Hi, I'm back! Paperback publication of Sepulchre in the US is March 3rd. Over the past 18 months since the UK edition came out I've visited 16 countries (Sepulchre is published in 38 languages and 42 countries, so I made it to less than half!). This time, I'm not going to be over in America for publication, which is both a relief (because it is so hard to write a new book when talking about a novel already out), but also a shame. I had not realised, until not being in the US in the Spring, how much I'd come to love being in the States.

I love touring. I love meeting readers in different countries, with different ways of seeing books, different values, different imaginations. It does stop you writing and thinking and getting on with the next book. But, at the same time, it feeds your imagination. There were also several 'firsts' for me for Sepulchre - first time visiting Poland, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Slovakia. And many happy returns to countries such as Holland, Germany, France and Norway.

So, although I'm grateful for a break from touring, I find myself longing for an early morning walk down to the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco. Or for a glimpse of the mountains in Denver. For a glass of red wine in the bar of the Pfitzer Hotel in Milwaukee. Or, after the momentous events of January, even taking on that bitter wind in Washington DC.

The next novel takes priority, though. So it's writing, not talking that matters most at the moment. That, and the exciting, nerve racking, long wait until March 3rd for the paperback to hit the US bookstores!

A bientôt