End of Year Report – Writing Version

It’s the last day of 2024 as I write this. A lot has happened in my life this past year, and I have covered some of the other stuff in a post on my McCallum Ogilvy blog. But basically, although I’ve had to cut down on some other activities, I seem to have managed to write about as much as I usually do. I think this is partly because I now write in a more efficient way than before, with a lot more planning and less staring into the garden and wondering if I should have the big tree cut back again. The planning is largely invisible, most of it happening in the middle of the night when I need something positive to think about, but some of it includes research and for certain books, a lot of staring at maps. For instance I am currently planning feasible routes to Cornwall in 1821. More on that in a minute or two.

The Watcher in the Shrubbery was the second in the Pamela Prendergast series and was mostly written in 2023 so perhaps shouldn’t be included in this review. I have a third scenario in mind, but it isn’t exactly a plot yet so I can’t start writing. But it will probably give me a chance to use a setting that’s very familiar to me – Corstorphine Hill, where I’ve often walked with and without a dog.

An Unfortunate Return was the 27th of the Pitkirtly Mysteries, and the plot was largely ‘inspired’ by the fact that a local campaign was under way to have the ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ restrictions removed from our local area. I am happy to report that, as far I know, no murders occurred as a result of this, though feelings did run very high and even now, after some of the measures have been cancelled, there are still occasional resumptions of the hostilities between cyclists and motorists.

Then there was ‘The Great Calamity’, which I feel is a Marmite book as it has attracted very varied reviews. This was a very difficult book to write as I had trouble with the structure at first and also, although it had been at the back of my mind for at least a year, when it came to the point of writing, I still had quite a bit more research to do. However, there has been a request for a sequel and I must confess an idea for one did cross my mind when I got close to the end, so we’ll see!

I just managed to finish ‘Death at the Pavilion’, the 28th of the Pitkirtly Mysteries, in time to start writing my Christmas cards, and to date it has sold better than many of my other novels, so thank you very much indeed if you’ve bought a copy. I did very little planning before I started to write this one, and the plot kept straying away from the point, so I was pleased to find the loose ends coming together, more or less – just as they did for my Titanic jumper!

As we go into 2025 I’ve started to write something – because I always have to have something in progress – which has turned out to be the 3rd book in the ‘Misplaced Heiresses’ series. I just wish I had some prospect of travelling to Cornwall to research on the ground, but I’m trying to do the best I can with maps and pictures on the internet.

Happy New Year everyone!