom of the blog in the Culture Shocks section, I regularly update what I’m reading, gaming, writing, listening to etc). I’ve also got Scott Synder’s ‘Vodoo Heart’ and Danie Ware’s ‘Ecko Rising’ on my read next list/pile.

Q. Do you have a favourite Non-Superhero related comicbook series that you have read?

I don’t actually. All the comic book stuff I read is super hero-based. I am loving Scott Synder’s run on Batman and have been picking up that, the Death of the Family tie-ins and Geoff Johns run on Aquaman, as well as Justice League. I’ve got a few Marvel Now titles, including X-Men and Avengers but have yet to read them, they’re just on my iPad. I ‘enjoyed’ Preacher a few years back, which I suppose is non-super hero (though there are forces and beings in that which have powers not unlike super heroes) and I’ve read a bit of ‘The Boys’, which subverts (and perverts in some instances) the super hero genre. Any recommendations?

Q. Any news of a Salamander Omnibus and perhaps with maps and extra stuff?

An omnibus is on the cards. I’m keen for it not to include everything I’ve done thus far, but it will have the three novels and the stories that tie in directly to the Tome of Fire, so there’ll be some hold-overs from ‘Tome of Fire’, the anthology (but not all) and I want to write a long short story that pre-figures ‘Fires of War’ too. Current working title in my head for that is ‘Dragonborn’. I’d also like to include a Nocturne map and a glossary of names and terms, perhaps even a timeline that shows where the events sit in the 40k chronology.

Q. Vulkan lives : As the author can you choose, or decide what will be on the cover? (I hope of an official draw of Vulkan , even if I think he’s the more diffcult to be done.)

For the ‘Vulkan Lives’ cover I was very lucky in that Black Library has an incredible artist in the form of Neil Roberts who does all the cover work. Like with ‘Scorched Earth’, Neil and I discussed what should be on the cover, what scene it would depict and how it would interact with ‘Scorched Earth’ too, which is really a companion piece to the novel. There will be an illustration of Vulkan (the first ever, I believe). In fact, it’s already done and can say that it’s amazing.

Q. Can you talk about working with other author and using their stuff in your story? In the same way what’s your feelings when they use your material? Have you ever told to a collegue that he has a wrong viewpoint on your stuff?

As the Horus Heresy and, to a lesser extent, the 40k setting is a shared universe there are a lot of occasions when authors will be using the same characters, running with ideas set up by someone else in order to keep the story going. Until recently, I’ve not used characters created by other authors before, but I have written stories about Chapters (Ultramarines, spring to mind). In the case of characters, there’s an inherent pressure that you don’t want to undermine what another author has written and stay true to how they have potrayed a certain character, but you also don’t want to feel so inhibited that you can’t develop them and add to them. Research and the right amount of respect is important here, as well as regular communication and full disclosure to the other writer. Ultimately, it’s the call of the publisher who does what, with whom and when, but good working relationships and professionalism is predicated on courtesy I think. It’s certainly a fun challenge, but I think, ultimately, I prefer to use my own characters and work with the strands and story threads that I’ve developed personally. Fortunately, I work with an extremely talented and professional group of writers, so I’ve never needed to query why another author has developed one of my ideas in a way that I didn’t agree with.

Q. Finally what about working with your translator in foreign language? Especially the French translator.

I actually don’t get to interact with my translators much, which is a shame, as most of this is handled by Black Library’s French editor. I was fortunate enough to meet my translators recently at French GD and we were able to chat a little bit about their work, but contact is usually confined to the odd emailed question about a particular term or ocassionally my intent in a certain sentence or passage of text.

Q. Have you thought of doing a story ( or short ) on bray’arth ashmantle? He is a 1 of a kind dreadnaught, who got lost for 9 days…I think that’s more than enough time for stuff to go down and some really sick action to occur.

He’d be a great character to write about. I did pen a synopsis for a story involving Bray’arth but decided to shelve it for later, so I might revisit it at some point in the future.

Q. Are you wanting the new Rocksteady Batman game to be a prequel (like they’ve rumored) or are you itching for something bigger and better ?

Ha, ha – if it’s as good as the previous two games, I honestly don’t mind. Although, something like ‘Arkham Underworld’ would be cool that incorporates the entire Gotham City.

Q. Nick, i want to ask a question. Do you plan to write and publish new story about Primarch Vulkan? Prometean Sun was excellent, and can’t wait for new Vulkan stories 

I sure do. Check out the first answer regards ‘Vulkan Lives’… (I’ve also already written another novella called ‘Scorched Earth’ too – Vulkan’s not it, but he’s an important presense in the story).

Q. Recently, I reread The Burning. And I wondered if N’Bel is ‘Vulkan’s N’Bel’ or just a guy named that way. And, is the Metalshaper in that story Vulkan? I could never decide.

Ah, ‘The Burning’. Well, this is of course a story about Dak’ir’s vision quest, his trial to see if he can control his newfound psychic powers, so a lot of what he sees and experiences is impression and the product of his subconscious mind. I can say that N’bel is Vulkan’s N’bel, his father but that the identity of the metal-shaper shall remain a mystery. What do you think? I take it you figured out the drygnirr was Pyriel?

Q. In your HH writing, will we ever see Vulkan wielding/planning/making/thinking about his relics? Or the Tome of Fire?

Possibly and yes.

Q.  Can you tell us about Vulkan Lives a wee bit more please?

See above…

Q. Any idea when the first Circle of Fire novel will be out?

Same with this one…

Q. What is Ignea? Where is it? In what way are the Igneans different from the ‘normal’ Nocturneans? It seems Dak’ir is lighter skinned than the inhabitants of the Sanctuary Cities, is that because the Igneans are ethnically different?

Ignea is an underground realm of caves that runs throughout much of Nocturne. Given the planet’s volatile nature, areas of this vast cave system are periodically uninhabitable, hence the nomadic nature of Igneans. Dak’ir’s skin is lighter because he is not exposed to the sun like the Nocturneans that live above ground in the Sanctuary Cities, and, yes, Igneans are ethnically different, just as Nocturneans from the various Sanctuary Cities are too.

Q. I’ve been wondering about that for really long: what’s with the apostrophes in some of the Nocturnean names? Do they signify a sound like a glottal stop, or… (I’m probably over-thinking that.)

Also, more importantly, is Dak’ir Sailor Nocturne? 

It’s partly affectation and because a lot of African root names have apostrophe’s in them so it helped convey the sense of tribal culture I was aiming for. The apostrophe’s are also intended to show where the emphasis of certain letters are in the Salamander’s names (but aren’t intended as a glottal stop). For instance, ‘Dak’ir’ is pronounced, ‘Dak-eer’ with a hard letter K and ‘Ba’ken’, ‘Ba-ken’ with a short A and a hard K. ‘Tsu’gan’ is ‘Soo-gan’ with a silent T, long U and a hard G. The apostrophes are really there to reinforce and aid with pronunciation.

As for the sailor thing… huh?

Okay, that’s everything. I hope that answers some of your questions and provides a little insight into my thoughts and ideas regards my work and the subjects thereof.

That blog title wasn’t a greeting, just so you know, although ‘good morning’ to anyone who’s reading this in the AM (and feel free to substitute this for your own time relevant greeting if not). No, what I mean is ‘Morning people’, those people that are ‘good’ (i.e. ‘awake’) in the morning. I think I’m probably one of them.

So, I was reading through the Twitter feed today (a little dull, with a couple of interesting nuggets) and came across a snippet by David Earle quoting his word count (798 – not too bad, if we’re only talking about the one session) and that how this was the product of a night time writing session, and how the other 202 (taking him up to that magical 1,000 words – not sure why that is such a milestone but the man speaks the truth, it is) was lost to fatigue.

This got me thinking about writing periods i.e. when is it that writers, myself included, are at their most productive.

As my good lady Stef would tell you, I am definitely a morning person. Even when I’m ill (the unfortunate present state of affairs, but slowly improving between coughing up thick wads of green phlegm), I am still up early in the morning and at my mac or iPad, either scribbling down a blog (such as I am now) or drafting a synopsis, editing, making notes or even getting down to the actual scary shit of doing some proper, honest-to-goodness words on the page writing.

It might be a symptom of environment. In the mornings, I tend to write in my kitchen, sat at the breakfast bar. The light is good, there’s a decent amount of space (I find my thoughts get cluttered if I’m in a cluttered environment), plus, beyond the drone of the fridge freezer that is sooo on its way out, it’s pretty quiet. Shakespeare is usually scurrying around, digging or snuffling, or even sat next to the bar stool where I’m sitting but that’s okay. He’s not a big conversationalist and is happy for me to tap away whilst he snoozes, eats hay or licks his furry feet (curious, yet wonderfully simple creatures are rabbits), so the burden on me to divide my attention between trying to write and him is minimal, practically non-existent. Stef is no doubt snoozing upstairs, out of the way, so my time is my own and my conscience clear so I can spend a couple of hours in quiet industrial contemplation working at my projects or exploring my thoughts through the blog.

It’s nice.

Morning is a good time for me, usually around the 8am mark, and going on up to, say, 11am. I get a lot done. Sure, like all writers, I need my procrastination time and in this regard I usually spend 20 minutes or so browsing Twitter, checking out IGN or Geek Tyrant or i09 for interesting web stories to share or even provoke creative thought, but this is when I get stuff done.

Obviously, in the week, when I have to work my day job, the morning writing isn’t possible (unless I got up a lot earlier, and until I am properly fit and healthy again I won’t be doing that). Here’s when I have to fall back on the second best writing period, the early evening. This tends to fall between 5.30 and 7.30, just after I’ve got in and lasts until just before dinner (or tea, if you’re from the north).

I am less of a fan of early evening writing, my head is still usually muddled with work concerns and I’m genuinely tired (especially mentally fatigued) from the day (if I’ve been running then even more so). I’m not usually as productive and I have to go back a lot doing rewrites or fixing continuity errors. It’s much more intensive labour for less actual gain in terms of word count, but then again needs must.

Late evening writing is something I actively try to avoid. Only when I am really up against a tight deadline and every minute of every hour counts, do I step into that benighted, literary arena. There’s less peace to this writing period for me, even though a lot of the same conditions apply as the morning (the quietude, isolation etc). Fatigue plays a big part, it’s also really bloody hard to sleep when you’re mentally exhausted but still have ideas buzzing around your subconscious like insistent little flies.

For me, selecting and exploiting the very best time to write is important, as is establishing a routine in which to do so. When you’ve got other, significant draws on your time, ensuring when you do get to write that it’s when you’re at your most creative and productive is kind of essential.

My hat is definitely off to David, good work on the late evening session (I don’t know the actual time, so can only infer it was late), I know they’re tough. Words on the page are there own reward, I suppose, coming with them that slight ease in tension that you’re incrementally closer to your goal and the trepidation that the words preceding them might not be as up to scratch as you’d like them to be.

The reward and the anxiety, such is the road that a writer travels, usually alone (more or less), sitting in his kitchen (if you’re me) with a fluffy bunny at his feet.

Good evening blog fans. So, here it is then, the first of the ‘request blogs’ – this one is on pitching instincts. Specifically mine and, I guess, in general.

Apparently, this question came about through something I once said during a seminar session at BL Live (don’t think I parted with any such dubious pearls of wisdom at this year’s event  – which was awesome by the way – but who knows…).

In response to a query about advice for pitching short stories, I supposedly said (and I only er on caution because I don’t remember saying this) something along the lines of: Cool. Space Marine. Story.

Hmm… a tad myopic perhaps, but it does illustrate a salient point. Pitch what sells. Yep, that’s right, think commercially people and try and divorce yourself from the petty or selfish urge to tell a particular story about the fish men of Aquapolis or that Fimir short, Ratling sniper novella (actually, that’d be pretty cool) or the weird Brothers of Obscurity Chapter you saw once in a box out in White Dwarf.

It’s highly like there’s only one person who wants to read that, and it’s the person pitching it. Or their mum. Or their mates (who are crap judges of your work and pitches, so don’t really on their feedback. For a tummy tickle and a feather plumping, sure, that’s nice but for good, honest to bejesus critique, get a stranger or a pro to do it). Tops.

I know, I’ve seen it time and again. Heard it time and again. It sounds harsh, but if you want to be a writer you need A) a bloody thick skin and B) the ability to see beyond the extent of your own navel.

Right, that’s the tough love out of the way.

Here comes the contradiction.

You should totally write and pitch what you’re passionate about.

‘Huh?’ you’re saying. ‘Didn’t he just tell me to scrap that kroot detective story?’

*sound of tearing paper and hair being pulled out*

Yeah, I did. What I am saying is, find yourself a commercial idea that you can be passionate about and pitch that. Hopefully, it’ll mean you won’t over egg the cake either. I have lost count of the number of over complicated, over detailed submissions I’ve read through. Man, it is hard work and I really don’t have time to read through a whole bunch of stuff because said pitcher thinks it’s essential to the plot.

It isn’t.

And if you still think it is, you’re waaay too close to your piece and should step away immediately or this’ll be the only thing you ever try, and fail, to write.

Don’t be precious, be clever and pitch something we will like.

Reinventing the wheel or trying to pitch outside the genre is a mistake too. Show us the archetype but give them something interesting in their character that makes me take notice. Oh, and this is pulp sf, not some existential treatise on the nature of war or any of that load of old bollocks. If that’s what you want to write then you’re barking up the wrong treehouse. That isn’t to say that what you write shouldn’t have depth but a spade is a spade, and ours usually have a mag of bullets locked and loaded into them.

Be clear. If you’re not and can’t describe your story concept in a line (two max!) then we probably won’t look at it or like it.

When you’re a bit more established as a writer it does get easier. You do develop an instinct for what works and what doesn’t. Even go was far to consider would your idea work as a series. Could this fledgling short story blossom into an all singing, all dancing mega trilogy with audio dramas, novellas and the lot. Think about scope, but rather potential scope and not the scope of the piece in its own right – you’re getting into over complication and unwieldy plotting again if you do that.

There was a supplementary question appended to the one about pitching instincts (and once again a lot of this boils down to having a good commercial head on your shoulders, and knowing just what it is that your prospective publisher publishes). It concerned whether I get any pitching black spots, where whatever I suggest gets shot down and I’m locked in a dirty funk.

The short answer is: no. At least not yet. Thing is, I know what ranges BL produces. So do you, by the way, it’s articulated in the books that come out every month. Let’s just say if you pitch a story that ties in to Space Marine Battles or Warhammer Heroes, there’s a good chance it’ll get some consideration (especially if you can write and have a decent idea that’s based on a popular part of the background – can’t help you if the first part is deficient but the second one is easy: just read lots and pay attention to the races that get most attention from your fellow hobbyists).

As a writer, I’m already thinking about the next Salamanders series. I can do this because I’ve already put in the hard yards with pitching what was a commercial trilogy that I shored up with lots of short stories and other projects. I’ve got some Space Marine Battles ideas too (one, admittedly, that I had to re-purpose slightly in the light of resistance from our sales and marketing guys).

Re-purposing your story ideas is an interesting concept, and something I might leave for another blog post. You might have a great idea but the setting and context makes it not viable because it isn’t very commercial. What if you take that idea and frame it differently, in a different context. Fireborn started life as a Warhammer short story idea, believe it or not.

I do have a slightly leftfield idea circling around my shell-like. It’s not as commercial as Salamanders, I don’t think, but it is a wicked concept and the context in which it is set is extremely commercial. Certainly, there’s enough there for my editor to take a punt.

I don’t know if this really answers the pitching question. I hope there’s something of interest in what I’ve said.

Okay then, so what’s next?

I’ll cut to the chase shall I? I have been phenomenally crap about blogging. Rubbish. Yes, I know. Part of the reason for this is that I’ve been working like an absolute beast on TGB (The Great Betrayal) and haven’t had the time to eat/sleep let alone blog.

In light of the fact that I now have a longer deadline (and thank God, basically, as I was losing my mind and in danger of going off the deep end I – writing whilst working a full time job is bloody hard. I don’t recommend it…) I have a solution.

Listen to this…

Tuesday nights I go bowling. It’s extremely cathartic and when I’m on form I’m actually pretty good at it too. It means I don’t usually get much/enough time to do much writing beyond the 500 words I get in at lunch. I figure then that I can use this time more productively to post a blog.

In fact, I want to open it out to you fair reader (assuming there are still a few of you out there that is? And I hope there are…). Give me a topic you’d like me to blog about, something you’re interested in knowing my take on that relates to what I do as a writer or writing in general. I’ll even field stuff on movies and computer games. If I have an opinion of it, I’ll voice it. Nothing rude or dodgy please – that’ll just get spammed and I won’t be your friend any more. 

Course, I’ll also blog about random stuff too, provide updates as to work progress (for the most part on that score, refer to Twitter or you can also get me on Facebook as my tweets go there too), signings, Shakespeare’s antics and general musings.

Oh, the other reason for the lack of bloggage is I’ve kind of been using Twitter as a blog substitute. It’s quicker, easier and I like the bite sized chunk style of the interface. Keep your ass over to Twitter, get an account and go follow me @NickKyme if you want to be get up to date with everything.

That said, weekly blog posts will be my aim (on a Tuesday evening, probably) from now on. I’ll also try and put art up on here too as BL let me.

This’ll be the place for extracts too, which I’m going to start posting up on a regular basis as well. If there’s anything else you want to see in my blogosphere then shout out and I’ll see about adding it. Oh, any questions or anything of that nature – I’ll get a bunch together and answer them all at once in a post so everyone gets the benefit.

If I’m feeling particularly frisky, I my even post more than one blog entry *gasp*. Yes! That’s right. Boosh!

So, my apologies for leaving you all hanging with nothing new to read. That’s gonna change from here on out. Keep checking the tweets because they’re the most prolific source of news but here’s where you get the meat for your potatoes.