An inch is better than a mile....

 

There are times in my life, many of them,  when I wish an adult would come along and tell me what to do. I find that sulking, eating chocolate and writing about killing people is great therapy. Often, I do all three.

At the same time.

I'm not really sure where to start as  my mental state at the moment is very like that of Boris Johnson's hair dresser ( if he actually has one).  I am rather confused, rather befuddled and not a little discombobulated.

And that's not a good situation for anybody.

No matter how confused I am, I'm still not convinced that any kind of Hard Border between us and  the neighbours that share our land mass is a good idea - I'm confused, not deluded.

However I have just done a wee tally of the books I have out this year.  I might be wrong but I think it's eight. Maybe  nine.

Only two are brand new but two new books in less than eight months is some going.

That's The Outgoing Tide and The Silent Conversation.

There's also the supery dupery  kindle publishing thing with Joffe who are really pushing the boat out, and made  me a number one bestseller.

In Scandanavia.

There's also Black Thorn republishing the fourth in the series and also the standalone. The publicity campaign they are putting behind that is massive.

This might have been the reason for something that I can't tell you  about or I would  have to kill you all. But The Cursed Girls ( Mosaic) as it was called in its previous incarnation is very much zeitgeisty.  Not sure if that is a word but if I indentify it as a word, then it must be so!

It's female pysch thriller with good views and good weather,  very much of the moment.

But you get the overall drift I am sure.

I'm sure it will all come to nothing but even knowing that somebody somewhere is even thinking or  talking about it going onto a different medium is a thrill.

So here I am out of contract after  an even number of books, not sure how many, and I started the next one; another Anderson and Costello. I wasn't totally confident that I'd get another deal but I like to be ahead of the game. The book world is in turmoil, there's been a pandemic, money is tight so nothing is  never certain. But it's such a good feeling to get words on a blank page.

 I did indeed get the lovely  email from Kate sort of inviting me to write some more books for them.  But like  say, things are happening, and some things are more zeitgeisty  than others.

So it'd be maybe, kind of better,  you know, to write in a different vein to mix it up a bit. All options are open for  another A&C,  another standalone, a spin off standalone, a standalone spin off.

You know the sort of thing that Val McDermid does so well? Yes? Well that, a few series, then a standalone , then a CD and a song. ( I'm lying about the CD ).

Trouble is, as you've heard me say, I really think of myself as a one trick pony. It's a good pony and the trick is profitable, so what do I do now.

I think ( I know ) that I rely on my two main characters to write the story for me. Colin Anderson looks out a window and ruminates on  the case. Or takes his dog out for a walk in the rain. Then Costello  tracks him down and  points out the one clue they have been missing. To which he says  'Yes, I realised that five pages ago. But the rain doesn't stop until chapter twelve when it starts to snow and the dog has to do its business somewhere in the novel.' Exit Costello in the huff.

And I think I am finally retiring from the day job. The corona virus has broken me. And that was without me contracting it,  it was all the risk assessements that I had to do.

Although listening to the conspiratory anti vacc numpties  that walk through our doors does give me huge ideas about murder- well writing and murder....

So, watch this space exciting times ahead.

Caro