Yesterday, my son turned 21! Yes, 21! And I made a mistake. Every April book usually comes out on his birthday, and for some reason, I thought this year's was the same. So I thought Hayden's birthday was today, rather than yesterday. Good thing I worked out on Sunday, that wasn't the case!

Last year, I made a decision that I wanted to go camping a lot more than I had been. When I was a kid, our family used to camp a lot; we saw some amazing and wild parts of Australia, places I'll never forget. So with all that in mind, I bought this little ripper (which is now called Dusty Rose, after all of your input! I also call it the office) and started to plan a route up in the north of WA.

One of these books is not like the other… Can you tell the difference?

Yep, one is large, and one is small. One has the first few chapters of Rising Dust in it; one doesn’t. Both have gorgeous butts on the cover. (That’s a Dave butt, for all of you who hadn’t realised…)

Ah, how much love do we have for Detective Dave Burrows? Well, I for one, have a lot! And obviously you guys do too, because we’re here publishing the 5th in the Detective Dave Burrows series in nine weeks, this baby is going to be on the shelf.

Here we are on the 4th of January. It’s only going be what feels like a few days time we all say: ‘wow, it’s December already, where has the year gone?!’

Anyway, I wanted to start the new year with a bit of a ditty on me for all the new people who have recently discovered my books; I’ve had a few people who have got in contact over Christmas and said they’ve read my books for the first time. I LOVE hearing this!

I'm not one for maths. Which makes writing a really good profession for me! And, you would think there isn't any maths at all, tapping out words on a keyboard. But this is a myth! I've been told a few times that the only way to make good decisions is to base it around facts.

As you can see, my whiteboards are beginning to fill up with ideas, character descriptions and a few other things.

I've never been one to conform. I always push the boundaries of whatever I do, whether it was rebelling against the constraints of society as I grew up, or rallying against being told what to do (yes, I was a HORRIBLE teenager!) or writing.

I wonder if you've ever heard of a little town called Orroroo? It's at the base of the Flinders Ranges, a tiny blip of a gorgeous town, the main street an eclectic mix of old and new and on the main drag between Perth and Sydney.

Tuesday is the D-Day. Deception Creek Publication day.

Ugh. I'm nervous. I always get nervous when a book comes out - you'd think it would get easier, but it doesn't. I have a need for you readers to like my characters, like my story and basically like everything about the book!

I’m often asked what it takes to write a book. Having finished my 19th novel about twelve hours ago, I reflected on the question, whilst sitting on the patio with a wine, screaming: ‘thank god that’s done!’.

So, I compiled a list.