Almost... there...

Hello! Just checking in to let everyone who reads this page regularly (or, as my updates have slowed to a crawl, irregularly), that I'm still alive, and still – as always – bristling with intent when it comes to blogging. Trouble is, I'm not just knee-deep in Book 3, I'm neck-deep. About 40 pages from the end in fact. You'll be pleased to hear that, while the first three-quarters were the most painful creative experience of my life, this last quarter has actually gone pretty smoothly. Early March, I was at my wit's end, unable to get any sort of distance on the manuscript, and frightened I'd gone and written 350 pages of utter dross. So I sent it off to my agent to deliver my premonition back to me in the form of an "Er, Tim, I think you might have to start again", but instead it was rather better news. She loved it. The sense of relief was immense, and it's really freed me up to rattle on with last 100-150 pages. Once it's done, it's going to be a big weight off my shoulders: I'll be able to blog more regularly (promise); I'll be able to read books and watch films and TV again (I haven't read or watched anything in  five months); and I'll be able to take some time off from Raker. Although the truth is, even when I'm not writing about him, I'm thinking about him. He's clever like that. So: see you again in a month. I mean it this time.