Here I sit, waiting to tie up any loose ends with The Early Birds. The publishing house wheels are grinding slow and the typescript is out for copy-editing before the editor has finished her final structural edit, which is not at all how things should be but hey, nobody asked me. The trouble is I find it impossible to pitch the next book when there is still unfinished business on my desk. I’m not a fastidious worker but a new project requires a major psychological shift. I’m still pondering whether I was right to kill off…… oh, no, that’d be telling.

My days are occupied with faffing. This has enabled me to stock my cupboard with more fruit vodkas than I can ever decently drink so I guess there are going to be a few gift-wrapped bottles under certain Christmas trees.

And speaking of gift-wrapped, please tell me, dear faithful readers, what (apart from a new book, dammit) you most like to get from your favourite authors. Do you like giveaways? Do you like bonus material relating to books you already read? Short stories?  Let me know. Because I am informed by one of my daughters  –  she who uses spreadsheets  – that Christmas is coming.