JANUARY 2026

January 2026

As I write snow is falling heavily and it’s minus three!

A belated Happy New Year to all my readers and best wishes for 2026.

I missed my December monthly newsletter as I was travelling around the country visiting friends and relations but managed to return home to enjoy a traditional family Christmas. It included the annual nine lessons and carols in our local church, a very popular service, and we had to arrange extra seating for the large numbers attending. I was asked to do one of the Bible readings. It was the one about the shepherds looking up at the angelic host and being ‘terrified’. Apparently my distinctive Yorkshire accent came to the fore and, in the church hall over mulled wine and mince pies, I was approached by a couple of visitors who asked where in Yorkshire I had lived. To our surprise we discovered we had attended the same university many years ago.

Looking back on 2025, one of the highlights was Penguin’s 90th Anniversary gathering in the Design Centre in London. The organisation was superb and the venue absolutely perfect. It was good to meet up with other authors and the first I met on arrival was Michael Cordy, the thriller writer, and we discussed his latest novel, the international best seller, Manhattan Down. It was also fun to spot the various luminaries including Stephen Fry, Clare Balding and Michael Morpurgo. I also enjoyed a brief word with Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels. So it turned out to be a very special evening.

Meanwhile, I’ve had several requests for speaking engagements and these will be published on the Events page of this website when I’ve decided which ones I’m able to accept.

Off now to sweep the snow from my path outside the front door!

Best wishes,

Jack