I’m so looking forward to this and yet, despite the detailed programme, I can’t really imagine what it would be like to be in the midst of it – a wonderful position to be in. I’ve booked my flights from Belfast at the very criminal time of 7am on the outward leg but since the first event of the festival doesnt take place until 8pm, I’ll have some decent shut-eye before then.

Harrogate – venue of the 1982 Eurovision song contest did you know. I remember because I was a strange child with very few distractions in those sepia tingled halcyon days of 3 television channels and when we really did give a shit about who won the Eurovision.

If anyone out there in blog and twitter lands are going, it would be good to meet up to discuss where we’re at with our writing and also go ‘urgh, you’re nothing like as handsome/beautiful in your photo’ after the second glass of red…. 

I’m putting together the final touches of my plot to my second novel. I can’t say too much about my first novel as its currently with an agent as I’m tring to get a conventional book deal with it  – best not to spook it or tempt fate but all I can say is that it’s a crime novel set in Chicago.

The next one however is set in Dublin where the main protaganist is ex Garda (Police) private eye, born in Northern Ireland and with a neurotic family background. I’m also putting together a collection of short stories for ebook-only sales sometime between May-July 2011.