The first draft passed the 200,000 word mark today which means I’m firmly in the final straight (insert horse racing metaphor here – not falling at the final hurdle, a last sprint to see me over the line etc).

At the current rate the first draft should be done by mid-September, whereupon I shall reacquaint myself with the phenomena known as sleep (blessed, blessed sleep, my old friend, how I’ve missed you). However, rewrites should keep me fully occupied until December. No-one ever said this would be easy.