Hello,
For me, writing the date of the new year is always the moment when I know that the turning of the calendar is real. I clearly recall that first day of school after the holidays when I boldly wrote “1976” at the top of the page. Strangely, that does not seem that long ago. Let that be a lesson to you, kids: Time is passing far more quickly than you can imagine.
Over the past week, we heard from so many of our readers. It is heartwarming to receive such kind wishes for a happy new year and we want to send our best to everyone.
This is the time when we take stock of what we have accomplished and what we hope to achieve in the future. Aidan and I published two books this year: Dirt Town and Loftiest Intelligence. It’s exciting to be able to say that. It gives me a surge of pride. (I love the cover art. For Christmas, I gave Aidan enlarged canvas prints of all six covers. They look stunning together on the wall in his office.)
Now, we are working on the sequel: Strangest Intelligence: Book Two of Legend of Order and Chaos.
We had several wonderful ski days over the holidays and Aidan and I got a lot of excellent planning done whenever we stopped to admire the view. (That is code for me needing to stop and get my breath back.) He says that nothing releases his imagination like swooping down the mountain.
We actually wrote the draft of Strangest Intelligence four years ago and now it’s time to put it through the editing process. The first step is ours. We have to get everything—and everyone—happening in the right order. It’s a lot to hold in my head.
For some reason, when we are skiing, we are able to step back and see the whole story.
Perhaps you’re familiar with that editing expression, “Kill your darlings” ? It means that you have to cut sections that don’t move the story forward—even if you love the writing you crafted—even if you love the character.
We killed a number of darlings while we swooped down the slopes. I brought up every weak spot and—we just shot them down—killed them dead. Then we had to stitch in new ideas to hold the plot together.
We have the whole thing planned and Aidan wrote it up.
All I have to do is turn it into a novel worth sharing with you.
I’ll get to that now that all the visiting family have returned to their own homes and I am no longer required in the kitchen.
We wish you a wonderful 2026. May you achieve everything you plan.
Warm regards,
Paula Baker and Aidan Davies
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And there are lots of FREE BOOKS for you in this collection. Consider it a gift from us!
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