My Annual Back-to-School Vibe

It's September in a couple of days, as I write this. Mornings are a little cooler, evenings are a little darker, and I am drawn to the displays of pristine stationery in all the stores.

Yes, I might be 56, but I still have those back-to-school vibes every year at this time.

I loved going back to school. I loved the new notebooks, the new clothes, the new timetable and the new unsullied track record, as I hadn't yet failed to turn in homework or turn up late for class. That would inevitably change, but for the first few days, I reveled in the Fresh Start.

Years later and I feel the same way. Fresh Starts are way easier in September than January I think. We've just enjoyed the wild freedom of not having to wear socks for months, eating outside and cold beer every single night, and now there is the scratchy feeling in the back of our brains, reminding us of commitment and responsibility and deadlines. Now is the time to buckle down. Achieve goals. Write books. Or is that just me?

This year, I seemed to have loaded up September with unavoidable deadlines. On the 5th September, Murder at the Marina launches on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, and then, just a week later, A Secret War launches on 12th September.

There has been a lot of work behind the scenes to get ready, including this website.

But that's not all. I have a deadline to get Death on the Dock to my editor, and also House of Lies ( the last Coffin Cove mystery) to my publisher.

So, I need to harness this 'back-to-school' vibe, and get my head down and my word count up. But not just yet. I have a couple of days in flipflops, and a few more cold beers to go.