A new page...

In a bid to escape becoming involved in the ongoing 'Is there a God?' debate on the Scarrow Brothers Forum I've rushed out to the shed to start work on the next Eagles book. Which I finally have a title for: The Eagle of the Tenth. I rather like that, and hope that it duly honours one of my all time favourite authors. I've been deep into the research for a while now and feel confident that this is going to be a good one.

Unfortunately, the copy-edited script for The Generals is due any day and will delay the writing for a few days, and then next week I have a pretty intense few days starting with a workshop at the school where I am writer in residence (in Canterbury), then it's on to London to meet a film-maker followed by an evening dinner with some other authors. Wednesday has been cleared for my sons' music concert at school (absolutely unmissable as any parent will tell you). Thurday, it's back down to London for lunch with a friend from Jordan, followed by a meeting at the Syrian embassy and then an author's quiz in the evening. Then on Friday I'm off to a literary festival and hopefully a pint with my best friend, Murray. Busy, huh? Yikes.

...Meanwhile, I'm reworking a thriller I wrote a few years back - The Christmas Killings...

My email these days has become a bit of a torrent and I'm beginning to fear that there will be a time when I don't have enough time to answer it all. (I might just have to miss out on those penis enlargement offers, shame).

One thing that I love about this job is that there are so many people out there who share a love of history. And even now, it's still hard to believe I live on both sides of the process. Blimey, I'm an author. A real author. I still find that a little difficult to own up to as a job description. Which makes me all the more touched by those who treat me like some kind of a minor celebrity. I just hope I can keep writing material that entertains fellow history fans. It's great fun and I'm so grateful for all the chances it has brought to travel and meet people.

At the moment, my fingers are firmly crossed now that Alex and I have completed the screenplay for Blood Soldiers. It's a great story and if it ever reaches the big screen it will scare people witless.