What I did in my holidays

The light outside my window is bright, but not inviting, and I've had to dig through short sleeved things to unearth my old jumper from the bottom of the drawer - if there's any Summer left, it's not making itself known today.

Victorian pressure cooker/
steampunk ghost-trap -
you be the judge...

It's been a while since I last posted here, but looking back on the last post (to avoid repeating myself) has had a really positive effect - I completed the first draft of my YA Victorian adventure Coalface at the end of July, and have been using the summer to catch up on research while the manuscript steams in the corner, ready for action.

It's been a brilliant exercise - lots of photos of door handles, corridors, and time card clocks while everyone else takes pictures of the formal gardens; out of print books found in second hand stalls; and a trip to my local studies library to look over period newspapers.  It's influenced how I think about telling the story in many different, exciting ways - and reinforced the story I want to tell - a boy's quest to discover the truth behind his father's death, and reclaim his name from infamy.

But I can't start just yet - promised I'd finish something else first.  Will tell you more at the end of the week...