Happy New Year, everyone. Draca is about to move into the production phase, with a publication date of 14th May. I've just been sent the first draft cover, (great, but not yet ready to be shared,) so the pace is heating up.

My immediate challenge is to find a celebrity who'll read an advance copy of the book and provide a suitable endorsement to go on the cover. "Brilliant page-turner, great cause...thoroughly recommended..."  - that sort of thing. A celebrity, perhaps, who is supportive of veterans struggling with the aftermath of combat. So if anyone has a friend or contact who's a 'name', literary or otherwise, do please introduce us! Remember half the royalties go to Combat Stress.

You'll have seen an email from Unbound asking you to verify your names for the sponsors list, which closes at midnight on 27th January; this week is the last chance for any of our friends to put their names inside the book.

Finally, a date for your diaries. The first launch event will be in the lovely, 17th century Friends' Meeting House at Jordans, Buckinghamshire, as part of the Chalfont St Giles Literary Festival. I'll be talking at 4pm on 21st May, and have negotiated a limited number of free seats for supporters. Space will be limited, so I'll also be holding a launch event in central London in late May/early June. Details of both events to follow but I hope to be able to thank as many people as possible in person at one of those.

Exciting times!

Geoff