After finishing the Children of the Furnace trilogy in 2020 (written under the name of Brin Murray, shortlisted for NZ Book Awards 2019) I felt that I was at a crossroads and not sure where to go. Also work was intense so writing became less intense – an inverse relationship applies – and I pottered along on a rather lovely but far too slow-moving story. I’d visited the village of Rottingdean on the south coast of England Christmas 2020; travelling under international Covid lockdowns was a story in itself. It was bitterly cold – ice on the village pond, thick white frost every morning, dark by four with brilliant Christmas lights sparkling from ancient pubs and cottages – and it felt magical to me. So I was inspired to set a story there, a real-world village inhabited by secretly magical beings, not my usual sort of thing at all. It’s still pottering along, still a work in progress. I should have thought the ending through.

2023 offers a new opportunity. I’ve stepped back from a demanding job and want to move on. I will almost certainly still write what would probably be called YA but I’m ready for something fresh. The crossroad awaits, time to explore new directions.

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