I have successfully decorated for Christmas. It looks like Christmas threw up on it, which is the effect I am after! And in, you know, a tasteful way.

That isn’t the only season though, ‘tis also the season of finalising travel arrangements for next year. I’ve already talked about the cons and retreats I have planned last week, but I thought I’d go into some of the admin. I just wrote that, and now I doubt it. Nevertheless…I’ve been organizing travel, worrying about politics, and doing Christmas for the last two weeks. I got nothing else left. It’s this or I try to turn the story of getting the lights up outside into some sort of metaphor about plot.

First of all? 2020 was mostly roughed out by the end of 2018, with a few last minute tweaks in the first few months of 2019. For example, I was originally thinking of going to the Leipzig book fair next year, but Paris worked out better for me. Some things I have penciled in pending registration or invitation, but even if they fall through it will probably be too late to feed anything significant into the gap. At the same time if an opportunity comes up and I can swing it…sometimes I’ll do.

So, on the whole my schedule is set a year in advance, but there’s some wriggle room so that affects bookings.

Hotels and AirBnB are usually pretty good about cancellations, and if it’s a convention then you generally want to be in the venue because it makes everything easier. So most accommodation for the next year is already sorted.

Flights for the first half of the year usually get booked around now. It’s a bit painful, since I’ve got Christmas too, but if I wait any longer I get antsy. Oh, and since I live on an island I get to book some extra flights on top of the basic ones. Joy.

So this week I have booked two flights to England. I usually fly into Bristol airport or Heathrow, depending. I flew into Luton once, but I had to take the train in to the city and I get a lot more trainsick than I do air. First event in ShiMMer in Birmingham, so I’ll get the tickets when I get to the station. It’s a bit of a risk, but I’m lazy. Since I’m going as a reader I don’t have to lug books and swag with me, that would be a nightmare. I’ve also booked tickets for the Eurostar over to Paris for myself and another author so we can travel together. As previously mentioned I get train sick, so does she. That’s going to be fun.

THEN I realised that I’d screwed up the time of arrival and the time we can check in to the AirBnB so that’s been fixed. Hopefully.

I’ve also booked two different sets of cars to get to and from various places. There’s another pending for later in the year, but that has to wait until some other authors have their flights booked so we can converge. That is going to be a fun one to book since I will be going: Belfast to London, car from London to Southampton, London to San Diego, San Diego to St Louis (will the swag be shipped or packed? shift that to the to-do list), then St Louis to San Diego, San Diego to London, and back to Belfast. Two years ago I screwed up the last leg back and ended up having to do an over-night in Heathrow’s Yotel after a 10 hour flight next to a man who I swear never peed once.

It’s all complicated by the fact that a: I’m a tight Ulster-Scot and paying out hurts my soul in a very real way and b: I’m an awful packer. I either over-pack or, since I will travel with just a carry-on if I can possibly get away with it, underpack, and in addition to clothes I need to take swag (because I cannot trust the mail) and books.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, it pretty awesome in general. I get to go to loads of places and I’ve met some great people that I look forward to seeing again. It is just weird how much of my life is worked out in year long passes. I think I have an advantage in some ways, even though I am not a naturally organised person, because I worked as an art journalist. So my year was always blocked out by the big festivals and the schedules of the theatres and galleries.

And, of course, if I was based in America I’d probably have more on my plate. The fact I could travel to more things would mean I would travel to more. That sounds great, but as much fun as cons are it’s time away from writing which is the only reason I get to go to the con. Also the more cons I go to the more swag I get, and it’s already overflowing. So it’s a balancing act.

I live in fear of the day that I wake up in my own bed and go, ‘I’m meant to be in Atlanta!’. One day it will happen.

So, I’ve a blog tour starting shortly for Swipe so see you all then.