At the moment, I’ve not made any plans to publish future books. However, there’s plenty of promising raw material that I could use should I decide to write a third novel.
The world is probably going through the highest level of international tension since the 1930s. The West is facing an increasingly powerful China which is threatening to eclipse the USA as the most powerful nation in the world, a resurgent Russia and the ongoing threat of Islamic extremism. Globalisation has led to growing economic inequality and insecurity. Support for extreme solutions, whether of the far right or the far left are growing. Nation states are facing increased demands from minority groups for greater autonomy or independence. Conflict between an older generation which believe they have worked hard for their wealth and status and a younger generation who feel their future has been taken away from them has grown. The future of liberal democracy is being threatened as people turn to strong leaders who use arbitrary and authoritarian measures to deliver results. Belief in conspiracy theories has grown.
The election of President Trump, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union and the Black Lives Matter protests are all symptoms of the end of consensus and dialogue, and the Covid-19 epidemic has added fuel to the fire. There is increased speculation about that the world might look like in 30 years time. Will the EU survive? Will the United Kingdom stay united or will it break up? There are even more extreme possibilities – for example, would the southern states in the USA secede as they did in 1860? What if states like Iran, Israel or North Korea developed nuclear weapons?
Conversely, there are outcomes that might work in the West’s favour. The election of a more moderate leader in Russia who wants friendship with the West. The overthrow of the Communist Party in China and the Islamist theocracy in Iran for example. All these scenarios might produce the plot for a new novel.
Should I decide to start writing new books, I will let people know of my plans.
