3. June 2026
May 2026. The Terminator, GCSEs, and the Shape of Knox’s World
May felt like a long month. Not bad. Just full, the kind where things move steadily forward, quietly.
The biggest practical change is that I have finally moved into the Terminator. The summer house is now my daily workspace, and that has made a real difference. Having a separate place to work and write has given me something I did not realise I was missing. A bit of distance. A bit of focus. Somewhere to shut the door and get on with it.
That shift helped me write properly again. George’s story is now finished and published as Stand To, and it is available on Amazon. Knox Investigations has also been released, which means two more pieces of Knox’s world are now out there.
I have also been asking for alpha reads on Make Safe. If the feedback does not come back with too many major rewrites, that should be ready to come out next month. It is always an odd stage. You think something works, then you hand it over and wait to see if anyone else agrees.
GCSE country
We are also deep in GCSE country.
Alix is doing exceedingly well. In fact, I think Alix is now seeing the benefit of all the hard work they put in beforehand. There have been moments, of course. There always are during exams. But there have been far more positives than negatives, and that matters.
I still do not like the half term break in the middle of the exams. I am sure it comes from a good place, but I do not think the pause helps everyone. For some, that extra week just stretches the anxiety out. You build yourself up for the exams, get into a rhythm, and then everything stops. Waiting can be worse than doing.
Still, Alix is handling it well. A full summer is getting closer, and it will be well earned.
The next shape of Knox
As I move forward with the writing, I feel like I am at a crossroads.
I have the next veteran Knox story in mind. It is called The Satanic Mills, and it will follow Knox as he tracks a serial killer. That is the next obvious step after Knox Investigations, and it keeps him in the post Army world, damaged but still moving, still trying to make sense of people who do terrible things.
At the same time, I have started mapping out Knox’s full military career, with books based around each posting. That opens the world up properly. It connects with The Presumption of Silence and Make Safe, while also giving Corporal Henry Knox a clearer place in the wider timeline.
That book is still stuck in writer’s hell. I know what it needs to be, but getting it there has been hard work. Some books fight you because the idea is weak. This one fights because the idea matters and I do not want to get it wrong.
I have written the full outline for the first of the posting books, Lance Jack, which would follow Knox on his first ever posting. I have also written a few chapters, and there is something in it already. Younger Knox. Less polished. More uncertain. Still forming the instincts that will later define him.
I have also been considering a graphic novel about Knox’s father, who served in the Navy and died during the Falklands War. That story matters because it helps explain Knox before he becomes Knox. His father’s death shapes him. It contributes to why he joins the Military Police and why he becomes the sort of man who needs order, rules, evidence, and accountability, even when he is perfectly capable of breaking all of them.
I hope to have more on that next month.
Audiobooks
Most of my writing paused over the last week because I have been looking at converting the books into audiobooks.
I am not a fan of the process, if I am honest.
I write the books. I read them back. I edit them. I read them again. By the time they are finished, I have lived inside them for months. Listening to them back is hard work. It is not the same as reading. You hear every phrase differently. Every pause. Every acronym. Every military term that looks fine on the page but sounds awkward when spoken aloud.
I tried it before with Protegimus, but it did not quite work. I am going to have another try and see if it sticks. Audiobooks matter, and I know there are readers who prefer them. I just need to find a way to make the process work without wanting to throw the headphones across the room.
Closing
So that was May.
The Terminator became a proper workspace. Stand To and Knox Investigations both made it out into the world. Make Safe moved into alpha reading. Alix pushed through GCSEs with more strength than stress. And Knox’s world started to open up in a way that feels bigger than one book at a time.
There is a lot to do. There always is.
But this month, for the first time in a while, it felt like the pieces were starting to find their place.
Exemplo Ducemus