Why do I feel so guilty when asked when the next book is going to be published? If a reader asks, then it is because they are waiting eagerly to find out what Mills is up to, which should be a good feeling, but in my head I can hear the unsaid follow-up ‘Well why aren’t you getting on with it then?’ I am not a full-time writer – but then, who is? Most of us have day jobs, like the lady in the local paper last week who has twelve novels published but still works in the Co-op. Such interactions with the public are surely potential sources of inspiration which we can’t derive by simply looking out of the window.