I have a sudden and overwhelming sense of urgency dear reader. A desperate and impassioned urgency to get the new novel published as soon as I can. Why? Well, gather round my pretties and I’ll explain.

To date I have four published novels, all of which I’m extremely pleased with and rightly so. They all have their own style and nuances but are all equally funny. To ask me to choose my favourite between them would be like asking a doting mother to choose between her four children. I love them all. The problem I have is that there are only four of them. I need more.

Every Monday I produce a podcast also entitled Blessham Hall (you may perhaps have heard it) and so far there are 43 episodes including today’s. During my podcasts I have several different sections such as My Four-Penneth Worth and Joke of the Week, all of which are great fun to write and record. The bulk of each podcast, however, is given over to the weekly subject all of which revolve around my writing. That means that over 43 podcasts I must have devoted at least 10 on average to each one, with a few other subjects thrown in here and there.

Recently, over the last four weeks, I have been running a series called Nackajory (I know, I know, an obvious and tenuous play on words) where I have read excerpts from my four books. Nackajory has been well received by my listeners but now I have to think of something else for next week.

Over the course of the last year I’ve delved into the characters, origins and backgrounds of all my books and tried so hard to keep it fresh and new each time. The trouble is that there is only so much you can say about each one and I’m at the stage where I need a new one to talk about. And therein lies my sense of urgency. I’ve got to get the damn thing finished. God, I wish I’d started self publishing years ago.

So, health permitting, I want to try and get it written, edited, proofed and published by the end of May ideally and then I’ll have plenty to wax lyrical upon. The truth is, I hate the feeling of urgency. I prefer to take things as they come. But now I’ve set myself on this path I have to keep going. So look out for book number 5, called – no, sorry, I’m not giving that away yet, coming to you soon (hopefully).

You can listen to my latest podcast here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jeb8z-11cf990