An interim update and a writing ‘first’

Juliet August 23, 2024 Leave a Comment

A quick note to say that I had an excellent time at Worldcon, and I plan to write more fully about that soon. Just at the moment, I am head down, working flat out, and resolutely maintaining my focus on the work in progress.

That focus was interrupted yesterday by an unexpected and rather startling ‘first’ in my 25+ years as an author. So unexpected that I’m pausing briefly to share it.

In the months between first drafting the outline of this book, and finalising the end of the draft [REDACTED] has become a tightly controlled substance in the UK. Previously widely available [REDACTED] is now so tightly controlled that online references I had bookmarked have disappeared without any explanation. I only found out what was going on when considerable lateral thinking on search terms brought me to a model railway club’s website. The model railway club secretary highlighted the relevant new law, along with the substantial penalties which now apply for possessing [REDACTED] without the relevant government licence which requires an application and payment, and expires after three years.

Yes, I know you are now eager to know what [REDACTED] is, and I will cover all this in the book, but having read the reasons for this new law, I’m not going to discuss it online on social media. Seriously.

This writing life offers endless surprises.

Author: Juliet

Juliet E McKenna is a British fantasy author living in the Cotswolds, UK. Loving history, myth and other worlds since she first learned to read, she has written fifteen epic fantasy novels so far. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, began The Tales of Einarinn in 1999, followed by The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. The Green Man’s Heir was her first modern fantasy inspired by British folklore in 2018, and The Green Man’s Quarry in 2023 is the sixth title in this ongoing series. Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter stories include forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for major genre awards. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.