Well, that was the summer then. Tropical heatwave one minute, then torrential rain the next. Oh to be in England…

Anyway, I’m in a good mood. The deadline for completion of my new book, THE PAYBACK, is August 31st, and by some mischance of fate, I’ve beaten it, delivering the completed manuscript last Tuesday. It was a tough book to write, not only because it featured two of my favourite protagonists, Dennis Milne and Tina Boyd, together for the first time (a combination I was never quite sure was going to work), but also because the majority of the book was set in the Philippines- a country that I’m obviously a lot less familiar with than the UK. There were several major rewrites, and some moments of terrible writer’s angst when I wanted to scrap the whole thing and write something else, but to be honest, those kinds of moments are par for the course when you’re putting together a book, and in the end, after much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, I got there.

I’m also very pleased to announce that I think it’s one of the best I’ve done. No, honestly, I’m not just saying that! It’s a big story that delves into how Dennis ended up taking the path that he did, and tells us what he’s been doing since A GOOD DAY TO DIE. It’s also very fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns, and a couple of sizeable shocks at the end, and it ties up a lot of the loose ends from earlier books, including A GOOD DAY TO DIE, RELENTLESS, TARGET and THE LAST TEN SECONDS. I won’t tell you too much more than that, other than it’s due for hardback release in February 2011, so not too long to wait for those who are keen to take a look and see whether I’m telling the truth or not.

In the meantime, I’m leaving my builders, house sitter (who’s promised to varnish the floor), and half-finished new house behind, and heading off to Australia and New Zealand for a promotional book tour, which includes stints at the Melbourne and Christchurch Writers’ Festivals (see Author page for all my events dates and times). I’m hugely excited, having not been out that way for far too long now, even though I’ve got a ferocious-looking schedule which includes lots of interviews, events, and an appearance on Australia’s prestigious Channel 9 Today show at 6 in the morning (eek!). I’m going to be pretty knackered, but I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to meet as many Ozzie and Kiwi fans as possible, and making the most of what is my first foreign tour to date.

I’m also lucky enough to be finishing off with a few days scuba diving, and then it’s back to the final edit of THE PAYBACK, and after that, it’s onto the new book. I’ve been working on an idea for a while now. Again, it’ll be a fast-paced thriller, but one that’s a little bit different to the ones I’ve done before. I’m also trying to work out whether it should be a standalone or feature characters from the past, and whether it should be set in the UK or overseas. Right now, I’m still in the mulling things over stage, but it’s coming together nicely, and I’m already raring to get going on it, which is always a good sign.

Anyway, that’s enough from me for now. I’m kind of at the ‘all written out’ stage and I’ve got some packing to do. Catch up very soon when I’ll update you about how the tour went, and how the new idea’s shaping up.

All the very best
Simon 27/08/10

New Australia and New Zealand tour dates have been announced. Go to the author page for full details.

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