I’ve mentioned before in this blog about how I’m a creature of habit.

Every day, I try as much as I can to follow the same routine. Get up at the same time. Eat the same breakfast. Follow all the same daily rituals, from morning to evening. And then, when it’s time to go to bed, I have my set of night time routines to follow as well.

I had big ambitions when I began working on my current novel-in-progress. And even though it’s coming up on three years since I started on that first chapter, I still recall them pretty clearly.

Firstly, there was the mix of genres. I wanted to combine elements of comedy, fantasy, romance, adventure, satire – not to mention anything else that struck me as I went. Secondly, I wanted to write a story with multiple narratives. I’d never tried that before, and it was a challenge I wanted to see if I could meet.

Hooray. Today I get to do another good news post.

Three years ago, almost to the day, I started work on a new novel. It was more ambitious than anything else I’d attempted, combining at least five different genres (comedy, fantasy, romance, adventure, satire). It also contained dual narratives – something I’d never attempted before.

Well, it’s one of those years again. A year with an extra day. A year when those poor unfortunates born on the 29th of February can actually celebrate their birthday. And, particularly significantly, a year for the Olympic Games.

I have mixed feelings about the Olympics. Sure, I think it’s great when people who are good at running and jumping and throwing things can demonstrate to the world how good they are at running and jumping and throwing things. I actually kind of like sport and enjoy seeing sporting excellence celebrated. And besides, some of the events are genuinely exciting.

I love music.

I’ve posted a number of times about the important place music has in my life. I’ve talked about how just sitting back and listening to music is one of my all-time favourite things to do (not that I have a lot of time to do it these days – the main times I actually do get to listen are either driving my car or riding my exercise bike). I’ve even mentioned my various thwarted efforts to actually be a musician, particularly my attempts to master the guitar.