06 October 2009
Yippee! At last we have a name for Book XIII. It has been a long struggle, with dozens of suggestions considered, but we've finally reached a consensus which I believe reflects the essence of the story. Book XIII will therefore henceforth be known as "A Very Private Murder". It's a little different to what's gone before and we are confident it will gain the approval of Charlie's bourgening fan base. (Especially the ending, but no more of that - you'll have to read the book.) The manuscript then goes, electronically nowadays, to an editor and a proof reader. These are weirdly clever people who can spot an illegal semicolon at 500 yards and who cackle with delight if they should happen to find I've said "appraise" when it should have been "apprise". Meanwhile, we are thinking about the next story. Methinks we'll write the title first, this time. Publication date for "A Very Private Murder", alas, is scheduled for sometime next year.