5:30 AM: My phone lights
up, a luminescent glow amid the otherwise dim bedroom. It broadcasts a cheerful
tune, a melody that over time has come to incite a Pavlovian-style response:
time to get up. Put on my gym shorts. Eat a banana. Clean the cat litter. Make
the bed. Grab a water-bottle. Follow my wife down to the car.
5:50 AM: Drive through
the rain, the wet black pavement like a trail of shadow.
6:00 AM: Arrive at
Crossfit. Stretches, sit-ups, push-ups, deadlifts, burpees, rowing, wall-balls,
handstands, thrusters, running, squats, kettlebells, pull-ups; whatever the
work out of the day demands. Sweat. Release. Relax. The hardest part of the day
is done.
7:15 AM: Hit the shower.
Steam soothes sore muscles and all that sweat rinses down the drain.
Honey-scented shampoo and herbal soap . Now I feel human again. Grab a quick
breakfast, usually a slice of the quiche I make on weekends.
7:30 AM: Out the door. I
live right on the water so it is a short jaunt to the pier. I walk along the
harbourfront past sleeping sailboats, wheezing seagulls, and the occasional
frolicking otter to my writing spot, a cafe by the name of Javawocky.
7:45 AM: I have my coffee. I am in my usual spot in the back corner
with a view of the harbour. Right now I am querying about my first novel so I
open the list of publishing houses and agents that I keep on my Google Drive.
Twenty five submissions completed. Five rejections so far. One interested
response. I pick another off the list and start researching, writing, and
filling out their submission requirements.
10:30 AM: I have sent the submission. Maybe I’ve done two. If I
have time I take a look at my website and follow up on any social media
interactions. Today I check over my notes for an interview later in the week
with a mythology podcaster from Scotland. Then I follow up on a guest article I
wrote for a small publisher in the States. A public library in Alberta has
accepted one of my Maritime poems for a public short story project. Small
victories.
11:30 AM: Back at home. File the coffee shop receipt to claim on
taxes. Sweep. Vacuum. Laundry. Clean the bathroom. Cleanliness may be next to
godliness.
12:30 PM: My partner is
home on lunch break. Maybe I’ve made something, but today it’s just Annie’s Mac
& Cheese. She’ll be excited anyways; it’s hard to beat an old classic.
1:30 PM: Time to work on
my novel. Or keep recording demo tracks for the band. If I’m writing I’m at the
table; if I am recording guitar and vocals I am at the desk. The two cats
silently observe my creative ritual. Maybe I accomplish a lot. Maybe I don’t.
Progress is progress.
4:30 PM: Start making
dinner. We’ve already meal planned for the week so there is not much to think
about. Should be ready in about an hour.
5:30 PM: Dinner.
Conversations over the meal about the day: my wife’s work day, the submissions
I sent in the morning, anything new and exciting.
6:30 PM: Work is done
for the day. I get a text: friends are meeting up for board games at White
Sails, the brewpub just down the road. It’s December but I only need a light
jacket or a wool sweater. I do love the West coast.
7:00 PM: Board games at
White Sails with a few friends: lawyers, teachers, nurses, small business
owners. We may be the leaders of tomorrow, but for today we’re just young
professionals, i.e., millennial hipsters who aren’t broke. First things first:
16 oz of Abyss Brown Ale. Last week the game was 7 Wonders. This week it is
Dominion and E has brought a new expansion. Attempt a new strategy. It fails.
The second one works, almost. So close. Still time for one more beer.
9:00 PM: Home. An early
start means an early end. Time for bed so that I can do it all over again.
Joshua
Gillingham is a Canadian author from the scenic coastal city of Nanaimo,
Canada. He is a published and recorded Celtic and Maritime music lyricist and
performs with The Ugly Mugs. In his debut novel The Gatewatch he weaves the mythic elements of Norse mythology and
the geography of the Canadian Rocky Mountains together in a gripping adventure
tale about young troll hunters who must save their homeland from a wicked
Troll-King. He draws from the historical translations and modern adaptations of
Norse mythology and Icelandic sagas to craft a story that is distinctly
northern. His tale of bravery, courage, and cunning has the flavor and feel of
a story told long ago amid the depths of winter within the warm fire-lit halls
of ancient Scandinavia.
Discover more at Joshua’s website (www.joshuagillingham.ca), through The Gatewatch Facebook page
(@TheGatewatchNovel), or on Twitter (@JoshMGillingham).
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