So Christmas is looming - which means of course that we have been in this house for almost a year. One whole year and I'm still referring to it as the new house. It's not that I haven't settled in, because I have, or that it doesn't feel like home, because it does. So what is it then?

I actually think it's a state of mind. This past year has gone in such a flurry of activity, and I've been such a hive of industry, I almost haven't allowed myself to believe that a year has passed. I've written two whole books and made inroads into a third, decorated, weeded and done all the normal household stuff and yet I'm still wondering if I could have done more, been more industrious...

So on that note, I am making a plan. You know how I love a plan. Next year I will write Volume VIII of the Owners before I write any other books. This is a pivotal volume, for it starts to bring the story back to San and Loni and all the other characters we left in Volume I, because they still have so much to say, so much to do.

In Volume VIII therefore, we will see how Sophia became the leader of her people - what particular things happened in her life to bring her to the exact point at which she meets Little and Loni. We will find out about the tragedies that drive her forward and the challenges she has had to face.

Similarly, we will find out more about Rian, about his unhappy early life and how all that happens then, puts him on the very path that will one day ensure that he meets San.

This will be an emotional book; powerful and strong, full of resolve and purpose, just like its main characters, and I can't wait to start it. Both Rian and Sophia have been patient with me. They have waited in the back of my head for their time to emerge fully into the light. Next year will be their time.

And writing their tales will be no easy task. It will be draining and emotional, but I hope that it will be cathartic both for me, and for its readers. If nothing else, it will give Rian and Sophia the freedom they deserve.

So until then, and just in case I get caught up in Christmas and New Year and don't have a minute to blog again, let me say,

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR, READERS!

I hope 2016 has been great for you and that 2017 will be wonderful!

And if you get one of my books as a stocking filler, I hope you enjoy it. X

Happy New Year!

The main reason for my recent visit to Glasgow was to see my elderly father but I also set time aside to catch up with friends. As we only meet once a year, it is fairly easy to keep up the pretence that I am always well-groomed and presentable and that I never, ever answer the door to the postman in my pjs.

But I knew the day was going to go badly when, sitting perched on her side of the bed in the Travelodge room that I was sharing with her, my two sons and two large dogs, my daughter asked through mouthfuls of cornflakes why I had chosen to dye my hair ginger.

Ginger? Really? I shot up and examined myself to find that she was at least a little right. What I had thought to be a pleasing shade of mid-blonde was indeed rather gingery… which proved that not only was my hair turning white, but my eyesight was failing!

The rest of the day turned out to be different to my expectations too. I had carefully researched where I could meet my friend in the centre of Glasgow to have a drink, as I had not only three children in tow but also two dogs. Finally the internet provided an answer and I arranged the meeting after confirming that they did allow dogs in.

So the appointed day and time came and we made our way to the pub, only to be greeted by two men carrying large bundles of wood into the place.

Horrified, I asked if they had suddenly closed for refurbishment. But they hadn’t. Phew relief! They eyed up the dogs. Equally nervously, I stated that I had already phoned them to check that they allowed dogs in. They assured me they did. We were halfway down the steps into the basement bar before they called me back.

“What?” I asked rather tersely by now. “Aren’t you open yet?”

“Naw hen we’re open,” he said in a broad Glaswegian dialect. “An we’re no doin’ any renovations. An aye yer dugs are welcome in. But ye cannae take yer kids in here.” [Translation: “My dear we are open. There are no renovations being currently carried out and your dogs are most welcome here. But not your children, unfortunately.”]

Would you believe it?

Equally as strange, was the pub we ate at that night which turned out to be a deconsecrated church. The pulpit and area for the choir was still preserved, as was the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass windows. The place was incredibly beautiful and somehow very wrong.

So one pub which was licenced to allow dogs but not kids through the door, and another that had once been the site of religious worship and was now favouring a worship of an entirely different kind altogether? Absolutely! Only in Scotland folks, only in Scotland.

Happy New Year!

2015

Have you had a merry Christmas and New Year readers? Have you eaten and drunk your fill, kissed your loved ones and revelled in the warmth around you? I hope so. Because the alternative is not good!

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all dark and brooding with you. Well ok, maybe just a little then. This is a difficult time of year for many people, a time when they feel lost or afraid, without comfort or solace in their lives. Believe me, I have known this from first hand experience, although I have always been lucky enough to have had more than a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Recently, however, I was faced with someone who struck me as such an individual. Crippled by a severe mental condition and fed a diet of prescription drugs, he should have been a spaced out zombie but instead I found him to be articulate with a quiet grace. He radiated an ease and serenity that most people could never achieve with a lifetime's trying. In fact, he reminded me somewhat of Bubba's character from The Green Mile [heart-breaking film].

We are a strange species us humans and I think that had I not ended up being an author, I would have been well suited to anthropology, as watching people's reactions to things fascinates me. To understand what makes people tick, what motivates and defines their actions would be a fine thing indeed, although I suspect that the study would be infinite in its course.

Do not concern yourself unduly, for I am sliding into this frame of mind as I prepare to restart my latest novel from where it left off before Christmas. A dark, supernatural type fantasy, it delves into the human psyche deeper than even I thought it would.

As an author it is easy to become so immersed in your work that real life seems almost wishy-washy in comparison. Colours are never so bright as when they are described in minutiae on a pristine page, emotions never so heightened than when dissected by a pen. That's why this has been such a good break for me. But now it is almost time to begin to turn my mind back to the tales which jostle in my head, the characters who fight for my attention...

So one last thought before I let my mind be devoured by the darkness... 2015 is here already. It will only come once in your life, so make the most of every day, of every minute, to make those around you know how much you care.

Have a happy and joyous 2015 readers.

Carmen.