End Of Year Update
I’ve just written episode 14 of my ongoing blog, put I won’t post it for a couple of days yet. In the meantime I wanted to let you know that I’ve been working on a novel for the past few months and I’ve just about finished the second draft. I’d hoped to have it done and dusted by Christmas, but I’m a bit behind. It should be finished by March though, at which time It’ll go off to the publishers, though an ebook version will be available more or less straight away.
This novel is set in New Zealand, which is a first for me. It’s a crime story that revolves around a mayoral election in Auckland, the country’s biggest city, and draws on the backdrop of the legalised prostitution scene there. So it’s sex, politics and murder, always a good mix, with a collection of interesting and complex characters and a plot that mixes mystery with thriller.
I chose to set this one in New Zealand because this country is much more on the world-map these days. There are films, music and books making it big on the international stage, written and made by Kiwis, and I wanted to add my point-of-view to the mix. The Auckland and surrounds I’ve portrayed features some of the suburbs and areas that have a distinct flavour of their own, whether upmarket or grunge, and I’ve made the sub-tropical weather that the north sometimes gets a particular motif in the book, which gives it a slightly exotic feel of palm trees and the islands, of muggy heat and afternoon deluges, which is different from the way the country is often perceived overseas. Anyway, more about that in the new year.
Other plans next year include making print versions of the revised version of Snow Falcon, The Flyer and a re-worked version of what is now the Black Sun Anthology widely available. More on those plans as they come to fruition.
In the meantime, the posts will keep coming. For those in the northern hemisphere, have a great Christmas and New Year and stay warm, and for us in the southern hemisphere, ditto but stay cool and don’t forget the sun-screen.
