It’s been a few weeks since mid-November when I returned from my vacation, and a lot has happened in those two weeks.

On Friday 22nd November, I became a naturalised citizen of the Netherlands. I celebrated with a traditional meal of andijviestamppot (Endive and potato mash) with rookwurst and gehaktballen (smoked sausage and meatballs). Of course, it hasn’t miraculously improved my Dutch language skills overnight. That’s still very slow and will remain a work-in-progress for many years.
The following day, I attended Dutch ComicCon in Utrecht and bought a few new books. The latest novel from Paul van Loon, “Danse Macabre” looks interesting. And the first in a series of books by a Dutch author Charlotte de Winter called “De Sleuteldrager”, “The Key Bearer” also looks fascinating. It’s set in Britain and tells the story of a Scottish detective with a magical talent. Apparently, it even features a discussion on whether to spread the jam on scones first and then the cream, or the reverse. I haven’t started reading either yet. I’ll be taking them with me on a Christmas break in Germany, but I may not have much time for reading as we have a few excursions planned.
We have one new addition to the household, a lovely grey wolf keeshond called Cooper, but we lost Loki (one of the cats) to Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), unfortunately. It’s possible that Spookje is also suffering and we’ll lose him before Christmas 😦 but waiting to hear what the vet has to say.
And then we were into the Sinterklaas period, with all the activity that brings. A trip to the Archaeon, another to an English Christmas Market in Drenthe (where I bought Christmas Puddings), and lots of chocolate indulgence.
I did pay two visits to Amsterdam early in the month. The first was for my regular checkup at the hospital, and the second was to see the consultant about the results of those tests: all good for another year. I took advantage of the second trip to attend the Amsterdam Writers meetup that evening, and got some useful human critique of one short chapter from “Ghost Ship”.

Being so busy with all these happenings meant that I didn’t get much writing done in the days immediately after my return from holiday. Over December though, I’ve been writing productively again.
“Ghost Ship” is still on target for release in Q1 (or early Q2) of 2025.
“Spirits of the Hunnebed”, the short story about how Hauke met the three generations of Agatas, is now approaching novella length, currently at 12k words. A third secret project that I’ve been working on, another short ‘Wandelaar’ story set on Ameland over the night of Sunneklaas wasn’t finished on time, at least, not for the Sinterklaas dates. So that too is destined for the collection of short stories.
My current goal is to have the first draft of “Ghost Ship” complete by the end of February. Word count is now at 80k, with my target of 120k (and the remainder is plotted out), so it is achievable. Then I’ll be sending out a few e-copies of that first draft for reader review. I don’t have a group of alpha readers, just a few friends, so let me know if you’re interested in becoming one. My self-imposed target is to publish the e-book before Easter, and the paperback a week or two later.
Lilian is working on the cover art based on my story and character notes. She’s sent me a couple of her sketches, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she puts it all together.
“Spirits of the Hunnebed” and “Sunneklaas” are the first two short stories for a collection of shorts, under the working title of “Short Cuts”. I also have rough notes for a tale entitled “Persephone” reflecting some of the events portrayed in “The Spirit of the Artist Lives On” chapter of “Broken Shards” from the cat’s perspective. The other stories that I’ve been plotting out for this collection include a tale about what Nicole does after “Broken Shards”; and “The Gordijnensteeg Hauntings”, an investigation into a possessor ghost in the Red Light District. Work on “Spirit Camera” is halted until I’ve completed “Ghost Ship” and “Short Cuts”, although I do have a working draft of the opening chapter.

It’s also been a busy time for planning some travels in the New Year. In January, I’m visiting my daughter in the Northwest of England for a few days. It will be my last visit to the UK before I need a visa to return to the country of my birth, and that’s a very strange feeling. With planning in progress for Cambridge/Bath/Tintagel around May, and a tour around the northern coast of Scotland in September, I’ll need that visa.
In February, we’ll celebrate my new nationality with a trip to Volendam for the mandatory pictures of me in klompen (clogs), and holding tulips or a wheel of cheese.
And I really do have the most wonderful lady. Knowing my interest in Sunneklaas and the work that I’ve been doing on writing a story around the event, last night she booked us a few nights in Ameland before Easter. It will give me an opportunity to trace the footsteps of my characters around the island.