So here we are at last, dear supporters. After lockdowns, rail strikes, postal strikes and Christmas I drove up to Unbound HQ to sign books. Aren't they lovely? These are the ones for the box set, so you can just see Book 1, Sea Paths, bottom right. What's next?

• Check emails for Unbound request to confirm your address (this will get through even if you've unsubscribed from marketing emails…

LANDFALL will launch here, at the wonderful Weald & Downland Living Museum, 12-4pm

I'll be back in touch just after Christmas with a proper invitation but save the day because it will be a celebration of a decade of Bera, and give her a proper send-off. We will be in the award-winning Gridshell building - like an upturned boat - with live music from Mark Vennis…

Photo by Arvid Høidahl on Unsplash

Can you hear the sucking? We have the third largest whirlpool here in the UK and it features in LANDFALL. I call it the Corrybrecken in a story that must be told to stop the Blue Men swamping the longboat. First, an apology for the long wait. I think it will be worth it and it was confidential until publication: My editor, Liz Garner, was editing her father…

The origins of music - is it hardwired into us all in the womb, or as early humans? Both, probably. I'd like to share a couple of fascinating minutes with Trevor Creighton, an archaeologist at Butser Ancient Farm, who is leading the reconstruction of a Bronze Age roundhouse. Here, he's talking about building a neolithic longhouse. There's much, much more in the full length interview I did…

I know. Robbed of money and then I vanish. So I'll keep this very simple for new subscribers (the old ones know authors go to ground for a while - and it's probably a relief!). I'm busy making an early draft into something that I'm proud of before I send it to my Development Editor in July. So ... on, on!

Here's a picture instead, especially for anyone catching up with the trilogy. (Did you know…

If you don't already follow Yrsa on Twitter, I really recommend it: she's very funny. Which is rather typical of crime writers, especially in Iceland. Anyway, truth isn't necessarily stranger than fiction because a good story usually comes from good research. So Obsidian has fantastical elements but catastrophic volcanic eruption wasn't one of them. And Yrsa (meaning Bear) is not only an award…

Photo by Scott Gummerson on Unsplash

Sorry, I couldn't resist trying to get your attention ...

Some of you loyal supporters will remember that in July 2017 when Sea Paths was just published, Richard and I swapped homes with Jonas and his family. We lived in their home in Sweden while they came to Chichester. He had brilliantly arranged for us to row a traditional long boat to an island church…

Or, how to trace a drawing. Trawling through distant memory from schooldays, I used baking parchment before I got fancy. To find out what this is all about watch the short film with the sound on. 

So here I am - only a few pledges away from 80% funded and that's in lockdown! To say I am grateful to you lovely supporters is an understatement. I have not been idle. Determined from the start that Bera's journey would be completed with Unbound, I've been making sure the draft I will send to my wonderful editor is the best it can be. And then - this. The small picture shows two of the drawings…

Look at this beauty!

If you deleted the Obsiidan update, here's what you missed ... or if you're a new supporter, this is what the Unbound elves have made for you:

We've found it handy as a not-in-person gift this Christmas, so hope you do too! All you have to do is pledge in the recipient's name and then download a gift certificate HERE 

Have the best Christmas you can. It will be memorable…

It will come as no surprise to dear supporters that Iceland is (besides home) my favourite place in the world. It's also where the best Writers Retreat takes place each spring (except this year, of course!) and in 2019 I had this beauty amongst other celebrations of Icelandic design and culture: and now I'm going to give it to the person who gets me to 70%! What's more, I'll send it as soon as…

How does Landfall link Armistice Day, Krakow and Auntie Kate being a spinster?

This short audio clip is a sincere thank you. It contains the very first two paragraphs, written in December 2010, that became The Book of Bera: Sea Paths. Little did I realise that her story was to become a trilogy, completing in 2020 only thanks to generous supporters like you. I'm so grateful that I promise not to bombard you with updates :) Spread the word!