And so we leave the extraordinary year of 2016 behind and move on into a foggy future. This year we may find out what Brexit means. This year we will see what a Donald Trump presidency looks like. Wars continue around the globe and the threat of terrorism hangs over us all.

There are signs of hope if you look for them. Here in Scotland, our devolved government is working hard to put together a response to the UK's decision to leave the EU and there are some very creative ideas there. If even some of these ideas are taken up by Westminster we could see some of the sting taken out of this difficult situation.

I am in the process of trying to create a new Scottish company to take charge of publishing Shoreline of Infinity and a range of other science fiction titles (see the shoreline website). We hope to give employment to writers and artists for many years to come. You have to hold onto a large helping of hope to even consider a project like that. I think Noel Chidwick and I have that hope; either that or we are completely mad. Time will tell.

So, here's to 2017. Let it be a better year than 2016.