Now

Last updated on 2nd April 2023 by Mary Ann Mahoney, from Liverpool, UK.

On my Now page you can read about what I’m doing currently. For more info on my overall background, go to my About page. The concept of a Now page was created by Derek Sivers as a way to document what people are currently doing.

Output & Personal Projects

Here is what I’m currently working on:

• • I’m a copywriter and copyeditor at Previous Magazine and the Head of PR at Split An Atom. I also provide content writing, book editing services, and re-recording mixing services for the latter.
  • I recently edited and formatted Mushy Pea & the Enchanted Christmas Tree, a children’s picture book written by L.A. Dilley. The paperback was published on December 1, 2021. This is the second book in the Mushy Pea series. The first was Mushy Pea & The Magical Christmas Stocking.
  • Lately, I’ve been doing audio post-production for some short environmentalist films, an adventure tourism documentary series, and public information videos in collaboration with Guyanese production company, REEL Guyana. The most recent REEL Guyana documentary, Eco Travellers, premiered on October 29, 2021, at MovieTowne Guyana for Tourism Awareness Month.
  • I’m currently contributing to the web design of The Portrait Kitchen.
  • I’m contributing music to sci-fi combat flight-sim game called Manta (2022).
  • I’m learning Reaper, Native Instruments Maschine, various analogue synthesizers, including a modular synth, and intermittently attempting to play bass guitar. I’m working on music for myself, but have put some melodies and basslines into several projects, including Goatman and various REEL Guyana short films and documentary episodes.
  • I’m working on getting the literary submission package up and running on the Split An Atom site in time for NaNoWriMo as part of our professional writing services.
  • I’m learning to implement a Zettelkasten as a tool for writing and organization my thoughts and ideas.
  • I’m trying to write for myself more often. I’ve fallen out of practice, but I still love to write short stories, rhyming poetry, and I’m attempting to write the plot for a game.
  • I’m learning how to use Blender and Unreal Engine whilst working on a game with Hammy Havoc. I’m exploring the potential of video games for telling non-linear, interactive stories.
  • I attempted to write a text-adventure after being inspired by Roberta Williams and Ken Williams using Twine, but I hit a wall. I’m going to keep trying though!
  • I migrated my site to DataPacket, and so far, I’ve received top-rate customer support. It’s a very reliable service.

My Personal Life

Here’s some info about me and my every-day life at home:

• Hammy Havoc and I live happily in the UK and we recently celebrated our six-year anniversary.
• We have two cats who rarely listen, unless the words “treats,” “breakfast,” and “dinner” come up in the conversation. They often make me question who the boss is at my house. They like spying on the neighbours and I’m pretty sure they know more about them than we do.
• I have some wonderful friends and family, and I have been video calling them to keep in touch during the pandemic.
• For the past couple of years, I’ve been eating a vegetarian diet. I haven’t drunk alcohol in 5 years.
• After many years of bland school food, I have fallen in love with cooking! I’m a firm believer that black pepper and butter makes everything better, and one clove of garlic is never enough. I own too many cook books and I like to watch cooking channels on YouTube.
• Lately, I’ve been trying to be more environmentally conscious. My goals are to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle and to shop more sustainably and ethically.
• I recently bought a vertical planter and have taken to growing tomatoes and herbs in it. My overall goals are to grow my own salad and to grow a pet-safe garden, since we tend to get a lot of neighbourhood cats stopping by. I’d also like to encourage more bees to my garden. During spring 2022, I’ll be planting some dwarf sunflowers and roses. Until then, I’ll be researching which flower varieties I want.
• I love music—Everything from *NSYNC to Ella Fitzgerald. Hammy and Stuart will often hear me sing along in the kitchen…badly.
• I’m interested in period dress, hair, makeup, and lifestyles, particularly that of the Edwardian and Victorian eras.
• In my spare time, I like to watch YouTube videos and browse articles about crocheting, bookbinding, and other creative things.
• I’m exploring classic video games as I didn’t grow up with them. I really enjoy obscure titles, and modern indie dev too. I recently enjoyed Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders and Psychonauts. I’m also a fan of Tetris Effect, Lumines, Pushmo, and Hotel Dusk: Room 215.
• I’ve been making an effort to read more, and have been focusing on my favourite clothbound hardbacks. I’m currently reading, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I just finished reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie FLagg.
• I am learning how to crochet.

Near-Future Goals

These are things I want to do in the near future. I’ll keep this page updated with how things go:

• I would like to interview more creators, similar to the interviews I’ve already done with people such as best-selling author, Sandrone Dazieri; platinum-awarded composer, Jimmy Ledrac; and living historian and YouTuber, Jon Townsend.
• I would love to get back into glass painting and cross stitching. I’d like to try knitting and sewing.
• I would like to learn ASL. I regret not joining the sign language club in college. I firmly believe that education doesn’t end at school, and learning is a lifelong process.
• Many of my books are preloved and I’ve re-read some of my favourites. Unfortunately, the spines are wearing and some of the pages are coming loose. I’d like to learn about book binding and book restoration, so I can fix them.