The heading refers to my liquid intake – not the weather which is far from dry.

My New Year’s resolution was not to drink alcohol throughout January. Now bear in mind I am an author and I have a tradition and even an obligation to maintain the reputation that authors are hard-drinking blaggards. Only kidding, of course, but it is tough.

Think about it. 18.00, the sun is over the yardarm, the fire is lit and Dorothy arrives home. We settle down to play a word game called UPWORDS, a sort of Scrabble where you can place tiles on top of each other as well as across the board. The crisps are in the bowl and…No wine! No beer! Only tonic water or soda water!

The first couple of days were tough. My hand itched when I was in the kitchen, reaching out automatically for the red wine when I castigated myself.  I was most definitely NOT feeling combobulated.  I wanted a glass of wine but I resisted. As Oscar would say “I can resist anything but temptation.”

But I continue to resist – proof that naval officer training can come in useful at times. And it is really no problem. You see how we author’s are able to write fiction so easily? Self-delusion is a good place to start. It has been 17 days and I can’t wait for February.

This weekend, The Seventh Circle (click here) is being promoted on Kindle. For those of you who don’t know, it is a thriller set against the background of revenge and terrorism. The main character is Richard Griffiths, who is Nick Hunter’s cousin. Hunter is the main character in the TIFAT series -The International Force Against Terrorism, and comes to his cousin’s aid.

For Kindle users the book is free for the next 3 days. So do the electronic thing and download the book and sit back, relax and enjoy. A glass of wine greatly enhances the pleasure of reading.

Did I say I was looking forward to the end of the month?