Hello again, everyone! It's the end of the penultimate month of the year (somehow), so it's time to tune in to The Decrypt, my monthly newsletter on all things writing, publishing, craft and media.
November was a busy one on the events front, some extremely exciting things happened (only some of which I can talk about) and I did a bit of drafting and a lot of pitching and outlining, so in some ways it felt quite bitty and fragmented. But words got worded and there are still a few things I can talk about, so why don't you brew a cup of something warm or pour a cup of something cold and let's dive in!
I started November with a really enjoyable evening at the Edinburgh Writer's Club, who hosted me for an author talk and (intensive) Q&A about my writing and career. It was a great night though I got a proper grilling from the attendees about the publishing industry and my writing process. I had a brilliant time though. Massive thanks to Z.K. Abraham for inviting me and organising the evening.
That same week, the first Think Weirder anthology was released, featuring my story 'Best Practices for Safe Asteroid Handling'.
The following weekend I had my first ever library event, a one-day 'Book Blether' mini-festival hosted at Denny Library and funded by Live Literature.
It was a brilliant day, made all the better because fellow DHH client, Bloody Scotland Debut Prize shortlister and all around excellent person Claire Wilson offered to give me a lift and came along too. Novelist Kate Foster appeared before me and we got a chance to catch up just before I went on, then I spoke for about 40 minutes about my career to date.
After that I signed books and met some of the lovely library patrons who had come along. Unfortunately by the time I'd done that I missed Marion Todd who had already headed into her session. But Claire and I went and had lunch in Falkirk and then popped into the local Waterstones to sign some books, which was an excellent end to the day.
My third event of the month was in Glasgow for Book Week Scotland, on a crime and thriller panel at Ibrox Library where I reunited with another Bloody Scotland shortlister, Natalie Jayne Clark and met crime novelists Neil Broadfoot and Andrew Raymond for the first time. We had a great and wide-ranging discussion, very well-chaired by Natalie. Of course, I forgot to take any photos.
And my final event of November was just this past week, reuniting with the other 3/5ths of the Debut Prize shortlist for a Bloody Scotland reunion at Waterstones West End. It was a really lovely night and so good to see everyone again.
I also got a really nice review from Crime Fiction Lover for A RELUCTANT SPY. It's been really amazing to see new readers and reviewers still picking up and reviewing the book over a year after release. The awards buzz has undoubtedly helped with that, as has the much wider paperback availability. And this month I have signed a lot of books all over southern Scotland, including Falkirk, Glasgow, Dundee, St Andrews and Edinburgh. It's honestly something I never get tired of doing - I get to meet booksellers, visit lots of bookshops and see my book on the shelf (or quite often on the tables at the moment!) - what's not to love?
All-in-all, November was a really great month - I got out in the world a lot, met lots of readers and fellow writers and signed lots of books. December will be quieter on the writing front, but busier on the personal front (because it always is).
It was a very up-and-down month when it comes to writing actual words. I had been aiming for around 20,000 words for the month and got less than a quarter of that, with just under 5k words written in the month.
That was largely because my initial plan for the month was based on steadily working through the draft of Project DRIFT, but some (very exciting) conversations mid-month meant I did some pitch writing and then dived into drafting an outline for a different book, codenamed Project VAULT.
Right at the start of the month, I also had to do about five days of reviewing proofs for SOLITARY AGENTS. So, given that I only actually wrote new words for three days this month, getting 5k is not actually too bad at all.
This is very much the bread-and-butter of the working writer's life, especially when you're still doing a dayjob. Sometimes the best-laid plans fall by the wayside and you have to do something else at short notice, or juggle a couple of things.
And it's not like I haven't been writing words! There's been blog posts, a guest article for a blog, probably a couple of thousand words in the outline, beta read notes for other writers. So plenty of typing. Just not word count in the writing sense.
This month also had some exciting news (that I can't talk about yet) that I hope and believe will make this kind of juggling a lot easier and give me more wiggle room in several senses to manage the balance I need to actually write books. Look out for an update on that in the new year, specifically when it comes to writing routine.
I'm also starting to put together my By The Numbers post for this year and I can offer an overall positive sneak peek - I have definitely recovered from my career low output last year. Which is very satisfying. This last month of slower writing means I probably won't hit my stretch goal for the year, but I'm more than happy with where I have got to (and I might well add some to the total if things go ahead in December that I'm hoping for). I'm also adding a new portion to By The Numbers talking about events and media, because that's a thing I can quantify and I think it will be useful to quantify the impact, positive or negative, on my ability to do the whole 'writing books' thing.
There's not a lot on the docket for December, certainly as a writer. Which, frankly, is a bit of a relief. Christmas parties, a work trip to London and, possibly, writing the first 10k or so of Project VAULT are quite enough to keep me going.
I've got a recording with a podcast that I'm very excited about, as I've been listening since they started and I'm a huge fan. I'm not sure when the episode will release, so I'll keep it under wraps for now.
I also have a key and very exciting deadline passing, which has been the subject of several furiously enthusiastic email exchanges this month. One of the frustrations of this industry is when stuff does happen, it's often weeks or months until you can tell people about it. Suffice to say I'm fizzing with anticipation about this particular thing.
There's also incoming news that I will be able to talk about in December, so keep an eye on my social media and daynotes.
Reading
It's been thin on the ground this month because of a lot of beta reading. But I've squeezed in a tiny bit and they've both been spy novels.
- A Spy In The Blood by Paul Warner - I was sent a proof of this by Bonnier Books and it's excellent so far (I'm about a third of the way through) - snappy prose, convincing tradecraft and a memorable family man main character with a second, secret life. Looking forward to continuing this one in December.
- A Spy Like Me by Kim Sherwood - I got a copy of this for the event I was due to do at Aye Write with Kim and Vaseem Khan, which sadly didn't go ahead, but I was delighted to get the book anyway because it's a cracker. Gorgeous prose and a suitably high-octane plot. The Fleming Estate is doing excellent work continuing the Bond universe, engaging some very talented writers. And this book is solid proof of the effectiveness of that strategy.
Watching
Another good month on the ol' tellybox:
- We finished off SLOW HORSES - I feel like the conclusion worked pretty well after a slightly wobbly start. Mostly good-to-great though. Already looking forward to the next season (and reading the book it's based on).
- Like everyone else we've been absolutely grabbed by PLURIBUS - the first episode is an anxiety fever dream on a par with that episode of PARADISE (you know the one if you've watched it) and the subsequent episodes prove Vince Gilligan hasn't lost his touch for tension and character.
- We watched THE WOMAN IN BLACK over Halloween weekend - I'd never actually seen it (though I have seen the stage show) and it was pretty good. It was really interesting to see how they handled the specific jump scares from the theatre version. Good stuff.
- We've also been enjoying CELEBRITY RACE ACROSS THE WORLD - a show so good that I don't even find the celebrity version annoying. It's combination heart-warming interpersonal drama and extremely well done travel inspo. It makes me absolutely yearn to go all over the world though.
- We watched ATOMIC, a fun action-thriller which was badly let down by its final episode. But it was pacy, well put together and had a great script. I suspect it won't get a second season though.
- For Thanksgiving, we watched LITTLE WOMEN (2019), which I thought was a stellar adaptation. Excellent pacing, some interesting structural changes from earlier versions and beautifully shot.
Playing
Pew pew pew!
- I have basically played nothing but ARC RAIDERS this month. It's been a long time since a game loop has grabbed me this effectively. The balance of tension, excitement, occasional backstabbing and a gorgeous game world is superb. And my completionist tendences mean that the 'upgrade all your crafting stations' core gameplay motivator has become a bit of an obsession. Plus the ability to do short rounds whenever makes it a perfect 'I'll just squeeze in a round' game. A very satisfying game.
- An excellent interview with CL Taylor on the Honest Editor.
- What is literary scouting? Another great Honest Editor interview.
- A thoughtful post from Naomi Alderman about sensible precautions for preserving your career and skills in a world AI hype is running amok.
- A really nice story in the East Lothian Courier about my rather bonkers summer of festivals and awards.
- An in-depth look at money in publishing from The Honest Editor - I know there's a lot of these, but she writes great posts and writes a lot of them!
- A great interview with novelist and essayist Tom Cox at Writer's Routine.
- This crossover episode between the Quick Book Reviews podcast and the Dead and Buried podcast was a lot of fun (and showed just how much work goes into these amazing podcasts).
- A good piece from Sam J. Miller on the tendency to discount good things when you're a few years into the publishing game. He's right - it's a constant balance.
- A good episode of Drafting Notes on writing the dreaded synopsis.
- I deeply enjoyed this Page One interview with Richard Swan on his new space opera THE INFINITE STATE.
- Speaking of Page One, here's an excellent interview with Tariq Ashkanani (co-host of Page One and award-winning novelist) on the In My Good Books podcast.
Well, here we are. Tomorrow it will be the last month of 2025. I'm not entirely sure how. That strange Covid-era telescoping of time thing seems to keep happening to me, where the days can last aeons but the months flicker past like bad stop-motion animation.
It was a very busy month, but I'm really looking forward to switching tracks in December, away from events and book signings and travel (bar a brief day job trip to London) and towards time with family and finishing up at work and taking some time off.
The weather and the woods and the sea have slowly changed over the course of this month, unsettled and thrashed by wind and cold and fog. It's been a very November-y November, which I'm not entirely sure is good or bad. But I am definitely feeling a bit of weariness set in as the year slips and slides towards its end.
December will also be time to take stock, as it always is, though this year especially so, since it marks the end of my first full calendar year as a published author. How did I do? What did I write? How am I feeling about it all? And what awaits in 2026? I'll be figuring out the answers to those questions in the last month of the year.
Whether you're planning to hit the road, stay closer to home, put up decorations or simply eat a bit too much, I hope your December is a chance to mix a little rest in with frantic end of year wrapping up. And I hope you'll get exactly what you wanted in your stocking.
I'll be back for one last missive on the very last day of the year. In the meantime, as ever, keep reading, keep writing and keep moving.
If you have a question, suggestion or something else you'd like me to talk about, please get in touch over on Bluesky or Instagram, or send me a message on my contact form.