Well, hello!

It’s been a while since my last blog.

I’ve been busy redrafting Shut Your Eyes.  Nearly there.  Three chapters to go.  I’m aiming to get that done before the Christmas holidays start.  Then, I’ll fiddle with it for a couple of weeks.  And then, I’ll release it to beta readers.  They let me know if the story works as it is.  I bloody hope so!  If not, it gets changed.  Also, at this stage, I send the manuscript to my editor (Jack Bates).  The editing notes are incredibly useful and give me serious food for thought on the writing.  After all of this, I reckon the book will be ready for release in February.  I need to get it formatted, and I also need to get the cover designer to provide a spine for the paper back version (once I know how many pages there are).

I did want to release the book in December, but it’s just not been possible.  I’ve mentioned family issues before, and they’ve carried on.  I’ve had to be there to support my daughter with her baby son.  It’s been a tough few months and although my daughter’s finally getting over the post-natal depression, it doesn’t look like things are going to be easy in the future.  She’s going back to work part-time, and the only way she can do that is if I do a bit of child-minding.  So, that obviously cuts into my writing time.

We’ve spent the morning going through finances and looking into the help she can get from the State.  The bottom line is: it looks like she’ll get none.  She works bloody hard and so does her partner.  They can’t afford their own place, and therefore live with me.  At the end of the month, they come out with nothing.  No money for little treats, or new clothes, or anything.  Why do hard-working kids end up like this?  It’s just not right.

Anyway, that’s my rant over.  Back to the redrafting …

Think I might have to cheer myself up with a nice picture.  Here’s Michael Fassbender taking his jeans off: