Good news first: Book 7: Home Audiobook should be out in the
next few days. The final version was uploaded to Audible on the 8th,
so should be available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes in the next few days.
Now for the bad news. Apologies, Book 9 isn’t finished.
It’s the ending; I keep having to rewrite it. I’ve certain things I need to include, and having the events
occur in the right order with the right outcome has proven a little trickier
than I anticipated. As it’s the ending (literally the last twenty thousand
words or so) that have proven so recalcitrant, it’s hard to be specific without
giving away the plot (and that’s a deliberately guarded secret!).
I have solved the problem (or I think I have) by moving a
couple of scenes to a different location, and putting them in the first half of
the book. The downside is that I’ll have to cut the chapters in The Giant’s
Causeway, at St Anne’s Cathedral, and at a soup kitchen on the Donegal Road.
Because I’ve cut a large swathe through the sections of the book that take
place in Belfast, I may rename Book 9 as ‘Ireland’ or ‘Help’. I do intend for
the narrative to return to Northern Ireland, however, so there’s a very good
chance that those chapters will see the light of day (or the ink of day? ink of
print?), and I’d rather keep the ‘Belfast’ title for a book where I can do the
city justice.
I expect to finish at some point next week, so it’ll be out
early January. Apologies again.
Q. What do angry mice sing at Christmas?
A. Cross-mouse Carols.
That’s my favourite joke of the year!
Thanks very much for your support and encouragement during
2016. I hope you have a restful holiday, and wish you all the best for 2017.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
Frank. :)
