On 30 Jun 2023 I received a message from my publisher that sent shivers through me, and that I still haven’t quite got over:

I write with bad news in that Sandstone’s financial position has deteriorated and that I have taken steps to place the company into Liquidation.

Gloom – what does that mean for me? I have written five books in the last 10 years that have been published by Sandstone Press. A week on (7 Jul) I was still in deep shock and instead of doing anything creative I seemed to...