This time last month, I was getting back into the routine after getting home from World Fantasy Con in Brighton. That was very enjoyable on the personal level; seeing friends and catching up with their lives and careers in these uncertain times. Professionally, I was busy. I chaired one panel about writing fantasy for younger readers, from pre-school to teens, which was very informative. I spoke on a panel about ‘writing fighting’ which revealed a breadth of views and experiences among the authors, and that’s always good. I gave a reading – well, two short readings, to give a taste of The Green Man’s Holiday, launched at the convention, and of The Riven Kingdom, coming next year from Angry Robot.

Then there were any number of conversations about the business, and the craft, of writing. I had a very pleasant ‘meet the author’ chat with some lovely people, and over the course of the weekend, signed a highly satisfactory number of books & programmes. A particular delight was signing a much reread and cherished copy of The Thief’s Gamble, my debut novel, in its original edition. Seriously, never feel you shouldn’t ask an author to sign a less than pristine book, and there’s no need to apologise. Every writer I know loves to see them.

We launched The Green Man’s Holiday, alongside Wizard’s Tower Press’s other new titles. The third in the Wiz Duo novella series offers The Sheltering Flame by Ruthanna Emrys alongside Walking a Wounded Land by Andrew Knighton. I’ve read and enjoyed previous work by both these authors and hope to get to these new stories soon. The other title launched was Of The Emperor’s Kindness by Chaz Brenchley which is as intriguing as it is deceptively low-key. There was cake and wine and chatting with friends – and Garth Nix and Peter Hamilton both keen to buy copies of Dan’s latest adventure and get them signed, being fans of the series. How’s that for a great day?

Incidentally, thanks to everyone who has shared positive and enthusiastic ratings and reviews for The Green Man’s Holiday online. Personal and digital ‘word of mouth’ is absolutely vital for small press publications, ever more so as social media fractures and scatters communities.

Since then? November is the Society of Authors’ AGM month, so I had a fair bit to do relating to that. The AGM was very positive and constructive, looking forward to continuing current campaigns to defend copyright, and to promote author care by publishers, among much else. I also took part in an online round table discussion hosted by the Department of Arts and Humanities, European University Cyprus, exploring the uses creators might make of AI tools, or not, and why. If and when that’s offered in the public domain, I’ll share a link.

I’ve also tackled a considerable amount of domestic and work-related administrivia to clear the desk for background reading and plot wrangling for the next Green Man book. I’ve done some website tidying up, and we have now incorporated information about JM Alvey’s historical murder mysteries into this site, along with observations I made along the way about writing fiction set so far in the past in this world.

Last but by no means least, I’ve added a short story The End of the Road, previously published in the final edition of Albedo One magazine, to the Some Free Stories page. Think of it as a seasonal gift, however you may celebrate.

I will now split my time for the rest of this month between Christmas preparations, socialising with friends and family over the holiday break, and the aforementioned reading and plotting before I start writing Dan’s next adventure next year.