I’ve been getting feedback from people who have read 88 North, the finale to the series that started with 66 Metres and charts Nadia’s progress in her personal war against the terrorist Salamander. In short, people are telling me this is the best book. It’s good to know, as it was produced under considerable time pressure. Maybe that’s the best way to write fast-paced thrillers – my sense of urgency and high stakes translated onto the page, lol. I did enjoy writing the exotic locations, from Hong Kong, which I know very well, to Sudan and North Korea, which I don’t know at all (though I was diving just north of Sudan a couple of weeks ago). 

Having finished it, and while I’m figuring out what to write next, there are a series of blog tours coming up, on the 1-7 of Feb, March and April, for each book, just to get the series better known, and maybe some price promotions via HarperCollins. 

And while I’m on a break, I have something coming out more related to my day job, and aviation safety, in April. I’m not going to blog about it, but – funny thing – when I was asked to do it last year, they said they chose me because they knew I could write. I had to produce it at the same time as 88 North, also to a punishing deadline. So, a short break, and then in the Spring, we’ll see. Until then I’m reading Andy McNab, Lee Child, Jo Nesbo, and David Baldacci. 

But, given that I like cliffhangers, I’ll tell you a secret. One of the contenders for the next thriller is called ‘Write what you know’, and is about a serial killer and a writer…