It seems to have come around so fast, the summer holidays are here again! I love this time of year, though, as it's an excuse to do fun stuff every day. Yesterday we went swimming, which was great. We were going to go and see Toy Story 3 as well but after two and a half hours in the pool we were absolutely cream crackered! We'll probably head off to see that today, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Of course, this is also the time of year when I never seem to have any time for work... What with all the trips out and stuff, as well as a week in Centerparcs at some point. It's good in one sense, as I was planning to take a little time off after finishing Furnace 5. However, I'm itching to get started on the next project. I've just sent my agent a pitch for the new series. I can't say too much about it yet, but it's a trilogy of horror books – very different to Furnace in subject, but similar in the level of violence and gore! The working title is The Hated, but this may change. Anyway, I should know soon whether I've got the deal, so I'll tell you all about it then! I've also pitched two more series ideas, but they are for later on down the line. There's loads on anyway!

In some ways this is my favourite part of being a writer, the ideas stage. It's a chance to just let your imagination go utterly wild and come up with as many book ideas as possible. I used to find it tough finding inspiration, but now I just use the age old "what if..." technique and see new books everywhere! If some of you don't know about the "what if..." technique then swing on over to the Trapped By Monsters site this afternoon for my guide on how to use it to write your own horror stories!

On the Inkling front, I'm taking out a new office next week in the building above. I'm really looking forward to it, for a couple of reasons. The first is that it will give Inkling Studios a really cool base of operations, a wonderful atmosphere in which to start up and hopefully grow. The second is that I'll be able to work down there myself. Sometimes I enjoy writing at home, but it's so nice to be able to go somewhere else to work. It really lets you appreciate your house when you get home at the end of the day! I'll also be starting our Arts Council application this week, which should be fun!

Right, off to book tickets for Toy Story...