If 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙋𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 was a book that I needed to write, then 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 was a book that needed to be written…
What do I mean?
I suppose I mean that this novel 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 on being written: every one of its peculiar characters, and the various improbable things they get up to, and the immeasurably mysterious “House” in which it all happens, seemed to simply will themselves onto the page, and unless I was going to intentionally stand in their way, there wasn’t an awful lot I could do about it.
This one’s also a little different from 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙋𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 in that it’s first and foremost an entertainment. It isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, however unfailingly its characters seem to take 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 seriously – and however much you might feel that the themes it seems to explore are about as serious as you can get.
As I’ve said, the actual plot very nearly wrote itself, but the sentences that reveal it are lovingly hand crafted (it took me two years to fine-tune them), so that I hope my readers feel that they’re opening as much the cover of a book as the lid of a box stuffed with artisan chocolates: some fruit-filled and sweet, some darkly bitter, some unexpectedly salty; but each one a surprise (I’ve provided no picture guide), and each one to be self-indulgently savoured.
It’s also – and in several ways – a peculiarly 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘺 book. It was released on the 1st of December for a reason. Without providing spoilers, I suppose I might just say that your box of chocolates comes wrapped in red and silver paper, and you’ll find it beneath tinsel and strands of glittering lights.
But I should also warn you that as much as 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 is about Christmas, it’s also about the cold, hard days that come after, when the turkey’s just bones and the mince pies are a memory; when we must steel ourselves for patience, and relearn sobriety; when we know, or we hope, that there are still gifts awaiting us – the sun, and the spring – but it might be a while before we get to unwrap them…
In the mean time, however: Enjoy! 