64

Just finished reading "64 Things You Need To Know Now For Then" by Ben Hammersley, a book which considers the many ways that technology underpins and infuses daily life.

64 of those ways, in fact.

Short, snappy chapters contrast the lengthy title, each one pondering a facet of the digital age - with topics ranging from hacktivism to information overload. Crucially, the writing is accessible enough for normal people to engage with, but it's never dumb - I'm far from being a digital novice, yet there was plenty in there to surprise and intrigue me.

I love it when books make me think - when they fire my imagination - and when a non-fiction book does so, it's doubly satisfying. Ben Hammersley has created an engrossing look at our evolving digital world...

...and he's done it all from behind a truly magnificent moustache.

Another day, another victim...

Today was a truly great day. After an inauspicious start that involved sharing an early-morning train with a stag-party in full warm-up mode, I arrived in Bristol with another dead body.

I should probably qualify that.

Book Two feedback, from trusted readers and my editor, all suggested that another murder wouldn't go amiss. I already had one in mind - hinted at, but not actually shown in the draft narrative - and spent the last couple of weeks planning how it would unfold and sketching it out. By the time I got off the train this morning, the expanded version was woven into the main story, and I think it's going to work well.

It was warm in Bristol, and I walked by the waterfront before heading up to Clifton for lunch. As usual, the West Country Breakfast from BTP was heroic, and I spent a productive afternoon working through my edit notes, adjusting the order of some events, and adding a new opening section.

Already a good day, things got even better when I returned home and found a package waiting for me - my first copy of the finished Eye Contact hardback from Hodder. It looks great, and it's quite surreal to see the final version that will be in bookshops next month. I can't wait!