September

I tend to think of the summertime as equivalent to a holiday from work - it goes so remarkably quickly, compared with the rest of the days of the year.

However, there is one compensation, which is now upon us. Being the keen and astute observer of the world that I am, I noticed almost immediately that the month has turned to September.

It's my favourite of the year's dozen offerings, and for a range of reasons.  Firstly, it's still relatively warm and the weather can often be clement.  It might be my skewed memory, but I seem to recall recent Septembers being as kind, if not more so, than the alleged months of the formal summer which preceded them.

Secondly, Devon and Cornwall grow a little quieter as the influx of tourists withdraw for another year.  I try not to be too selfish and possessive about the south west, but - akin to many others down here - we have this almost jealous thing about keeping much of the place for ourselves. 

I also love September for the colours.  I noticed on Thursday that some trees are already taking on the coppers and browns of the coming autumn.  Beautiful as that may be, it's not what I like most about the month.  My favourite is the colour of the sky at dawn and dusk.  For me, sunrise and sunset in September are the finest of the year's spectacles.

It's never been a conscious thing, but looking back, I've noticed a fair few of the tvdetective books are set in September.  I suspect the reasons I've outlined above may be why.  Only now have I really come to think about it - and yet again, I realise you often learn so much about yourself when you write these book things.

Finally for this post, I can't resist but mention that it's now only two days until The Balance of Guilt comes out.  The Hall excitement is mounting!  Thanks to all those who've been in touch, saying they're looking forward to reading the new book - here's hoping you still feel good about it when you've finished it!

If you want more details on The Balance of Guilt, have a look on the Books page - www.thetvdetective.com/books.html   I'll also be doing a few events to mark publication, for those see the News and Events page - www.thetvdetective.com/news.html