This year the world ends

Hundreds of disappointed readers will have noticed that I have not put up a new post in well over a year. The initial clamour was hard to deal with, but the news of the impending Mayan Death Ray destroying the world this December made it worth focusing on other things. On the off chance that the world does NOT end, I have decided to get back to it.

Other things that have happened this year:

• I moved house. Not far, but it took a long time. A bit like the final push to Mount Doom.
• I changed jobs. Again, not a big move, but it means I work in an office rather than at home. This may affect future writing operations...
• My brother got married to a lovely lady from New Jersey, and we all went out there for the wedding.
• I bought a new pair of boots and wore them all winter.

But perhaps most pertinently:

My MS now stands at almost 80 000 words and the story is complete, but the editing is only just beginning. It is hard to edit your own story (and wise people don't go it alone, as my brother can tell you: http://plottypus.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/on-vital-importance-of-not-editing-your.html). Luckily my great friend and professional editor *extraordinaire*, Ms Elizabeth Thompson, is also doing a great job.

Followers of my brother's blog, Plottypus, will also see that he is currently at 'beta-rader' stage (who knew that was a stage?). His book is fantastic, so imaginative and with real pace. It's been a privilege to read it in an early stage, and make some comments. When he's done with this re-write, he's on my list of people to get to read mine.

While all this is going on, I am really enjoying Twitter for the writer's communities on there. It's a great use of social networking to connect with people who are involved in the same sort of things as me. When I've delved a bit further I'll post about some of my favourite follows.

In the meantime, duck and cover everyone.