I've been laid low this week by a particularly unpleasant stomach bug (hint: don't get it), so now finally feeling better, an update:

Just before I started lying around the house and moaning, I did return from the excellent event I did in Bury for the Big Science Read.  Very well run, really nice people, a terrific crowd, all of which made the 6 1/2 hour National-Rail-impaired journey home less painful than it might have been.

The Ask and the Answer (the next book for all those wondering) is milliseconds away from being sent to print, but you still won't be able to read it until May in the UK.  But it's coming, it's coming.  And The Knife of Never Letting Go has been picked in a year-end "best of" round-up by the Times, in addition to the ones on Amazon.com and in the Independent.  A nice Xmas present.

I'm currently halfway through a big, big draft of book three of the Chaos Walking trilogy, and still in training for the marathon, for which you should bloody well sponsor me already.  I'm nearly halfway to my goal, so join in the fun!

Now to go watch that bloke I'd never heard of from that soap I never watch win I'm A Celebrity.