I’m behind on Oblivion – Netherdei #3, but writing is well underway now and it’s good to be at it again.
I’ve been dealing with skin cancer – hopefully caught early enough and not for anyone to worry about – which made me realise what an absolute idiot I was in my twenties, lying in the sun on holidays covered in <5 factor oils, feeling invincible, trying to change the colour of my skin. It feels so absurd now – but if I had a word with that lad puffing his chest out in 00s Ayia Napa, Malia, Laganas or Ibiza, he wouldn’t listen. I’ll try to educate my kids instead…
As well as Netherdei #3, I’ve plotted a couple of books that I will certainly put ink to later this year, after my cultivation series is well and truly completed.
One of these is going to be a follow-up to Ever Winter. I’ve had a lot of people ask me about this in recent years as I left some strings untied, believing that I had more to explore in that world. It’s great that others share this and I hope Ever Winter will reach more audiences in the coming years, after some cool developments.
The other book that I plan to write needs a title.
It’s a near-future sci-fi, featuring an old man living on a remote island. I’ve been thinking a lot about this book and it’s made me realise that I would love to live off-grid (*with a little bit of wi-fi) someday. I’ve been enjoying programs about homesteads and preppers and all sorts of survival. I find it really interesting and see that these people all enjoy the most enviable views of nature.
In the very least, one day, I might be living in the garden shed, pretending it’s Alaska or Outer Hebrides. The kids already moan that we can’t order KFC or McDonalds where we live today, so I might have to wait a few years for this, or just get the shed now.
I’ve read quite a few books lately. The ones I’ve enjoyed the most are the 1980s-penned southern gothic horror Blackwater by Michael McDowell and Freakslaw by the brilliant, Jane Flett – another horror, unravelling page-by-page as I read it.
Although my TBR-pile is growing, buying books is considered research.
I feel better just reflecting on that fact.
Peter Hackshaw - author. 