A message from the other side

My apologies if it’s have been a bit quiet around here of late: I’ve spent the past few weeks desperately trying to get the new draft of my novel done and in the week since I actually did stagger over the finish line I’ve been under the weather with some kind of bug.

The upside of all this is that the new draft of my next novel, Black Friday, is finally, actually done. It’s still not perfect, and there are definitely some gaps and problems, but I think a lot of the heavy lifting is now done, which is really exciting. I want to try and talk a bit more about it and the process of writing it over the next few months, but for now let me just say that I think it’s got some great stuff in it, and while it’s more in the mode of The Resurrectionist than my earlier novels, it’s also sharper and more contemporary, which is exciting (though I also have to say I think I’ve written my last dark, disordered novel about morally unanchored characters for a while).

The downside (and let’s face it, there’s always something) is that I managed to miss posting about the publication of The Penguin Book of the Ocean, which hit shelves last Monday. I’m going to get a few things up about it over the next week or two, but in the meantime you can check prices at Booko, or read a bit more about the collection on the Books page. I’ve also uploaded a full list of the works included in case you’d like to take a look. It’s a book that’s been a big part of my life for the last twelve months and I’m very proud of it, so I really hope others find the same pleasure and excitement reading it I had putting it together.

I’m doing various bits of media over the next few weeks, which I’ll link to as they happen, but if you’re dying to hear me talk about the collection I’ll be on The Book Show on Radio National next Friday, November 5, at 10:00am. In the meantime, as Molly Meldrum used to say, do yourself a favour.

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