¿Dónde he estado?

Or as we say in English, “Where have I been?”! I must confess that with my second novel features so many Spanish characters, it’s often hard to switch back to my Australian way of thinking.

I’m conscious that it’s been several weeks since my last update and I thought it prudent that I checked in for a quick visit (websites are similiar to gyms in that regard).

So what’s been happening? In a word… Writing! Tonight I’ve just finished Chapter 16 of the second novel and I’m quite pleased with how the story is coming along. It still amazes me how attached I seem to get to the characters in my novels. Writing this book about the Camino de Santiago, I truly feel that I’m right there in Spain, walking the path toward Santiago with them.

To aid this, I’ve been immersing myself in all things Spanish: I’ve been reading Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and switched to drinking Rioja. But probably the most effective trigger to get into the Spanish way of thinking has been listening to some Spanish music. Check out the video below for a little dose of the type of tune I’ve been listening to while writing at the moment (as well as some sweet footage of Camaron rocking a pink jumper while on holiday in Paris!). I appreciate it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m absolutely loving it at the moment and my Melbourne apartment is starting to sound like a Sevillan bar at present.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and I’m looking forward to sharing more details with you about the second novel in the next few months.

Adios / Bye