Well, over the Christmas hols I did manage to do some writing after all! I've redrafted Chapter One of Henbane Hearth, as something really was off-key with it. I realised that my narrative voice wasn't working, so I've moved to third-person rather than first-person narration, and edited lots of the background fluff, so it's tighter. It has the benefit that I can get more into the heads of other characters rather than seeing everything from Tan's (the heroine's) POV, so hopefully won't get too bored! Several of my students have requested to appear in the book - I'm the Evil Fairy Queen in Max's fantasy novel (the only character he daren't kill off!) - so I've decided that they'll be the regulars down the pub that Tan meets in chapter four. The novel starts in the motorway service station as the heroine is on her way to start a new life at her grandmother's house. She's dreaming of becoming invisible - erasing herself so as to leave no traces. When she arrives at the house,she's reinvented herself as "Tanith", and spends the rest of the chapter exploring the somewhat eccentric house. I'm much happier with it - it has more bite and pace (I think!). One more rewrite is needed and then I'll post it on Ruby's Writing.