June 9: I'm still working on Heart's Blood, which is due to be delivered to my publisher on December 1. This book presents quite a few writing challenges because of its major difference from my earlier books - it's a ghost story, and the setting in medieval Ireland, a later period than the Sevenwaters books, is predominantly Christian. Writing about unquiet spirits brings up all kinds of philosophical questions about what happens when people die, and I need to be clear in my mind about what the characters believe and what the 'reality' of the story is. I made things harder for myself by limiting most of the action to a single setting and giving myself a very small cast of characters. And I burdened one of the protagonists to a degree where recovery seemed almost impossible.

I've just re-planned the final section of the novel (the plot went a little wayward for a while) and I'm trying to get as much done as possible before I have three weeks off in July to go travelling. Still on track to meet the deadline, but as always, further behind than I would like to be.

Next project: Anyone who's been visiting here periodically will know I have various possibilities in mind, some related to earlier series, some not. I won't be making a final decision on next year's project until December at the earliest.

Left: A sneak preview of Kim Nelson's lovely Australian cover for Heir to Sevenwaters. I will put up a page for the book soon.