This week I thought I’d write about progress – or lack thereof – with the current work in progress Dead on Arrival.
This has been caused by my feeling generally unwell. It is certainly not due to writers’ block.
A couple of weeks ago I saw off a head cold. This was no mean feat given that my BP medication prevents me from using decongestant medicines. I finally got some Paracetamol & codeine tablets, which was a huge relief as regular painkillers had the effect of trying to douse a forest fire with thimbles full of water,
I now have a chest infection so am taking antibiotics. Sadly, like Jayseera Lyle & DI Andrew Redfern, I am allergic to penicillin and erythromycin doesn’t work nearly as quickly. I have also felt tired and lethargic. Amazingly though my blood glucose levels have remained well within acceptable range.
I did manage to write a bit the other night and I can happily report that DS Thomas Fox has been declared fit to return to duty after the explosion which almost killed him in Best Served Cold. I thought I would share some of the scene where he attends an appointment with the Ashbeck Police Divisional Medical Advisor
“Your consultant at Ashbeck General says you have attended counselling.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Are you finding it helpful?”
“Yes Sir, I have also spoken with DI Redfern because he was injured but never unconscious so he was able to remember more, but I have an almost complete recollection now.”
“Does the notion that you may face such violence in the line of duty again upset you at all?”
“No Sir, it’s an occupational hazard. I was just doing my job that day, as I always have done from the day I signed up. I’m not claiming I was a hero that day or anything.”
“Believe it or not, DS Fox, some police officers who have been in similar situations have an overinflated sense of their own importance.”
“It did the opposite for me, Sir. It gave me a greater respect for death and an understanding of just what a tiny speck in the cosmos I really am. My uncle taught me to respect death as a young man and when I joined the police it deepened that.”
There was a brief silence.
“Well to be completely honest with you, DS Fox, I have absolutely no problem pronouncing you fit to return to active service. You appear physically fit and you have a healthy perspective on what happened to you. I will send a copy of my report to your hospital consultant and to your senior officer. You can return tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
I left the building almost punching the air with delight.
”
I’m very fond of DS Fox, but life won’t be plain sailing for Ashbeck’s CID’s young officer. Dead on Arrival sees him once more having to confront his past, only this time he will hopefully be able to close the door on that aspect of his life forever.
The seventh DI Lyle novel will dig deeper into DS Fox’s past and his relationship with the uncle who raised him. I hardly need remind you that Thomas’ uncle is Dr Barry Fox, the Ashbeck District Coroner. A shocking revelation will blow Thomas’ life apart & he’ll find out just how much his boyfriend, James Lyle, really loves him. I have two provisional titles for the seventh book; Sins of the Father or Baptism of Fire. The crimes in this book won’t necessarily be arson-related, but it’ll be James Lyle’s first case after joining Ashbeck Police’s Political Activism Monitoring Unit (PAMU for short)
There is going to be a lot going on in Dead on Arrival; once I get around to it. One character introduced in A Murder-Free Christmas will get his just desserts while a trusted member of DI Lyle’s team will get something he definitely DOESN’T deserve.
I knew that Best Served Cold would be a hard act to follow and I am hoping Dead on Arrival will live up to that expectation.
In the meantime watch social media for updates and new articles on my website as well as the fanzine.
If you want to have your say on the title of the seventh DI Frank Lyle Mystery you can vote here