Update ...

Update or "what I did this summer".

Any essays starting with that title is a bore. It was an horrible assignment in school - who did anything during their summer in the 70's? We didn't travel much, and we lived on the coast, so my childhood summers where rainy and cold, intercepted by moments of sunshine when everybody rushed out in the garden to play or sunbathe. And then it rained again.

I did a lot of reading.

This summer I have had little time for other books than my own, although I did read Alec Scarrows TimeRaiders series - wonderful stuff) - I ploughed through all seven in two weeks ...

I've just finished the first draft of the 13th book, and cyperspaced it through to my editor. I'll get it back for rewrite on Monday. I've already started on the 14th and last book in the series. A weird feeling. Nice to finish something I've worked so hard on, and a bit sad to say goodbye to characters I've lived with for three years.

And then I'll start something totally new, a project that fell out of the sky thanks to my very brilliant editor, and I can't wait to see where it will go. It's going to be great fun, and I'm having to be very disciplined now, not to start too early ...

September will be more than busy enough with what I have going on, so not a good idea to start new things too soon.

September 9th is publishing day for the 12th book. Always nice to see my books in stores - especially since I'm blessed with a great illustrator. Check the front page!

Then on September 14th I'm joining book bloggers from all over Norway, and I think a few Swedish, on an all day meeting/dinner during the Oslo Book Festival. It's the second year they arrange it, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Discussing books with a group of super-readers - what could be better?

On September 16th my new magazine series starts running in Sweden (Hämmet), then on September 23rd the same series starts in Norway (Hjemmet). (this means "Home" in Swedish and Norwegian, and are two of the longest running magazine publications in both countries).

The series will run for 7 weeks. I love it when I get an assignment like that. The two editors in Hämmet and Hjemmet wanted me to write something they could both use, and I had so much fun writing the story. It's set in the same time period as my book series (1793), and in Oslo (or Christiania as it was called then), but with totally different characters. I'm turning into quite the expert on the "golden period" in Norway - a period of about 20 years where a handful of people made ginormous amounts of money and did things like having their shirts and underwear starched and ironed in London! Mary Wollstonecraft wrote letters from her Nordic travels, and she was quite shocked about the luxurious living ...

Happy September

Natalie