| A message from Minette
 A warm Dorset summer has now given way to a lovely autumn, with shorter days and chilly winds pulling the leaves from the trees. It's perfect weather to stay indoors... and start work on your next book!
(Just in case you missed it, Minette's previous book, The Devil's Feather, is out in the UK, the US, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden!)
Minette kindly took a break from writing book number 12 to explain how she chooses a title, plus she gives us the smallest of hints about the new book's possible storyline. 
Hello all:
Everyone should live in Dorset. At my time of writing – 7.00 p.m. – the setting sun is painting the western sky a brilliant red and I’m looking forward to another glorious day tomorrow. Two hours ago, I watched a Beatrix Potter scene unfold on the lawn outside my office window. My hens were drinking from the lily pond, a couple of doves flew down to join them, and a wild rabbit appeared from nowhere to nibble at the grass. If it wasn’t for the 24-hour news channels, I’d struggle to find anything unpleasant to write about!
Sadly, I can’t give you a title for my new book because I haven’t thought of one yet. It’s still billed as Book 12, even in the file on my computer. I’m often asked to give an idea of when I fix on a title. Do I know it before I start? Or do I wait until the end? The truth is, it varies. I had The Sculptress, The Scold’s Bridle and The Devil’s Feather in my head right from the off, but The Ice House, The Shape of Snakes and Acid Row only jumped out at me when I’d finished the stories and was reading them through.
Book 12 will be in the latter group, but, thankfully, the story is moving rather faster than the search for a title. I learnt a long time ago never to reveal my plots before I’d finished them. On the one occasion I did – to a journalist during a trip to Norway – I decided the story was so boring when I tried to reduce it to bite-size sentences that I tore it up and wrote a different one. I don’t believe it was as boring as it sounded, but it certainly taught me a lesson about giving away too much too soon!
As a small hint to what you can expect next year, I have long been fascinated by the link between Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and subsequent sociopathic behaviour. What happens to a previously pleasant person who suffers a serious impact to the head? Can their personality change to such an extent that murder becomes attractive…?
 Minette's upcoming
diary entries
Tuesday, 14 November, 2006
The 2nd Bridport Literary Festival
2:30 - 3:30 pm
Tickets: £7.00
Eype Centre for the Arts at St. Peter's Church
Full details >>
Thursday, 7 December, 2006
Evening Lecture program: Crime Pays!
The Tank Museum, Bovington
Full details >>
Minette answers your questions
Q: I attended the literary lunch at the Art Centre in Melbourne during your trip to Australia earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you so much for taking the time to be there and for giving such detailed answers to the questions that were raised.
I thought it was fascinating that you don't know 'whodunit' yourself whilst you are writing your novels and this discovery made me wonder whether you have ever changed your mind in a book. In other words, have you ever decided who did the deed and then further into the book decided someone else did?
--
Ruth in Melbourne
A: Dear Ruth: I, too, enjoyed the Melbourne lunch! Re: your question: I’ve never changed my mind once I’ve realised who the culprit is, but the book where I remained undecided for a long time about who had committed the murder was The Breaker. If you’ve read it, you will know that there are only three possible culprits, and I set out with the deliberate intention of keeping my options open for as long as possible to avoid giving unconscious signals to the reader. It was fun! I enjoyed it.
Best wishes -- Minette
Minette answers more readers' questions in the Q& A section > >
November will mark the three-year anniversary of the launch of Minette's official website. We'd just like to thank you for your support and all the kind words these past few years. As always, we look forward to your comments and questions in the years to come!
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