Two Books. One Tiny Brain.

Hello! I hope this first ever (proper) blog post finds you all really well. I think it would be rude not to start off by saying a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time out to get into contact with me, either through this blog, the contact form on the site or via my Facebook page, or even indirectly by reviewing the book on sites like Amazon. I always imagined the most exciting part of being published would be seeing your book on shop shelves (and after ten years of trying to get there, I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t VERY EXCITING INDEED!), but I have to admit it’s immensely satisfying to hear that most people, at least up until this point, are having a great time with the book.

In my experience so far, I have to say the weirdest part of writing novels is the constant switching between CHASING THE DEAD and its sequel. At the moment, I'm deep into the edits for Book #2, but CHASING has only just come out, meaning I'm doing a lot of writing – interviews, journalism, blogging (!) – about a book that I basically haven't even as much as looked at since the final version disappeared into the publishing machine last August. It's not like you can forget about a book you spent 10 years with, of course, but when you move onto a new story, with new characters and a new dynamic – like I have with Book #2 – it does feel strange stepping back into the shoes of an older version of David Raker, at a very different stage of his life. It was especially odd during the actual writing of Book #2 (which took place between December 2008 and June 2009) as I was also, at the same time, working with Penguin's copy-editors on ironing out mistakes and inconsistencies in CHASING's last few typeset versions.

What can I tell you about Book #2? Well, Raker's back and this time he's taking on the case of a missing seventeen-year-old girl. In my head I see it as the flipside to CHASING: if that story is him as The Hunted, this – in many ways – is him as The Hunter… except, of course, it's not quite as simple as that and, just as in CHASING, things can get turned on their head pretty fast! I'm really pleased with the story, the structure and the new characters, although it still requires plenty of editing. The two wonderful ladies in my book writing life – editor and agent – have been through it with a fine toothcomb – and their notes have, as with the first book, certainly given me plenty to think about over the coming weeks and months. 

Have a great week!

Tim