Last week I sent off the final draft of my forthcoming book – Written in Stone – to my publisher for printing. Now I can stop worrying about tidying up the manuscript and start worrying about how it will be received by readers.

Thus far, the informal feedback has been positive, and today my book got its first professional review from Kirkus. I am proud to say that it is positive. The reviewer thought the book was an “easily digestible survey of paleontological history”, and deemed it “A warm, intelligent yeoman’s guide to the progress of life.” (See the whole review at