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.