I am replying to Jennifer’s question here because I just cannot work out how to reply to comments via myspace... no doubt it is something very, very simple but simplicity has never been a particular trademark of mine! I always do things the hard way, usually proves more fun and interesting way to get through life, but the deciding factor was when I found the myspace blog deleted all my apostrophes and other stuff on posting - I do not like!

Jennifer (and how lovely it was to find you at myspace!) asked how my new novel is going. Jennifer knows I have been writing the new novel (actually a series) for some time now. Sigh, I for one would really, really like to jump and down with glee and say book one is finally finished...bigger sigh, not yet... But I am getting there. The whole narrative is almost all in place now and I believe the gelling of fiction and history is working well. It is also nice to know there is a lot of drafting already in place for the following books. The unpublished manuscript, at one-third its present length, gained a prestigious short-listing, so the writing must be going in the right direction. But I really want to achieve so much with this project. I have booked a week in June at a writers' retreat, the last week of my second term break; I am hoping a week without my usual life distractions will finally make that happen.

Writing about the childhood of Catalina of Aragon has been both an ecstasy and an agony. I have gone out my comfort zone of Tudor History and into a brand new area of research. I have brought so many books that it is really no wonder I need to work at a second job. I know my husband is not pleased with my increasing library, despite my constant reassurance that selling my books will pay for my funeral. I so yearn to go to Spain before I even hand this book to a publisher but, alas, that won't happen until my writing pays for it. Nevertheless, with returning to my old teaching job, I have now discovered a crock-pot is a great helper in getting my family fed at night. Dear Jennifer - I promise you faithfully here, in the public view of all, that this new novel will be "dunn"...Talking of which, I better get back to it!

Peace!
Wendy