So. It turns out I’m not too good at regular blogging.

I am powering ahead with the book (when my chosen nook in the library isn’t invaded by squalling toddlers called Darren as it was last week – “Darren, come here! Put the chair down, Darren! Darren!”) and overall the cosmic vibe is positive. I’ve dropped the working title ‘The Missing’ largely because the story grew out of it and partially because it was a bit… crap. I have another in mind, but I’m keeping it to myself.

I’m also involved in an exciting side project which should take off during the summer. I can’t give away too much – I’m a great believer in the power of fermenting secrets – but it’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a wee Film Studies student too shy to make the necessary connections.

We’ll see.

In the meantime, I have a new job! I’m an assistant editor. Enjoying it hugely. Especially the part where I get paid to eat at nice restaurants and pretend I’m not a reviewer. Tasty, tasty espionage.

This is my first blog post, to prove that I exist and that there really is a novel in the works.

Many thanks to everyone who emailed me regarding the article in the Cambridge Evening News. Talking publicly about my mental health has been a daunting step, so your supportive messages have all been very touching. I volunteered for Time To Change in the hope that people in similar situations would read about my experiences and feel less alone. That’s what I needed most when I was ill.

In the near future, UK newspaper The Daily Express are publishing an article about me in their supplement magazine. Again, this is for the mental health charity Time To Change. The article is written in the first person, but not by me, so it’s a slightly peculiar read from my perspective. Rather like speaking through a ventriloquist’s dummy.

The novel is coming along nicely, and I hope to be finished by September 2010. Lately, I’ve been researching East Anglian village signs and heraldry in aid of the scenery. This book has taken me to some unexpected places. Odilon Redon, the French Symbolist painter, is making a ghostly appearance, too. I thoroughly recommend the current exhibition of his lithographs at The Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge. I’m a fan of The Spider: