Traitor's Gate published this weekend

Traitor's Gate is published on 1 June. It's a big departure for me, a spy novel set in Berlin in 1938. It's about a real plot to overthrow Hitler. It's also about idealism, loyalty to your country and loyalty to your friends. I loved writing it.

It was difficult, though. I started researching in 2005, and finished the 3rd draft in 2007. I sent it off to publishers, who turned it down. So I set it to one side and concentrated on my Icelandic books.

Then, in 2011, I pulled out the manuscript - the 5th draft - and read it through again. It really wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite the book I had set out to write. So I went through previous drafts and found that in the 2nd draft Conrad de Lancey, the hero of the book, was much stronger, but the plot was flabbier. So I took the first third of the 2nd draft and the last two thirds of the 5th draft, joined them up and polished. Conrad was a little too emotional, so I stiffened his upper lip a bit: this is 1938 after all.

And I am very pleased with the result, which is now seeing the light of day.

But not in America, I'm afraid, at least not yet. Sorry. It's available in English elsewhere, in hardcover and ebook.

I really hope you like it.