I’ve made just one new year resolution this year – to write the first draft of my next novel.
Reading the reviews for Unlawful Things has been a delight, not least in discovering what people think about my heroine, Helen Oddfellow. She’s been described as “the new Morse”, a “splendid protagonist” and “who Dan Brown’s Professor Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code would have been if he were younger, female and travelled using an Oyster Card”.
But the big question readers have asked is: what happens next? Will Helen disappear back into my imaginary world, or are there plans for a sequel? The good news is, she’ll be back. I’m deep into researching, plotting and planning for the second Helen Oddfellow mystery.
I’ve been intrigued by the poetry and art of William Blake since university. Most people know him from the Songs of Innocence and Experience, including classics such as London and The Tyger. He was a bit of an oddball, a London tradesman who saw visions of angels and ghosts, and who struggled for recognition as an artist all his life.
I’m busy weaving a mystery around his already extraordinary life, for Helen and her friends to unravel. Think he’s not relevant today? Think again… I’ll keep you posted on progress. But let me know what you think – are there any other Blake fans out there?
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