Been a little quiet here the last week or so as I have been busy getting ready for and indeed going on holiday.  As well as the usual amount of preparation, packing and general travelling kerfuffle, the last few days have consisted of  our being giants at a model village, taking turns attacking and defending a play fort with my lads, enjoying the view from a very tall tower, and chilling on the brilliant beach a stone’s throw from where we’re staying. You can see why we love Denmark.

Evenings are being filled with prep reading for my MA (David Lodge’s The Art of Fiction and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From The Goon Squad), the Guardian Summer Fiction supplement (favourite story so far – David Nicholl’s Every Good Boy) and periodic dips into Tom Vowler’s excellent debut collection, The Method and Other Stories. Hoping to get some time to edit the pair of first draft shorts I have with me too. In fact off to have a crack at the first one now.