I'm turning into one of those terrible bloggers who only turn up to apologise for not blogging. So I'll get the apologies out of the way. Sorry for the long absence... Life has truly been bonkers. Perhaps the most bonkers thing about it is that I have been invited to the Australia 2020 Summit - a gathering in Canberra in which 1000 Australians are supposed to debate future policy. I'm in the Creative Australia stream, as they call it, under the leadership of the Elven Princess herself, Cate Blanchett. Which is at once daunting and exciting. Though who knows if the government will take any notice?
Meanwhile, the big fat proofs of the Australian edition of The Singing are on my dining room table. (And they are big - Penguin is releasing this one in the double size C-format). They look very handsome, and I can't wait to actually have the book in my hand - not long now! And in the past couple of days boxes have been arriving of the new Penguin Australia releases of the Pellinor books (right). They're pretty cool actually - based on the lovely English titles, only with my name in raised silver lettering, like proper airport novels. I think they hit the shops in May. (PS: The only downside is that I feel for those Australian readers who have been buying the books from when they were first released - now there will never be a matching set. Which seems a bit unfair...)
I'm having trouble keeping up (I know that other authors are out in many more countries, but the maths of four books in four countries is already beginning to confuse me). The Riddle is released in Germany on Friday. And then the paperback version of The Crow is out in August ... and I just found the cover online. I think it's gorgeous. And Irc looks more like a crow than on the hardback. On the hardback he looked rather like a seagull.
Meanwhile, I am planning to be in the UK in June, specifically in Norwich, with readings in Cambridge and London, and a few days in Cork in Ireland in early July. I'll be wearing my poetry hat, since I have a new book of poems coming out this year as well, but anyone nearby is welcome to turn up and surprise the poets by asking me to sign a fantasy book (I would quite enjoy that, actually). I'll let you know the dates closer to the day.
I'm beginning to think it's about time I started writing something new. But not another series. I keep returning to Wuthering Heights, one of my favourite books. (Emily Bronte is also one of my favourite poets, and I feel close to poet/novelists these days...) How would it be if I wrote something like that? I have an Idea...
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