Happy New Year, thank you & a Kindle deal!

I’m writing this a couple of hours before the year ends, (yep, I’m a real party animal, me) but by the time it’s published it will be 2022. And it’s been another strange year for us all, with COVID, vaccines, boosters and all the rest of it. Honestly, I was furloughed for the second time at the start of 2021 (my day job is reading gas and electric meters so I’m in and out of houses all day, 3 days per week) and it was something of a Godsend – not only was I still being paid, but it gave me more time to work on The Bear of Britain (which, incidentally is in Amazon UK’s Monthly Deal in January – reduced from £3.99 to just 99p so grab it HERE if you haven’t already!)

And then BOTH my children got COVID in December, not long before The House in the Marsh was due to be published, so, thanks to Scotland’s current isolation rules, I was told to stay off work which again gave me time to work on the book. However, it was pretty stressful as 1) although my kids weren’t badly affected by the virus (thank the gods!) it was still a worrying period for obvious reasons, but 2) I hadn’t really completed the editing for The House in the Marsh and I was frightened I’d catch COVID and be too ill to finish it! So, I really pushed myself HARD for those few days, getting it polished in plenty of time for the release (if you can think of 4 or 5 days being ‘plenty of time’!).

It was a strange way to end the year, but really nice to see the reviews and read comments from people who are enjoying the book. It’s doing nicely in the charts too, hitting number 1 in some Amazon UK charts and even managing the same in the USA which is unusual for one of my novellas. Really gratifying and exciting for me to see!

Generally, my year was a good one – we welcomed our puppy, Pippi, to the family, and she’s been a wonderful little friend for us all. So well behaved, apart from the little ‘presents’ she sometimes leaves for me in my study…

I also continued to learn and try to grow in my hobby as a musician, with a new electronic drum kit and my first ever new Gibson Les Paul – something I’ve dreamt of for thirty years! I should really record another musical trailer for the next book since I have this new gear to play with…

So, 2022 is upon us and another 12 months awaits. I plan on writing another Warrior Druid of Britain novel, hopefully another Tuck/John/Will novella for Xmas, and who knows what else might come up? 2021 did see the release on Xbox/Playstation and PC of the game, HOOD – Outlaws and Legends, which I did all the writing for so maybe I’ll get the chance to do something else like that? I’d love to, if anyone needs a writer for their game or other big project!

Finally, I just want to say a sincere and heartfelt “Thank you” to every one of you who’s bought or read my books via Kindle Unlimited in 2021, and left reviews for them too. I am truly humbled to know so many people really enjoy my writing. Thank you all!

Roll on 2022, and may it be a happy, safe, and FUN year for us all!

PS, remember the location in The Northern Throne called ‘The Dumpling’? It was the big hill where Narina appeared on her chariot during one of the battles. Well, I visited there today with my family (including Pippi!) so look out for a few photos from the trip in a day or two. It might help you visualise the scenes in the book a little better. It’s just a shame it was SOOO muddy and one of us fell right over into it, more than once.

Not me, lol!