Glimpses on a Morning Walk

Because England’s on day four of a heat wave and there’s no Tiger to curl up in my lap while I enjoy my second cup of tea, I was out of the house by six and had my 10k steps done by eight before it got too warm to move. (For anyone in the US… air-conditioning in homes isn’t a thing here.)

It’s a Bank Holiday Monday, which meant the early morning was very quiet. I had the chance to watch rabbits find their breakfast, and red kites hunting for theirs, while I had time and space to think.

And for the first time in maybe six weeks, I had characters popping in to say hello.

Jack was first, comparing his high-tech camping gear to the shabby backpack he filched from the skip behind a outdoor goods store. He’d watched a customer return it during the day, because the inner lining had developed a small rip, and the store had binned it. “That backpack kept me going for months,” he said. “And it lived, ready-packed in my wardrobe during all the time I spent with Rio.”

When he should have felt safe. But Jack, as we all know, wouldn’t feel safe for years yet. Though being able to look back with something like equanimity is progress, right?

Tom put in an appearance next. He was readying himself for a fight, only to find that Julian Nancarrow isn’t a slouch in a dustup. Where or why this brawl takes place I don’t know just yet, but the muse handed me a delicious plot twist, so I at least know which scene to tackle first.

By that point, I’d reached the turning point of my walk and I stretched and put on some music, and tried not to think about the empty house waiting for me.

Fortunately, there was Cloud Amassai, a classically trained violinist who plays goth, rock and dubstep as the WarBard. He started life as one of the characters in my rock star spies series, Cameo Investigations, but the more I work on those stories, he’s turning into the glue that holds the tale together.

Cloud may look gentle, but he’s far stronger than anyone gives him credit for. His passion can set a stadium alight when he plays. He has the courage to walk out on an abusive relationship. And his compassion lets him offer help to others, even when he’s at his lowest.

I started the writing stage of the rock star spies stories before our Tiger got sick, so I’m hoping I can pick up where I left off and start posting chapters soon. For now… if you’d like to sneak a peek at Cloud and read a first snippet, you can do that on the free tiers of both the Patreon and Readers Nook.

As for Rio and Paston’s stories, which several of you have been asking about: they need a bit more thinking time before I can get stuck in writing them, and a bit more research into things like arson, antique book collecting, head injuries, and recipes containing coffee.

But I will let you know as soon as I’m underway.