It has certainly been an odd year for everyone. Looking back at our calendar as we swap old for new, January 2020 saw us planning our research and photography trips for the year ahead, and feeling slightly silly as we posed on a wintery Bath Skyline for a photoshoot to accompany our feature on Valentine’s Day-themed walks in the Telegraph. But the year, as it turned out, had alternative plans. Plans that still seem to be dominating even in the early part of 2021.
We know we are fortunate. We have weathered the storms created by those who usually pay us being unable to on occasions. We are thankful for the support from those who have bought our books; from those who have commissioned new ones; and from the Society of Authors. We both work and school from home anyway, so the disruption to our children’s lives has been mercifully small. With hope, we are all on our way out of this intense strangeness, gradually finding a less strange, slightly altered but still recognisable version of something we once, not so long ago, blithely considered normal.
Despite the challenges of the past year, we have some very exciting projects keeping us busy over the months ahead. We have two sizeable books – the most daunting, yet enjoyable, we have taken on to date – to be completed, submitted, edited, and finalised by the end of the year, ready for publication in early 2022. Jen is starting a part-time PhD. Sim is finishing his coaching qualification. Our daughter, who is 9, is aiming for her black belt. Amidst the uncertainty and oddity of our current times we are trying our best to treasure everything we have, and to look forward to everything there is to come.
