Happy new year everyone! In this first blog of 2023, I talk (well write) about my plans for the upcoming year.
I’m aware that this isn’t a very unromantic blog and people may not read it but I like the idea of reflecting on the year ahead and committing myself to my self-made targets by putting it in writing and publishing it on the internet.
It’s a way I, and you, can hold me accountable so when I reflect back on 2023 in 12 months’ time, I can see what I achieved and how things might have changed as the year progressed.
books
In 2022 I published 2 books. The not-so-romantic railways and the not-so-romantic railways: Crashes and accidents, both books are available to buy now and I would encourage you to do so. You can read them for free if you have a kindle unlimited subscription.
A quick call to action/call for help. If you have purchased any of my books please take 2 minutes out of your day to leave a review on the Amazon shop page. These reviews help so much and are a great way to support me beyond just purchasing my published works.
I have plans to release more books in 2023.
The Not-so-romantic Railways: The Railway King- Kicking off my book releases for 2023 is the third instalment of the Not-So-Romantic Railways. This one focuses on the story of George Hudson (the railway king) and how he rose from an orphaned farmboy to head of the railway world. It comes out on the 3rd of February and depending on when you’re reading this, you can pre-order it now.
The not-so-romantic Railways: How a steam locomotive works- Most railway fans have, at some point, wondered how a steam locomotive works and this fourth instalment of the not-so-romantic Railways will introduce the mysteries of how the steam locomotive works. It will go into a lot more engineering detail but still be suitable for beginners to the railway world.
The not-so-romantic railways: The Activity Book– This is exactly what it says on the tin. A book crammed full of activities related to the railways. There are some new games, colouring sheets, word searches and puzzles.
The Ghost Pirates- I feel like I’ve been planning on releasing book 2 of the Phoenix saga for the last three years. When I bought out the Vampire Fairy in 2019 it was my intention to bring out part 2 in the same year. But, after rushing the VF, I pushed the Ghost Pirates back to 2020 which became 2021 then 2022 in the blink of an eye. This is the year of the Ghost Pirates though, so make sure you’re up-to-date with the Vampire Fairy as the adventure will continue.
Eugene the golden engine and the free ice cream– This is another story I’ve been sitting on for far too long. This will be my first foray into fiction for 3-6-year-olds and in this story, a young character takes a ride to the seaside to get free ice cream on a warm day on the prank-pulling golden engine Eugene.
These might not be the only books I bring out but they are the books that I definitely want to be coming out in 2023.
the not-so-romantic youtube channel
In lockdown 2020 I uploaded a handful of videos on my YouTube channel. I then stopped uploading.
In 2023 I’m going to be uploading again! I have planned some cool videos and it’s going to start with probably only one or two uploads a month, alongside a series of shorts which will also be uploaded on my Tik-Tok.
You might wonder why I’m only looking at one or two uploads a month. The reason, I hope, is a good one. I really want to increase accessibility for these videos so I’m looking at getting them all done with British Sign Language. This of course will cost money which I’m happy to spend to make sure absolutely everyone can enjoy my videos. But not being a millionaire, or selling thousands of books a month, means I can only afford a certain number of videos and unfortunately it will probably mean not all videos have a BSL version.
It most likely isn’t good for the YouTube algorithm or growth of the channel but I’m more focussed on all my content being accessible for all. I’d love to see YouTube doing more for accessibility.
I won’t put a date on when I start uploading on the channel as things might take more time than I think. All I’ll say is that I have 7 videos planned and would be disappointed if we didn’t see them in 2023. I don’t want to be disappointed so I’ll definitely make sure they are uploaded.
the not-so-romantic blog
I launched the not-so-romantic blog back in May and I have to be honest, I’ve had so much fun writing it. Not a lot will change with the blog, I’m still aiming to release one blog each week with more blogs if there’s a certain event or a themed education week- like when I bought out a blog for each day of space week.
It’s not a complete list but the special series blogs for 2023 will be.
- March- British Science Week
- June- The great big green week
- October- Space Week
With the aim of accessibility, I will also continue to record all of my blogs so there is an opportunity to listen to them as well. Like everything I do, I want the blog to be for everyone.
The only other slight tweaks to the blog are more news and announcement blogs (like this one) – not loads but just to better point towards new releases and big moments.
I will also be officially moving the blog upload day to Sunday as I’ve been publishing most blogs on Sundays anyway. So be sure to keep checking back every Sunday.
the not-so-romantic podcast
My plan to put “not-so-romantic” in front of everything continues with a brand new podcast, called (as the section title suggests) “The not-so-romantic podcast”. I’m not quite sure what format, frequency or style these podcasts will take.
Whether it’s just me, or me and guests- perhaps a mixture of both? If you do have any thoughts please let me know in the comments.
I’ll update everyone more on this once I have a better idea of what form these will take and where you’ll be able to listen to them!
And keep an eye out for my not-so-romantic socks coming to stores soon! That’s a Joke… maybe… Who would buy some not-so-romantic socks?
Coding videos and workshops
I’m a huge fan of coding. That, along with LEGO, is probably among my biggest hobbies. I really want to share my coding passion and pass on some skills and learning to everyone. I’ll be producing a series of YouTube videos filled with some coding code-along- things like making our own games and similarly entertaining fun things like that.
Some of these videos will be unlisted, which means only those with a link can see them, so make sure you’re checking on the blog and website regularly as I’ll be posting some unlisted links here as well.
try at-home activities
During my 15 years of working in museum education, I have picked up and developed a whole lot of activities people can try at home and I’m going to be sharing a lot of them with you during 2023.
Starting in February I will be uploading 3 new activities for you to try at home each month so by the end of the year they’ll be a whole selection for you to download from the website. These will include coding instructions, science experiments, craft activities and so much more.
I’ve been working hard on the look of these activities and can’t wait to share them with you.
And that’s all the updates I have for you at the start of 2023. If you’re still reading at this point then thank you. And here’s to a great 2023!
Andy