“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude” 

– A.A. Milne

Dear All

Well, The Undiscovered Country has been out in the world for just over a year now. Some people have loved it: The Irish Times did, after all, call it a “smart and pacy debut”. Some people have hated it with the bright and shinning passion of righteous fury: One fellow in France thought it should have a language warning. Closer to home some folk thought it should be publicly burned.

For better or worse this book would not have seen the light of day if it had not been for all of you. That is something for which I will be eternally grateful. Given that you have brought me this far I wonder if I can ask you to help me a little further?

It would be great if those of you who have read the book could post a review for it, particularly on Goodreads or Amazon. Amazon is evil but it’s where most people check out what a book is like, so the reviews there matter.

When I finished writing the book I did miss the characters and I was left wondering what might have become of them. One evening a fragment of conversation popped into my head:

“So, what are you saying? You want me to be your ‘muscle’?”

“It’s what you do, isn’t it?” she said. 

And that started me on a sequel, Some Service to the State. It’s 1925 and Mick is just out of jail in the North, trying to make sense of what this new world of a partitioned Ireland means for the likes of him. Somewhat reluctantly he gets drawn into a search for a missing girl. But the reverberations of recent war complicate what seems at the outset a relatively straightforward enquiry. 

I’m currently 10,000 words into the writing and planning on working on this through the winter. 

If you are interested in what happens next, it would be great to hear from you.

Meantime, keep safe. Someday this plague is going to end.

Aidan