I first wrote 'Christmas Night' in 1998-99 and then made a few amendments in 2003. Some things mentioned by characters in the story are from those years which led to my giving the final version of the novel in 2019 the subtitle, 'A Tale from the Recent Past.' 

Though I have been heartened by the support of my publishers and the opinions of my closest friends, I have also been encouraged by the fact that any changes I have made to this Christmas story, never left the main ideas with which I started. The events and scenes which I most wanted to write are much as they were when ideas first took shape in the 1990s.

As I said when I introduced 'Raineland', I always write by hand to begin with. I always jot down ideas as and when they come along to make sure they don't escape!

As I think of the support I have already received, I hope sincerely that people I may never meet will find something to enjoy and remember as they read 'Christmas Night.'

Paul Westmoreland