The Decrypt - December 2024

Hello and welcome to the first issue of The Decrypt, formerly known as 'Words By Goodman'. I picked The Decrypt because I work in both spy thrillers and science fiction.

In cryptography (the art of studying or writing codes), a decrypt is the plaintext version of an encrypted message. And I hope this newsletter, with some slightly snazzier graphics and a clearer structure, will give you a glimpse into the life of a working writer.

December was a very quiet month on the writing community side of things, with a couple of podcast recordings earlier in the month (see later in this email) but a lot going on outside of writing, as is usual for the end of the year. Thankfully the one thing I did make it to was the Edinburgh launch event for Nova Scotia 2, the anthology I'm in. There were some great readings and a fun catchup in the pub after.

I was kicked out of my writing routine in the first half of the month by a commitment which took me to central Edinburgh every day for the first half of the month. It was a tough but very worthwhile thing to do and I'm glad I did it, but it very much swung a wrecking ball through my plans.

I did a couple of signing trips while I was in town anyway, including finding multiple copies in stock at Toppings Edinburgh.

But the absolute highlight of the month was receiving an extremely kind Christmas gift from my friend and critique partner Talia Rothschild, who as well as being an amazing author also does custom, handmade rebindings of books as @lovingly.bound on Instagram. She made a one-of-a-kind version of A RELUCTANT SPY with new cover, reading ribbon, painted edges and new endpapers. My photos don't really do it justice, it's absolutely gorgeous.

The longer I'm in this writing game, the more I find it's the friendships and human connection that it creates that mean the most to me. Thank you Talia, this was a perfect end to my year.

Unlike last month, December was much more focused, with a strong push to the finish (despite the above commute-heavy disruption) on PROJECT SHARD. I was absolutely determined to get it finished while I awaited some Decisions being made in the publishing world. I also really, really wanted to get it done before the end of the year, as I've been working on this book between drafts of other books for the last two years and I'm extremely ready to be done with it. Thanks to the Decisions coming out well, I've got some pretty focused drafting to do in the first third of next year and I really, really didn't want SHARD to be still kicking around.

I cut over 15,000 words in December and finished the draft of SHARD on the 27th, which was great, giving me a nice last few days of the year to properly relax. I'm really glad that I stuck to my plan to just read the whole thing front-to-back, because now I can be confident that I've hit the word count reduction goal, the book makes sense as a total narrative and I've added the things I needed to add. Now we'll just need to see what my agent thinks of it, and hopefully soon thereafter editors.

December is the month for roundups, best-of lists and reading recommendations and I was lucky enough to be included in a few. I kicked off the month with a listing from Deadly Pleasures Magazine in the US, who listed A RELUCTANT SPY in their best spy novels of 2024 article.

A little while later, Jeff Popple of review blog Murder, Mayhem and Long Dogs included me in his roundup of the best debut crime novels of 2024. Thanks Jeff!

My friend and fellow writer Lorraine Wilson also included me in her Bookish Love Wrap-up 2024, which was very kind, especially when I see the company I'm keeping in her lists.

And just the other day, I found my book on the Spybrary Best of 2024 list, which was a perfect end to the year.

However, probably the coolest thing that happened all month was discovering that my book got reviewed in the 'Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf', a column in 'Studies in Intelligence', which is an official CIA journal. That may rank as one of the strangest and coolest things to have ever happened to me. And they liked it!

This is a solid piece of entertainment, the classic story of the outsider stumbling into a world of intrigue. The plot is up-to-the-minute, with brutal Russian mercenaries up to mischief in Africa, and a subplot about the mole hunt. None of it is in any way believable, but Goodman moves the story along at a breathless pace and without a wasted word. The mayhem mounts, the betrayals and bodies pile up, and you will overlook the absurdities and keep turning the pages. 

(Note to readers: the speed with which Goodman portrays MI5 making decisions and moving across London strains credulity, to say the least.)

Very happy to have contributed to ongoing transatlantic intelligence rivalries in this small way.

This month I also found out my entire first hardback print run had shipped to stores and a second print run was being planned. That's a pretty huge thing for a debut author and a very clear signal that the book has found a good readership.

Coming up in January, I'll be appearing on the Unfortunately... podcast and LIVE (actually pre-recorded) on the WESU FM Drivetime show 'Hoot and Holler' talking about my work and some of the music I love. If you're in Connecticut, you should be able to listen to it on the radio, but for everyone else I'll post a catchup link once it's available online.

The end of January is going to be very busy with events. The first will be my friend Annabel Campbell's book launch for her debut THE OUTCAST MAGE on Tuesday 28th January, where she'll be in conversation with L.R. Lam and Justin Lee Anderson.

The next day, I'll hopefully be at David McCloskey's event for Toppings Edinburgh where he'll be talking about his new book THE SEVENTH FLOOR, which I'm reading a proof of right now.

And finally, on Thursday 30th January, I'm going along to Tom Hindle's event for DEATH IN THE ARCTIC, which I read a proof of in November.

If you're going to any of these events and you spot me, please do say hello!

Reading

I've been, again, alternating a couple of books this month:

• The Seventh Floor by David McCloskey - I've been a huge fan of David McCloskey since his first novel, DAMASCUS STATION. I was lucky to have my own book compared to that book in marketing materials and reviews this year, so Swift Press, McCloskey's UK publisher, sent me a proof of the UK release which comes out in January. This book focuses heavily on my favourite McCloskey-verse character, Artemis Procter, and it does not disappoint. It's a fairly explicit homage to Le Carre's TINKER TAILOR, with Procter in the Smiley role, molehunting from a Florida gator park rather than a rundown Paddington hotel. I'm enjoying it immensely.
• How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell - I've been intrigued by this book since I first heard Odell being interviewed on a podcast when it came out, but hadn't picked it up until recently. The subtitle is 'Resisting the Attention Economy' and that is something I have very much been hoping to figure out for myself, but I confess I've found it to be a very different book than I anticipated. I was expecting a fairly nuts-and-bolts guide along the lines of Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism, but instead it's quite a dense and scholarly look at the nature and value of attention and time. I've not finished it yet, and I'm glad I've picked it up, but I think it will be a general vibe input to my attempts to become more intentional in 2025 rather than the practical handbook I'd hoped for.

Watching

Bunkers, beheadings and assassins:

• We finished DAY OF THE JACKAL early in the month, which remained superb to the end. I've read mixed reactions to the finale, but I really enjoyed it and I have suspicions about some surprises they may pull out of the bag in the already commissioned second season.
• We also finished the last season of WOLF HALL, which was fantastic. I've never been so captivated by people just talking. As a TV series it is low on spectacle (the sets and astonishing costuming aside) and high on painterly stillness and cutting dialogue. But it's as compelling as any swords and battles-focused epic.
• We've also been continuing with SILO, which I'm still really enjoying, although as usual with these kind of slow burn mystery shows, the temptation to just look up the central mystery becomes overwhelming.

Playing

• I picked up STAR WARS: OUTLAWS in a sale and wow, I'm really enjoying it. A lot of reviewers said it was a standard Ubisoft 'map hell' game with a Star Wars skin and while that's kind of true, it's also got some great character performances and a gorgeous looking world. I'm only a couple of hours into it, but I'm happy to have picked it up.

• I really enjoyed this episode of The Author Burnout Cure podcast looking at mid-career versus debut-focused agents.
• Speaking of DAY OF THE JACKAL, this article by the writer for the TV series Ronan Bennett was a fascinating look at the decisions you make in a successful adaptation.
• Fellow DHH author Alessandra Ranelli has 20 tips for writing while sad (requires newsletter signup, but it's worth the sub)
• In a similar vein, fellow 2024 debut Jennie Godfrey (THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS) has this great post on tricking yourself into writing when you don't feel like it.
• An excellent guide to making an online press kit as a writer from Jane Friedman.
• Really enjoyed this excellent nitpicking post about sci-fi armour from ACOUP.
• George Sandison of Titan continues his series on publishing with a post about hooks and opening lines.
• This year's Page One Christmas Special was an absolute hoot.
• And finally, in case you missed it, I put out my annual 'By The Numbers' roundup post with a summary of all my writing for the year.

This is my favourite weird little bit of liminal time, the few days between Christmas and New Year when I lose track of what day of the week it is, subsist on leftovers, occasionally wander into town, sleep a lot and, hopefully, read a lot too.

December was as busy as I thought writing-wise, and the last couple of weeks of work were exhausting for various reasons, but this last few days (and the next few days after New Year) are my first continuous break this year that's been longer than three or four days. One thing I really didn't do very well this year was to firewall my holiday-being-used-for-writing-stuff from actual, proper time off and boy have I felt it for the last few days as my whole body properly relaxed for the first time. I will definitely be far more focused on that next year.

But, overall, it's been a hell of a year, with the last three months as a published author being particularly intense and amazing. As you'll see from my 'By The Numbers' post linked above, there's been a definite impact on me that I was slow to recognise and didn't really solve in 2024, but I have high hopes for next year.

If you too are living in your pajamas and catching up on sleep and considering a Lord of the Rings box set re-watch, I hope you're having a lovely time. And if you're working, or looking after other people, or chipping away at that manuscript, then I hope that goes well and that you too will get a chance to rest.

A very happy Hogmanay from Scotland and a Happy New Year when it comes.

In the meantime, as ever, keep reading, keep writing and keep moving.

If you have a question, suggestion or something else you'd like me to write about, please get in touch over on Bluesky, Instagram or Threads, or send me a message on my contact form.