Where was I? If I remember correctly I was about to release The Day The Sky Fell Down and got sidetracked by that old devil called 'work'. I have in my sticky paws right now, a pre-final copy that needs checking over and a few tweaks making...

...and then I will hit the button for a publishing/release date of October 1st. That means this weekend, I'll be checking the store still works now that I've moved things around and then it will go on a pre-release - probably with some extra jam in the rice pudding if you know what I mean.

Which you do.

I've handed out a few sneaky reads to the inner circle and feedback is great. It's getting a good reception already - here's Scott reading a digital version of it at Sleep When You're Dead in Cardiff:

I suspect he should be working, but this pleases me in the extreme. There's not much sense to be made of this image (other than this pleases me too) but here's a random comment he mailed me this morning:

"Please be quiet, Simon Mayo has cranked up the tension by announcing the next round will be a lot harder..."

Which gives me an idea for a competition when this little puppy turns up in the store in a few months time:

Before Christmas? With the wind behind me - maybe. The 'little' puppy has turned into something a little bigger than I first planned - which is a good thing. That happens a lot around here with puppies.

Anyway, once all of the production is complete for Sky Fell Down, it will be time to put some PR wheels in motion. I might even get a hair cut.

But probably not.