For those who very kindly drop by from time to time, you may have felt I had dropped off the planet, I am still ticking over down here in what is now, sunny, Mid Wales. Time has flown and things have moved on. It has been definitely interesting times, but some people have it worse, so I won’t wring my hands too much.
I have changed jobs. Yes, authors need to work too! I now work for the Vale of Rheidol Railway. In truth, it is like a breath of fresh air and very enjoyable. The down side is, it has sapped my creativity – at least for the short term. Apart from the day to day running and ongoing development of the line (oh boy, there is loads of that!), there are also some pet projects of mine within that seem to take up my creativity. Creative writing has had to be parked.
The Finnish Boys is finished, reviewed, re-reviewed, re-re-reviewed. I am now waiting to see if my current publisher will take it on or if I need to start working on plan B-Z (delete where applicable). I am using the interim to brush up my ‘railway’ novel, set in Mid Wales. It won a prize a year or so back, so I think it has potential. I also begin to cast my mind out on the sequel to Forest Brothers. At the moment, Juhan is somewhere on the North Sea. I should really do him a favour and find a welcoming port soon.
This is of course when time allows. I’m not too worried, last time I changed jobs it did cause a brief hiatus. Then one night, I was stuck on a rural station for an hour and a half. Cold October mists hung in the air and no refreshments were available. I found a pen and a leaflet with the most open space on it and started writing again. Huw began paddling his kayak to the Estonian shore and the adventure had begun.
Hoping you all enjoy the year as it progresses and thanks for reading this!
