Happy New Year from The Witch’s House! And my very best wishes for everyone in 2026…phew! That came round quickly!

Thank you Santa. And a special thank you to @herring1967.bsky.social whose book club podcast has been an invaluable source for bedtime reading. This lot should last me until next Christmas!

6.30 on Christmas morning and Bob Cratchit knows no rest.

The Witch’s House, page 39. And we begin the build up to the cliffhanger which will complete Book 1.

Things are lurking, someone is screaming and there are nasty scratching, biting things. All in The Witch’s House.

Two double-page spreads from The Witch’s House.

The Witch’s House. Work continues…

The Witch’s House. The summoning of Old Damnation the Death Train.

The Witch’s House. ‘Oh, how we ran…’

The Witch’s House. Pg 48.

An early page from The Witch’s House that will require the slightest of tweaks to maintain consistency with what comes later. Fortunately I still have the cardboard model I made as reference for the main building.

Jerry Siegel was born on this day in 1914. His legacy is probably best acknowledged as the co-creator (along with artist Joe Shuster) of Superman. This is my re-creation of that first appearance of the Man of Steel in 1938 and is dedicated to both of them.

The Witch’s House. Two larger A2 size double page spreads from book 1.

Another A2 size double-page spread from The Witch’s House. From the furnace of their hive the swarm fly to the rescue!

The Witch’s House. Book 1 is nearly done.

I’m on the last lap of The Witch’s House Book 1. And there’s something lurking in the cellar!

Smoky air over Scarborough at 5.30 this morning as the North Yorkshire moors fire continues to burn.

A reminder of the time, just after the premiere of Road to Perdition, that Sam Mendes and Tom Hanks had a few nice things to say about yours truly.

There are a lot of pages of The Witch’s House that I’ve yet to reveal. These are a few of the highlights so far.

Fresh off my drawing board…in the late 1980s. My DC Comics debut on Hellblazer.

There’s the inevitable moment as you approach the finish to another page when you tell yourself you could have made a better job of it. Oh, well, never mind. Move on.

It’s worth being at the drawing board before the break of dawn. The Witch’s House is taking shape!

Latest additions to the bedside reading nighttime treats. All thanks to the highly recommended book club on the invaluable rhlstp.co.uk website. @herring1967.bsky.social

The heart of the story beats in the cellar of The Witch’s House. Pages 31-32 are a double-page spread, drawn at slightly larger than A2 size. So it’s a fairly big piece!

Last night on the BBC…

The Witch’s House. It’s now looking like three 42 page books. More news soon.

‘What’s that shuffling sound in the cellar? Is something living down there?’ ‘I don’t know. But nothing surprises me in this house.’ The Witch’s House, pg 29, fresh from my drawing board.

As it stands…The Witch’s House will be 3 books of 36 pages each. Book 1 nears completion. More details to come.

The Witch’s House. Progress continues! This is an interior page but elements of it may form part of the book’s cover. All the latest updates will appear here. Your kind responses are very much appreciated.

Road to Perdition. It seems it was quite a while ago and my working methods have and continue to evolve.

Another page from The Witch’s House. There’s a whole world down among the weeds!

There is a ghost who is made of stories. And she wants us to follow her to the Witch’s House. Updates continue.

It’s been pointed out to me that in an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during a visit to the late producer Richard Zanuck’s home, in his office, there’s a view of bound copies of the scripts of movies he was involved with. Quite proud to note that amongst them is my own contribution.

The Witch’s House page 26. There’s something lurking in the garden!

The Witch’s House. More updates very soon. Many thanks for all the kind wishes.

I think my bedside reading shows a fair amount of variety. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Reverend Richard Coles, PG Wodehouse among one or two others. It’s just a question, after all these 5.30 in the morning starts, of being able to stay awake to turn the pages.

Misty morning. This was early on Boxing Day last year.

The Witch’s House, emerging bit by bit from the drawing board…

The Witch’s House, pg 25. A brief glimpse of ‘Old Damnation,’ the Death Train. Progress continues.

5.30 in the morning and the drawing board awaits.

Another selection from The Witch’s House. Expect regular updates throughout the following weeks.

Work continues: The Witch’s House, pg 24.

This was our onscreen credit at the beginning of Road to Perdition. The producers had originally wanted to hide us away among the end credits but our agent fought to get us proper full-name recognition. It helped that director, Sam Mendes insisted that the source material be given proper respect.

Latest update. The Witch’s House continues to take shape.

The Witch’s House. A selection of pages. More to come.

I’m at the drawing board for 6 o’clock every morning (including Christmas Day) to give my very best to this book. ‘The Witch’s House,’ page 22.

Sunrise. Just an hour ago.

Ideal viewing for a winter Sunday afternoon.

My thanks to John Freeman for publicising my recent contribution to the Monday Morning Critic podcast. downthetubes.net/richard-pier...

The Monday Morning critic podcast took the brave step of inviting me as a guest last week. If you can put up with 37 minutes of this old codger waffling on, here you go… youtu.be/QGwwTgz2Pho?...