Well, it’s been a rum sort of day. At midday, I saw James Smythe tweeting about an imprint that had closed down, and thought, “Ouch, the poor sods. I wonder which imprint it is?”

It soon became apparent that it was Strange Chemistry, the publishers of my Russalka Chronicles books, Katya’s World, Katya’s War, and the intended third and final part. SC’s sister imprint, Exhibit A which dealt in crime fiction, had also gone under the axe.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. My work calendar has the time set aside to work on the third Katya novel on it, I was that sure it was going to happen.

It’s pointless to try to second guess what has gone on at Strange Chemistry, its parent imprint Angry Robot, and so on all the way to the top of the pyramid, Osprey Publishing. I’ve heard some guesses, some rumours, and one or other of them is probably true, but I shan’t theorise without data. All I know with certainty is that, if I ever want the third Katya novel to see the light of day (and I do), I shall have to explore other avenues.

No. That’s not quite all I know. I also know that I had a very, very good working relationship with the folks at Strange Chemistry, Amanda, Marc, Lee, and Caroline (and Leah, while she was there), and that they created a fine imprint that didn’t publish the same old sausage-machine YA that crowds the shelves of so many bookshops. I am proud to have been part of that, and to have worked with them. The experiment may be over, but I truly don’t believe it was a failure.

Furthermore, I am proud to have been on the same list as so many outstanding writers. There was a real sense of fellowship among us, and I hope we stay in touch in the future.

There’s little else to be said, so I shall finish with the dedication to Katya’s War, which I feel as keenly now as when I wrote it, and which I want understood includes the staff as well as the writers. We were all Strange Chemists.