In the final book of my Windy Mountain series, someone will get married and someone will die. They may even be the same person. I haven’t decided yet, so please go easy on me.
That uncertainty probably tells you a lot about me.
I try to write blog posts weekly because they behave themselves. They turn up, do the job and don’t argue back. Books are different. Books take longer. Books resist being told what they’re about until they’re ready.
I’ve started work on Book 10 of the Windy Mountain series. The working title is Blokes do the Block, which may or may not survive contact with the manuscript. Working titles are provisional things — useful for labelling folders and pretending there’s a plan.
I’ve written about 5000 words, which is enough to feel encouraged and nowhere near enough to feel safe. I also have a very clear picture of the book in my head, though experience suggests that clarity should not be trusted. I’m a pantser, not a plotter, which means the story tends to reveal itself while I’m writing rather than beforehand. Things change on the fly. Characters object. Outcomes shift.
One thing I do know is that this book is my chance to answer a big question first posed back in Book 1, Lie of the Tiger.
These blog posts are part of my process. They keep my hand in. They stop the gears from seizing up. Occasionally they drift into Tim Tams, Chico Rolls or other cultural necessities, but they’re doing useful work in the background.
The books, meanwhile, move at their own pace. Slowly. Occasionally sideways. Sometimes sulking.
I can’t promise timelines, certainty, or advance notice of who’s walking down the aisle — or who isn’t walking away. What I can say is that the work is under way, the shape is forming, and the end of the journey is finally coming into view.
Just don’t ask me yet how it all turns out.
PS: If all goes well, book 10 will be ready for sale towards the end of 2026. Er, hopefully.
JOHN MARTIN 