In Medio Dierum (Paperback)

Origin Story

The idea to write In Medio Dierum (In the Middle of Days) began when I was still writing In Living Memory. The backstory for one of the latter’s protagonists, Cate Strong, appeared to have both philosophical and characterising value, but it didn’t fit with In Living Memory, even though it drove much of the narrative.

It seemed like a good idea at the time that In Medio Dierum would tell Cate’s story from the beginning of her university days up until she turned 37. It didn’t seem implausible that Cate would have processed a colossal upheaval in her life by constructing a narrative, a strange love story. It’s a collage of materials drawn from different sources: it’s part personal diary, part unfinished novel, part reflective commentary, part PhD thesis. It might not have been implausible, but at this stage I have no idea either how to write it or how it’s going to read. Details.

By the time the idea was thought through, In Medio Dierum had formed connections to the other four books. It had become not only the middle of days, but also the philosophical middle, the character set middle, and the thematic middle. As the other four books proceed in linear time, In Medio  Dierum interests them all in cyclical time.

Progress Update

So far, the book exists primarily in my head, with only a few random notes, a timeline and a very rough outline committed to paper. I should begin to flesh these out early in the new year (2022).

Please keep an eye out for further updates to keep track of progress.