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I've been meaning to post a new blog for ages, had even started one to see in the new year but events overtook me. First of all, coverage of events in Gaza (unedited, Al-Jazeera) made me throw away my cheery Happy New Year note as too trite and meaningless for words; and then my mother in law fell gravely ill and I got to see exactly what third world medical facilities look like close up, which certainly put all things fanciful and book-related into perspective. And now here we are deep in recession - what a start to a year! I don't want to talk about war or the inadequacies of the human body and its treatment, so I'll stick with books and what I know best...

I've worked in the book industry for twenty years now and during that time have seen the bottom of three or four market troughs - as a bookseller, as a publisher and as a writer. All I can say is: it always comes back up in the end, but there can be a lot of casualties along the way. Already in the UK we've seen wholesalers go bankrupt and the supply chain interrupted; jobs winnowed at HarperCollins and elsewhere. As a publisher I've been dealing with the difficulties of doing deals in a falling market, and with a falling pound: a considerable complication if the last deal was done in dollars! And as a writer I've seen contracts and payment schedules stretched, cancelled or cut in half: every aspect of the industry is bearing some of the brunt, it seems.

So that leaves you, dear readers: all I can say is KEEP READING! The industry relies on you in these tough times more than ever before. And that's where we're so lucky, because what better way is there to travel to exotic times and places than by picking up a good novel? Books remain surely the cheapest and most satisfying escape from our troubles. They're completely portable, entirely private and can transport you all over the world without the hassle of security checks, tiny baggage allowances or having to pay to use the toilet on a plane (Ryanair, whatever next? Take a bottle and threaten to use it, I say.) So I'd like to thank a number of writers who have helped me get through the grey days of 2009 so far: Susan Fletcher, Victoria Clayton, Dean Koontz, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robin Hobb, Maria McCann and Frances Hodgson Burnett - I thank you.