…because the deadline for the initial draft of Ruso 4 is 31 December. I am too ashamed to say what it was before the nice people at the publishers agreed to extend it.
So, apologies for the dearth of posts over the last few weeks. It’s looking like a quiet Christmas here at Downie Towers – but hopefully a cheerful New Year.
Ruth Downie 
Douglas Adams said that he loved deadlines; his favorite part being “the whooshing sound they make as they go by”.
Good luck on meeting the new one! Can’t wait to read it, whenever it comes out. š
Yes, the whooshing’s been very noticeable around here lately!
Thanks for the good wishes, Kevin.
Wishing you onward and upward with the deadline. I’m looking forward to Ruso and the Root of all Evils. And I’ve just noticed the snow on your blog – delightful!
Thank you, Sarah!
Snow is courtesy of the fine folk at WordPress.
Dear Ms Downie,
How nice can the “nice people at the publishers” be if they give you a deadline which requires that you work over the Christmas holiday? Here’s an even darker thought: the plan is for you to show up on December 31 at the publisher with your just completed manuscript and no one is there to answer the door because they are all off celebrating New Year’s Eve. Perhaps this may inspire you to write a new version of Dicken’s Christmas Carol. In this version, Ms Downie wakes up after dreaming about the ghost of deadlines past, the ghost of deadlines present and the ghost of deadlines future and finds out that it is still not too late and that she can still get her manuscript in on time. Probably not a best seller.
Having offered my silliness, may I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Phil Hall
Roseburg, Oregon
Hi Phil,
It’s all my fault, to be honest – if I’d finished when I was supposed to, how different things would have been…
Love the idea of turning up forlornly on the doorstep clutching the manuscript: great visual potential! Even better if it were snowing. Actually I’m beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as a manuscript any more, so you’ve just inspired the next post – thanks.
Thank you for the good wishes, too – I hope you and yours have a very happy Christmas and new year.
Ruth
Ms. Downie: Ruth, I do hope that you have a very happy new year as I am looking forward to reading your next Ruso mystery.
That’s very kind of you, Mike – best wishes for the festive season to you and yours.
I suspect Book 4 may not appear for a while – there’s talk of trying to co-ordinate publication dates across the Atlantic – but as soon as there’s any news it’ll appear on the blog.
The best mystery book ever.!
Thank you!